Generally speaking, institutionalised children and adolescents are at greatly increased risk of serious mental and behavioural problems, up to seven times more than their peers. Life skills- based interventions using peer enforcement have been introduced as effective program to improve adolescents’ emotional and behavioral health. Therefore, the current randomized control study aimed to determine, if a life skills-based intervention could improve the emotional health and self-esteem among Malaysian adolescents in orphanages. Overall, 271 male and female adolescents (13–18 years old) from 8 orphanages in Klang valley, Malaysia participated in the study. Comparing the intervention to control group within 3 points of time, the finding of the study showed that immediately after finishing the interventional sessions (post-test), the mean scores of depression (F = 33.80, P<0.001, η² = 0.11), anxiety (F = 6.28, P = 0.01, η² = 0.02), stress (F = 32.05, P<0.001, η² = 0.11) and self-esteem (F = 54.68, P<0.001, η² = 0.17) were significantly decreased compared to the pre-test values. However, there was no significant difference between two groups in the depression mean scores (F = 2.33, P = 0.13). Regarding to the interaction between group and test a significant change was seen in the mean score of all 4 variables including depression (F = 31.04, P<0.001, η² = 0.10), anxiety (F = 14.21, P<0.001, η² = 0.05), stress (F = 15.67, P<0.001, η² = 0.06) and self-esteem (F = 13.29, P<0.001, η² = 0.05). Furthermore, except depression (Δmean = -1.37, P0.001). These results provide preliminary approve for LSE to enhance emotional health and self-esteem in orphanages.

This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to evaluate the perception and experiences of adolescents with mental disorders and their parents about the use of and adherence to psychotropic medications. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews with adolescents between the ages of 12 to 18 who were attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic for children and adolescents and 12 interviews with parents were conducted between October 2021 and January 2022 in Manisa, Turkey. Colaizzi’s phenomenological interpretation method was used for the analysis of the participants’ statements. Our study highlights the main positive effects of psychotropic medication and barriers to medication intake and adherence. Positive effects included symptom management and health improvement. Barriers varied from those directly linked to medication effects (e.g., negative side effects or lack of perceived effect) to personal barriers (e.g., forgetting to take medication or feelings of not being oneself due to medication intake) and societal barriers. In general, the barriers were reflected in concerns related to long-term consequences, such as medication dependence, and in concerns about diminished life prospects. Possible recommendations to improve the use of and adherence to psychotropic medication among adolescents include educating adolescents and parents not only about treatment options but also about mental disorders.

Introduction: Health issues often differ from one population to another. Assessing different aspects of the health condition is a vital step toward developing and designing appropriate prevention and treatment programs to reduce health problems in any group or population. This study aimed to assess both the prevalence of stress and the coping mechanisms as well as identify the predictors of stress levels among adolescents in Malaysian orphanages.Methods: Overall, 307 male and female adolescents (aged 13‐18 y old) living in 9 private orphanages located in Klang Valley, Malaysia, participated in this cross‐sectional study. Brief COPE scale and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale‐21 were used as the main instruments in the current study.Results: The results of the current study showed female adolescents and participants with a higher level of education were more likely to experience stress. The results also showed significant differences between boys and girls in using of coping mechanisms in self‐distraction (t = −2.39, P = .01), substance use (t = 2.12, P = .03), use of emotional support (t = −2.70, P = .001), humor (t = 2.28, P = .02), and religion (t = −2.19, P = .02). Denial, venting, religion, humor, planning, and active coping were identified as predictors of stress among participants.Discussion: The results showed a high prevalence of stress and a negative coping pattern among participants. The finding of the current study also showed the urgency of taking immediate action to reduce stress and improve coping methods among Malaysian institutional adolescents.