Abstract Although numerous resilience interventions have been developed for adolescents (age 10–19) and young adults (age 20–25), their comparative effectiveness remains unclear. This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy of different resilience interventions and further investigate whether the intervention effects differed based on participants’ condition (at-risk or non-at-risk) and age group (adolescents or young adults). A systematic search across PsycINFO, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science was conducted from inception to October 31, 2024. A total of 46 randomized controlled trials involving 8729 participants were identified (mean age = 15.61 years; 54.18% female). The main results indicate that physical activity, psychotherapy, mindfulness, and skill training significantly enhanced resilience compared to treatment as usual. However, the effectiveness of mindfulness should be interpreted with caution, as its effect was not significant in the sensitivity analysis. Subgroup network meta-analyses suggest that physical activity, psychotherapy, and skill training were particularly effective for adolescents, while psychotherapy, psychoeducation, mindfulness, and skill training were effective for young adults. Additionally, physical activity and skill training were effective for non-at-risk populations, whereas psychotherapy, skill training, mindfulness, and psychological placebo were effective for at-risk populations. Psychotherapy was more effective than skill training for at-risk individuals. Notably, there were no studies on psychoeducation for at-risk populations and no studies on physical activity for at-risk populations and young adults. Meta-regression revealed that the level of individualism and duration per session can influence the effectiveness of these interventions. This study provides valuable insights for clinicians to tailor interventions to specific populations of adolescents and young adults and highlights the need to consider cultural factors when designing interventions.

A growing body of research indicates that problematic social media use can have detrimental effects on adolescents' mental health and well-being. This systematic review aims to synthesize evidence on longitudinal risk factors contributing to the development of problematic social media use in adolescents, defined as the use of social media impacting physical or mental well-being. The review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase databases, including articles published from 2010 onwards. Out of 1,729 screened articles, 23 were included. Findings on risk factors related to individuals and their social environment were categorized into nine groups: motivations for use, parenting factors, adverse childhood experiences, peer factors, emotions, self-regulation, personality, mental health, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer factors (e.g., poor social relationships, social comparison, fear of missing out, negative peer pressure, exposure to relational aggression), negative emotions, personality traits (e.g., sensation seeking), and poor mental health emerged as the most common risk factors. Due to methodological limitations in the studies included, further research is necessary. It is essential to use clinical samples, objective measures, and consistent conceptualizations to contribute to a better understanding of problematic social media use as well as its mechanisms and effects.

Abstract Experiences of early life stress are associated with long-term socioemotional, cognitive and mental health challenges. Despite the growing interest in elucidating the neurobiological consequences of early life stress, relatively little is known about its specific impacts on adolescent white matter maturation. The objective of this systematic review was to consolidate the current literature on neuroimaging studies utilizing diffusion tensor imaging to investigate white matter correlates of early life stress experiences in adolescents (10–25 years). A comprehensive search of online databases identified 546 studies, with 22 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Early life stress was consistently associated with alterations across several white matter pathways, across Association, Projection and Commissural tracts. Compared to healthy controls, perturbed white matter integrity was observed in adolescents with early life stress exposure, as indexed by both increased and decreased fractional anisotropy. Compromised white matter integrity can have extensive impacts on adolescent development and associated functioning, including emotional dysregulation, mood instability, executive dysfunction, and sensorimotor impairments. Limitations of the current evidence base include the inconsistencies in the measurement of early life stress exposure and the lack of longitudinal research. Future investigations should track developmental trajectories of early life stress exposure and determine how this impacts adolescent neural connectivity.

Abstract Numerous intervention programs exist for youth misuse of fire, yet integrative reviews evaluating their effectiveness remain limited. This systematic review, conducted following PRISMA guidelines, included 21 studies (14 primary prevention and 7 secondary interventions) with a total of 4,735 youth. For primary prevention, N = 2,385 youth aged 3–11 years were included (944 males and 911 females), although one study did not specify its sample size, and six studies did not disclose participant gender. Secondary interventions included N = 2,350 youth aged 3–17 years (2,115 males and 235 females). Primary prevention programs demonstrated effectiveness in increasing children’s fire safety skills and knowledge, especially when interactive and consistently reinforced. However, digital education programs without corrective feedback often led to misinterpretation. Secondary education-based interventions showed limited effectiveness in reducing recidivism rates. Notably, cognitive behavioral therapy was found to be effective for youth who often present with deeper-rooted causes of firesetting, although these findings derived from a single study. The existing literature is insufficient to identify how demographic factors impact primary prevention and secondary intervention outcomes, highlighting the need for methodologically rigorous research. Whilst primary prevention shows consistent evidence in increasing fire safety knowledge, more evidence is required to identify effective secondary intervention practices.

Body image concerns significantly impact boys’ physical and mental health. While several reviews synthesize evidence on body image interventions for mixed-gender adolescents, a systematic review exclusively focusing on boys is currently missing. Thus, this systematic review synthesizes evidence on universal psychosocial interventions targeting body image among boys and identifies effective approaches for enhancing their body image. Searches were conducted across seven databases until February 2024. Forty-one studies were included and assessed for quality across domains such as selection bias, study design, and methods. Three studies exclusively targeted boys, while 38 involved mixed-gender groups. Multiple therapeutic approaches were used across the interventions, including media literacy, socio-cognitive approaches, combined cognitive dissonance and media literacy, positive body image, compassion and mindfulness, and other approaches, with no single approach proving universally effective. Some promise for interventions employing positive body image and embodiment techniques was noted. Few interventions showed effectiveness on boys’ body image but most benefited girls. Further, findings were inconsistent across outcomes, with lower-quality studies driving evidence of effectiveness. These findings highlight that the effectiveness of current body image interventions among boys is inconclusive, emphasizing the urgent need for improvement or development of new interventions tailored specifically to address boys’ body image concerns.

Emotional intelligence, which encompasses the ability to perceive, understand, express, and regulate emotions, is recognized as critical to the socioemotional development of adolescents. Despite its significance, the relationship between emotional intelligence and social media use among adolescents remains largely unexplored in the literature. This work aimed to provide a review that examines the association between adolescents’ emotional intelligence, including its dimensions (self-esteem, emotion regulation, empathy), and social media use. An online search of two electronic databases identified 25 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The results suggest that lower levels of emotional intelligence are associated with increased problematic social media use among adolescents, with social media use showing a negative correlation with adolescents’ self-esteem. In addition, difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with problematic social media use, while social media use was positively correlated with empathy. These findings underscore the importance of considering emotional intelligence as a key factor in understanding the relationship between adolescents and problematic social media use.

Loneliness is prevalent during emerging adulthood (approximately 18–25 years) and is an important issue given it has been linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes. This preregistered scoping review aimed to provide an overview of the literature on loneliness in emerging adulthood, including the (a) conceptualization and measurement of loneliness, (b) loneliness theories used, (c) risk factors and outcomes examined, (d) sex-gender differences observed, and (e) characteristics of emerging adult samples previously researched. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines, seven electronic databases were searched for articles focused on loneliness published from 2016 to 2021, where the mean age of participants was ≥ 18 and ≤ 25 years. Of the 4068 papers screened, 201 articles were included in the final review. Findings suggest the need for a clearer consensus in the literature regarding the conceptualization of loneliness for emerging adults and more qualitative work exploring emerging adults’ subjective experiences of loneliness. Results highlight an over-reliance on cross-sectional studies. Over two thirds of articles described their sample as university students and the median percentage of females was 63.30%. Therefore, fewer cross-sectional studies using convenience samples and more population-based, longitudinal research is needed to understand the factors predicting loneliness over time, and the downstream impact of loneliness for emerging adults.

Abstract The ability to recognize emotion is important to wellbeing and building relationships with others, making this skill important in adolescence. Research investigating adolescents’ ability to recognize facial and vocal emotion expressions has reported differing conclusions about the pattern of emotion recognition across this developmental period. This systematic review aimed to clarify the pattern of recognition for facial and vocal emotion expressions, and the relationship of performance to different task and emotion expression characteristics. A comprehensive and systematic search of the literature was conducted using six databases. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data for adolescents between 11 and 18 years of age and measure accuracy of the recognition of emotion cues in either the face or voice. A total of 2333 studies were identified and 47 met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies focused on facial emotion recognition. Overall, early, mid-, and late-adolescents showed a similar pattern of recognition for both facial and vocal emotion expressions with the exception of Sad facial expressions. Sex of the participant also had minimal impact on the overall recognition of different emotions. However, analysis showed considerable variability according to task and emotion expression characteristics. Future research needs to increase focus on recognition of complex emotions, and low-intensity emotion expressions as well as the influence of the inclusion of Neutral as a response option.

Sharing and viewing photos on social networking sites (SNSs) have been identified as particularly problematic for body image. Although correlational research to date has established that SNS use is associated with increased body dissatisfaction, only experimental studies can enhance confidence in the conclusions drawn. For this reason, this systematic review synthesizes data from 43 experimental studies (N = 8637; %F = 89.56; mean age = 21.58 ± 1.78) examining the effect of viewing idealized images (i.e., attractive, thin, and fit) and body positive content on SNSs on body image. Two studies were conducted on adolescents. Each study had slight variations in how the images were presented for each category (e.g., selfies and photos taken by others). The wide variability in experimental stimuli and psychological moderators used in the published research make a systematic review more feasible and meaningful than a meta-analysis. Findings indicate that viewing idealized images on SNSs lead to increased body dissatisfaction among young women and men. State appearance comparison (i.e., engaging in social comparison while viewing images) significantly mediated the effect, whereas trait appearance comparison (i.e., the relatively stable general tendency to engage in social comparison) was a significant moderator. Mixed results were found regarding the exposure to body positive images/captions. Viewing images on SNSs depicting unattainable beauty ideals leads young people to feel dissatisfied about their bodies, with appearance comparison processing playing an important role. More research is required to assess the long-term effects.