To Örebro University

The role of pets in supporting children's mental health and well-being has attracted growing attention. Although pets are oftendescribed as emotionally significant companions—offering comfort, security and stability—the effects of pet ownership arenot universally positive or consistent. This scoping review maps existing research on the significance of pets for children'swell-being, particularly those experiencing mental health challenges. Drawing on 20 studies—quantitative, qualitative andmixed-methods—published across diverse cultural contexts, the review identifies three central themes: emotional support andfriendship; responsibility, routine and family; and psychosocial well-being. Findings suggest that the emotional quality of thechild-pet relationship, rather than pet ownership alone, is key to potential benefits such as reduced stress and enhanced resil-ience. The review underscores the importance of context-sensitive understandings of well-being. Pets may be valuable allies inchildren's mental health, but their role should be understood as part of broader social contexts. Contextual factors including age,gender, species of pet and socio-economic environment may influence the outcomes. However, strong reliance on pets can alsoreflect or reinforce social isolation. Limitations include a small evidence base focused largely on high-income countries and alack of studies centring children's own perspectives. Further research is needed to explore how children across varied settingsexperience relationships with pets, and how these connections might inform support strategies in social work and mental healthcare

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in adolescence resulting in functional impairment that often persist to adulthood. Girls seem to be diagnosed with ADHD later in life than boys and more often have a comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD). It has been suggested that comorbidity with MDD can interfere with early identification of ADHD. AIMS: The aim of the study was to investigate the diagnostic delay for boys and girls with ADHD in child and adolescent outpatient settings as well the interference of self-reported symptoms of MDD.

METHODS: Adolescent psychiatric outpatients were assessed with DSRS-A Screener (version of Depression Self-Rating Scale for Adolescents) at intake. Diagnostic delay for ADHD was estimated with Kaplan-Meier survival curve with separated analysis for boys/girls and for negative/positive MDD screening. Cox regression analysis was used to examine the association of sex and MDD screening.

RESULTS: Diagnostic delay for N = 252 (41% boys, mean age =15.23 years) was 3.5 years, 1.4 for boys and 4.9 for girls (p = 0.004). Positive MDD screening was associated with prolonged diagnostic delay (from 1.4 to 4.9 years p = 0.002), which in separated analyses was statistically significant only for girls from 1.8 to 4.9 years (p = 0.018). In Cox regression male sex was associated with decreased diagnostic delay (p = 0.023) while positive MDD screening with prolonged diagnostic delay (p = 0.015).

CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic delay of ADHD was more than three times longer for girls. Co-occurring symptoms of MDD prolonged diagnostic delay significantly only for girls.

Background: Eating disorders are psychiatric conditions that extend beyond concerns with weight, body and shape, encompassing complex issues related to self-esteem, emotion regulation and interpersonal functioning. Moreover, co-occurring depression, often undiagnosed, is a common complicating factor. Gaining an in-depth understanding of living with an eating disorder is vital both theoretically and for identifying factors that maintain or inhibit recovery. Patient-centred studies offer valuable insights into the lived experience of eating disorders, highlighting their impact and interaction with various life phenomena.

Methods: This qualitative study aimed to capture the meaning and experience of living with an eating disorder from a patient perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 women suffering from eating disorders and comorbid depressive symptoms, prior to the start of treatment. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Two dimensions of relating to the eating disorder emerged. The first dimension, "Relating to the eating disorder over time", followed a temporal trajectory with four themes: "The eating disorder as a way to handle other difficulties", "From control to a consistent loss of control", "The whole existence revolves around the eating disorder" and "Hard to see a life without the eating disorder". The second dimension, "Having an eating disorder- a relentless relating", focused on the present experience and was divided into two themes: "The eating disorder's impact on relating to myself" and "The eating disorder's impact on relating to others".

Conclusions: Living with an eating disorder involves a constant, entangled and conflicted relationship with the disorder, leading to alienation from significant others and one's own body. This pervasive presence of disordered thoughts and behaviours makes it challenging to relate to oneself and the external world without their influence. Over time, the disorder becomes increasingly ego-syntonic, rendering it difficult to envisage a life without it. Treatment should, therefore, aim to externalise the disorder-to foster new life goals, enhance social engagement, and improve interpersonal skills. Further research is needed to elucidate how co-occurring depressive symptomatology influences an individual's relationship with their eating disorder, as these factors may be crucial in tailoring effective interventions.

Plain English Summary: To capture the meaning and experience of living with an eating disorder from the patient's perspective, 15 women with eating disorders and depressive symptoms were interviewed before treatment. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Two main dimensions of relating to the eating disorder were identified. The first dimension, "Having an eating disorder - a relentless relating," described the present experience and included themes about how the disorder affects their relationships with themselves and others. The second dimension, "Relating to the eating disorder over time," followed a timeline with themes showing how the disorder evolved from a coping strategy to a pervasive force affecting their entire existence. Living with an eating disorder means constantly experiencing a chaotic relationship with the disorder that distances individuals from others and their own bodies, making it challenging to imagine life without the disorder. Treatment should help individuals see the disorder as separate from themselves, reconnect with their bodies, and acknowledge their needs. It should also foster new life goals, social engagement, and improved interpersonal skills for a meaningful life beyond the eating disorder. Further research is needed to understand how depressive symptoms influence the experience of living with an eating disorder and the recovery process, as these factors may be crucial in tailoring effective interventions.

BACKGROUND: A small but significant group of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) undergo multiple involuntary treatment (IT) events. To enhance our understanding of IT and potentially inform treatment, we explored experiences and perspectives on IT of these patients.

METHODS: We designed a qualitative semi-structured interview study and used reflexive thematic analysis. Participants were at least 18 years of age, had multiple past IT events (≥ 5) related to AN over a period of at least one month of which the last IT event happened within the preceding five years. Participants had no current IT, intellectual disability, acute psychosis, or severe developmental disorder. We adopted an inductive approach and constructed meaning-based themes.

RESULTS: We interviewed seven participants. The data portrayed a process of living and leaving a life of coercion with a timeline covering three broad themes: living with internal coercion, coercive treatment, and leaving coercion; and five subthemes: helping an internal battle, augmenting suffering, feeling trapped, a lasting imprint, and changing perspectives. We highlighted that patients with AN and multiple IT events usually experienced internal coercion from the AN prior to external coercion from the health care system. IT evoked significant negative affect when experienced, and often left an adverse imprint. Moreover, IT could help an internal battle against AN and perspectives on IT could change over time.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that feeling internally coerced by AN itself sets the stage for IT. Clinicians should be conscious of the potential iatrogenic effects of IT, and reserve IT for potentially life-threatening situations.

BACKGROUND: It is important to target body image in individuals with an eating disorder (ED). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has been trialed in a few studies for individuals with an ED. Although ACT outcomes in ED patients hold promise, studies of predictors are scarce. The aim of the present study was to explore differences in ED symptom outcome at two-year follow-up in subgroups of participants attending either treatment as usual (TAU), or a group intervention based on ACT targeting body image. Additionally, we aimed to compare subjective recovery experiences between groups.

METHODS: The study took place at a specialized ED outpatient clinic, and included patients diagnosed with an ED that had received prior treatment and achieved a somewhat regular eating pattern. Study participants were randomly assigned to continue TAU or to participate in a group intervention based on ACT for body image issues. Only participants that completed the assigned intervention and had completed follow up assessment by two-years were included. The total sample consisted of 77 women.

RESULTS: In general, ACT participants showed more favorable outcomes compared to TAU, and results were more pronounced in younger participants with shorter prior treatment duration and lower baseline depression ratings. Participants with restrictive ED psychopathology had three times higher ED symptom score change if participating in ACT in comparison to TAU.

CONCLUSIONS: An ACT group intervention targeting body image after initial ED treatment may further enhance treatment effects. There is a need for further investigation of patient characteristics that might predict response to body image treatment, particularly regarding ED subtypes and depression ratings.

BACKGROUND: Eating disorders are serious conditions that cause major suffering for patients and their families. Better knowledge about perceptions of eating disorders and their treatment, and which factors that facilitate or hinder recovery, is desired in order to develop the clinical work. We aimed to explore and synthesise experiences of eating disorders from the perspectives of those suffering from an eating disorder, their family members and health care professionals through an overarching meta-review of systematic reviews in the field.

METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in the databases PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus, and CINAHL. Inclusion criteria were systematic reviews of qualitative research on experiences, perceptions, needs, or desires related to eating disorders from the perspective of patients, family members or health care professionals. Systematic reviews that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were assessed for relevance and methodological limitations by at least two researchers independently. The key findings were analysed and synthesised into themes.

RESULTS: We identified 17 systematic reviews that met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 13 reviews reported on the patients' perspective, five on the family members' perspective, and three on the health care professionals' perspective. The study population in the reviews was predominantly girls and young women with anorexia nervosa, whilst systematic reviews focusing on other eating disorders were scarce. The findings regarding each of the three perspectives resulted in themes that could be synthesised into three overarching themes: 1) being in control or being controlled, 2) balancing physical recovery and psychological needs, and 3) trusting relationships.

CONCLUSIONS: There were several similarities between the views of patients, family members and health care professionals, especially regarding the significance of building trustful therapeutic alliances that also included family members. However, the informants sometimes differed in their views, particularly on the use of the biomedical model, which was seen as helpful by health care professionals, while patients and family members felt that it failed to address their psychological distress. Acknowledging these differences is important for the understanding of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, and may help clinicians to broaden treatment approaches to meet the expectations of patients and family members.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a transdiagnostic approach to human suffering that has been trialed in a range of different contexts. This study aimed to examine participants' view of helpful and hindering aspects of an in person ACT group intervention targeting body image in patients with residual eating disorder (ED) symptoms. Thirteen women who completed the intervention were interviewed, and transcripts were analyzed through thematic analysis. Nine themes were identified and sorted into three main themes. The first main theme, "Taking the plunge", pointed to the importance of participants own effort, and included subthemes of self-efficacy, self as description, and self-exploration. The second main theme, "A push towards valued ends", indicated that content of the intervention was helpful, and included subthemes of commitment and behavioral change processes, mindfulness and acceptance processes, and assignments in and between sessions. The third main theme, "The context matters", described the importance of the contexts of the intervention and life outside of treatment, and included subthemes of the group format, the context outside of treatment, and the timing of the intervention. Through the description of specific content, we conclude that ACT seems to help women with residual ED symptoms and body image issues by fostering motivation to engage in avoided situations and behaviors while striving to live a more valued life.

BACKGROUND: Self-admission to psychiatric inpatient treatment is an innovative approach to healthcare rationing, based on reallocation of existing resources rather than on increased funding. In self-admission, patients with a history of high healthcare utilization are invited to decide for themselves when brief admission is warranted. Previous findings on patients with severe eating disorders indicate that self-admission reduces participants' need for inpatient treatment, but that it does not alone lead to symptom remission.

METHODS: The aim of this study was to evaluate if, from a service provider perspective, the resource reallocation associated with self-admission is justified. The analysis makes use of data from a cohort study evaluating the one-year outcomes of self-admission at the Stockholm Centre for Eating Disorders.

RESULTS: Participants in the program reduced their need for regular specialist inpatient treatment by 67%. Thereby, hospital beds were made available for non-participants due to the removal of a yearly average of 13.2 high-utilizers from the regular waiting list. A sensitivity analysis showed that this "win-win situation" occurred within the entire 95% confidence interval of the inpatient treatment utilization reduction.

CONCLUSIONS: For healthcare systems relying on rationing by waiting list, self-admission has the potential to reduce the need for hospitalization for patients with longstanding eating disorders, while also offering benefits in the form of increased available resources for other patients requiring hospitalization.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02937259 (retrospectively registered 10/15/2016).

Body image problems are central aspects of eating disorders (ED), and risk factors both for the development of and relapse into an ED. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) aims at helping patients accept uncomfortable internal experiences while committing to behaviors in accordance with life values. The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of a group intervention, consisting of 12 sessions, based on ACT to treatment as usual (TAU) for patients with residual ED symptoms and body image problems. The study was a randomized controlled superiority trial. Patients with residual ED symptoms and body image problems were recruited from a specialized ED clinic in Sweden. The final sample consisted of 99 women, randomized to ACT or TAU. At the two-year follow-up, patients who received ACT showed a significant greater reduction in ED symptoms and body image problems and received less specialized ED care than patients in TAU. In conclusion, ACT was superior in reducing ED symptoms and body image problems.

Background: Despite major research efforts, current recommendations of treatment interventions for adolescents with anorexia nervosa are scarce, and the importance of patient satisfaction for treatment outcome is yet to be established. The overall aim of the present study was to examine treatment interventions and patient satisfaction in a naturalistic sample of adolescents with anorexia nervosa or subthreshold anorexia nervosa and possible associations to outcome defined as being in remission or not at treatment follow-up.

Methods: Participants were identified through the Swedish national quality register for eating disorder treatment (SwEat). The samples consisted of 1899 patients who were follow-up registered 1 year after entering treatment and 474 patients who had completed a 1-year patient satisfaction questionnaire. A two-step cluster analysis was used for identifying subgroups of patients who received certain combinations and various amounts of treatment forms.

Results: Patients who received mainly family-based treatment and/or inpatient care were most likely to achieve remission at 1-year follow-up, compared to patients in the other clusters. They were also younger, in general. Individual therapy was the most common treatment form, and was most appreciated among the adolescents. At 1-year follow-up, many patients reported improvements in eating habits, but far fewer reported improvements regarding cognitive symptoms. Overall, the patients rated the therapist relationship in a rather positive way, but they gave quite low ratings to statements associated with their own participation in treatment.

Conclusions: The results indicate that young adolescents who receive mainly family-based treatment and/or inpatient care respond more rapidly to treatment compared to older adolescents who receive mainly individual therapy or mixed treatment interventions. At 1-year follow-up, the adolescents reported improvements in behavioral symptoms and seemed quite satisfied with the therapist relationship.