Research published in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Editorial: Retuning the Adolescent Brain: Esketamine and Rapid Structural Change in the rACC.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry March 17, 2026 Yunjia Liu, Qiang Wang

Adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide and a major, modifiable risk factor for suicide, which remains the second leading cause of death in this age group.1 For 30% to 50% of patients who fail to achieve remission despite multiple treatment steps, the clinical and psychosocial consequences are substantial.2 Although selective serotonin-reuptake...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2026.03.007 Full text

Psychedelic Therapeutics for Adolescents: Ethics, Safety, Opportunities, and Equipoise

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry July 1, 2025 Samuel Dotson, James Luccarelli 3 citations

We read with interest the Commentary by Jeffrey et al. encouraging clinical research using psychedelics for adolescents.1 Throughout their commentary, the authors operate under the general presupposition that psychedelics have demonstrated a favorable safety profile in adults, and that therefore teenagers approaching an adult level of neurodevelopment can likely be safely treated with...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.12.001 Full text

Effect of Esketamine on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder at Imminent Suicide Risk: A Randomized Psychoactive-Controlled Study.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry March 7, 2025 Colette Kosik-Gonzalez, Dong-Jing Fu, Li Nancy Chen et al. 14 citations

To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of esketamine nasal spray vs psychoactive placebo (oral midazolam) in rapidly reducing depressive symptoms in adolescents with major depressive disorder at imminent risk for suicide. This double-blind, double-dummy, phase 2b study randomized (1:1:1:2) 147 adolescents (12 to <18 years old) to esketamine (28, 56, or 84 mg) or midazolam twice...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2025.02.015 Full text Major depressive disorder Mdd #mentalhealth mental illness Psychiatric care +6

Psychedelic Therapeutics for Adolescents: Ethics, Safety, Opportunities, and Equipoise.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry December 19, 2024 Paul E Croarkin, Isabella Sutherland, Ming-Fen Ho 1 citation

We read with great interest the commentary by Jeffrey et al. entitled "Clinical Research Trials of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Adolescents Aged 16 to 17 Years: Rationale Balanced With Caution."1 We appreciate the efforts of the authors, the scholarship of this commentary, and the advocacy for research initiatives with psychedelic therapeutics such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide,...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.12.003 Full text Psychedelic therapy Adolescent medicine Psychiatric treatment Youth mental health

Clinical Research Trials of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Adolescents Aged 16 to 17 Years: Rationale Balanced With Caution.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry December 1, 2024 Jessica K Jeffrey, Marc J. Weintraub, Charles S. Grob 12 citations

Youth today are burdened by significant mental health challenges. In 2022, 25% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years experienced a mental illness, with 20% experiencing a depressive episode, 12.5% reporting serious thoughts of suicide, and 17% meeting criteria for a substance use disorder.1 Close to 5% of adolescents experience posttraumatic stress disorder.2 Impairing psychiatric symptoms remain...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.03.021 Full text Psychedelic therapy Treatment-resistant depression Adolescent mental health Clinical research +1

Editorial: Novel Approaches to the Treatment of Suicidality and Depression in Youth.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry May 2024 Graham J Emslie

Suicide continues to be a major cause of mortality in adolescents with limited treatment options.1,2 Effective treatments, both therapy and medication, are available for treating depression, but even with the best combination, treatment remission rates are low.3 The most common approach to treating suicidality, which includes suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, is to address concomitant...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.06.019 Full text

Effect of Repeated Intravenous Esketamine on Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder and Suicidal Ideation: A Randomized Active-Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry May 2024 Yanling Zhou, Xiaofeng Lan, Chengyu Wang et al.

Suicide is a major cause of death in adolescents with limited treatment options. Ketamine and its enantiomers have shown rapid anti-suicidal effects in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), but their efficacy in adolescents is unknown. We conducted an active, placebo-controlled trial to determine the safety and efficacy of intravenous esketamine in this population. A total of 54...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.05.031 Full text Esketamine Major depressive disorder Adolescence Suicidal ideation

Mind-Wandering in Adolescents Predicts Worse Affect and Is Linked to Aberrant Default Mode Network-Salience Network Connectivity

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry June 12, 2020 Christian A. Webb, Elana S. Israel, Emily L. Belleau et al.

Objective: Understanding the fluctuating emotional and cognitive states of adolescents with depressive symptoms requires fine-grained and naturalistic measurements. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the affective correlates and consequences of mind-wandering in adolescents with anhedonia (AH) and typically developing (TD) controls. In addition, we examined the...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.03.010 Full text

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