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The media and child and adolescent mental health.

It is my pleasure to introduce our second “theme” issue since taking on my role as Editor of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review in November, 2002. This issue focuses on the issues around media, including TV and internet use and child and adolescent mental health, something many of us know little about despite the extent of media today in the lives of children and adolescents. An indication of our desire to move in this area was demonstrated by the high attendance and interest in the workshop at our recent annual meeting in Halifax, entitled “MediaPulse: Measuring the Media in Kids Lives. 
 
In this issue, the commentary by Jan Darcy, Executive Director of the Media Awareness Network highlights the concerns re the media’s impact on children, the need for both parents and mental health professionals to be aware of its use and effects, and for more research in this area. Carmen Messerlian and co-authors from the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems & High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University in their article entitled “Gambling, youth and the Internet: Should we be concerned?” suggest that the Internet offers ways for youth to avoid the safeguards often placed that prevent youth from gambling and conclude with public health implications for preventing youth from gambling on the Internet. The findings of a national survey sponsored by the Canadian Teachers’s Federation on young people’s opinions on media is reported by Dr. George Spears and Kasia Seydegart, MSW from Erin Research. Among other findings, this survey highlights the importance of family involvement in regards to children’s opinions on media violence. The issue of content of violence on Canadian TV and exposure to Canadian children is addressed by Dr. Guy Paquette from the Centre for Media Studies at Laval University in his article, entitled “Violence on Canadian television networks”. Finally, Drs. Spettigue and Henderson from the Eating Disorders Program at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario review the role of media in the development, maintenance, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders in youth. 
 
As Editor of the Review, I hope to target two out our four issues per year to be thematically based reviews addressing issues and topics that are considered relevant to Canadian child and adolescent psychiatry. I am very pleased that our first theme issue (August, 2003) on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, with the contributions of Dr. Margaret Clarke and colleagues, was extremely well received by our readers and has in fact stimulated an expanded interest in the Review. Congratulations to Dr. Clarke and colleagues on the success of this issue. Readers of the Review are welcome to contact me if they have an interest in developing and contributing to a particular theme review. At the same time, the Review encourages readers to submit original articles for publication. You will notice another change to the Review, that being the addition of French translations of abstracts. Articles in French or English will be considered for publication. 
 
It is my hope that readers use this issue as well as the websites and articles referenced as a resource for addressing concerns re media in young people’s lives.