Positive mental health among children 11 years and under in Western countries: a scoping review to inform Canada’s public health surveillance

Background The Public Health Agency of Canada developed the Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework (PMHSIF), which is used to monitor positive mental health (PMH) and its determinants in Canada. While adult and youth versions of the PMHSIF were released, additional research is needed to identify relevant and age-appropriate concepts of PMH among children.

A scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to examine how PMH is conceptualized and measured among children (< 12 years). Online academic databases were searched up until January 31, 2023. Grey literature sources were conducted up until October 3, 2023. Data on study characteristics were extracted and some were tallied and explained. Measures of PMH were categorized as self- or other-rated.

A total of 636 documents were identified through the search strategies. Of these, 65 documents from the grey literature and 39 peer-reviewed papers were included in this review. Many of the articles (74%) mentioned at least one theory in the introduction/background. The PMH concepts that emerged included: hedonic well-being (n=77), psychological well-being (n=41), social well-being (n=30), and social emotional learning and/or positive development (n=19). Various risk and protective factors were extracted.

The findings support the use of the existing Canadian PMH conceptual framework for children, albeit with small modifications to ensure that child-relevant pieces are reflected. Additional work is needed before these results can be used for national surveillance. This review addresses a gap in the literature, encourages routine reporting of child PMH across Canada, and better informs public health policy. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement Not applicable. Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This is a scoping review of publicly available sources. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Availability of data and materials All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article. Abbreviations - OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - PHAC - Public Health Agency of Canada - PMH - Positive mental health - PMHSIF - Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework - WHO - World Health Organization