Living in close proximity to repeat offenders dramatically increases the risk that teenage boys who have committed a crime will re-offend. And this “peer contagion” can also encourage them to specialize in specific types of crime, a new study finds.

A new treatment offers tentative hope to families of depressed preschoolers, a pilot study has found. The tried-and-tested intervention Parent-Child Interaction Therapy has been adapted to treat preschool depression – with promising early results.

How does an idea get from the drawing board into the real world of family interventions? The story of the Helping Families Programme offers a unique view into the designers’ world.

Can web delivery of a proven treatment for anxiety disorder offer a cheaper way to reach more teens? A new trial offers surprising results.

How relevant are mainstream parenting programs for parents from minority ethnic groups? One program developer says culture is not a significant barrier – but practical problems like timing and cost may be crucial.

Most interventions for children target single disorders. But in real life, disorders usually come in clusters – so programs that treat two problems at once can deliver big benefits for public health. Is the popular Incredible Years program one of this special breed?

Why do poor kids start school at a disadvantage? A new study of the connections between parenting, poverty and cognitive abilities in young children investigates – and suggests that high and persistent home stress may be a major factor.

Successful prevention programs require able community co-ordinators. But what skills do these individuals need and can social work education train a new generation of prevention practitioners?

Head teachers don’t know how to commission proven programs, program designers don’t know how to evaluate their own initiatives – and there has been far too little investment in remedying either problem. Little wonder, says a UK think tank, that some schools have been resorting to “bad science” in their efforts to rescue disaffected pupils.

Minnesota research suggests that gender bias in the study of aggression may have neglected the hurt done to girls by gossip and name-calling.

Research from one direction indicates that subjective reports of “life satisfaction” can be relied on as an accurate measure of well-being, but the verdict from another is that Americans are generally far adrift in their perceptions about the well-being of those around them. Back to the lab?

Might relatively cheap measures, such as better sex education and premarital counseling, increase the number of two-parent households and, as a result, reduce poverty among children? It’s a tortuous argument but US researchers think it adds up.