NIH and AHRQ study finds pace of the rise has slowed in recent years Source: NIMH The prescribed use of stimulant medications to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rose slowly but steadily from 1996 to 2008, according to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research [...]
Adding talk therapy to medication helps some kids and teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a new study. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study divided into three groups 124 children who had a diagnosis of OCD and who were between the ages of 7 and 17. One group continued [...]
Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep on school nights may be more likely to take risks with their health, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control. It found that high school students who sleep less than eight hours on school nights are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, seriously consider suicide, [...]
Harvard University researchers explore link between thinking styles and faith WASHINGTON—Intuition may lead people toward a belief in the divine and help explain why some people have more faith in God than others, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. In a series of studies, researchers at Harvard University found that people with [...]
Gender differences arise in different social contexts, according to meta-analysis WASHINGTON—Stereotypes suggest women are more cooperative than men, but an analysis of 50 years of research shows that men are equally cooperative, particularly in situations involving a dilemma that pits the interests of an individual against the interests of a group. Additionally, men cooperate better [...]
Youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who are already taking antidepressant medication benefit by adding a type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), according to an NIMH-funded study published September 21, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Background Several studies have shown that, among adults with OCD, a form of CBT [...]
An increase in outdoor activity may reduce the severity of a child’s symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study asserts. Researchers, whose findings are reported in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, studied more than 400 children diagnosed with ADHD. They discovered those who regularly play in outdoor settings with abundant [...]
Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are twice as likely to be injured badly enough to need medical attention as other children are, a new study finds. For the study, researchers analyzed data from questionnaires filled out by the parents of 4,745 fifth graders in Houston, Los Angeles and Birmingham, Alabama, that assessed ADHD symptoms. [...]
People suffering from depression may not bring it up with their doctor for a number of reasons, a study finds. One of the most common reasons is that they are afraid of getting a recommendation for antidepressants. The study, reported in the journal Annals of Family Medicine, surveyed 1,054 adults about why they wouldn’t tell [...]
Few suicidal teens receive the treatment and care they need, a new study reports. The researchers found only 13 percent of teenagers with suicidal thoughts visited a mental health professional through their health care network, and only 16 percent received treatment during the year, even though they were eligible for mental health visits without a [...]
Incidences of child abuse, mostly in infants, increased during the recession, a new study finds. Researchers collected data on 422 abused children younger than five years from mostly lower income families in 74 counties in four states. Unemployment rates in the 74 counties rose during the five-year study, and the proportion of children on Medicaid [...]
Short-term inpatient psychiatric stays increased for youth but declined for older adults between 1996 and 2007, according to an analysis published online ahead of print August 1, 2011, in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Background Joseph C. Blader Ph.D., of Stony Brook University, evaluated data from 1996-2007 from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, an annual [...]
Grief reactions among children following the death of a parent continue for about 40 percent of those affected, researchers say. They studied 182 children, 7 to 18 years old, who had lost a parent without warning. They were interviewed at several points afterward. Grief was still severe at nine months for 31 percent of the [...]
New research shows that 38 percent of the European population, or 165 million people, have a mental or neurological disorder. Experts estimate that only one-third of people affected by the disorders get help. Researchers reviewed data from previous studies involving more than 500 million people in 27 European countries, plus Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway. They [...]
Doctors in the emergency rooms often don’t evaluate the mental health of patients who’ve cut or otherwise hurt themselves before sending them home, a new study shows. Less than 48 percent of patients who were discharged after self-harming had a mental health assessment while in the ER, researchers report in the Archives of General Psychiatry. [...]
A gene that regulates serotonin may predispose individuals to the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) if they experience or witness trauma, according to a new study. Researchers used imaging to study the specific differences in the brain between people who have PTSD and others who have had traumatic experiences but do not have PTSD. [...]
About half of U.S. adults will develop a mental illness during their lifetime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. The study also finds that that anxiety disorders are apparently as common as depression and as debilitating in terms of their effects on mental and overall health. There are “unacceptably high levels of [...]
Chronic use of stimulant medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children does not appear to increase risk for high blood pressure over the long term, but it may have modest effects on heart rate, according to follow-up data from the NIMH-funded Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA). The study was [...]
Reduced mortality risk not seen in people motivated by self-centered reasons WASHINGTON—People who volunteer may live longer than those who don’t, as long as their reasons for volunteering are to help others rather than themselves, suggests new research published by the American Psychological Association. This was the first time research has shown volunteers’ motives can [...]
Mental and overall health problems are common across a large group of 9/11 emergency responders-and remain persistent for 10 to 30 percent of them, according to a new study. The findings, reported in the journal Lancet, reviewed the health of over 27,000 emergency workers. Among rescue and recovery workers, 27.5 percent had been diagnosed with [...]