The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is recommending that all adolescents be screened for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use at every office visit. The organization said pediatricians should use a validated screening tool at routine visits, as well as appropriate acute care visits. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recommends that [...]
The Mayo Clinic and mental health experts have developed a toolkit designed to help identify mental health conditions in youth. “This toolkit will allow pediatricians, teachers and others that could help get the word out to families we can close the gap so the three out of four children with mental health disorders who aren’t [...]
All Children Matter Report Documents How Children Have Become Collateral Damage of Anti-Gay Laws Washington, D.C. —A groundbreaking new report released today shows how two million children have become collateral damage of decades of ideology, laws and policies designed to hurt lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. All Children Matter: How Legal and Social [...]
Reminders of God hurt motivation to succeed but help resist temptation WASHINGTON—Being reminded of the concept of God can decrease people’s motivation to pursue personal goals but can help them resist temptation, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. “More than 90 percent of people in the world agree that God or [...]
The genes suspected of causing autism, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are activated in the developing brain before birth, according to a new analysis. Researchers, whose findings are reported in the journal Nature, also detected hundreds of genetic differences between males and females still in the womb. The analysis examined more than 1,300 tissue samples [...]
Gene expression databases reveal “consistent molecular architecture” Despite vast differences in the genetic code across individuals and ethnicities, the human brain shows a “consistent molecular architecture,” say researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health. The finding is from a pair of studies that have created databases revealing when and where genes turn on and [...]
A chemical used in consumer products could be linked to behavioral and emotional problems in young girls, according to a new study. After tracking 244 Cincinnati-area mothers and their 3-year-olds, the study concluded that mothers with high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in their urine were more likely to report that their children were hyperactive, [...]
Miswired brain circuitry traced to early exposure – NIH-funded study Rats exposed to an antidepressant just before and after birth showed substantial brain abnormalities and behaviors, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. After receiving citalopram, a serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), during this critical period, long-distance connections between the two hemispheres of [...]
Accurate assessments for poor performance better for self-esteem, research finds WASHINGTON—People who try to boost their self-esteem by telling themselves they’ve done a great job when they haven’t could end up feeling dejected instead, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. High and low performers felt fine when they assessed themselves accurately, [...]
Individuals who have experienced long-term unemployment in the past year—those unemployed for longer than 25 weeks—are three times more likely than people employed throughout the past year to experience mental health issues for the first time, a new study finds. The researchers found that people with more than a high school education and members of [...]
People who have lost homes or are in foreclosure have poorer mental and overall health than those who aren’t experiencing similar financial difficulties, according to a new study. Reported in the American Journal of Public Health, the study found that people who said that they had fallen behind on their mortgage between 2006 and 2008 [...]
Approximately 40 percent of cancer survivors have symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) more than a decade after recovery, according to a new study. Researchers enlisted 566 patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a relatively common type of cancer. More than decade after being told they had the disease, nearly four out of 10 cancer survivors said [...]
Children who grow up in families where other mental disorders are present may be at greater risk of developing bipolar disorder later in life, new research asserts. Researchers, whose finding are reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry, examined the lifetime prevalence and early clinical predictors for psychiatric disorders in 141 high-risk children and adolescents [...]
A new study indicates that suicide may have a genetic cause, which could eventually help with prevention efforts. Canadian researchers uncovered evidence that a methionine variation of the gene BDNF, which is involved in the development of the nervous system, was associated with a higher risk of suicidal behavior among people who had a psychiatric [...]
Normal human shyness is not being confused with the psychiatric anxiety disorder known as social phobia, according to an NIMH survey comparing the prevalence rates of the two among U.S. youth. The study was published online ahead of print October 17, 2011, in the journal Pediatrics. Background Social phobia is a disabling anxiety disorder characterized [...]
Make same distinction even for objects they’ve never seen before WASHINGTON—Children as young as 3 are likely to say that things made by humans have owners, but that natural objects, such as pine cones and sea shells, are not owned, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. “Determining whether an unfamiliar [...]
Depressed teens with anhedonia, or the inability to experience pleasure, have lower levels of the neurotransmitter GABA in a key mood-regulating region of the brain, according to an NIMH-funded study published online October 3, in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The researchers note that focusing on specific symptoms and using different types of measures may [...]