A family-centered prevention and intervention program reduced behavioral and drug problems among black high school youths, researchers report. Adolescents enrolled in the Strong African American Families-Teen (SAAF-T) program had significantly lower increases in problematic conduct, substance use, and frequency of depressive symptoms over a 22-month period than a control group, researchers report in the journal [...]
Teenage girls who feel depressed are twice as likely to start binge eating as other girls are and girls who engage in binge eating have double the normal risk of symptoms of depression, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 5,000 girls aged 12 to 18 who answered questions in 1999, with [...]
The majority of victims of sexual violence experience serious mental and general health problems that can last a lifetime, according to a government study. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that victims cite chronic pain, diabetes, asthma, sleep difficulties and poor overall and mental health. The vast majority of women who said they [...]
Mental health conditions—along with acute bronchitis, asthma, trauma-related disorders, middle-ear infections—was among the five most commonly treated medical problems among children in 2008, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. More than 40 percent of the nation’s children age 17 and younger were treated for at least one of those conditions. Mental health conditions [...]
Written By Dr. Keith Ablow – foxnews.com A new study from Yale University raises additional concerns about the use of antidepressants. The study pooled and examined data from previous research trials and found that, while the vast majority of depressed people who take medication improved significantly (and much more than if they were given sugar pills), [...]
Mothers with jobs report fewer symptoms of depression, better overall health WASHINGTON—Mothers with jobs tend to be healthier and happier than moms who stay at home during their children’s infancy and pre-school years, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. Researchers analyzed National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Study [...]
NIH-funded Database Sets Standard for Collaboration and Data Sharing Source: NDAR A data partnership between the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR), and the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) positions NDAR as possibly the largest repository to date of genetic, phenotypic, clinical, and medical imaging data related to research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD). “The collaboration between [...]
Cigarette and alcohol use among teens is at the lowest level in decades, but marijuana use is on the rise, according to a survey released on Wednesday. Just under 19 percent of high school seniors said they smoked cigarettes in the past month compared to a peak rate of 36.5 percent in the mid-1990s, results [...]
Seven questions for Krystine Batcho, PhD, a nostalgia expert Nostalgia is particularly prominent around the holidays and it can have a significant psychological effect on people, both good and bad. Psychologist and APA member Krystine Batcho, PhD, is a professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., and an expert on nostalgia. Her research finds [...]
Study finds creative people less honest than more pedestrian thinkers WASHINGTON—Creative people are more likely to cheat than less creative people, possibly because this talent increases their ability to rationalize their actions, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “Greater creativity helps individuals solve difficult tasks across many domains, but creative sparks may [...]
Women who have a history of high blood pressure before getting pregnant have a higher risk of depression than women who develop pregnancy-related hypertension, according to a new study. Researchers looked at 2,398 women receiving prenatal care at an obstetrics clinic in Seattle, Washington, evaluating them for depressive symptoms and evidence of pre-existing hypertension or [...]
Lower drinking ages may result in an elevate risk for suicide among women born after 1960, researchers say. Their study collected data on more than 200,000 suicides and 130,000 homicides from individuals born between 1949 and 1972 (the years during which the drinking age changed). The researchers found a significantly higher risk for suicide and [...]
Alcoholism and other substance use conditions appear to be linked to a gene mutation, according to a new study. Researchers examined variants of a gene (called cannabinoid receptor 1) in blood samples of 298 males with alcoholism and 155 people without addiction. They found a combination of variants in the normal gene sequence that appears [...]
Psychological responses to racism similar to trauma symptoms, study finds WASHINGTON—For black American adults, perceived racism may cause mental health symptoms similar to trauma and could lead to some physical health disparities between blacks and other populations in the United States, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. While [...]
One in 12 teens deliberately harms themselves, but 90 percent give up the behavior by the time they’re young adults, according to a new study. Researchers followed a group of young people in Victoria, Australia, from 1992 to 2008. Approximately 8 percent reported self-harm. A higher percentage (10 percent) was reported by girls than boys [...]
Profile of Risk Emerging for Trauma-triggered Molecular Scars College students exposed to a mass shooting were 20-30 percent more likely to later develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms if they harbored a risk version of a gene, NIMH-funded researchers have discovered. This boost in risk, traced to common variants of the gene that controls [...]
NIMH-funded researchers found two variants of HIV in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of infected study participants that were genetically distinct from the viral variants found in the participants’ blood. The study, published October 6, 2011, in the journal PLoS Pathogens, suggests these CSF variants may help to inform research on the development and treatment of [...]
NIH-funded Study Finds Engaging Peers in Social Skills Intervention May Be More Helpful than Training Children with ASD Directly Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attend regular education classes may be more likely to improve their social skills if their typically developing peers are taught how to interact with them than if only the [...]
Rare Syndrome’s Workings Could Help Explain How Brain Wiring Goes Awry – NIH-funded Study Potential clues to how autism miswires the brain are emerging from a study of a rare, purely genetic form of the disorders that affects fewer than 20 people worldwide. Using cutting-edge “disease-in a-dish” technology, researchers funded by the National Institutes of [...]
A new psychosocial approach shows promise in helping preschoolers with symptoms of depression function better and learn to regulate their emotions, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print October 31, 2011, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Background Recent studies have shown that symptoms of clinical depression can arise in [...]