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News/Research On Child Psychology and Mental Health
News and research articles of interest to parents on child and adolescent mental health and child psychology.
- Cannabis Damages Young Brains More Than Originally Thought, Study Finds
Canadian teenagers are among the largest consumers of cannabis worldwide. The damaging effects of this illicit drug on young brains are worse than originally thought, according to new research by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. The new study, published in Neurobiology of Disease, suggests that daily consumption of cannabis in teens can cause depression and anxiety, and have an irreversible long-term effect on the brain.
- Faulty Body Clock May Make Kids Bipolar
Malfunctioning circadian clock genes may be responsible for bipolar disorder in children. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry found four versions of the regulatory gene RORB that were associated with pediatric bipolar disorder.
- The Straight Dope: Studies Link Parental Monitoring With Decreased Teen Marijuana Usage
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by adolescents, with almost 42% of high school seniors admitting to having experimented with it. Continued marijuana use may result in a number of serious consequences including depression, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer. As such, it is critical to prevent marijuana use by adolescents and numerous behavioral and medical scientists have been trying to establish the best means of prevention.
- Most Runaway Teens Return Home With Help of Family Ties, Study Finds
The teen years can be a tumultuous time, as many parents know, a time when adolescents begin to flex their mental muscles, testing boundaries and turning to peers rather than parents for advice. Sometimes emotions and arguments can become so intense that things get out of hand and the child runs away.
- Daily Pot Smoking May Hasten Onset of Psychosis
Progression to daily marijuana use in adolescence may hasten the onset of symptoms leading up to psychosis, an Emory University study finds. The study was published in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
- National Survey Tracks Rates of Common Mental Disorders Among American Youth
Only about half of American children and teenagers who have certain mental disorders receive professional services, according to a nationally representative survey funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The survey also provides a comprehensive look at the prevalence of common mental disorders.
- ADHD Genes Found, Known To Play Roles In Neurodevelopment
Pediatric researchers have identified hundreds of gene variations that occur more frequently in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than in children without ADHD. Many of those genes were already known to be important for learning, behavior, brain function and neurodevelopment, but had not been previously associated with ADHD.
- Tourette Syndrome And ADHD Frequently Occur Together
The most disabling aspect of Tourette syndrome is that in 90% of cases, it exists in conjunction with another disorder. The most frequent co-occurring condition in people with Tourette is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), though the cause of this association is uncertain. Having one disorder can be disabling enough, but having two means coping with more than twice the disability.
- Language Support In Schools Vital For Children With Autism
Teachers and parents must be vigilant in observing difficulties with language comprehension, reading and spelling in children and young people with autism, Asperger's syndrome and ADHD. "It is important that pupils are offered the support to which they are entitled," says Jakob Åsberg in a new thesis at the University of Gothenburg.
- Earlier Bedtimes May Help Protect Adolescents Against Depression and Suicidal Thoughts
A study in the journal Sleep found that adolescents with bedtimes that were set earlier by parents were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and to think about committing suicide, suggesting that earlier bedtimes could have a protective effect by lengthening sleep duration and increasing the likelihood of getting enough sleep.
- Students report more serious stress
A new study has found that five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.
- Teenagers Use Violence to Boost Their Social Standing
A new study looks in depth at the social relationships between male and female teenagers, relational violence, and psycho-social adjustment factors such as loneliness, self-esteem and satisfaction with life. The results show that young people who want to be better appreciated and respected within their group are the most likely to be violent.
- Brain Imaging Shows Kids' PTSD Symptoms Linked to Poor Hippocampus Function
Psychological trauma leaves a trail of damage in a child's brain, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Their new study gives the first direct evidence that children with symptoms of post-traumatic stress suffer poor function of the hippocampus, a brain structure that stores and retrieves memories. The research helps explain why traumatized children behave as they do and could improve treatments for these kids.
- Rate of Autism Disorders Climbs to One Percent Among 8-Year-Olds
Autism and related development disorders are becoming more common, with a prevalence rate approaching 1 percent among American 8-year-olds, according to new data from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For analysis of some of these articles by Dr Gail Fernandez along with comments from readers - please go to our Parenting Today Blog.
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