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    Published on 07-29-2010 07:48 PM
    Categories:
    1. ADHD/ADD

    Inline Image ADHD, smoking may be linked with dropping out of school - LA Times
    Many roads can lead to a teen dropping out of high school, but a new study finds that having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and smoking may be strongly linked to not finishing school.

    Researchers from UC Davis looked at data on 29,662 people from the the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions. Out of 29,662 people in the study, 32.3% of students who had a combined form of ADHD (hyperactivity and inattentiveness) dropped out of high school.

    Teens with conduct disorder also had a higher drop out rate -- 31%.
    Published on 07-22-2010 08:17 AM
    Categories:
    1. Autism Spectrum

    Inline Image Screening speech may aid autism diagnosis: study - Reuters

    A device may be able to automatically screen young children for autism based on how they talk, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

    The small recorder fits into a child's pocket and analyzes the words the child says during the day, and a software program evaluates how the child makes certain sounds.

    The program correctly identified an existing autism diagnosis 86 percent of the time. The analysis also predicted the age of a typically developing child, said the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
    Published on 07-18-2010 09:11 AM
    Categories:
    1. Mental Health
    2. Health and Nutrition

    Inline Image A Healthy Mind Makes a Healthy Body in Teens - Science Daily

    Happier youths are also healthier youths, according to Emily Shaffer-Hudkins and her team, from the University of South Florida in the US. Adolescents' positive emotions and moods, as well as their satisfaction with life, could be more important than their anxiety or depression levels for predicting their physical health, they argue. Looking at teenagers' so-called 'subjective well-being' could help identify those likely to develop health problems in the future and target them with appropriate prevention strategies.

    Overall, perceived good physical health was strongly linked to life satisfaction and feeling excited, strong and proud. Those who said they felt lonelier, guiltier, more anxious and depressed and who were more likely to display undesirable behaviors reported being less healthy physically. More specifically, mental health indicators explained 30 percent of the difference in physical health ratings and four out of the five mental health indicators were unique predictors of physical health. Positive affect in particular had the greatest effect.
    Published on 07-18-2010 09:01 AM
    Categories:
    1. Medication
    2. Mental Health

    Inline Image 'Cuddle chemical' eases symptoms of schizophrenia - New Scientist

    NASAL sprays containing the hormone oxytocin, nicknamed the "cuddle chemical" because it helps mothers bond with their babies, have helped people with schizophrenia.

    Although the 15 participants used the sprays for three weeks only, most reported measurable improvements in their symptoms in this the first trial to test oxytocin in schizophrenia. "It's proof of concept that there's therapeutic potential here," says David Feifel at the University of California in San Diego, head of the team running the trial.
    Published on 07-14-2010 08:55 AM
    Categories:
    1. Autism Spectrum

    Inline Image Researchers find first common autism gene - Reuters

    Researchers have found the first common genetic link to autism and said on Tuesday it could potentially account for 15 percent of the disease's cases.

    Three studies, two in the journal Nature and one in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest changes in brain connections could underlie some cases.

    While the findings do not immediately offer hope for a treatment, they do help explain the underlying causes of the condition, which affects as many as one in 150 children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Published on 07-12-2010 09:16 PM
    Categories:
    1. Behavior Issues

    Inline Image Accepting That Good Parents May Plant Bad Seeds - New York Times

    For years, mental health professionals were trained to see children as mere products of their environment who were intrinsically good until influenced otherwise; where there is chronic bad behavior, there must be a bad parent behind it.

    But while I do not mean to let bad parents off the hook — sadly, there are all too many of them, from malignant to merely apathetic — the fact remains that perfectly decent parents can produce toxic children.

    For better or worse, parents have limited power to influence their children. That is why they should not be so fast to take all the blame — or credit — for everything that their children become.
    Published on 07-12-2010 08:50 AM
    Categories:
    1. Mental Health
    2. Behavior Issues

    Inline Image Teenage anti-social behaviour caused by 'brain abnormality' - Daily Mail

    Antisocial behaviour in teenagers may be due to brain abnormalities that cause them to be aggressive, according to a new study.

    Scientists have discovered that teens with a psychiatric condition known as ‘conduct disorder’ have an abnormal pattern of brain activity compared with those without the condition.

    Conduct disorder leads to a high level of aggressive and antisocial behaviour and affects five teenagers in every 100 in the UK.
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