Publications on Mental Health Topics

AAP now recommends screening all kids 12 and up for depression and suicide risk, by Sarah Pool, MA, LPC, NCC, Motherly, Jun 13 2022.

“Depression and suicide risk in children has reached unprecedented levels. Last year, amid the pandemic, youth mental health was declared a "national emergency" by a coalition representing over 77,000 physicians and over 200 children's hospitals. Additionally, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a 53-page advisory warning in 2021 of a growing mental health crisis among young people.   The CDC also released a 2022 report revealing a worsening mental health climate—asserting that 21% of teens experienced a major depressive episode before the pandemic, and 9% of children and adolescents experienced anxiety problems. The pandemic has only exacerbated these issues.  In response to this growing crisis, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently issued a draft recommendation urging that pediatricians help screen for mental health issues such as major depressive disorder and anxiety. They are also now proposing that all adolescents are screened for suicide risk. ”

More states are allowing students to take mental health days off, by Giles Bruce, NPR, Jun 10 2022.

“The state allows K-12 students in public schools to have five excused absences per school year for mental health reasons, another example of the growing acknowledgment among lawmakers that emotional and physical health are intertwined. The new policy, which went into effect at the beginning of 2022, passed both chambers of the state legislature unanimously. But such novel policies are, in many ways, a half-step toward addressing the crisis of teenage mental health that has been highlighted and exacerbated by the educational interruptions caused by the pandemic. Many parts of the country are woefully short of therapists who can work with students to address mental health problems.  Seventy percent of schools that responded to a federal survey in April said more students had sought mental health services since the pandemic started. The National Center for Education Statistics' polling also showed that only 56% of schools said they effectively provide mental health services to all students in need and just 41% reported hiring new staff members to help address students' mental health needs. Nearly half the nation lives in a designated mental health worker shortage area, according to government data, and an estimated 7,550 new professionals are needed to fill that void nationwide. Even in places where mental health professionals are more plentiful, they often do not accept public insurance, making them inaccessible to many kids. ”

Transgender youth at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts, report says, by Chiara Greco, The Globe and Mail, Jun 6 2022.

“Transgender adolescents are nearly five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than their non-transgender and heterosexual peers, according to a new study.  The research, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, used data from Statistics Canada’s 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth to assess the risk of suicide among transgender and sexual-minority youth in Canada. The data included responses from more than 6,800 adolescents aged 15 to 17. Of those respondents, 1,130 indicated some degree of same-gender attraction, 265 were unsure of their attraction and 50 reported transgender identities. The study found that nearly 50 per cent of transgender respondents said they had seriously thought about suicide in the past 12 months, compared to 10.4 per cent of cisgender heterosexual respondents. (Someone is cisgender when their gender identity corresponds with whatever sex they were assigned at birth.) Nearly 6.8 per cent of adolescents included in the study had attempted suicide in their lifetime. ”

Suicides among Black People May Be Vastly Undercounted, by Mike Letterman, True Viral News, Jun 6 2022.

“Ian Rockett has been researching the epidemiology of suicide for many years. One of the questions the West Virginia University investigator has pondered over many years in the field is why the rate of suicide among black people in the U.S. is recorded as a third of that of white people. The extent to which medical examiners and coroners have lacked sufficient data to accurately determine causes of death has been shown by Rockett. Black American deaths are 2.3 times more likely than white American deaths to be classified as "unexplained" at the time they occur.  In a study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, researchers found that Black suicides were more likely to be classified as undetermined because coroners and medical examiners have less information to go on. They are more likely to be labeled as undetermined intent when there is less psychological documentation. This leads to suicides. This conclusion is confirmed by the language that appears in death reports. A study published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior found that the incidence of mental health information in white suicides was higher than in other races. White narratives were more likely to have words such as depression and anxiety in them. Phrases such as "nothing" and "questionable" were common in black narratives. The study found that accounts for Black people contained less words and less lexical diversity. ”

A Rise in Suicides by Young Children Leaves Families Searching for Answers, by Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, Jun 5 2022.

“The number of children dying by suicide has risen dramatically in recent years. Parents often don’t know that their children are having suicidal thoughts, new research shows. Among females ages 10 to 14, the rate of suicide more than tripled between 2007 and 2020, from 0.5 per 100,000 to 2 per 100,000 according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Among males the same age, the rate jumped from 1.2 per 100,000 to 3.6 per 100,000 over the same period.  Although the numbers are tiny compared with the number of older adolescents and adults who die by suicide, it is now the second leading cause of death among children in this age group. Suicidal thoughts and attempts are much more common in younger children than previously thought, new research is finding. Among 9- and 10-year-olds and their parents who were asked if the children had suicidal thoughts or made suicide attempts during their lifetime, 14.3% reported suicidal thoughts and 1.26% reported suicide attempts, according to an analysis of data from a large study of adolescent health and brain development that is following nearly 12,000 youngsters across the U.S. The paper was published in 2021 in the journal Translational Psychiatry. New research is uncovering risk factors in younger children like family conflict and early exposure to alcohol. Depression is most commonly associated with suicidal thoughts in older teens and adults, but in younger children scientists are finding that ADHD and behavior problems are also closely linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. ”

Schools are struggling to meet rising mental health needs, data shows, by Laura Meckler, The Washington Post, May 31 2022.

“A survey released Tuesday documents the toll the pandemic has taken on students’ mental health, with 7 in 10 public schools seeing a rise in the number of children seeking services. Even more, 76 percent, said faculty and staff members have expressed concerns about depression, anxiety and trauma in students since the start of the pandemic.  Yet only about half of all schools said they were able to effectively provide needed services.  The results come as an enormously stressful school year draws to a close. They add to the evidence that the pandemic is leaving this generation of students with significant mental health challenges. Anecdotally, teachers report that students’ emotional growth was stunted during months or longer of remote schooling, and that many returned to the classroom without coping skills that would be typical for their ages. ”

Hugs help women face stress, study says. Men, you are out of luck, by Madeline Holcombe, CNN, May 23 2022.

“You have a big test, a difficult conversation or a stressful day ahead -- how much of a difference could a hug from your partner make on your state of mind?  A hug can make a big difference for women, according to a new study. Unfortunately, the effect is not as powerful when it comes to men.  Researchers analyzed how 76 people responded to stress after a hug from a romantic partner in a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. Women who got to hug their significant other showed a decrease in the production of cortisol -- a stress hormone -- compared with those who did not.  Cortisol can have an impact on memory recall, which could make the stressful task ahead even more difficult, said senior study author Julian Packheiser, a postdoctoral researcher with the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. ”

Adolescent suicides increased in 5 US states during the pandemic. Why parents should be concerned, by Kristen Rogers, CNN, Apr 25 2022.

“The mental health of Americans has suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, and new research shows the damage wasn't limited to adults.  The number of suicides among adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 increased in five states during the pandemic, according to research looking at 14 states published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday. "Suicide-risk screenings have yielded higher positive rates" during the pandemic than beforehand, the authors said. And in 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a state of emergency concerning children's and adolescents' mental health. ”

Exercising even half the recommended amount can help prevent depression, by Linda Searing, The Washington Post, Apr 24 2022.

“Already known to help ease depression, regular exercise may also help prevent it, with people who exercised just half the recommended weekly amount lowering their risk for depression by 18 percent, according to research published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. However, those who were more active, meeting at least the minimum recommended physical activity level, reduced their risk for depression by 25 percent, compared with inactive people.  The findings stem from the analysis of data from 15 studies, involving 191,130 adults who were tracked for at least three years. Those who met activity guidelines did at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, as recommended in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. ”

The military might be creating 'a perfect storm' for eating disorders, by Desiree D'Iorio, NPR, Apr 15 2022.

“People like Rand, who develop harmful eating habits during their service, have not received much attention from the Department of Defense or Veterans Affairs. But a study among Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans by the VA in Connecticut shows that they experience bulimia at about three times the civilian rate.  Some develop eating disorders while they're in the military, and others grapple with eating habits after they're out.  "I was seeing a very high rate of binge eating disorder in the veteran population, but I also wanted to know about these other disorders," says Robin Masheb, a research psychologist and the founder of the Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight. It's one of the few programs that studies eating disorders in veterans. ”

Can A.I.-Driven Voice Analysis Help Identify Mental Disorders?, by Ingrid K. Williams, New York Times, Apr 5 2022.

“Health care providers have many tools to gauge a patient’s physical condition, yet no reliable biomarkers — objective indicators of medical states observed from outside the patient — for assessing mental health. But some artificial intelligence researchers now believe that the sound of your voice might be the key to understanding your mental state — and A.I. is perfectly suited to detect such changes, which are difficult, if not impossible, to perceive otherwise. The result is a set of apps and online tools designed to track your mental status, as well as programs that deliver real-time mental health assessments to telehealth and call-center providers. ”

Can A.I.-Driven Voice Analysis Help Identify Mental Disorders?, by Ingrid K. Williams, New York Times, Apr 5 2022.

“Health care providers have many tools to gauge a patient’s physical condition, yet no reliable biomarkers — objective indicators of medical states observed from outside the patient — for assessing mental health. But some artificial intelligence researchers now believe that the sound of your voice might be the key to understanding your mental state — and A.I. is perfectly suited to detect such changes, which are difficult, if not impossible, to perceive otherwise. The result is a set of apps and online tools designed to track your mental status, as well as programs that deliver real-time mental health assessments to telehealth and call-center providers. ”

With students in turmoil, US teachers train in mental health, by JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press, Apr 4 2022.

“Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts. ”

Later school start times eyed to address youth mental health crisis, by Meredith Deliso, ABC News, Apr 3 2022.

“The task force has advocated for later start times for several years as a way to promote healthy sleep habits among adolescents, though Mandelbaum believes the pandemic's toll helped lead to state lawmakers last month introducing legislation that proposes pushing statewide high school start times in New Jersey to no earlier than 8.30 a.m., starting in the 2024-2025 school year. State Democrats said the bill was "beginning the work of addressing this national youth mental health crisis." ”

‘A cry for help’: CDC warns of a steep decline in teen mental health, by Moriah Balingit, The Washington Post, Mar 31 2022.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of an accelerating mental health crisis among adolescents, with more than 4 in 10 teens reporting that they feel “persistently sad or hopeless,” and 1 in 5 saying they have contemplated suicide, according to the results of a survey published Thursday.  “These data echo a cry for help,” said Debra Houry, a deputy director at the CDC. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental well-being.”  The findings draw on a survey of a nationally representative sample of 7,700 teens conducted in the first six months of 2021, when they were in the midst of their first full pandemic school year. They were questioned on a range of topics, including their mental health, alcohol and drug use, and whether they had encountered violence at home or at school. They were also asked about whether they had encountered racism. ”