Prevention Archives - Page 5 of 8 - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
Study Finds Suicide Rate for Girls Increasing Faster than for Boys
June 6, 2019 | Emily Taylor
A recent NPR story reported on the results of a study analyzing changes in suicide rate trends. Based on analysis of more than 85,000 youth suicides between 1975 and 2016, researchers found a major shift occurred after 2007.The “increase was highest for girls ages 10 to 14, rising by nearly 13% since 2007. While for boys of the same age, it rose by 7%.”
In the commentary by Joan Luby and Sarah Kertz that accompanied the journal article, the authors conclude: “Increasing rates of suicidality may be the ‘canary in the coal mine’ signaling important health concerns arising from the increased and pervasive use of social media affecting child and adolescent development. Such a signal in general health would raise great alarm and calls to action, and it must not go unheeded in mental health.”
Mindful Parenting Benefits Emotional Health as Young Adults
April 25, 2019 | Emily Taylor
Research published in January in Mindfulness found that young adults whose parents were supportive of them expressing emotions, tend to be more emotionally healthy and report lower levels of depression and anxiety. The study, led by Laura G. McKee, an assistant professor of psychology at Georgia State, used measures to assess college and graduate students depressive symptoms, anxiety, emotional regulation, mindfulness and recalled parental emotion socialization.
Mental Health Trial Bringing Mindfulness Program to Schools in England
February 21, 2019 | Emily Taylor
The British Department of Education and Department of Health and Social Care are beginning a three year trial program focused on mental health in up to 370 schools in England. A universal prevention and intervention program, the trials will test five interventions:mindfulness, relaxation, strategies for safety and well-being, and an existing intervention from Canada called “the guide” and another from Sweden known as “youth aware of mental health.” The trials are being led by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families.
Gauging how family, community impact children’s mental health
February 21, 2019 | Emily Taylor
Researchers, Wenhua Lu, an assistant professor of childhood studies at Rutgers University–Camden, and Yunyu Xiao, a researcher at New York University, have co-authored a study looking at factors that help to mitigate the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The results of their surveys of parents indicated a “significant direct relationship” between family cohesion and community involvement and lower levels of mental health disorders during adolescence for youth who experienced ACEs.
Research on Benefits of Mindfulness Education in School
February 1, 2019 | Emily Taylor
A recent study compared groups of sixth graders in a Boston-area school: one group participated in an eight week mindfulness curriculum taught by Calmer Choice, a Massachusetts nonprofit, and the other group took computer coding during that time.The mindfulness group reported being less stressed and and having better self control after the program. About half of the participants agreed to brain scans as well. The results indicate that the mindfulness group responded less to negative stimuli after the course.
Youth Suicide Screening
January 16, 2019 | Emily Taylor
A report published online in September 2018 in Psychosomatics, “Suicide Risk Screening in Pediatric Hospitals: Clinical Pathways to Address a Global Health Crisis,” authored in part by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), offers guidance on implementation of suicide risk screening in medical settings. According to an NIMH news release about the report, “studies have found that a majority of youth who died by suicide visited a health care provider or medical setting in the month prior” to their deaths. The report outlines a clinical pathway model, which includes using an NIMH-IRP screening tool with all youth.
Federal Commission on School Safety Resource Guide
January 16, 2019 | Emily Taylor
The Federal Commission on School Safety issued a 177-page report on school safety in December. Based on months of research including site visits to successful programs and expert testimony, the report offers findings and recommendations in three sections: Prevent; Protect & Mitigate, and Respond & Recover. The Prevent section includes recommendations on incorporating mental health programs in schools with details on existing programs and research based practices.
Research: How Early Head Start Prevents Child Maltreatment
November 1, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Child Trends has published a research-to-practice brief on a study on the role of programs that serve families with infants and toddlers like Early Head Start (EHS) in reducing child abuse and neglect. The study found that participating families had positive short-term outcomes that led to lower risk of child welfare involvement in the future. The brief also includes recommendations for early childhood programs.
New study—reduced screen time for young highly recommended for well-being
October 31, 2018 | Emily Taylor
An article published this month in Preventative Medicine Reports focused on recent research on screen time and wellbeing. The study, which used a large national random sample of 2 to 17 year old children and teens, found that more than one hour per day of screen time was connected with “lower psychological well-being, including less curiosity, lower self-control, more distractibility, more difficulty making friends, less emotional stability, being more difficult to care for, and inability to finish tasks.” In addition, high screen usage (7+ hours per day) correlated with increased anxiety and depression diagnoses.
New Research on Youth Suicide
October 10, 2018 | Emily Taylor
Research published recently in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) , found that 71% of youth dying by suicide did so on their first attempt and 85% of those cases involved firearms.