From FindCounseling.com
- Army Suicides Continue to Rise
Statistics released yesterday show that Army suicides have risen for the fourth month in a row, continuing a rising trend. According to a report issued by....17 soldiers died in confirmed or potential suicides under investigation in May, up from 13 in both April and March.
In 2007, 115 troops committed suicide, marking the highest military suicide rate in two decades. This rate again increased in 2008 with 128 recorded deaths by suicide.
To tackle the problem, the Army has created mental health clinics on many bases in Iraq and recently held a "stand-down" in which all troops were trained on signs of suicidal behaviors and mental distress.
For Army resources on suicide awareness and crisis help, please visit the Army's page on Suicide Prevention.
Read more: Army: Suicide rate among soldiers continues on record pace
- Witnessing Family Violence As A Child May Lead to Depression, Alcoholism in Adulthood
Being a victim of domestic violence has long been understood as a risk factor for later social and mental health issues. However, the effects of being merely witness to such violence remain less recognized, listed by the U.S. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect as a form of emotional abuse only since the 1990s.
Recently, French researchers set out to better understand the long-term effects of viewing violence between parents as a child on adult mental health.
To do so, they interviewed 3023 adults in the Paris metro area, evaluating subjects for current depression and questioning them on lifetime suicide attempts, conjugal violence, child maltreatment, and alcohol dependence. Of these subjects, 16 percent report having witnessed violence between parents before adulthood. Interparental violence was far more common in families that also suffered from alcoholism or reported difficulties with finances or illness.
After adjusting for these and other social and family stressors, researchers found that individuals who witnessed violence between their parents before the age of 18 were 1.4 more like to suffer from depression and 1.75 times more prone to alcohol dependency. They were even more prone to repeat the cycle of violence, with three times the rate of conjugal violence. Men were also 15 times more likely to physical abuse their children while women were twice as likely to do so.
The findings confirm that witnessing parental violence is a huge risk factor for mental health problems in adulthood. The authors therefore urge increased prevention and screening for this form of child maltreatment
- Kindergarten Behavior Predicts High School Test Scores
<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->
Problems paying attention in the early years of school have a profound effect on achievement later in life shows a new study from researchers at the University of California - Davis.
"The Impact of Childhood Behavior Problems on Academic Achievement in High School," published in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics, examined almost 700 children from kindergarten to the end of high school. Findings showed that after adjusting for IQ and family socioeconomic status, attention in kindergarten was the only behavior that consistently predicted math and reading scores in high school achievement tests.
ABSTRACT: The Impact of Childhood Behavior Problems on Academic Achievement in High School
- Renters Just As Happy As Homeowners
Is happiness included in the price of a picket fence? Despite the current housing crisis, defenders of home ownership continue to argue that there are plenty of non-monetary benefits to owning property, including increased well-being, civic participation and social ties. This idea -- that home-owning creates not only better lives, but better communities -- has long fueled home purchases as well as tax breaks and programs designed to encourage buyers.
During the boom market of 2005, Wharton School of Business researcher Grace Wong Bucchianeri set out to explore this assumption. Examing data on 600 women who lived in single-family homes in Columbus, Ohio, she compared renters and owners of similar socio-economic status on the basis of "well-being, time use, family life, social connectedness and civic participation."
Her recently released findings drew little connection between civic participation and social connectedness, with renters and homeowners showing similar levels of involvement in volunteer work, community activities and local politics. Moreover after controlling for factors such as income and health, Bucchianeri found "little evidence that homeowners are happier by any of the following definitions: life satisfaction, overall mood, overall feeling, general moment-to-moment emotions (i.e., affect) and affect at home." In fact, homeowners in the study spent less time with friends and on leisure activities. They also reported higher levels of "pain" derived from their house, unrelated to financial stress.Nonetheless, 81 percent of homeowners call home ownership a very positive experience, while only 31 percent of renters say the same about renting. While the data may not correlate, it seems we continue to perceive owning a home as a positive experience.
FULL TEXT: The American Dream? The Private and External Benefits of Homeownership
- Facebook's Connection To Bad Grades
Could time spent on social networking site be put to better use? A new study by Ohio State University researchers shows that for college students, it certainly could.
While 79 percent of the students in the survey said Facebook use did not impact their studies, researchers found a strong correlation between academic performance and site use. Students who used the site averaged less than five hours of studying per week, while non-users managed an average of 11 to 15 hours per week. Facebook users also had poor grades in comparison to non-users, with averages between 3.0 and 3.5 versus 3.5 and 4.0.
The research examined a group of 219 students including 102 undergraduates and 117 graduates. Of these, 85 percent of undergraduates used the social networking site compared to just 52 percent of graduate students. Those studying science, technology, engineering and math were more likely to use the site than other majors, as were those who did not hold jobs.
Of course, it should come as no surprise that students who study more have higher grade averages. The question remains, are students studying less because of online socializing or simply filling hours they wouldn't be studying anyway with the site?
Read more: Study Finds Link Between Facebook Use, Lower Grades in College - ADHD Study Shows Behavior Modification As Effective As Pills
University at Buffalo researchers have revealed new findings that show children with ADHD may benefit as much from learning skills to cope with attention deficit as they do from taking ADHD drugs.
Researchers analyzed 114 papers on ADHD behavioral treatments. Overall, these studies showed behavior modifications, such as teaching organizational skills and using incentive charts, were generally quite effective in treating ADHD. Lead author Gregory A. Fabiano, Ph.D. further noted that many children may be able to avoid risking side effects of medications and achieve the same results through the use of these modifications.
ABSTRACT: A meta-analysis of behavioral treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder - Doodling Helps Memory
Ever catch yourself absentmindedly drawing while listening to a lecture? You may have been helping yourself recall it later.
A new study has shown that doodling may improve memory. Forty members of the research panel of the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge were asked to listen to a short recording of people and places. At the end of the tape, the participants were asked to recall the names of the eight people and eight of the place names. Those who had doodled during the tape recalled an average of 7.5 names compared to just 5.8 by those who had not.
Researchers theorize this may be because doodling provides just enough of a distraction to keep listeners from daydreaming and becoming fully sidetracked
Read more: What does doodling do? - Stress, Social Activity Affect Demential Risk
Good news for outgoing, relaxed types--new research released by the American Academy of Neurologists shows that people who are not easily distressed, sociable and active face a notably lowered risk of dementia compared to neurotic and solitary peers.
The study asked 506 subjects age 78 or older who began the study free of dementia to fill out a personality and lifestyle inventory. Participants were followed for six years, at the end of which 144 subjects had developed dementia.
Subjects who were worriers, reported little socialization and physical activity were three times as likely to develop dementia. Those who were calm had a 50 percent lower chance of dementia even if they were inactive and unsocial, while those who were social and active faced a similarly lower risk even if they were neurotic.
Read more: Socially Active and Not Easily Stressed? You May Not Develop Dementia - Study Shows Virginity Pledges Prevent Precautions, Not Premarital Sex
A study appearing in the journal Pediatrics has found that "virginity pledges," vows to abstain from sex until marriage, have no effect on whether teenagers have sex. They do, however, cause a sharp drop in the use of precautions against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The study examined a nationwide sample of 3440 middle and high school students who had never had sex or taken a virginity pledge in 1995. By 1996, 289 of these students had taken a virginity pledge. These subjects were matched with 645 non-pledgers from the original sample with similar demographics, religiosity and attitudes toward birth control.
The two groups were compared five years later on self-reported sexual behaviors and positive results for sexually transmitted diseases. Results showed that subjects who had taken virginity pledges were no less likely to engage in premarital sex or to wait longer to have sex. However, fewer pledgers reported using or consistently using birth control or condoms in their past year of sexual activity.
The U.S. government currently spends more than $200 million per year on abstinence-promotion programs, including virginity pledges. - The Link Between Panic Attacks and Heart Danger
Heart attacks are more than one-third more likely in people under 50 who suffer from panic attacks, shows new research published in the European Heart Journal.
Researchers examined the health records of more than 400,000 individuals of many ages. In individuals under 50, panic attack sufferers were 38 percent more likely to have a heart attack and 44 percent more likely to suffer from heart disease. Panic sufferers older than 50 also showed an increased but less dramatic risk.
Interestingly, although panic attack sufferers are more prone to heart disease, they are less likely to die from it. Researchers suggest this may be because people with the disorder are more likely to visit the doctor regularly.
Read more: Panic attacks heart danger link