March 31, 2023
by Elizabeth Pratt
The number of children and adolescents visiting the emergency department for attempted suicide and suicide ideation rose sharply during the pandemic.
Research publish in The Lancet Psychiatry found that while pediatric emergency department visits decreased overall during the pandemic, suicide related visits among youth rose by 22%.
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January 31, 2023
by Elizabeth Pratt
Receiving support from others could help ease the impact from genetic risk for depression.
Researchers from the University of Michigan found that individuals with a high genetic risk for developing depression most benefit from a nurturing social environment.
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January 28, 2023
by Elizabeth Pratt
Teenagers with positive psychological assets like optimism and feeling loved are more likely to reach their 20s and 30s in good cardiometabolic health.
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that teens who felt happy, optimistic, had good self-esteem, felt loved and felt a sense of belonging had better cardiometabolic health later in life compared to their peers without these positive psychological assets.
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December 29, 2022
by Elizabeth Pratt
35% of children injured with a firearm receive a new mental health diagnosis in the year following their injury.
Data published recently in the Anals of Surgery found that child survivors of firearm injury have high rates of new mental health diagnoses, even when compared with children who have injuries in motor vehicle accidents.
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November 30, 2022
by Elizabeth Pratt
Psychologists are struggling to meet demand amid a rising mental health crisis.
Results from the American Psychological Association’s 2022 COVID-19 Practitioner Impact Survey show that most practitioners have no openings for new patients and have waitlists that are longer than before the pandemic began.
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August 31, 2022
by Elizabeth Pratt
Having a partner was more beneficial at avoiding loneliness during the first wave of COVID-19 than having children.
Research published in the European Journal of Ageing found that whilst those without children and those without a partner were more likely to be lonely, those without a partner underwent a notable shift in their loneliness in the early stages of the pandemic.
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July 30, 2022
by Elizabeth Pratt
Children who participate in extra-curricular activities are happier than their peers who spend their time playing video games or on social media.
Whether it be music lessons, clubs, catch ups with friends or sports practice, children who did out of school activities had greater wellbeing.
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June 29, 2022
by Elizabeth Pratt
Fewer high school students attempt suicide in states that have enacted hate crime laws that protect LGBT+ people.
Researchers from the University of Indianapolis and The Ohio State University found that the reduction in suicide rates didn’t only occur among sexual and gender minority students, but also among heterosexual students.
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January 4, 2022
by Patricia Tomasi
A new, first-of-its-kind survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) investigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on 2SLGBTQ+ youth and young adults at risk of, and experiencing, homelessness in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding areas. “I approached this study with the understanding that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2SLGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness have been found to experience higher rates of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and suicidality, often resulting from identity-based discrimination, violence, and a lack of support,” study author Dr. Alex Abramovich told us. “I wanted to address these gaps and identify appropriate measures to support 2SLGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness and promote mental health during future waves of COVID-19 or future pandemics."
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November 30, 2021
by Elizabeth Pratt
Providing social support to others could be good for your health.
A study published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity by researchers at Ohio State University found that those who have positive social relationships in which they are available to provide support to others had lower levels of inflammation.
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