Month: March 2012

A study involving lab rats could not only help explain how chronic stress impairs one’s cognitive functions, but the researchers who conducted the study believe their findings could also shed light on how adolescent stress can lead to mental illness in adulthood. The newly published study outlines a method through which stress

Cherie Townsend, executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, informed state officials this week that more than half of the individuals in the state’s youth prisons have a moderate or high need for mental health care. Taking into account those individuals who have “at least some kind of mental health

Bullying has become a growing problem in schools, especially for students in the gay community. But a settlement reached in a discrimination lawsuit brought by six teenagers against the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota offers some hope. Federal officials say the settlement should serve as a “blueprint” for other schools when dealing with

The question of what lures a person toward drug addiction and abuse is difficult to answer. However, University of Pennsylvania researchers have confirmed that a mixture of both genetic and environmental forces play a role. According to the researchers, their study, which involved adopted children and their families, confirms “drug

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis increased an average of 5.5 percent per year from 2003 to 2007. And new research from the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that the youngest students in a class are more likely

  New research from the Economic and Social Research Council reveals that teenagers who indulge in unhealthy lifestyles are less happy than teens who maintain healthy lifestyles. For the study, the researchers looked at responses from 5,000 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 15 who answered questions about their health-related behaviors

Membership in the American Counseling Association  topped 50,000 at end of February, an increase of 10 percent as compared to the same period in 2011.  Membership rose to 50,219, the highest in 9 years. The 4,478 new members boosted the totals in nearly all membership categories, but the growth was

Studies previously have suggested that owning a pet can be beneficial to a person’s mental health, so it’s only fitting that there has been an increase in research regarding the study of animal-assisted therapy and the roles these creatures can play in the healing process. As NPR reports, a field of