(Photo: Flickr/ AfroDad)
  • Body dissatisfaction isn’t necessarily something that women leave behind as they age, and new research reveals that age is not a barrier to eating disorders. The study found that among women age 50 and older, 3.5 percent report binge eating, nearly 8 percent report purging and more than 70 percent are trying to lose weight. Additionally, 62 percent of the women claimed their weight or shape negatively affected them.
  • Disparities continue to persist between mental health care for Black and Latino children in comparison with White children. “About 10 percent of white youth are using mental health care compared to about half that percentage—between 4 and 5 percent—of black and Latino youth using mental health care,” says Benjamin Lê Cook, senior scientist at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at the Cambridge Health Alliance and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.  “That 2-to-1, white-to-minority ratio is a giant disparity compared to other areas of health care.”
  • According to a study published in the journal Addiction, between one-fifth and one-third of adults convicted of drunk driving met the definitions for alcohol or drug dependence or for mental health conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • When it comes to motivating employees to work harder, University of Michigan researchers found that “carrots” work better than “sticks.” In other words, promises of rewards and bonuses yield better responses from workers than the threat of penalties.

Heather Rudow is a staff writer for Counseling Today. Email her at hrudow@counseling.org.

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