Alcohol, nicotine use, personality illnesses common, study shows
Posted December 1, 2008
(HealthDay News) Psychiatric disorders are common among young adults in the United States, but few seek treatment, a new report shows.

The Associated Press
Published: December 1, 2008
CHICAGO: Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.
The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes [...]

Study: Poverty dramatically affects children’s brains
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY

A new study finds that certain brain functions of some low-income 9- and 10-year-olds pale in comparison with those of wealthy children and that the difference is almost equivalent to the damage from a stroke.
“It is a similar pattern to what’s seen in patients with strokes [...]

MRI studies of teenage brain show why kids act before they think
By Rachel Tompa, UC Berkeley Media Relations | 16 October 2008
Every parent of a teenager is familiar with the special behavior that puberty seems to induce – mood swings, slammed doors, rash decisions. Parents often blame such erratic temperament on surging adolescent hormones, but [...]

Dr. Mark Elliott, Medical Director of Littleton Adventist Hospital Emergency Department spoke live to Channel 7 News Tuesday about our community’s suicide attempt rate and the programs that the Greater Littleton Youth Initiative uses as part of its Community Suicide Prevention Project. (Yellow Ribbon and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).)

The interview was arranged [...]

The Greater Littleton Youth Initiative (GLYI) held suicide prevention week last week, November 3 through November 7; all activities took place within the Littleton Public School District. Activities included a “bubble release”, Yellow Ribbon assemblies and presentations, LINK leader discussions, poster contests and designated times of day for students to rest and take [...]

The Family Dinner Table: Implications for Children’s Health and Well-being
The average family meal lasts barely 20 minutes — and that’s a major missed opportunity, according to a new brief from the Society for Research in Child Development. Sharing a meal regularly can boost children’s health and well-being, reducing the likelihood that [...]

Public School Insights Spotlight: Engaging Youth in Civics
In the wake of this historic presidential election, Public School Insights (a project of the Learning First Alliance) turns its attention to civic education. Here are just a few of their new articles:

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on Turning Students into Citizens. Retired Supreme [...]

21-Year Study of Children Set to Begin
By KATE MURPHY
Researchers will begin recruiting in January for a nationwide study that will follow more than 100,000 children for more than two decades.

Bush Signs Remaining Youth-Directed Bills
This month, President Bush signed into law two bills aimed at keeping children safer and healthier: the Protect Our Children Act and the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act. The latter provides a funding increase for programs serving homeless youth and “mandates a study on runaway and homeless [...]