Physical or emotional abuse and neglect at an early age can alter the development of children’s biological stress responses – but can that knowledge be put to positive use when planning prevention services?
November 2013
29 November 2013
26 November 2013
At least one in 10 new mothers experiences mental illness during pregnancy or the first year of her baby’s life. In England alone, more than 70,000 women suffer perinatal mental illness every year. But most of those who are ill don’t get the care they need, a new report by the NSPCC argues.
25 November 2013
In a study of almost 600 Los Angeles teens, the sense of belonging students felt in high school changed over time – at least for the girls. Between the ages of 14 and 15, girls’ school belonging was higher than boys’ overall. But during the course of high school, girls’ sense of belonging declined slightly, while boys’ remained stable. And it matters, argue two California-based psychologists, because the years in which students felt they belonged were also the years when they were most motivated at school.
18 November 2013
When children and young people miss appointments at mental health clinics the consequences include wasted resources and longer waiting lists for others, as well as a risk that their problems will go untreated. A short phone call to parents before a first appointment can make a big difference.
15 November 2013
Overcrowding, sexual and physical abuse, and inadequate care: this was the reality of Romanian orphanages during the Ceausescu dictatorship. Over the last two decades, foster care largely replaced these shocking conditions. Now the spotlight has a new focus: helping foster families relate to children who are likely to have serious behavioral and emotional problems. And a version of cognitive behavioral therapy can do just that, a new study suggests.
14 November 2013
Parenting programs whose effectiveness has been convincingly established through research have tended to be those that teach behavior management skills derived from social learning theory. But an evaluation from Norway of the International Child Development Program (ICDP) – a “non-instructive” program aiming to promote parental empathy and understanding of children’s development, suggests it could benefit families.
13 November 2013
Social skills training programs for children and young people often have moderate and short-lived benefits. A Dutch program designed to remedy the weaknesses of earlier programs shows some promise, especially when there are “booster” sessions.
12 November 2013
On the 7th of November 2007, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, an 18 year old student entered Jokela High School in Tuusula, Finland carrying a semi-automatic pistol. He killed eight people and wounded one other before shooting himself in the head. A year later another school massacre in Kauhajoki, Finland claimed the lives of another 11 people.
11 November 2013
A combination of sexual health education for girls at risk, sessions to improve their confidence and life skills and regular interaction with the toddlers at a local nursery appeared a promising formula for preventing unsafe sex and teenage pregnancies.
But an evaluation of the “Teens and Toddlers” (T&T) program in England has found no benefits from the intervention in altering expectations of early parenthood or preventing unprotected sex.
08 November 2013
In one large urban school district, almost one in seven students has no stable place to call home at some point between third and eighth grade. A new analysis of more than 26,000 students from the Minneapolis, Minnesota public schools shows that these children do worse in school, on average, than those from very poor families who have a stable place to live. And yet some show remarkable resilience, for reasons that are hard to explain.
