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New study shows link between marijuana use and psychotic-like experiences

Going from an occasional user of marijuana to a weekly or daily user increases an adolescent's risk of having recurrent psychotic-like experiences by 159%, according to a new Canadian study published today in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

5 Jul 2017

Isolating veterans with PTSD can constrain healing and further stress the family

Since 9/11, more than 2 million men and women have deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict zones as part of the war on terror. With up to 20 percent now reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, both they -- and their families – must cope with the invisible wounds of war.

3 Jul 2017

Researchers identify link between childhood psychiatric disorders and later risk of addictions

Children's health and well-being while growing up can be indicators of the potential health issues they may encounter years later.

3 Jul 2017

Study finds psychosocial risk factors, unexplained bruising in fatal or near-fatal child abuse cases

Analysis of fatal and near-fatal physical abuse cases of children under 4 years of age revealed that psychosocial risk factors in the home, such as criminal history, were present in all cases.

29 Jun 2017

Opioid use disorder rises with little being done to curb the menace says new study

A new study has found that more and more Americans are being diagnosed with opioid addiction and the numbers that receive treatment are still very few. This finding is consistent with earlier findings from Blue Cross Blue Shield when analyzing member data.

29 Jun 2017

CBO deals blow to Senate health bill with estimate of 22m more uninsured

Senate Republicans' legislation to overhaul the Affordable Care Act would leave an additional 22 million people without health care coverage over the next decade and cut the federal deficit by $321 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released late Monday.

27 Jun 2017

Patients with mental disorders get half of all opioid prescriptions

Adults with a mental illness receive more than 50 percent of the 115 million opioid prescriptions in the United States annually, according to a study released Monday.

27 Jun 2017

Promises made to protect preexisting conditions prove hollow

Senate Republicans praised the Affordable Care Act replacement bill they presented Thursday as preserving coverage for people with cancer, mental illness and other chronic illness.

23 Jun 2017

College students with disabilities binge drink more often than non-disabled peers, study finds

A new study finds that college students with disabilities binge drink more often than their non-disabled student peers.

22 Jun 2017

Negative body image perceptions related to increased tobacco, alcohol use among teenagers

How teenagers perceive their appearance, including their body image, can have significant impacts on health and wellness.

22 Jun 2017

Study finds high prevalence of suicide attempts among women with learning disabilities

A new study by the University of Toronto found that the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts was much higher for women who had been diagnosed with learning disabilities (16.6%) compared to women who had not (3.3%).

21 Jun 2017

A ‘safe’ space to shoot up: Worth a try in California?

Tawny Biggs' seemingly happy childhood in the northern Los Angeles County suburb of Santa Clarita, Calif., showed no outward sign that she would one day struggle with drug addiction.

19 Jun 2017

Refugees have specialized treatment needs due to past trauma and loss

In a study of children and adolescents referred for mental health services at US trauma treatment sites, there were important differences in the experiences of refugee youth who were displaced by war-related violence relative to immigrants and those born in the United States.

15 Jun 2017

People in recovery worry GOP Medicaid cuts would put treatment out of reach

Republicans in both the House and the Senate are considering big cuts to Medicaid. But those cuts endanger addiction treatment, which many people receive through the government health insurance program.

14 Jun 2017

Researchers find higher rates of alcohol misuse among women in rural Appalachian Ohio

Appalachia -- stretching from the southern tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia -- has long experienced deep economic distress and deprivation, and the gamut of accompanying social problems.

14 Jun 2017

Medical responses to opioid addiction vary by state, analysis finds

Location, location, location. That mantra may apply even when it comes to how opioid addiction is treated.

12 Jun 2017

Cannabis use during adolescence linked to greater risk of illegal substance abuse in early adulthood

According to the study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, regular and occasional use of cannabis as an adolescent is linked with a greater risk of other illicit drug consumption in early adulthood. The study by Bristol's Population Health Science Institute also found that cannabis use was connected with harmful drinking and smoking. One in five adolescents are at a risk of tobacco dependency, harmful alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use.

8 Jun 2017

Treating anxiety disorders in children with CBT

“Anxiety disorders” refers to a broad range of psychiatric conditions, where people are anxious. It covers things like obsessive-compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder and phobic disorder. Interestingly, anxiety is also a feature of severe mental illnesses such as psychosis and depression.

7 Jun 2017

Recovery on the reservation: Montana sisters help peers stop using drugs

There’s a narrative about the meth epidemic in Montana that says the state tackled the problem in the 2000s yet it’s back with a vengeance because of super labs and drug cartels in Mexico. Within the Fort Belknap Indian Community, though, it never really went away.

6 Jun 2017

Majority of adolescent girls in conflict settings are victimized by violence, study reveals

A majority of displaced adolescent girls are victimized by violence, according to a new study in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

30 May 2017