Hitting Kids Increases Their Risk of Mental Illness: Study. What if we, as a society, could cut down on the incidence of mental illness by backing away from hitting, grabbing or pushing our children? That’s a prospect raised by a new study in Pediatrics, which finds that harsh physical punishment increases the risk of mental disorders — even when the punishment doesn’t stoop to the level of actual abuse.
What qualifies as appropriate punishment is a hot-button topic among parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes corporal punishment, but studies have shown that up to 80% of parents report that they rely on it to some extent. What constitutes physical punishment is also wide-ranging: everything from a light slap on the hand to an all-out whipping with a belt or a paddle. (MORE: Why Spanking Doesn’t Work) She did not examine spanking because it’s not easy to define: what’s considered spanking varies from parent to parent.
But, she says, “a push is a push, and a grab is a grab.” (MORE: How Child Maltreatment May Scar the Brain) Can spanking cause mental illness? Study looks at link between mental health disorders and physical punishmentOther studies have shown that spanking may bring higher risk of depression, criminal behaviorAmerican Academy of Pediatrics discourages spanking and other forms of physical punishment Editor's note: Dr. Jennifer Shu, CNNHealth's Living Well expert doctor, is a practicing pediatrician and mother of two. (CNN) -- Parents often ask me whether spanking is really so bad. After all, they were spanked as kids and they turned out fine. Plus, it's the only thing that will get their child to listen, they say. Much research has focused on the effects that severe child abuse can have on a person's mental well-being.
But a new study published in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics takes a look at the possible link between mental health disorders and harsh physical punishment in the absence of abuse. When does spanking become abuse? Faith and child discipline Physical punishment doesn't help, it hurts Dr. Spanking Children Can Cause Mental Illness. Bully Victims: Psychological and Somatic Aftermaths. Bullying-can-lead-to-mental-illness-says-study-1677108. Bullying and Depression.
Bullying and depression are often related. Depression affects both bullies and their victims. Victims of cyber bullying may be at even higher risk for depression. Learn about bullying and depression and how you can help stop bullying. Researchers have discovered a strong link between bullying and depression. Depression is an illness that is not totally understood, and may have a variety of causes, but it is clear that it can have a relationship to bullying.
Both bullies and their victims are more likely to suffer from depression than youth who are not involved in bullying. This connection can be long-lasting; people who are bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression as an adult than children not involved in bullying. Depression can have a number of serious effects on a person's life. Low self esteem Anxiety High rates of school absence Physical illness Teens who commit suicide often suffer from depression. Sources: Beth J. S. Stop Bullying Now! AhmedPovertyFamilyStressParenting. Stresses of poverty may impair learning ability in young children, August 28. NIH funded research suggests stress hormones inhibit brain function, stifle achievement The stresses of poverty — such as crowded conditions, financial worry, and lack of adequate child care — lead to impaired learning ability in children from impoverished backgrounds, according to a theory by a researcher funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The theory is based on several years of studies matching stress hormone levels to behavioral and school readiness test results in young children from impoverished backgrounds. Further, the theory holds, finding ways to reduce stress in the home and school environment could improve children's well being and allow them to be more successful academically. High levels of stress hormones influence the developing circuitry of children's brains, inhibiting such higher cognitive functions such as planning, impulse and emotional control, and attention. During the course of their research, Dr. However, Dr. In one study, Dr. Impact of Racism on Ethnic Minority Mental Health. Sumie Okazaki1 + Author Affiliations Sumie Okazaki, Department of Applied Psychology, New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, & Human Development, 239 Greene Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10003; e-mail: sumie.okazaki@nyu.edu.
A problem in ethnic minority mental health that can be solved in the foreseeable future is understanding how subtle and covert forms of racism affect psychological health of racial minorities. Although scientific psychology has generated a large body of literature on racial prejudice, stereotypes, intergroup attitudes, and racial bias and their often implicit and automatic nature, relatively little is known about the effects of these subtle racial bias on minority individuals. Following a selective review of recent developments in experimental psychology and multicultural psychology, I suggest some promising approaches and opportunities for future integration that would advance the field. © 2009 Association for Psychological Science.
ADHD diagnoses on the rise in minority kids and those in high-income families. ADHD diagnoses among Southern California schoolchildren rose steeply… (Jay N. Clendenin / Los Angeles…) In Southern California, the diagnosis of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) surged for African American and Latino children and continued a steady increase among kids from higher-income families between 2001 and 2010, a new Kaiser Permanente study shows. ADHD diagnoses among African American children grew by 70%, and they increased by 60% among Latino children, said the study, which was published online Tuesday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. But the psychiatric diagnosis remained highest by far among white children, among whom 5.6% (up from 4.7% in 2001) were thought to have ADHD by the end of the study period. Overall, ADHD diagnoses rose by 24% during the study period--from 2.5% of kids in 2001 to 3.1% in 2010.
ADHD is marked by attention and focus difficulties, sometimes (but not always) with an accompanying tendency toward frenetic, impulsive behavior. Alzheimer's cases, and costs, projected to swell. Susan Brown, a 74-year-old Alzheimer's patient in Missouri, participates… (Christian Gooden, St. Louis…) As baby boomers enter their golden years, the number of people afflicted with Alzheimer's disease is expected to reach 13.8 million by 2050 — millions more than previously anticipated, according to a new study in the journal Neurology.
If researchers can't find a way to reduce the prevalence of the brain disease, the cost to care for all of these patients could top $1 trillion a year, experts say. Alzheimer's is a progressive brain disease that damages patients' memory and cognitive skills, ultimately leaving them unable to care for themselves. Scientists aren't sure how it starts, but they believe it causes plaques and tangles to form in the brain, slowly killing neurons and causing the entire brain to shrink. Between 60% and 80% of dementia cases are believed to be a consequence of Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Assn. The risk of developing the disease rises with age.