Mental Health

Adolescents who casually used cannabis had two to four times greater odds of negative psychosocial events, including depression and suicidal thoughts, than those who did not use cannabis, according to a recent study.

Rates of suicidal behavior and ideation increased among high school girls, according to findings published in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Supplement.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, Jonathan B. Singer, PhD, LCSW, discussed his advice for working with suicidal youth and their families.

WASHINGTON — Amid a national emergency in child mental health, two studies at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting explored ways that mental health is and can be treated at schools.

The Biden administration has declared xylazine-laced fentanyl an “emerging threat” to the United States — the first time an administration has made such a declaration.

A federal judge in Texas recently ruled that a mandate of the Affordable Care Act requiring employers and insurers to cover certain preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force at no cost is unconstitutional.

According to Benjamin Maxwell, MD, the new division chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, responding to pediatric mental health issues often starts in the pediatrician’s office.

Improving the parental mental health and preschool attendance of disadvantaged children reduced socioeconomic differences in their mental health compared with nondisadvantaged peers, an Australian study found.

A recent study found that melatonin may reduce the risk for self-harm in youth, but experts recommend conducting comprehensive sleep assessments before initiation.

ED visits for suicide attempts and suicidal ideation increased among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published in The Lancet Psychiatry.