Pediatrics News

Individuals who exhibit life-course-persistent antisocial behavior have characteristic differences in brain structure, according to results of a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Study findings published recently in Child Development showed that single motherhood is still associated with negative consequences on the cognitive ability of children, but not because of parenting issues. Instead, deficits can largely be attributed to the worse economic circumstances that come with single parenthood, which may reduce the resources available to families, researchers said. The findings may help clinicians understand the circumstances of children in single mother families, said Susan Harkness, PhD, professor of public policy at the University of Bristol in England.

More than one in four opioid poisonings involve children and adolescents, and the severity of hospital admissions for acute opioid ingestions has increased over a recent 14-year period, according to findings presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Critical Care Congress.

Children of severely obese mothers with diabetes may be at an increased risk for psychiatric disorders, according to findings of a population-based cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.

Risk reduction through family therapy, or RRFT, among adolescents resulted in within-group improvements in substance use problems and PTSD symptoms compared with treatment as usual, according to results of a randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Shorter sleep duration among children was associated with increased risk for depression, anxiety, impulsive behavior and poor cognitive performance, according to study findings published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Individuals with three or more adverse childhood experiences are at increased risk for dementia in old age, according to results of a large-scale cohort study conducted in Japan and published in JAMA Network Open.

High family conflict and low parental monitoring are associated with an increased risk for suicidality and self-injury in children, according to results of a cross-sectional analysis published in JAMA Network Open.

Last week, WHO officially declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Although few cases have been reported thus far in the United States, the virus’ impact may be reaching beyond the physical scope and affecting the mental health of children and adolescents by stoking anxiety, according to Robin Gurwitch, PhD, psychologist at Duke University Medical Center.

Children and adolescents who were admitted to a NICU at birth have a greater risk for developing psychiatric disorders, psychiatric comorbidity and oppositional defiant disorder, according to results of a cross-sectional observational study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood.