The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter最新文献

Within the practice of school psychology there is growing research and focus on making sure psychoeducational reports are clear and understandable for stakeholders. This style of report writing, sometimes called the consumer-responsive approach, focuses on accessibility and utility of reports (Lichtenstein & Ecker, 2019). This type of documentation is also a helpful guide for other clinical documentation beyond psychoeducational reports. Given recent changes in electronic medical records to increase patient and caregiver access to records, the consumer-responsive approach offers a model to guide practices that ensure clinical documentation is accessible and useful to primary stakeholders and consumers.

Sleep deficiencies (e.g., insufficient sleep, irregular timing of sleep, poor quality of sleep) in childhood are highly prevalent and have consistently been shown to negatively impact both physical and mental health. Adverse outcomes of childhood sleep deficiencies include higher rates of obesity, depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation (Palmer et al., 2023). Importantly, research has shown that sleep difficulties often precede the development of these adverse health outcomes and represent a modifiable risk factor (McMakin & Alfano, 2015). Given that sleep is a critical element of a child's life, good and sufficient sleep (quality and quantity) should be given extra attention by parents to help their children thrive, and to limit the chance that their child develops severe and less modifiable mental or physical health issues (Meltzer et al., 2021). Sleep is, therefore, a critical dimension of a child's health that should be given attention, especially for those at high risk for the development of obesity and related cardiometabolic sequelae.

Adolescence is a developmental period in which individuals demonstrate increased likelihood of engaging in disordered eating and risk-taking behaviors, such as substance use. Nicotine use, in particular, (e.g., via vaping, combustible cigarettes, smokeless tobacco) is pervasive among middle and high school students. In 2022, 17.4% of middle school and high school students reported current nicotine vaping. Daily use of nicotine was reported among 27.6% of current users (Cooper et al., 2022). Research posits that eating disorders and nicotine use are highly comorbid. A recent study by Ganson and Nagata (2021) found that nearly 20% of participating adolescents with an eating disorder also used nicotine within the past 30 days. This is problematic, as nicotine use increases the mortality rate for eating disorders, which already has the second highest rate of all mental health disorders. Nicotine use may also exacerbate many of the medical complications associated with eating disorders (e.g., neuroendocrinal, dental, nutritional) and negatively impact eating disorder recovery (Ganson & Nagata, 2021).

Prescribers will need to focus on dose when considering mortality and antipsychotic prescribing, according to a new study.

As of 2023, about one in 36 children met criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an increase from previous estimates by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network from 2000–2018 (Christensen, 2016). With the autistic population growing both in those who meet criteria for the diagnosis and in their public presence, the likelihood of interacting with autistic individuals in health care, emergency situations, and educational settings is on the rise. In fact, autistic individuals have both higher rates of presenting in the emergency department and having contact with law enforcement compared to the general population. As such, understanding how we as professionals can support autistic youth in high-stress situations becomes imperative.

Here are some helpful ways to talk to your adolescent child about drugs.

Youth and young adult deaths from suicide have been increasing in the United States over the past two decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics for those between the ages of 10 and 24 from 2011 to 2021 the death by suicide rate rose 60% to 11.0 per 100,000. Paralleling these highly troubling rates of death by suicide is information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report: 2011–2021. The report reinforces a picture of our nation's youth in serious mental health crisis. In response to the 2021 survey an increasing number of students reported persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. This included 57% of girls, 29% of boys and 69% of LGBTQ students. More than 20% of teens reported having seriously considered suicide!

Often discussions of sexual misconduct of minors center on adult-on-child incidents; however, the frequency of student-on-student sexual misconduct has been on the rise. Sexual misconduct is defined as any conduct which is sexual in nature and is unwelcome and engaged in without consent. Sexual misconduct can include a range of behaviors including sexual harassment and unwanted touching. Recent data indicates that one-half to three-quarters of child sexual abuse and assault victimization experiences are committed by other children.