Science News about Children and Adolescents

Violence in Schizophrenia Patients More Likely Among Those with Childhood Conduct Problems

Press Release • July 02, 2007

Some people with schizophrenia who become violent may do so for reasons unrelated to their current illness, according to a new study analyzing data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

NIMH Funds Research for Early Intervention in Childhood Bipolar Disorder

Science Update • June 04, 2007

NIMH recently approved funding to test the effectiveness of an early intervention in children at high risk for developing bipolar disorder.

Benefits of Antidepressants May Outweigh Risks for Kids

Science Update • April 17, 2007

The benefits of antidepressant medications likely outweigh their risks to children and adolescents with major depression and anxiety disorders, according to a new comprehensive review of pediatric trials conducted between 1988 and 2006. The study, partially funded by NIMH, was published in the April 18, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Adolescent Brains Show Lower Activity in Areas That Control Risky Choices

Science Update • March 15, 2007

A new NIMH study could help explain why adolescents are so prone to make risky choices. When contemplating risky decisions, they show less activity in regions of the brain that regulate processes involved in decision-making, compared with adults.

Depression Risk Higher in Girls with Low Birth Weight

Science Update • March 09, 2007

Girls’ risk for developing depression after puberty increased significantly if they had low birth weight, in a study funded in part by NIMH. Yet low birth weight didn’t appear to be just one more risk factor for depression. Rather, it seemed to increase the risk effects of other adversities.

HIV Treatment May Help Reduce Severity of Mental Impairment in Children with HIV Infection

Science Update • March 07, 2007

During the first few years of life, children born with HIV infection are most susceptible to central nervous system (CNS) disease, and can develop impaired cognitive, language, motor and behavioral functioning. However, NIH-funded researchers have found that among children with HIV infection, treatment with a protease inhibitor (PI)- based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) helped protect against cognitive and motor difficulties compared to a control group of age-matched children who were born to HIV-infected mothers but who did not contract the virus themselves (e.g., HIV-exposed).

Extreme Irritability: Is It Childhood Bipolar Disorder?

Press Release • February 01, 2007

Results of a new study may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of two debilitating childhood mental disorders — pediatric bipolar disorder (BD) and a syndrome called severe mood dysregulation (SMD).

History of Childhood Abuse or Neglect Increases Risk of Major Depression

Science Update • January 03, 2007

People who were abused or neglected as children have increased risk of major depression, which often begins in childhood and has lingering effects as they mature, according to a study funded by NIMH.

Targeting the Most Aggressive Children May Be Cost-Effective Prevention of Later Conduct Disorders

Science Update • November 14, 2006

Targeted preventive interventions may help reduce conduct problems in children displaying the most aggressive or disruptive behaviors.

New NIMH Research Strives to Understand How Antidepressants May Be Associated with Suicidal Thoughts and Actions

Science Update • November 13, 2006

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding five new research projects that will shed light on antidepressant medications, notably selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and their association with suicidal thoughts and actions.

U.S. Youth Suicide Rates Lower in Counties with High SSRI Use

Science Update • November 08, 2006

For children ages five to 14, suicide rates from 1996 to 1998 were lower in areas of the country with higher rates of antidepressant prescriptions, according to an NIMH-funded study published in the November 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

New Research Helps to Improve Understanding of Bipolar Disorder in Youth

Science Update • October 24, 2006

Bipolar disorder may be hard to identify in children and adolescents for several reasons, including a lack of age-appropriate diagnostic guidelines and symptoms different than those commonly seen in adults with the disorder.

Shy Temperament: More than Just Fearful

Science Update • August 07, 2006

Compared to others, children with extremely shy temperament have heightened brain activity in response to any prominent event, whether the event is positive or negative, a new imaging study suggests.

Brain Changes Mirror Symptoms in ADHD

Science Update • July 19, 2006

The severity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in youth appears to be reflected in their brain structure, recent NIMH-supported brain imaging studies are finding.

Behaviors, Not ADHD Diagnosis, Predict Adolescents’ Initial Substance Use

Science Update • June 23, 2006

A small NIH-funded study that followed 12-to 14-year olds over four years suggests that specific behaviors can help predict which youth will begin to use tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana.

Antipsychotic Prescriptions Rise Sharply for Children and Adolescents

Science Update • June 19, 2006

The number of antipsychotic medication prescriptions for children and adolescents increased six-fold from 1993 to 2002, according to a study of visits made by people 20 years old and younger to doctors' offices.

Fear Circuit Flares as Bipolar Youth Misread Faces

Press Release • May 29, 2006

Youth with bipolar disorder misread facial expressions as hostile and show heightened neural reactions when they focus on emotional aspects of neutral faces, NIMH researchers have discovered.

Depression Rates Are Lower in Children Whose Mothers Are Successfully Treated

Science Update • May 09, 2006

When women treated for depression become symptom-free, their children are less likely to be diagnosed with depression, according to a study published in the March 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

ADHD Medication Use Held Steady in Recent Years

Science Update • April 01, 2006

The results of a study conducted by researchers at the Agency of Healthcare Research Quality and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health indicate that the prevalence of stimulant use among U.S. children for treating symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) remained relatively constant between 1997 and 2002.

Harvard Study Suggests Significant Prevalence of ADHD Symptoms Among Adults

Science Update • April 01, 2006

A recent NIMH-funded survey tracking the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms found that an estimated 4.4 percent of adults ages 18-44 in the United States experience symptoms and some disability.

Cortex Matures Faster in Youth with Highest IQ

Press Release • March 29, 2006

Youth with superior IQ are distinguished by how fast the thinking part of their brains thickens and thins as they grow up, researchers at NIMH have discovered.

Largest Study to Date on Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Describes Disease Characteristics And Short-Term Outcomes

Science Update • February 08, 2006

Recent findings from the multi-site, NIMH-funded Course and Outcome of Bipolar Illness in Youth (COBY) study are helping to shape the understanding of three major subtypes of bipolar disorder that affect children and adolescents and how this diagnosis may affect them as adults.

Teens with Deletion Syndrome Confirm Gene’s Role in Psychosis

Press Release • October 23, 2005

A study in youth who are missing part of a chromosome is further implicating a suspect gene in schizophrenia.

Mental Illness Exacts Heavy Toll, Beginning in Youth

Press Release • June 06, 2005

Researchers supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have found that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, and that despite effective treatments, there are long delays — sometimes decades — between first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment.

Brain Awareness Week Teaches Kids How Their Brains Work

Science Update • March 07, 2005

The fifth annual Brain Awareness Week (BAW), a science and health education fair to teach 5th–8th grade students about the brain, will take place March 14–18, 2005 at the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Psychotherapy, Medications Best for Youth With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Press Release • October 28, 2004

Children and adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) respond best to a combination of both psychotherapy and an antidepressant, a major clinical trial has found.

Combination Treatment Most Effective in Adolescents with Depression

Press Release • August 17, 2004

A clinical trial of 439 adolescents with major depression has found a combination of medication and psychotherapy to be the most effective treatment.

New Program Treats Rural Youth And Targets Barriers To Care

Press Release • July 29, 2003

Adolescents and teens with emotional and behavioral problems will receive treatment as part of a new study in eight of the poorest Appalachian counties in Eastern Tennessee.

NIH Awards Grants for Six New Autism Research Centers

Press Release • May 13, 2003

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded grants to support six new research centers of a major network focusing on the biomedical and behavioral aspects of autism.

Psychiatric Disorders Common Among Detained Youth

Press Release • December 10, 2002

Among teens in juvenile detention, nearly two thirds of boys and nearly three quarters of girls have at least one psychiatric disorder, a federally funded study has found.