At Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids, MI, a teen pregnancy prevention session can feel like a United Nations meeting. Funded by a Competitive Abstinence Education Grant from the Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Adolescent Pregnancy...
Brains of people mistreated in childhood have less brain volume in areas of the hippocampal complex shaded in yellow. People abused as children show reduced brain volume in regions governing emotion, learning, and memory, deficits that make them...
Unsurprisingly to those familiar with ACEs, relationships with parents can affect their children's substance use. This study suggests that both relationships that are overly controlling AND relationships lacking control and affection put children at...
Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons A new medication may help those living with post-traumatic stress. There are currently only two FDA-approved medications for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the United States. Both of these...
Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons A review of the literature on bullying suggests that teens on both sides of this abusive relationship may be more likely to bring guns to school than other teens. MONDAY, June 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Teenage...
Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons Massachusetts is close to achieving universal healthcare. This may have major implications for the accessibility of healthcare for the mental and physical consequences of ACEs. When Massachusetts passed its...
A new graphic novel seeks to help patients who are not yet comfortable having a conversation about sexual abuse. It must have been a difficult pitch: a free graphic novel about sexual assault survivors . However The Courage to Be Me...
The Wisconsin Children’s Trust Fund and the Child Abuse Prevention Fund of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin released the “ Wisconsin ACE Brief: 2011 and 2012 Data ”, which describes the prevalence of adverse childhood...
This question and answer session with Dr. Jeffrey Swanson helps clarify what we do and don't know about the connection between mental health and violence and makes suggestions for reducing violence (both at home and in the larger society)....
WikiMedia Commons Even when schools are effectively identifying students with trauma or mental disorders, these students may not continue to receive the type of treatment they need outside of school. After initially visiting a school...
WikiMedia Commons Substance use is one way that individuals may cope with ACEs. New numbers from SAMHSA share the numbers of young adults using illegal drugs, legal drugs, and alcohol. According to SAMHSA’s data, on an average day, 3.2 million...
A new study looks at the stress of having bipolar parents and the psychosocial effects that may have. Findings have implications for treatment must looks at not only the bipolar the patient, but their whole family. Bipolar disorder (BD) is among the...
If teens turn to substance abuse to cope with trauma, how can we ensure they receive the help they need, if the programs and resources are there? Deborah Scott’s 13-year-old daughter had been receiving hospital treatment for heroin addiction for...
Los Angeles’ top juvenile court judge is objecting to a planned diversion of $13 million to school police there from state funds earmarked to provide special learning assistance to disadvantaged kids. Under California’s new Local Control...
Imagine for a second what it's like for the kids who trek across the US-Mexico border without documents and without parents. Last year alone, 24,000 undocumented minors were caught making that journey. The shelters that usually hold them are...