Daily Archives: April 16, 2012

16 Apr

Emotional Support from Parents Benefits Mental, Overall Health of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults

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Receiving emotional support and acceptance from parents benefits the long-term mental and overall health of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults, a new study finds. Researchers surveyed lesbian, gay and bisexual adults aged 18 to 64 in Massachusetts. Three-quarters of the group said they had revealed their sexual orientation to their parents, typically when they were about 25 years old. About two-thirds said their parents were supportive. Rates of mental health and substance use problems were significantly lower among those who received support from their parents than among those who felt rejected, the study found. (HealthDay News, 4/13/12)

16 Apr

Mental Health Checkups Can Identify Problems

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Study—Mental Health Checkups Can Identify Problems: Screening youth for mental health issues can identify 10-15 percent of teens or early adults who go on to develop mental health problems, a new Finnish study suggests. The mental well-being of nearly 6,000 Finnish children of the age of eight was charted through a survey carried out in 1989. After this, the use of psychotropic medication and psychiatric hospital periods of the same children from the age of 12 to 25 was followed up. The predictive factors differed in girls and boys. The strongest factors in girls that predicted later use of psychotropic medication and need for psychiatric care were symptoms of depression and anxiety shown in childhood. For boys, behavioral problems were the major predictor. The researchers stress that systematic mental health screening at schools should be carefully considered and they should be strictly based only on solid scientific research. They said it is crucial that such screenings do not lead to stigmatization. (PsychCentral, 4/16/12)