Every day, acts of violence injure more than 6000 people in the United States. Despite decades of social science arguing that joblessness among disadvantaged youth is a key cause of violent offending, programs to remedy youth unemployment do not consistently reduce delinquency. This study tests whether summer jobs, which shift focus from remediation to prevention, […]
Adolescents
Mental Illness Drives Hospitalizations for Detained California Youth
Hospitalization for mental health problems is far more common among kids behind bars than among children and teens in the general population, a new study finds. Juvenile inmates also have longer hospital stays, which suggests they have more serious underlying mental health problems, according to the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. “We know young […]
Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder Checklist — Youth Version
Everybody grieves the death of a loved one, and the process helps most mourners adjust to their loss. “Charlie Brown was right,” said Christopher Layne, a psychologist and researcher at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. “There is good grief.” But for some people, bereavement becomes a problem in itself, prolonging […]
The Role of Social Support and Social Context on the Incidence of Attempted Suicide Among Adolescents Living in Extremely Impoverished Communities
The authors of a longitudinal study of African American youth living in extremely impoverished neighborhoods found that they had a nearly 36-percent risk of attempting suicide by the time they reached the age of 20. The risk of attempting suicide rose as the children entered adolescence and then remained fairly stable, peaking at age 15. […]
Initial Findings from a Novel School-Based Program, EMPATHY, Which May Help Reduce Depression and Suicidality in Youth
A program is helping strengthen the mental health of public school students. The EMPATHY program, created and implemented in 2013, shows after just three months of use in schools, the program significantly decreased anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts among the student population. Peter Silverstone, a professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Psychiatry, is […]
My Brother’s Keeper Task Force: One-Year Progress Report to the President
On February 27, 2014 President Barack Obama launched “My Brother’s Keeper” (MBK). The President’s call to action was a reflection of his commitment to close opportunity gaps still faced by too many young people, and often faced by boys and young men of color in particular. The President’s vision found its roots in the idea that “my neighbor’s child […]