Child trafficking is a serious problem in the U.S. and worldwide. This abhorrent practice almost disappeared in the U.S. in the 1990s, but is back, and increasing every year. The return of child trafficking is directly related to the prevalence of the internet, smartphones, and social media/messaging technology. Texting and messaging technology appeared in the […]
Read MoreIn the United States, rates of teen depression are on the rise. The pandemic increased awareness about the increase in teen mental health issues in general. Experts on adolescent development warned the accumulated stressors of stay-at-home orders, virtual school, and uncertainty/fear of disease and illness would exacerbate existing mental health issues among teens already diagnosed […]
Read MoreBanning books is not a new practice. Attempts to keep adolescents from reading material unsuitable for their age range have been around for over a century. Historians usually consider Uncle Tom’s Cabin as the first nationally banned book in the United States toward the end of the 1800s. We’d like to think limiting access to […]
Read MoreTeen suicide is a serious problem in the U.S. and worldwide. The increase in teen suicide in the U.S. is well-documented, with the most recent alarm sounded from the top public health official in the country: the Surgeon General. A report published in late 2021 called “Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory” […]
Read MoreRate of Firearm Suicide Among Teens Highest in 20 Years Over the past five years, we’ve published more than two dozen articles on the disturbing phenomenon of suicide among teens. The articles explore a wide range of suicide-related topics, including the suicide contagion effect in teens, suicide among teens with borderline personality disorder, suicide among […]
Read MoreIf you follow news on the opioid crisis in the United States, then it’s likely you’ve heard about fentanyl. Fentanyl is the drug responsible for driving overdose death rates to an all-time record high. In 2021, over 100,000 people in the U.S. died of drug overdose, with deaths involving fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids […]
Read MoreStudy Measures Effectiveness of Community Support for Teens With Serious Emotional Disorders We can answer the question posed in the title right away: Yes, wraparound services improve outcomes for teens with behavioral health problems. And there’s one segment of the teenage population wraparound services help most. Before we dive into the data and details provided […]
Read MoreGender-Affirming Treatment for Transgender Teens When the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the U.S. in March 2020, we all quickly became aware of a variety of new phrases. We couldn’t avoid them. Print, TV, mobile, and online media repeated them daily, over and over, in all our public discourse regarding COVID-19. We learned about: Shelter-in-place orders […]
Read MoreOn Tuesday, December 7th, 2021, the Surgeon General issued an advisory regarding the mental health of children and teens in the U.S. Here’s the short version: Our youth are in trouble – but there are things we can do to help. The rest of this article is the long version. Why a Surgeon General’s Advisory […]
Read MoreVaping Synthetic Nicotine in Disposable Devices When we last wrote an article about e-cigarettes and vaping nicotine, the news was more positive than negative. We published that article – Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes, and Substance Use in Adolescents – shortly after the public outcry around the most popular e-cigarette at the time, called Juul. The widespread animosity […]
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