School Administrators, Parents Say Student Mental Health Isn’t Improving
A survey by a school mental health service that shows more than half of respondents think the issue of student mental health is either worse or the same as last year. Another study finds that more U.S. teens were hospitalized for mental illnesses during the pandemic.
Axios:
Poll Finds Youth Mental Health Crisis Is Not Getting Better
Almost every school administrator believes the mental health challenges their students face are moderate to severe, with more than half saying conditions either worsened or haven't improved in the last year. (Moreno, 12/14)
CIDRAP:
More US Teens Hospitalized For Mental Illness During Pandemic
Yesterday in JAMA Network Open, a study of adolescents admitted to eight children's hospitals for mental illness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a steep increase in the monthly proportion of hospitalizations tied to psychological issues after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States but not in France. (Van Beusekom, 12/14)
AP:
Report: TikTok Boosts Posts About Eating Disorders, Suicide
TikTok’s algorithms are promoting videos about self-harm and eating disorders to vulnerable teens, according to a report published Wednesday that highlights concerns about social media and its impact on youth mental health. Researchers at the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate created TikTok accounts for fictional teen personas in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The researchers operating the accounts then “liked” videos about self-harm and eating disorders to see how TikTok’s algorithm would respond. (Klepper, 12/15)
Bay Area News Group:
Stephen "TWitch" Boss' Suicide Part Of Alarming U.S. Trend
A preliminary autopsy report shows that Boss, 40, was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room Tuesday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Daily Beast and Los Angeles Times reported. This news about the dancer, husband and father of three comes at a time when public health officials have documented an alarming increase in the rate of firearm suicides in recent years. (Ross, 12/14)
CNN:
Suicide Prevention: Signs, Risk Factors And How To Help
Suicide is a leading cause of death among children and adults, but spotting risk factors and warning signs isn’t easy. Nearly 46,000 people in the United States died by suicide in 2020, which is about one death every 11 minutes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Rogers, 12/15)
PBS NewsHour:
Loneliness Can Affect Physical And Mental Health. An Expert Shares Ways To Combat It This Holiday Season
A 2021 study from Morning Consult found that 58 percent of Americans are lonely. Some are lonely by circumstance and others by choice, but Dr. Jeremy Nobel, who teaches a class on loneliness at Harvard, says societal expectations play a role in loneliness during the holiday season. (Rasnic, Kuhn and Ellis, 12/14)
AP:
Youngkin Wants Major New Funding For Mental Health Services
Virginia needs a major new investment in funding for behavioral health care services, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a speech Wednesday, pledging to spend the rest of his time in office working to transform a system he said faces a “crisis” of people in need. (Rankin, 12/14)
Bloomberg:
Headspace Meditation App Cuts 50 Workers, Or 4% Of Staff
Headspace Health, the maker of a popular meditation and mental-health mobile app, cut about 50 jobs, or 4% of its workforce, the latest internet startup to scale back as funding dries up and economic growth decelerates. (Anand, 12/14)
If you are in need of help —
Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.
