Differences Found in Brains of Kids Born to Depressed Parents

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2019 -- The brains of kids who have a high risk of depression because they have parents with depression are structurally different from other kids' brains, a new study finds.

Depression often first appears during adolescence. Having a parent with depression is one of the biggest known risk factors. Teens whose parents have depression are two to three times more likely to develop depression than other teens, research shows.

Bullying's 'Vicious Circle' Harms Mental Health

TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2019 -- Bullied teens are more likely to develop mental health problems, and people with mental health problems are also more likely to become bullies, researchers report.

Even though many studies have shown that being bullied can leave mental scars, "no studies to date" have tested the notion that mental health issues might also help drive bullying, explained study author Marine Azevedo Da Silva. She's a postdoctoral researcher in Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, in New York City.

Don't Blame Technology for Young People's Mood Problems: Study

TUESDAY, Sept. 10, 2019 -- Spending time on their phones or online doesn't harm teens' mental health, according to a new study that challenges a widely held belief.

"It may be time for adults to stop arguing over whether smartphones and social media are good or bad for teens' mental health and start figuring out ways to best support them in both their offline and online lives," said study co-author Candice Odgers. She's a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

Many U.S. Parents Can't Find a Psychiatrist to Help Their Child

MONDAY, Nov. 4, 2019 -- Despite a growing need for mental health care for children and teens -- including a rise in youth suicide -- many areas of the United States lack any child psychiatrists, new research reports.

The study found that almost three-quarters of American counties don't have a single child psychiatrist.

Depression Rates Not Budging for Lesbian and Gay Teens

TUESDAY, Oct. 22, 2019 -- While fewer straight teens suffer depression than did two decades ago, the same cannot be said for lesbian, gay and bisexual teens.

For those teens, depression risk remains much higher than among their straight peers, new research shows, and it is not following a similar downward trend.