Having safer neighborhoods, where families feel less stress, can help prevent child abuse, according to new research that supports this long-suspected theory. When parents feel higher levels of stress or hopelessness about their surroundings, they may have a harder time caring for their children, the study confirms. “To get the best outcomes for kids and to elicit the best parenting, families need a safe, stable, stimulating environment, both at home and in the surrounding community,” said study co-author Katherine Marcal, an assistant professor of social work at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “But if you live in a neighborhood where you can’t go outside, can’t go to a park or can’t walk down the sidewalk because there are drug dealers or trash, then families are cooped up in stressful conditions,” she said in a university news release. “This stress can make maltreatment more likely to occur.” For the study, the researchers used data from a study that included information about children born in large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000. The investigators compared neighborhood conditions when children were age 3 and maltreatment at age 5. Mothers reported on how often they encountered drug activity, gang violence and other dangers in their community. Outsiders recorded physical qualities, including vacant buildings, abandoned cars, trash and signs of physical deterioration. Perceptions of neighborhood disorder from both groups…  read on >  read on >

While the start of the school year can give kids and teens the chance to reconnect with friends and enjoy school sports and activities, it can also trigger stressors that send many to the emergency room for mental health woes, a new report shows. Among children aged 5 to 17, emergency department visits for depression, suicidal thoughts, stress and substance abuse increased significantly in the fall and remained high through the spring, the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. “The academic school year is a time when parents and caregivers, educators, health care providers and others who regularly interact with children and adolescents can be aware of mental health concerns in children and adolescents, and be ready to respond appropriately,” a CDC spokesperson said. “Placing priority on programs and activities that protect emotional well-being like physical activity, nutrition, sleep, social, community or faith-based support, and inclusive school and community environments, may improve mental health among children and adolescents, and reduce mental health crises that require a trip to the emergency department,” the spokesperson added. The factors that contribute to the increase in mental issues — like social media, peer pressure or home life — weren’t addressed in the research, the spokesperson noted. For the study, published Sept. 22 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers used data from…  read on >  read on >

New research underscores the harms of e-cigarettes, showing that vaping increases the risk of asthma in teens who have never smoked cigarettes. Although e-cigarettes have fewer toxins than regular cigarettes, they still contain a mixture of harmful chemicals and raise the risk of respiratory diseases, researchers say. “Increasing knowledge about the harmful effects of e-cigarette use, implementing stricter regulations, and promoting alternative coping mechanisms for mental health are potential interventions to mitigate e-cigarette use,” lead author Taehyun Roh, of Texas A&M University, said in a school news release. Asthma causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing. It can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This new study used data from Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a CDC survey. About 3,000 adolescents in Texas, ages 13 to 17, were questioned between 2015 and 2019. The researchers compared the results with responses from more than 32,000 teens in the broader United States. Respondents were asked whether they had ever used an e-cigarette, how often they vaped and whether they had ever been told they had asthma. Researchers said that the association found between e-cigarette use and asthma among those who had never smoked conventional tobacco products demonstrates that vaping increases the risk of asthma independently from other tobacco use.…  read on >  read on >