Newly published research in the journal Science confirms that institutionalized orphans placed into foster care have much better intellectual development than those who remain behind. The authors say the results have implications for countries "grappling with how best to care for abandoned, orphaned and maltreated young children."

A team of researchers including Nathan Fox, a professor of human development (College of Education) at the University of Maryland, has been studying a randomly chosen group of 136 abandoned children from six institutions in Bucharest, Romania for a number of years. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) tracked the children out to 54 months of age. Also involved in the study are Charles Nelson of Harvard University; Dr. Charles Zeanah and Anna Smyke of Tulane University, and Peter Marshall of Temple University. The research was supported by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on "Early Experience and Brain Development."

The Importance of Early Intervention
Earlier evidence from the intervention project showed that young children who remain institutionalized suffered intellectual, emotional, psychiatric and brain development problems. Prof. Fox says, "They are deprived of typical social and emotional stimulation and interaction, as well as typical cognitive and language stimulation." Knowing this, the primary question researchers had was, is there a "best time" when intervention can help prevent these children from becoming psychologically deprived - when damage can be prevented. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project was designed to look at this issue of timing as it related to early deprivation.

The study accomplished this by randomly assigning children into two groups of children that were abandoned at or shortly after birth. "Children at the time of entry into the study ranged in age from 6-29 months of age," says Fox. Half the children remained in the institution, the other half were placed into foster care. All children were the subject of follow-up assessments that included not only cognitive development, but also standardized intelligence tests. Timing related to the intervention was looked at closely. A third group of children - who were being reared by their biological families in Bucharest - served as a base group.

The study was conducted with the full approval of the Government of Romania and was conducted as a way to help guide that nation's child welfare policy. Before this study, there was a bias in the child welfare community towards institutionalized care. In fact, the BEIP had to create its own foster care program as part of the study because the government of Romania's foster care program was limited to "about one family." As part of the study's ethical guidelines, no child placed into foster care was returned to an institution.

Methodology and Results
Fox and the other American researchers wanted to see if they could show there was improvement through specific tests of these institutionalized children.

After random assignment, the average age of children placed into foster care was 21 months of age. Testing was conducted prior to placement, at 30 months and 42 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID II), and at 54 months with the Weschsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-R) test. The BSID II test looks at a wide range of abilities, while the WPPSI-R test is more focused assessment of a child's cognitive abilities. Romanian psychologists administered these tests.

The main findings from the study confirmed earlier results that "children reared in institutions showed greatly diminished intellectual performance relative to children reared in their families of origin." Further, children who were randomly assigned to foster care experienced "significant gains in cognitive function." Finally, on the importance of timing when pursuing intervention, Prof. Fox says, "the results show that the age point where things mattered was 24 months of age." The report adds that "there was a continuing 'cost' to children who remained in the institution over the course of the study. The findings say it would take a larger study to really determine if there is a true "sensitive period" for intervention.

Media presentations of terrorism contribute to posttraumatic stress disorder

20 December 2007 – A new report published in Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice reveals that children exposed to terrorist attacks show elevated symptoms of mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and general anxiety disorder.

Statistically speaking, it is unlikely that the majority of youth will ever experience direct exposure to a terrorist attack. Following a terrorist attack, however, youth are exposed to a substantial amount of attack-related media coverage. Within this present climate of heightened awareness about terrorism, many children are exposed to what the authors termed “second-hand terrorism,” in which media disproportionately focus on the possibility of being a direct victim of future terrorism. This sets the stage for insecurity, countless false alarms, and persistent anxiety. Technological advances provide a stage from which terrorist acts can reach a truly vast audience, and news networks further afford unprecedented coverage of terrorism on a global scale. Media-based contact with terrorism can result in substantial amounts of distress in exposed youth.

“Researching youth in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, as well as youth exposed to media presentations about terrorism, is critical to inform service delivery and public policy, and to ensure that the mental health needs of youth are afforded ample resources,” the authors note.

The combination of extended wakefulness [[e.g., lack of sleep]] and low-dose alcohol has significant adverse effects on a person’s ability to drive, and elevates the risk of getting into a vehicular accident, according to a study published in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

The study, authored by Mark E. Howard, PhD, of the Institute for Breathing and Sleep in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, focused on 19 volunteer professional drivers, who participated in a driving simulation and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task. The subjects were measured in a rested state (12-15 hours awake) and after extended wakefulness (18-21 hours awake) during two sessions. Alcohol was administered during one session, with performance measured at blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.00 percent, 0.03 percent and 0.05 percent in a non-sleep deprived state, and at 0.03 percent after extended wakefulness (at 1 a.m. and at 3 a.m.). During the second session, tests were performed at the same times without alcohol.

According to the results, extended wakefulness, combined with low-dose alcohol (0.03 percent BAC), resulted in more lapses and greater variation in lane position and speed than did a BAC of 0.05 percent in a rested state.

“In addition to alcohol, sleepiness also increases the risk of road crashes. It is estimated that 15 to 30 percent of traffic accidents are directly related to driver sleepiness, as determined by crash circumstances. Although there are conclusive data regarding the separate effects of alcohol and sleepiness on driving, in real-life situations it is common for these two conditions to occur simultaneously (alcohol-related accidents occur more commonly in the early hours of the morning). The combination of legal low-dose alcohol and extended wakefulness results in impairment worse than that at an alcohol level known to increase accident risk. Avoiding alcohol when driving after extended wakefulness may reduce accident risk,” said Dr. Howard.

Those who think they might have a sleep disorder are urged to discuss their problem with their primary care physician, who will issue a referral to a sleep specialist.

The presence of guns in homes is strongly associated with higher suicide rates, a new U.S. study found.

PHILADELPHIA (UPI) — A University of Pennsylvania psychologist says a number of studies have found negative psychological effects associated with adolescent acne.

David Sarwer, an associate professor at the Center for Human Appearance at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, said up to 50 percent of teenage acne sufferers also experience increased body image dissatisfaction, social anxiety, low self-esteem and symptoms of depression, USA Today reported Monday.

"Some become so upset they may think about or actually attempt suicide," Sarwer said.

Researchers say drugs and treatments developed in recent years offer new hope to sufferers of acne, which is caused when sebaceous glands in the skin create too much sebum oil, which can clog pores and mix with bacteria, causing inflammation.

Mild acne can be treated with over-the-counter medications containing benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and sulfur, but unresponsive outbreaks and acne characterized by larger cysts may require the prescription drug isotretinoin. The drug derived from vitamin A is an effective treatment, but scares away some consumers due to its extensive list of side effects, including liver changes and birth defects in pregnant women.

Copyright © 2007 by United Press International

Up to one in three mental health patients are being over-prescribed drugs, says the Healthcare Commission [in Great Britain]. Read the article.

Ditto for the U.S.

New Survey: Insecurity, Xenophobia Extremely High in Iraq

29 September 2006
APSA Press Release

CARDIFF, Wales, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- University of Cardiff researchers studied drinking habits in children aged 11 to 16 in England and found a link between alcohol and violence.

The researchers found not only a link between drink and aggression but also that children who drank were more likely to be hit, even if they weren't violent themselves.

More than 4,000 children were surveyed at 13 schools in four areas of England. The study found that 25 percent of 11-year-olds were drinking monthly and 3.6 percent daily, with 12.8 percent admitting to getting drunk three to five times a year.

By the age of 16, 40 percent were drinking weekly and 6.2 percent were drinking every day. The research also showed 22.6 percent of 16-year-olds getting drunk more than 21 times a year, according to the study published in the Journal of Adolescence.

"This new study seems to be the first to show a direct link between alcohol misuse and vulnerability to injury, independent of any link between drinking and fighting. There now needs to be much more effort put into reducing alcohol misuse in order to reduce injury," the study said.

People who drink alcohol are up to four times more likely than non-drinkers to be hurt from physical injuries such as a fall or punch, new research shows.

The University of Queensland study found any alcohol consumption quadrupled the risk of injury for the first six hours after drinking alcohol and this risk remained at 2.5 times that of a non drinker for the next 24 hours.

Quantity and specific drinks such as beer or spirits did not increase injury risk but mixing drinks increased injury risk five-fold.

Binge drinkers were more at risk of being injured than regular drinkers.

And people who sustained serious injuries were more likely to have consumed beer and have been drinking in a licensed premises. [read more]

EurekAlert
20 July 2006

In the latest issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly (June 2006), researchers find that men rate themselves and the women they just interacted with higher on sexual traits, such as flirtatiousness, than women rate men. The authors find that after a five-minute conversation with a stranger of the opposite gender, men were more likely to interpret ambiguous or friendly behavior as indicating sexual interest. "The findings suggest that men generally think in more sexual terms than women," the authors explain.

Within their brief conversation, partners introduced themselves and talked about college experiences. There was no significant difference in how men, compared to women, rated their conversation partners on agreeableness or extroversion. Nor was their evidence of sexual chemistry, as partners did not share a tendency to find each other attractive or desire a future interaction.

If women found their male partner as more partner physically attractive and saw him as more agreeable, they rated the partner higher on sexual traits. Men's ratings of women were also associated with physical attractiveness but unrelated to whether he saw her as agreeable or felt the conversation was enjoyable.

EurekAlert!
8 June 2006