Adolescents with treatment-resistant depression who have a history of abuse — especially physical abuse — are less likely to respond to combination treatment than to medication alone, according to data from the NIMH-funded Treatment of Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study. The new study was published in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychia ...

Seemingly healthy adults, if they were abused or neglected during childhood, may suffer physiological consequences decades later. In research published online last week by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, a team led by psychiatrists at Brown University and Butler Hospital found that healthy adults who reported being mistreated as kids appear to have an elevated inflammatory response to stress compared t ...

Early life adversity through poverty, social isolation, or abuse in childhood is linked to heightened reactivity, which can lead to heart disease later on, a leading expert on stress and disease said Saturday. "Many diseases first diagnosed in mid-life can be traced back to childhood," Karen A. Matthews, PhD, said at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. Matthews is a profes ...

Childhood physical abuse is associated with significantly elevated rates of heart disease in adulthood, according to new findings by University of Toronto researchers, published in this month's issue of the journal Child Abuse & Neglect. These findings were based on data from a 2005 representative community survey conducted in two Canadian provinces. Of 13,000 respondents, seven per cent indicated they had ...

Child abuse is a serious problem that affects nearly one million children a year in the United States alone. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Department of Health and Human Services classify child abuse into four categories including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. None of these categories, however, clearly includes the abusive use of drugs on children. A study soon ...

Children who experience maltreatment such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse are more likely to experience frequent headaches, including chronic migraine, as adults, say scientists presenting data at the recent American Headache Society's 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles. The study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ...

The Annals of Family Medicine released a research summary / health-care provider tip sheet for May/June based on recent studies with patient populations that range from children to the elderly. This summary covers topics from mental health, including health psychology and behavioral medicine, and physical health that psychologists and physicians alike may be interested in. Hopefully, The Annals of Family Me ...

New research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows that childhood stress such as abuse or emotional neglect, in particular when combined with genetic factors, can result in structural brain changes, rendering these people more vulnerable to developing depression. The study led by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has just been published in the international scientific journal, Neuropsychopharmacol ...

Today's update from the National Institute of Health/National Institute of Mental Health includes newly announced research on autism, ADHD, and child abuse. The ADHD story discusses an important update to the now classic Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) study so be sure to view that article. ...