According to HealthDay (6/16, Mundell), on June 16, the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a report finding that approximately “one in 13 young adults in the United States had serious thoughts of suicide in 2013-2014,” a “rate of 7.4 percent” that “translates into 2.6 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 25, researchers said.” In an agency news release, Kana Enomoto, SAMHSA principal deputy administrator, said, “We need to reach out to young people with the message that help is at hand, and promote effective programs for saving lives by treating people at risk whenever and wherever they need it.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 13 Young Adults in U.S. Considered Suicide in Past Year,” E.J. Mundell, HealthDay, June 16, 2016.

On the front of its Business Day section, the New York Times (6/15, B1, Isaac, Subscription Publication) reports that on June 14, “in the biggest step by a major technology company to incorporate suicide prevention tools into its platform,” Facebook “introduced mechanisms and processes to make it easier for people to help friends who post messages about suicide or self-harm.” The “new features” will allow people to “flag friends’ posts that they deem suicidal; the posts will be reviewed by a team at the social network that will then provide language to communicate with the person who is at risk, as well as information on” how to prevent suicide.

Related Links:

— “Facebook Offers Tools for Those Who Fear a Friend May Be Suicidal,” Mike Isaac, New York Times, June 15, 2016.

USA Today (6/13, Zoroya) reports that behavioral health experts warn that “a second wave of suffering can flow from” violent events like the Orlando shooting, “as survivors and first responders — such as the police officers who fought their way into the Pulse early Sunday — struggle with what they’ve witnessed.” Behavioral health experts “say it is common for people to have intense memories of traumatic events. But when those memories become intrusive and involuntary, the result can be PTSD.”

Psychiatric News (6/13) reports APA President Maria A. Oquendo, MD said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened by the senseless violence in Orlando this weekend.” She added, “The notion that the potential motive for targeting the patrons of this nightclub was because of their sexual orientation is disturbing. … We offer our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families.

APA is a healing organization and our members will be there to help the community of Orlando heal.” Meanwhile, Robert Ursano, MD, chair of APA’s Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, said, “Mass shootings are a far-too-common form of terrorism in our nation. …Terrorists attack the fault lines in our society, at the boundaries of sexual preference or race or ethnicity, so it’s important for our nation and our communities to stand together.”

Related Links:

— “After the shooting stops, another fear sets in: PTSD,” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, June 13, 2016.

HealthDay (6/13, Preidt) reports that research indicates “adults who witnessed parental domestic violence in childhood are at increased risk for suicide attempts.” Investigators looked at data on approximately 22,500 adults. The researchers found that approximately “17 percent of those exposed to chronic parental domestic violence (more than 10 times before age 16) had attempted suicide, compared with roughly 2 percent of those not exposed to parental domestic violence.” The findings were published online in Child: Care, Health and Development.

Related Links:

— “The Childhood Incidents That Increase Later Suicide Risk,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 13, 2016.

HealthDay (6/10, Thompson) reported that the findings of a 44-family study indicated that “preschoolers now often spend hours each day watching TV or playing video games – with little or no oversight or interaction from a parent.” The study, presented at a psychological association meeting, revealed that just “a handful of kids aged three to five years old received active engagement from their moms as they sat glued to the ‘electronic babysitter.

Related Links:

— “Parents Often Using TVs, Tablets as ‘Electronic Babysitters’,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, June 10, 2016.

HealthDay (6/10, Dotinga) reported, “Some workaholics may be prone to mental health disorders, compared to folks with greater work-life balance,” the findings of a 16,500-adult study suggest. Such “disorders may include anxiety,” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), “obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression,” researchers found.

Related Links:

— “Are ‘Workaholics’ Prone to OCD, Anxiety?,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, June 10, 2016.

USA Today (6/9, Painter) reports trying e-cigarettes may be a new rite of passage for teens, according to a recent survey conducted by the CDC. Data show nearly 50 percent of the 15,000 high school students in the survey had tried vaping, but just one-third had smoked a tobacco cigarette. On a positive note, the percentage of those who said they had taken “even one puff of a tobacco cigarette dropped from 70% in the early 1990s to 41% in 2013 and 32% in 2015.”

The AP (6/9, Stobbe) reports the survey also revealed that sexual activity among teens decreased. Data show “41 percent of high school kids said they had ever had sex, down from around 47 percent over much of the last decade.” In addition, the survey “found marked declines last year in the proportion of students who said had sex recently, had sex before they were 13, and had four or more partners.”

Related Links:

— “More teens now try vaping than smoking,” Kim Painter, , June 9, 2016.

Reuters (6/9, Cohen) reports that about one in nine youngsters in foster care in the United States are being given antipsychotics. What’s more, about 75% of the kids prescribed antipsychotics have not undergone testing to assess their risk for diabetes. The findings study were published online June 6 in Health Affairs.

Related Links:

— “Drugs for schizophrenics regularly dispensed to foster kids,” Ronnie Cohen, Reuters, June 9, 2016.

The CBS Evening News (6/9, story 9, 0:25, Pelley) reported, “Today, the Federal Aviation Administration said it will not require psychological testing for airline pilots.”

NBC Nightly News (6/9, story 10, 0:25, Holt) reported, “Instead, the agency said it will enhance training for medical examiners who test pilots being hired and expand mental health assistance for pilots. The issue came into focus after the pilot of a Germanwings flight intentionally crashed into the Alps last year, killing 150 people.”

USA Today (6/9, Jansen) reports that on Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration “announced steps…to encourage pilots with mental health problems to seek treatment.” The agency, however, will not “initiate psychological testing for pilots or change rules on locked cockpit doors that were toughened after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” The goal of the FAA’s action is “to break down resistance to seeking treatment because pilots can be grounded for certain medical problems or medications.” Next week, “the American Medical Association will debate….different approaches to mental health testing…said” Michael Berry, MD, MS, FAA’s deputy federal air surgeon.

Related Links:

— “FAA encourages pilots to seek mental health treatment,” Bart Jansen, USA Today, June 9, 2016.

In a opinion piece for Forbes (6/8), psychiatrist Sally Satel, MD, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, makes the case for a clear “distinction between mental health, mental illness, and severe mental illness.” Such a distinction “is crucial, because it leads us to different clinical and policy prescriptions,” Dr. Satel explains.

She cites as problematic that “the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is geared toward the mildly to moderately ill at the expense of the more seriously debilitated.” Dr. Satel concludes that instead of “focusing on combating homelessness, the crying need for more hospital beds, or reducing incarceration among people with serious mental illness,” SAMSHA “concentrates federal and state efforts on delivering amorphous ‘behavioral health’ to everyone else.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Reform Desperately Needed To Pass House And Senate,” Sally Satel, Forbes, June 8, 2016.