In its “The New Old Age” section, Paula Span writes for the New York Times (6/4, Span) that “purpose,” while hard to define, is vital for aging, and according to one researcher, is “a very robust predictor of health and wellness in old age.” Dr. Patricia Boyle of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center found that a study of 1,000 people over the age of 80 “found that the ones with high purpose scores were 2.4 times more likely to remain free of Alzheimer’s than those with low scores; they were also less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, often a precursor.”

Related Links:

— “Living on Purpose,” Paula Span, New York Times, June 3 , 2014.

The New York Times (5/29, A18, Medina, Subscription Publication) reports that in the aftermath of the Santa Barbara rampage, California lawmakers are “championing legislation that would permit law enforcement officials and private individuals to seek a restraining order from a judge that would keep people with a potential propensity for violence from buying or owning a gun,” a process similar to one currently covering cases of domestic violence.

However, “even in California, with an overwhelmingly Democratic majority in both houses of the Legislature, it could prove difficult to get the bill passed” due to both gun-rights opposition and concerns about “limiting civil liberties of those dealing with mental illness.”

Related Links:

— “After Attack Near Campus, California Weighs Gun Bill,” Jennifer Medina, New York Times, May 28, 2014.

In continuing coverage, the Wall Street Journal (5/29, A6, Hughes, Subscription Publication) reports that legislation proposed by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), trained as a psychologist, is getting new attention in the wake of the recent California shootings. The legislation would make it easier for authorities or family members to force an individual with severe mental illness into treatment. However, it has drawn concern from those worried it violates the rights of those with mental illnesses.

Related Links:

— “Isla Vista Rampage Reanimates Debate Over Mental-Health Bill,” Siobhan Hughes, Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2014.

HealthDay (5/28, Preidt) reports that according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, “the students of teachers battling depression acted out more than preschoolers taught by other teachers.” Researchers arrived at that conclusion after analyzing data on some 761 families with and teachers of three-year-old preschoolers. Teachers’ depression was tied to “children’s behavioral problems such as aggression, anger, lack of control, depression, anxiety, sadness and withdrawal.”

Related Links:

— “When Teachers Are Depressed, Preschoolers May ‘Act Out’ More,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 27, 2014.

USA Today (5/28, Szabo) reports that last Friday’s shooting and stabbing incident in Santa Barbara, CA, by Elliot Rodger “has renewed the debate over how and whether to require people with serious mental illness to get psychiatric care.” According to USA Today, “Many families and advocates for people with serious mental illness say the country needs to change its standard for civil commitment, which allows people to be hospitalized against their will.”

In Congress, “Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., a child psychologist, has introduced legislation that would push states to change these criteria, permitting involuntary hospitalization based on a patient’s ‘need for treatment,’ a standard now used by only 18 states.” Others argue that changes in involuntary commitment laws may violate people’s rights and may not be adequate to get patients the care they need.

The Roll Call (5/28, Dennis, Dumain, Subscription Publication) “218” blog quotes Rep. Murphy, who said in a statement this past weekend following the Santa Barbara incident, “Our mental health system has failed and more families have been destroyed because Washington hasn’t had the courage to fix it.”

The congressman “plans a Thursday briefing on his committee’s report on mental health, written over the course of a year following the tragedy in Newtown.” He also “says his bill would also expand access to psychiatric treatment and it would encourage states to set a new standard for committing people — the need for treatment, not that they present an imminent danger.”

Related Links:

— “Shooting spree inspires call for mental health overhaul,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, May 27, 2014.

USA Today (5/26, Lee) reported that “veterans who tell the VA about participating in a state marijuana program say they have been forced to choose between their prescription narcotic painkillers…or marijuana, said Michael Krawitz, president of Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access.”

Even though physicians at the VA “cannot recommend marijuana as medicine to their patients, the VA does not explicitly ban patients from participating in state marijuana programs.” However, VA policy does allow patients to “have their treatments ‘modified.’”

For its part, the American Medical Association “is calling on more controlled studies of marijuana.” But, “for Dr. Jeff Goldsmith, incoming president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, marijuana is not a medicine because it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore has not met the standards of other approved drugs.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans face ultimatum: Pills or pot,” Jolie Lee, USA Today, May 23, 2014.

HealthDay (5/24, Preidt) reported that according to a study to be published in the July-August issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice, “poor teens are as likely as middle-class and rich teens to be victims of cyberbullying.” After analyzing “survey results from nearly 2,000 middle and high school students,” researchers “found that living in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods was associated with a strong risk of physical, verbal and online bullying.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 30 percent of youths in the US have been involved in bullying, either as victims or as perpetrators.

Related Links:

— “Cyberbullying Knows No Socio-economic Bounds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 23, 2014.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (5/25, McCoy) reported, “A University of Pittsburgh study exploring cyberbullying came up with a framework for guiding the design of social media that could counteract or prevent mean and cruel behavior online.” The framework includes “encouraging the would-be cyberbully to reflect before posting something, pointing to the consequences, encouraging a sense of empathy for the victim’s suffering, giving bullying targets a sense of empowerment, instilling fear of punishment, attention-getting messages and elements that would control or suppress cyberbullying content.”

Related Links:

— “Pitt study explores handling online bullying,” Adrian McCoy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 25, 2014.

The NPR (5/23, Singh) “Shots” blog reported that according to a study online published May 23 in the journal World Psychiatry, “mental disorders can reduce life expectancy by 10 to 20 years, as much as or even more than smoking over 20 cigarettes a day.” Researchers arrived at that conclusion after examining “data on 1.7 million patients, drawing from 20 recent scientific reviews and studies from mostly wealthy countries.”

HealthDay (5/24, Preidt) reported that “the average life expectancy was 10 to 20 years shorter than normal for people with schizophrenia, 9 to 20 years shorter for those with bipolar disorder, 7 to 11 years shorter for those with recurrent depression, and 9 to 24 years shorter for people with drug and alcohol abuse.” In comparison, “heavy smoking shortens life by an average of 8 to 10 years, the study authors noted.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Can Shorten Lives More Than Chain-Smoking,” Maanvi Singh, National Public Radio, May 23, 2014.

The Stars And Stripes (DC) (5/23, Tritten) reports that military recruit “mental health screening…passed the House on Thursday as part of the massive 2015 defense budget.” The measure, “sponsored by Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., orders the National Institutes of Health to create a universal mental health evaluation for potential recruits that would catch past suicide attempts and psychiatric disorders.”

The screening “data could be used by the services to weed out candidates with potentially dangerous mental health issues.”

A similar proposal has also been introduced in the Senate.

Related Links:

— “House passes new mental health screening for recruits,” Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes, May 22, 2014.