On its front page, the Wall Street Journal (10/23, Fields, Subscription Publication) reports a noticeable uptick over the past decade in the number of fatal confrontations between police officers and people with severe mental illnesses. A small number of those cases are known as “suicide by cop” in which police officers are intentionally provoked to react with lethal force. In other cases, police officers with poor or no mental health training misread a situation with deadly results. Some police departments are now sending officers to special crisis-intervention training and teaching them how to respond to situations involving people with severe mental illnesses, emphasizing communication and use of non-lethal weapons.

Related Links:

— “Lives of Mentally Ill, Police Collide, The Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2013.

The AP (10/23) reports that Vice President Joe Biden is planning “to join Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former US Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D-RI] for a forum on policies that affect people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities or addiction.” The two-day forum, which will take place in Boston, “marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s signing of the Community Mental Health Act,” which “helped transform the way people with mental illness are treated and cared for in the” US.

Related Links:

— “VP Biden: Country On Cusp Of Mental Health Changes, “Steve Leblanc, Associated Press, October 23, 2013.

CBS News (10/22, Castillo) reports on its website that, according to a study in the journal Psychological Science, performing a task that is completely unfamiliar and mentally challenging, as opposed to completing puzzles, may be a better way to improve seniors’ memory. The study examined 221 people between the ages of 60 and 90, in which one group would learn a new skill (quilting, digital photography, or both), while another other group performed mentally stimulating activities they were used to, like puzzles, and a third group was asked to perform social activities. Researchers noted that at the end of the study, the group that learned something new showed greatest memory skill improvements.

Related Links:

— “Learning new skill beats puzzles for boosting seniors’ memory, “Michelle Castillo, CBS News, October 21, 2013.

The Reno (NV) Gazette-Journal (10/22, DeLong) reports that in light of the Oct. 21 Sparks Middle School shooting in Nevada, “school counselors will be available to assist students and others” affected by the tragedy. According to mental health experts, “one of the most helpful things parents can do to help their children cope” is to listen attentively and in a supportive fashion. In a sidebar to the article, the American Psychiatric Association provides tips on how to help kids cope with traumatic experiences.

Related Links:

— “Experts say children will need parents to listen after Sparks shooting tragedy, “Jeff DeLong, The Reno Gazette-Journal, October 21, 2013.

The San Francisco Chronicle (10/21, Brown), which reported that men account for a greater portion of eating disorders than previously thought, pointed out recent studies, such as one in Canada, suggesting that “as many as one in three cases of anorexia are male, while past estimates have hovered around one in nine.” The Chronicle noted that ignoring the disorder’s prevalence among men creates a stigma that may prevent them from seeking assistance, as well as a bias that may prevent family members or clinicians from recognizing the disorder in men.

Related Links:

— “Men’s eating disorders get increased attention, “Kristen V. Brown, The San Francisco Chronicle, October 21, 2013.

The Wall Street Journal (10/22, D2, Wang, Subscription Publication) reports that anti-obesity messages may be pushing teens and children into developing eating disorders. The Journal notes that, according to a recent study, nearly 35% of Barcelona hospital patients were treated for eating disorders in 2010, compared to 13% in 2001. Though recent concerns regarding obesity have overshadowed the dangers of eating disorders, experts say extremes hovering near either end of the spectrum may damage one’s body and health. The article also mentions that the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (the DSM-5) has updated criteria for eating disorders.

Related Links:

— “Eating-Disorder Dilemma: When Overweight Turns to Dangerously Thin, “Shirley S. Wang, The Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2013.

HealthDay (10/19, Dallas) reported that, according to a study published online in the journal Social Science Quarterly, “women who are the victims of stalkers are up to three times more likely than their peers to experience psychological distress.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining data “compiled on over 8,100 women from three major surveys.” Notably, “the psychological effects were even more profound for women who were stalked when they were older.”

Related Links:

— “Stalking Can Take Mental Toll on Victims, Study Confirms, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, October 18, 2013.

The New York Times (10/21, Bakalar) “Well” blog reports that, according to a study published online Oct. 21 in the journal Pediatrics, spanking kids may “increase the risk of bad behavior.” For the study, investigators “interviewed 1,933 parents when their children were three years old and again at five, asking whether and how often they were spanked.” When the youngsters were nine, they underwent evaluation as to how aggressive they were and how often they broke rules. After adjusting for confounding factors, the study authors “found that maternal spanking at age five was significantly associated with greater aggression and rule-breaking…at age nine.” Reuters (10/21, Pittman) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Spanking’s Link to Bad Behavior, “Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, October 21, 2013.

The AP (10/21, Smith) reported that the Community Mental Health Act, signed Oct. 31, 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, “aimed to build mental health centers accessible to all Americans so that those with mental illnesses could be treated while working and living at home, rather than being kept in neglectful and often abusive state institutions.” Half a century later, President Kennedy’s nephew, former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), pointed out that the US still has no “alternate policy to address the needs of” people with severe mental illnesses, many of whom are homeless or are incarcerated. This week in Boston at the Kennedy Forum, the former congressman is gathering mental health advocates to put together an agenda focusing on how to improve mental healthcare.

Related Links:

— “Kennedy’s Vision For Mental Health Never Realized, “Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press, October 20, 2013.

HealthDay (10/18, Dotinga) reports that a study, published Oct. 16 in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, looked at statistics from the Millennium Cohort Study regarding 19,000 children born in the UK between 2001 and 2001 to determine whether children born to teen mothers had an intellectual disadvantage. Though researchers did discover a difference in verbal skills of children born to teens and those born to mothers between the ages of 24 and 34, they did not find a difference in spatial and nonverbal skills between children born to the two groups.

Related Links:

— “Children of Teen Mothers Don’t Have Mental Disadvantage, Study Suggests, “Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, October 17, 2013.