HealthDay (12/8, Gotkine) reports a study found that “for sexual minority youth, identity disclosure is associated with an increased risk for suicide intention, plan, and attempt.” Study results indicate that “identity disclosure to a family member was associated with a within-person increased risk for suicide intention, plan, and attempt (8, 10, and 6 percentage points, respectively). Increased risks for suicide intention, plan, and attempt were also seen in association with identity disclosure to a friend (10, 12, and 6 percentage points, respectively).” According to researchers, “these increases in suicide risk occurred around the timing of identity disclosure; in subsequent years, they increased in magnitude.” The study was published in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “‘Coming Out’ Linked to Increased Suicide Risk in Sexual Minority Youth,”Elana Gotkine , HealthDay, December 8, 2025

The New York Times (12/8, Barry) reports, “A study of nearly 200,000 California schoolchildren found that their mental health had improved significantly after schools reopened for in-person learning in 2021, evidence that its authors said shows that the risks of prolonged shutdowns were greater than policymakers understood at the time.” Researchers found that “nine months after schools reopened, the probability that a child would be seen by a [healthcare professional] for a mental health condition was reduced by 43 percent.” Additionally, “spending on mental health medications decreased by 7.5 percent, and spending on other treatments, like therapy, decreased by 10.6 percent.” The improvements were said to be more striking among girls. The study was published in Epidemiology

The Washington Post (12/8, Malhi) adds that return to in-person schooling during the pandemic was “associated with significant declines in diagnoses of anxiety, depression and other conditions.”

The American Journal of Managed Care (12/8, Shaw) also provides coverage.

Related Links:

— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

The Hill (12/5, Cochran) reported that a federal appeals court on Thursday halted an effort by the Administration “to block grants to hire more school mental health workers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administration’s appeal of a district court decision to restore grants given by the Biden administration to hire more counselors and social workers, particularly in low-income and rural schools.” The appeals court ruled the Administration “has not shown a strong likelihood of success and noted the district court is likely to reach a final decision soon.”

Related Links:

— “Court blocks Trump administration effort to halt school mental health worker grants,”Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, December 5, 2025

Modern Healthcare (12/5, Early, Subscription Publication) reported that states are “taking matters into their own hands as health insurance exchange customers confront huge rate hikes and shrinking federal aid.” So far, proposed initiatives “include state-funded premium ‘wraparound’ subsidies, reinsurance programs, new benefit designs and intensified consumer outreach. These states are striving to reduce the coverage losses and risk pool deterioration expected because of skyrocketing premiums. The open enrollment period began Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 15 in most states.”

Related Links:

— “States get creative as exchange subsidies expiration looms,”Bridget Early, Modern Healthcare, December 5, 2025

Psychiatric News (12/5) reported a study suggests that “compared with people who don’t play video games, individuals who engage in recreational gaming showed enhanced attention-related performance in cognitive tests, while those at risk of gaming disorders had reduced working memory.” Researchers observed that “compared with non-gamers, those at risk of gaming disorders performed worse on two tasks (Digit Span and Counting Span) designed to assess working memory capacity.” Furthermore, participants “in the gaming disorder risk group also had a higher number of incorrect responses compared with the recreational gamer group in the 1-back task, which assesses the ability to adapt to new information – suggesting more impulsive response tendencies.” However, gamers “showed enhanced response readiness and attentional control compared with non-gamers, as evidenced by their higher accuracy in the Go/No-Go task, which assesses inhibitory control.” The study was published in Computers in Human Behavior.

Related Links:

— “Gaming Disorders Linked to Cognitive Impairment—but Recreational Gaming May Offer Benefit, Psychiatric News, December 5, 2025