HealthDay (10/8, Reinberg) reports, “Kids who reach puberty earlier than other kids are at an increased risk of harming themselves as teens,” investigators concluded. After examining “data from more than 5,000 boys and girls,” researchers concluded that “early puberty resulted in a higher risk for self-harm at age 16.” What’s more, “for girls, the risk continued into adulthood.” The findings were published online Oct. 6 in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences.

Related Links:

— “For Kids Who Hit Puberty Early, Risk of Self-Harm Rises “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 8, 2020

HealthDay (10/8, Reinberg) reports, “By about age 16, teens diagnosed with depression have substantially lower educational attainment,” investigators concluded after using “British health and education records to identify nearly 1,500 kids under 18 years of age with depression,” then comparing “educational attainment…with a group of young people who were not depressed.” The findings were published online in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Depressed Teens May Struggle in School “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 8, 2020

According to Psychiatric News (10/8), on Oct. 7, the American Psychiatric Association announced “the release of My Mental Health Crisis Plan, a mobile app that allows people with serious mental illness (SMI) to create a plan to inform their treatment should they experience a mental health crisis.” Using the app, individuals “can easily create and share a psychiatric advance directive (PAD), a legal document that outlines one’s preferences around treatment during a crisis.” In a news release, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “A psychiatric advance directive is an important tool for individuals with serious mental illness to be able to plan ahead and have some control over their treatment at a time when they may not be able to make decisions.”

Related Links:

— “New App Helps People With Serious Mental Illness Develop a Crisis Plan, Psychiatric News, October 8, 2020

Healio (10/7, Weller) reports, “Paternal self-efficacy in tasks like soothing or putting an infant to sleep was linked to a lower risk for depressive symptoms among fathers in the year after birth,” investigators concluded in a study that included “a total of 881 Black, Latino and white fathers of low socioeconomic statuses who lived in urban, mixed/suburban or rural areas.” The findings were published online Sept. 23 in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Fathers who actively parent infants may have lower risk for depression “Madison Weller, Healio , October 7, 2020

HealthDay (10/7, Reinberg) reports cocaine overdose deaths have nearly tripled over a period of five years, according to a CDC report. HealthDay adds, “After a period of stability, cocaine-induced deaths rose by about 27% per year, on average, from 2013 through 2018.”

Related Links:

— “Overdose Deaths From Cocaine Rising Dramatically “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 7, 2020