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All Friday Fun Fact Marvelous Monday Messy Media News You Can Use Tuesday Talk
All Friday Fun Fact Marvelous Monday Messy Media News You Can Use Tuesday Talk
11/30/2018 Friday Fun Fact: Parental BondingThere are a lot of factors that make you, well, you! One of those is parental bonding, which typically involves assessing overprotection, warmth, and authoritarianism. Different studies measure it in different ways, though. One study found that overprotective parenting predicted higher rates of mental health concerns in their children throughout toddlerhood. Read more at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2006.08.002.
11/27/2018 Tuesday TalkHi there, Winnie here again. I like tissue paper but enough about me. Let’s talk some more about Jessica and her work. Jessica cares about whether research on mental health impacts patient care. That starts with understanding whether people even seek treatment in the first place! Life is hard and treatment can be scary and stigmatizing. Read more at http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ser0000296. See you next time.
11/23/2018 Friday Fun Fact: Mental Illness PrevalenceMental health is health! ADHD, social anxiety disorder, drug abuse/dependence all have lifetime prevalence rates around 9% in adolescents. Read more at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2946114/.
11/20/2018 JUUL Contains Nicotine! Now You Know...Join us in our latest News You Can Use with Jessica.What was studied and why?The use of vape pods such as JUUL is increasing among adolescents yet the level of nicotine exposure that users get from these systems is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to report on vape pod behaviors and nicotine exposure among adolescents. How was it studied?Over 500 adolescents aged 12-21 years were sent surveys that asked about their use of vape pods. Specific vape pod products were also tested by the researchers to estimate nicotine levels in the vapor. What was found?Almost 8% of adolescents in the study reported daily or weekly use of vape pods and JUUL was the most popular brand. The vape pod products were found to contain higher concentrations of nicotine than older e-cigarettes. What is the bottom line?The use of vape pods, especially JUUL, is on the rise among adolescents. It is popular to believe that these e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes, but they contain high levels of nicotine which is addictive. Want to learn more?The National Academy of Sciences has a thorough series of fact sheets related to e-cigarette use and associated health risks. AuthorsBlog post: Jessica L. Bourdon
Article: Goniewicz, M. L., Boykan, R., Messina, C. R., et al. (2018). High exposure to nicotine among adolescents who use JUUL and other vape pod systems (‘pods’). Tobacco Control Monthly, EPub Ahead of Print, DOI 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054565 How much do you talk about mental health with your family?One of the biggest predictors of your future mental health is that of your own family! Knowing your family history is important. Use next week as an opportunity to ask questions. Spending the holiday with friends? Start a conversation about mental health and how you can support one another. Find out more at https://phgkb.cdc.gov/FHH/html/index.html.
11/13/2018 Tuesday Talk: Comrade and RachelIt’s my turn! Hi, I’m Comrade. My human is Rachel, vice president of the TPMH. Rachel loves to study chemicals related to opioids all day, but she always comes home in time to feed and walk me. I appreciate that. I’ll be back every few Tuesdays to tell you more about her work. Stay tuned!
Prevention and early intervention efforts are important! Do you know about the Turtle Program? The Turtle Program was designed to reduce later anxiety in preschoolers who exhibited signs of being behaviorally inhibited. Now you know! Read more at http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039043.
11/6/2018 Vivitrol or Suboxone - Does it MAT-ter?Check out our latest News You Can Use post by Rachel Davies!What was studied and why?For the first time, a large, controlled study directly compared the effectiveness of the following two medication assisted treatment (MAT) options for opioid use disorders (OUDs): injectable extended-release naltrexone (AKA “Vivitrol”), and buprenorphine-naloxone (AKA “Suboxone”). Previously, more evidence was available supporting the effectiveness of Suboxone than supporting Vivitrol. Suboxone, however, may not be appropriate for all patients. It partially activates mu opioid receptors (MORs) in the brain, perpetuating opioid dependence, though by safer means. Vivitrol is a much different drug. It does not produce activation of MORs, and may be a better option for patients who prefer to enter abstinence-based addiction recovery as soon as possible. Directly comparing the two drugs allowed researchers to investigate whether Vivitrol could be similarly effective as Suboxone at treating OUDs. How was it studied?The researchers identified 570 adults who were actively using opioids and had been diagnosed with OUDs. Half of these patients were assigned to receive Suboxone, and the other half were assigned to receive Vivitrol. This “controlled” design ensured that different severities of OUDs were equally represented in both treatment groups. The patients received treatment for 24 weeks. during this time the researchers recorded if and when the patients returned to opioid misuse. With this data collected, researchers determined if there were any relationships between patient outcomes and the drug they received as treatment. What was found?It was more difficult to start patients on Vivitrol, as patients had to detox from opioids first. Following detox, similar rates of relapse and side effects were found in each group. What is the bottom line?Vivitrol is more difficult treatment to start but is just as effective as Suboxone. Want to learn more?Are you worried about your substance use or are you in recovery? Check out the resources provided by VCU’s Rams in Recovery. AuthorsBlog post: Rachel Davies
Article: Lee, J.D. , et al. (2017). Comparative effectiveness of extended-release naltrexone versus buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid relapse prevention (X:BOT): a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, pp 1-10. Alcohol and parenting: Where things go wrongAccording to a recent national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 7.5 million (10.5%) children younger than the age of 18 in the United States live with a parent who had an alcohol use disorder in the past year. This is concerning, because research shows that kids who have parents with alcohol problems are also more likely to have alcohol and related problems.
Why do alcohol problems run in families? Research shows that alcohol use disorders are about 50% heritable. This means that about 50% of the reason for why people are different in their alcohol use behaviors lies in their genes. So it is not surprising that kids who inherit genetic risk toward alcohol problems from their parents are more likely to engage in risky drinking. However, the environments where the children grow up also play an important role. A new study led by College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute researcher Dr. Jinni Su explores whether and how parenting behaviors play a role in the transmission of alcohol problems from parents to children. It turns out that parental alcohol problems increase adolescents’ risk for alcohol and conduct problems, in part, by disrupting positive parenting behaviors in the family. That is, parents who suffer alcohol dependence symptoms are less likely to be involved in their adolescents’ daily activities, less warm and loving, and have poorer communication with their adolescents. This, in term, may lead adolescents to engage in risky drinking and conduct problems. In other words, having an alcohol use disorder makes it harder for parents to be good, involved parents. Alcohol problems consume parents’ psychosocial and financial resources, which can get in the way of parents’ ability to create good home environments and to provide positive parenting behaviors to their offspring, Dr. Su explains. Interestingly, it appears that fathers’ alcohol problems are particularly influential. When considered simultaneously, fathers’, but not mothers’ alcohol problems, were found to be more disruptive to the parenting behaviors of both fathers and mothers in the family. “Perhaps fathers’ alcohol problems create high levels of strain and emotional tension in the family”, Dr. Su says. It is also likely that when the father has alcohol problems, the mother may need to compensate by increasing her responsibilities and duties (e.g., taking over some activities from the father), which may add additional stress and time involvement that could potentially undermine mothers’ positive parenting. In contrast, given that most mothers have primary caregiving roles in the family, mothers may be more likely to maintain positive parenting behaviors such as involvement and communication with their adolescents, even when the mother suffers from alcohol problems herself. Disrupted parenting behaviors are just one way by which parental alcohol problems may increase their adolescents’ risk for alcohol and conduct problems. Dr. Su and colleagues continue to explore other pathways of risk, with the hope to inform prevention and intervention efforts that break the intergenerational transmission of alcohol problems. 11/2/2018 Friday Fun FactThere are many types of marijuana users, from those who use often to those who experiment a bit in college. Fun fact - the type of group individuals fall into in college predicts mental and physical health outcomes 10 years later! Read more at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.12.009.
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