Cry for Help

PBS program entitled "Cry for Help." Gives information about suicide, mental health and teenagers, and features a high school in Hamilton, OH that experienced 4 student suicides in a short period of time. Here is the local schedule for Columbus (also look up other times on other cable schedules):

Thu 4/30: 1-2am (34 WOSU)
Thu 4/30: 9-10pm (34.3 WOSUDT3)

Plan B Available to 17 Year-Olds

Chicago Tribune article, "Plan B Contraceptive: FDA to allow 17 year-olds to purchase emergency birth-control pills." Previously the lowest age someone could buy Plan B was 18 years old. What are the pros and cons of allowing 17 year-olds to purchase Plan B? Is there truly a "slippery slope" that would lead to abuse of the medication and/or younger girls being able to purchase the medication? How could parents and the medical community provide support for young women who are sexually active beyond this medication?

Breast Feeding Benefits Mothers

NY Times article entitled "Breast Feeding Benefits Mothers, Study Finds." This new research indicates that women who breast feed are at lower risk for certain health issues in later life. What are the implications of this study? Are there any additional factors which might contribute to the findings? How might women who are unable to breast feed for any reason (e.g., child allergic to breast milk, inability to produce breast milk) feel about the implications of this research?

When the Patient Gets Lost in Translation

NY Times article entitled "When the Patient Gets Lost in Translation." The article discusses the impact of language barriers on treatment, as well as health disparities. How might healthcare be improved if all hospitals provided interpreters for patients? What might be the barriers to providing that type of service? How might cultural beliefs impact the use of interpreters and compliance with Western medicine?

Screening for Thyroid Problems in Pregnancy

NY Times article entitled "Prenatal Testing of Thyroid is Debated." The article focuses on the impact of both hypo- and hyper-thyroidism during pregnancy. What the article does not mention is that hypo- and hyper-thyroidism impact fertility and can contribute to miscarriage. Should TSH testing, despite confusing guidelines, be tested as a part of routine prenatal care? Is the increased cost of testing worth the potential benefits?

Are Hospitals Passing Off Patients?

Chicago Tribune article entitled "Are hospitals passing off their low-profit patients? Stroger pays for transfers from non-profit hospitals getting tax breaks." Hospitals in the Chicago area are stabilizing low-income patients and sending them to the county hospital. What is your opinion of this? Even though it is not illegal to send patients to another hospital, is it ethical to do so? How might patient care be impacted by this kind of treatment?

Boosting Self Esteem

NY Times article entitled "Writing About Values Lifts Some Students' Grades." A recent study reports that having children write a short assignment focused on confidence-building improved their grades in 7th grade, but this effect also continued through 8th grade. What are the potential implications of this study? What could be an additional variable influencing the results? How might this apply to other areas of education?

Police Academy for Elderly

NY Times Article entitled "A Police Academy That Takes the Elderly." Newark, NY police officers are training older adults in the community with a computerized firearms simulator. The goal is to not only assist older adults to be vigilant in the fight against crime, but also connect older adults with the police force and provide them with information. Do you think this strategy will help or hurt relationships between police and older citizens? What are the potential positives of this strategy? The potential negatives?

Top Fears for Youth

CNN.com Health article entitled "Terrorism, kidnapping among top fears for today's youth." How do you think media climate and parents' fears impact a child's fears? What do you think is the cause of the change of top fears as a child ages?

Facebook Users Get Worse Grades

From LiveScience.com (and posted on Yahoo News), "Facebook Users Get Worse Grades in College." A researcher from Ohio State found that non-Facebook users get higher grades and study longer hours than those who used Facebook. The results were correlational, not causal; however, what are the implications of this study? What are other factors that might influence grades and study time? How can one balance an online social life and the demands of a college education?

Another Awkward Sex Talk

From the NY Times, "18 and Under -- Another Awkward Sex Talk: Respect and Violence." How should a parent approach the idea of sexual activity, domestic violence, and respect for women to a young boy? What would be the best way for a parent to overcome any awkwardness they have with these topics before approaching their child? Should there be a double standard for talking to boys and girls about sex?

The impact of bullying

A Boston TV station is reporting on a story entitled "Mother says bullies drive her son to suicide." Studies indicate that up to 30% of youth have been bullied, participate in bullying, or both. What might have been done for this young child? Are school programs effective at reducing bullying? What are the warning signs if someone is bullied and/or thinking about suicide?

If you or someone you know are thinking about suicide, please contact your local mental health center or call 911. For more information about suicide, please visit the following websites:

Suicide Prevention Resource Center
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

To understand bullying, or to find information about how to stop bullying, please visit the following websites:

APA Help Center, "Warning Signs of Youth Violence"
U.S. DHHS, Stop Bullying Now! program
National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

Calorie Burning Fat?

NY Times article entitled "Calorie Burning Fat? Studies Say You Have It." Brown fat has been identified as heat-yielding cells in humans, and appear to burn calories at significantly high rates. What are the implications of this study for obesity research? What are the pros and cons of researchers being able to "turn on" brown fat?

April is Autism Awareness Month

The Autism Society of America is celebrating Autism Awareness Month, which is an opportunity to educate the public about autism and issue relevant to children and adults with autism. For more information about autism, visit the ASA's Autism Awareness Month website or the CDC's Autism Month Awareness website.

Signs of Rising Stress as People Face an Uncertain Future

NY Times article, "Recession anxiety seeps into everyday lives." How has the economy affected your emotional well-being? What are the healthiest ways to cope with emotional stress caused by the current economy? Are children and adults impacted differently by financial stress? How so?

CDC Report on Drug Use and Sexual Behavior Among Adults

From the CDC, "Drug Use and Sexual Behaviors Reported by Adults: United States, 1999–2002." (opens as a .pdf file). Report Abstract: This report presents prevalence estimates for self-reported adult drug use and sexual behaviors in the United States. Data are from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected from 1999 to 2002. NHANES surveys a stratified multistage probability sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. Tables included in this report present estimates for use of cocaine, including crack or freebase, or other street drugs, and sexual behavior by selected sociodemographic characteristics among adults 20–59 years of age.

Teens locked up for life

From CNN.com, "Teens locked up for life without a second chance." It is against the law to sentence a teenager to death for a crime, but should it also be against the law to sentence a teenager to life in prison with no chance for parole? Do teenagers have the cognitive ability to understand the consequences of their behaviors? What other sentence would be more appropriate?

Early Swim Lessons May Reduce Drowning

NY Times article entitled "Early Swim Lessons May Reduce Drowning." Safety experts worry that small children taking swim lessons might be over-confident in the water and lead parents to not be as vigilant in watching their children while swimming. What do you think? What are the pros and cons of teaching children age 1-4 how to swim?

Link between stress and brain impairment in low SES children

Washington Post article, "Research links poor children's stress, brain impairment." Article describes how stress in children of low SES families appears to have a negative impact on a specific brain function -- working memory. Does the results of this study appear to support a nature or nurture argument for working memory? How could we support children in lower SES families who have high stress levels?

One out of Five U.S. Preschoolers Obese

From the Columbus Dispatch, "Study shows 1 out of 5 preschoolers is obese." What is the cause of skyrocketing obesity rates in children this young? What interventions could be designed? How does culture play a role in eating habits and possibly obesity rates?

Perils of Caffeine Withdrawal

From CNN.com, "Beware the perils of caffeine withdrawal." Should caffeine be considered a drug so that insurance companies would pay for addiction and dependency treatment? Is there any negative to being "hooked" on caffeine? What do you think about a step-down approach to withdrawal from caffeine? Are there other medical conditions that might benefit from or worsen in the presence of caffeine?

Editing Human Memory

NY Times article: "Brain Researchers Open Door to Editing Memory." Do you think it is a good thing to be able to erase select memories in the human brain? What are the pros and cons of erasing traumatic memories? Is there a "slippery slope" to editing memory?

Faith or Family?

Chicago Tribute article entitled "Faith or Family?" that discusses a young couple's struggle with infertility and subsequent choice to use IVF, against the doctrine of the Catholic Church. How might one's religious belief and values impact other aspects of development?

Can You Teach Empathy? (and Should We?)

NY Times article entitled "In Middle Schools, Empathy Becomes A Weapon Against Bullying." Can children who bully be taught to change their behavior through empathy training?

Predicting Investing Styles with DNA

Wall Street Journal article entitled "Is Your Investing Personality in Your DNA?" Is it possible that something like investing in financial markets could be pre-determined by your genetics? How might this impact the Nature vs. Nurture debate in development?

PBS series: Life's Greatest Miracle

This is a link to the PBS website and program entitled "Life's Greatest Miracle." We will be watching excerpts of this in class, but the link is here for those who would like to watch the entire program.

Series of articles on Lionel Tate

Here is a link to all the published articles on Lionel Tate that the NY Times ran. Lionel Tate was a 12-year old who killed a 6-year old female playmate while pretending to imitate professional wrestling (in 1999). He was initially sentenced to life in prison; this sentence was later overturned and he was offered a plea deal, serving only a few years. In 2005, he was accused of attempting to rob a pizza delivery driver. Does a 12 year-old child understand death? Would a child that age be capable of first-degree murder?

Car seat safety

Chicago Tribune article "Car seat test reveal flaws." How can parents cope with consumer recalls and studies like this one that might reveal the produce they thought would protect their child might actually harm the child?

Options for Leg Ulcers

Interesting NY Times report on options for leg ulcers, comparing traditional treatments with use of live maggots. How do you think a patient would psychologically fare when/if treated with this method?

Heart muscle renews over lifetime

NY Times article entitled "Heart Muscle Renewed Over Lifetime, Study Finds." What impact might the results of this study have on healthcare?

Health problems associated with insomnia

From CNN.com, two recent studies released indicate that "Suicidal thoughts, high blood pressure associated with insomnia." Why do you think this link exists? What are some of the other variables that might be associated with insomnia and suicidal thoughts or high blood pressure (e.g., stress?).