News (1,639 posts)

The study, published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, found that the nondeceptive group showed a significant decrease in stress, anxiety and depression in just two weeks compared to the no-treatment control group. Participants also reported that the nondeceptive placebos were easy to use, not burdensome and appropriate for the situation.

A report written by a panel of family and domestic violence experts has detailed a “national emergency” in Australia. The Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches was established in May following a spate of murders of women.

America is in the midst of a mental health crisis.

Approximately 74% of college students in Connecticut have gambled within the last year, according to data released in March by researchers at DMHAS and the University of Connecticut School of Social Work who polled students across 30 public, private and community colleges and universities in the state through surveys and focus groups. The results suggest a higher rate of gambling engagement among college students compared to the general population.

The legacy of pollution from the pharmaceutical industry is palpable in Salinas, where chemical smells hide the scent of the sea.

When boys and girls reach adolescence, they are bombarded with messages that associate attraction with violence. These messages – from their peer group, TV series, films, music, social media, and so on – depict boys with violent and demeaning attitudes towards girls as attractive, but not so much those who treat girls well.

A new report from the Children’s Commissioner for England has found that 457 strip searches of children by police took place between July 2022 and June 2023. The report shows that Black children were four times more likely, when compared to national population figures, to be strip-searched.

Research-integrity watchers had already suspected that citations are for sale at paper mills, services that churn out low-quality studies and sell authorship slots on already-accepted papers, says Cyril Labbé, a computer scientist at Grenoble Alpes University in France. “Paper mills have the ability to insert citations into papers that they are selling,” he says. In November 2023, analytics firm Clarivate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, excluded more than 1,000 researchers from its annual list of highly cited researchers because of fears of citation gaming and ‘hyper-publishing’.

“Without the staffing crisis, we would have plenty of PRTF beds,” said Laura Howard (above), secretary for the Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services…. She said the Legislature has made investments to the foster care system, but not enough in services that might deal with the mental and behavioral problems that land so many kids in the system.

The rollout of these products is a psychological experiment on a massive scale. It should worry all of us — and not just for the reasons you might think. Emotional reliance on AI isn’t a hypothetical risk. It’s already happening.

The study used data collected by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) — also known as Children of the 90s — and included a total of 6,556 participants of whom 50.4% were female. Inflammation was identified by increased levels of the general inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) recorded in participants at ages 9, 15 and 17 years. Of the two groups identified with persistently raised inflammation throughout their developing years, the researchers discovered that it was the group whose CRP levels peaked earlier in childhood, around age 9, that were most associated with subsequent higher risks of depression and psychosis at age 24.

Is it time to legalise and tax widely used drugs like cannabis which are no longer being prosecuted by the authorities and to give the money to the NHS​?

Lead author Heather Burrell Ward, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explains, “Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. There are currently no medications to treat cognitive impairment, resulting in significant disability. This impairment is frequently present by the time an individual has their first psychotic break, making early detection and intervention critical. Our current study is part of our work to understand and treat the medication-resistant symptoms of psychotic disorders.”

After a presentation by the provincial Department of Social Development to the standing committee on Social Development earlier in August, the committee wrote to Justice Minister Thembisile Simelane, asking for attacks against social workers attacks to be reclassified as an ‘offence against the state’, with harsher legal consequences.

Americans own approximately 400 million firearms and the country carries the unfortunate distinction of being the only one in the world in which guns are known to be the leading cause of child and adolescent death. Today, Americans live with around 1.2 guns per capita – double that of the next-highest scoring country, Yemen. Despite having less than 5 per cent of the global population, the US possesses nearly half of the world’s civilian-owned guns. Moreover, in recent years Americans have witnessed a surge in gun sales and gun-related deaths, unfolding against a backdrop of increasingly lenient gun laws across states.

Dr. Siobhan Stevenson, an expert in library science, explains why library management, in some cases, fails to respond to library workers’ concerns about safety. She also noted: “This is not a library problem. This is a political problem. This is a social problem. And to get past it, we need the political will to change our thinking around how we fund or how we want to fund social services,”

More than 320 cases of suspected identity fraud have been referred for investigation by welfare inspectors, according to the Department of Social Protection…. Last year, more than 630,000 customer welfare claims were reviewed, resulting in savings of €526 million. While the €115 million worth of welfare overpayments were identified, repayments of nearly €88 million were made last year.

The purpose of this CMCS Informational Bulletin (CIB) is to highlight federal renewal
requirements and available flexibilities to promote continuity of coverage for individuals eligible for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) through Medicaid.

In many countries scientists have experienced a loss of academic freedom in recent years. This trend has come in for criticism on the basis of fundamental principles. However, there has been no research to date on whether the degree of academic freedom also has an impact on a society’s ability to produce innovations. For the first time an international team of researchers has studied the relationship between academic freedom and innovation output.

While rates of methamphetamine-related psychiatric hospitalizations increased 68% over the study period, opioid-related hospitalizations decreased by 22%. Methamphetamine rate increases may be attributed to methamphetamines ubiquitousness and affordability, as well as the lack of resources available to manage methamphetamine use. Why opioid-involved psychiatric hospitalizations declined is less clear but may be related to the lethality of fentanyl.

In the mid-1980s, Park Village Apartments could charitably have been viewed as needing some attention. The low-income apartment complex in Stockton, California, was in disrepair, with leaking roofs, sewage issues, abandoned cars, and stretches of dirt where landscaping should have been. Above: By 1995, construction was complete.

The legal conflict began when Paxton arrived at Annunciation House on February 7, 2024, demanding a vast array of confidential records to be turned over to the Office of the Attorney General within 24 hours…. This aggressive stance not only underscored the growing tension in Texas between state authorities and organizations that provide essential support to migrants but also shocked many, including Pope Francis, who was taken aback by Paxton’s attack on a religious nonprofit. Annunciation House has strongly denied any involvement in illegal activities, with their attorney stating, “There is no legal basis for closing a nonprofit that provides social services to refugees. Period.”

Dr. Bilgin, said: “Despite the ongoing debate about the potential long-term harms and benefits of bed-sharing, little scientific research has been conducted on this topic. Parents can rest assured that as long as it’s practiced safely, bed-sharing is unlikely to have any negative impact on children’s emotional and behavioural development”

“Post-traumatic growth theory is a concept from psychology describing the positive change that can occur as a result of struggling with highly challenging life circumstances,” said Lenny Chiang-Hanisko, Ph.D., senior author and an FAU associate professor.

The esteemed professor reflected on his 40-year career, including the legacy of his work on attachment theory and the importance of understanding parents’ worldview.

Not all pain is the same. Depending on the cause, it requires different therapies. A team led by ETH Zurich has now developed a method that enables physicians to better distinguish between physical and psychosocial pain.

The child identified in a lawsuit as… who allegedly was killed while in custody of her parents after authorities failed to respond appropriately to signs of abuse

The comedian Wanda Sykes put it less academically: “Till death do you part. That’s biblical times. Moses wrote that. That’s the Old Testament. They had no problem saying till death do you part back then because they didn’t live that long. They had good plagues. Soon as that guy got on your nerves, here come some locusts to eat his ass up for you.”

Perhaps the most concerning red flag came in a preprint posted this month from a team of researchers from U.C.L.A. and the University of Southern California. In states that legalized and enabled online sports gambling, the researchers found, the likelihood of bankruptcy rose by 28 percent — not just among gamblers, whether casual or compulsive, but statewide. Relatedly, average credit scores went down — three times as much in places that enabled online gambling as in places that legalized only in-person betting — and debt collections went up. The effects were larger in low-income communities, which is not surprising: Families with smaller savings will most likely spend a much larger share of those savings gambling than those with more cash to spare, and do so with much less of a buffer to protect against losses.

Staverne Miller (above), the acting commissioner, was promoted to the top job at the agency responsible for 38,000 children and young adults. Miller, a nearly 35-year DCF veteran, worked her way through the ranks at the agency, she said in a brief interview Monday, including serving as a social worker.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson allows cities to criminalize those who are homeless.

While recent research has highlighted the critical role housing plays in overall health, Rapid Rehousing (RRH) programs have emerged to help individuals and families move from homelessness to stable living situations. However, despite RRH’s growth as a solution to homelessness, its impact on mental health has remained largely unexplored until now.

Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, who has been told by officials that the special care system “may no longer be fit for purpose”. The underlying problem is a shortage of social workers who are qualified and willing to work in specialist care units

Angi joined BASW as a student member in 1980 and is especially proud of her 10 years of work with the BASW Special Interest Group on Ageing (SIGA), including two terms as SIGA Chair. After SWU formed in 2011, Angi joined its Executive Committee, and has served as SWU Vice Chair for the past two years. Above: SWU General Secretary, John McGowan and Angi Naylor with her BASW Lifetime Achievement Award

A study undertaken by Lisa Holmes, Professor of Applied Social Science in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex, has illustrated the stark contrast in cost to the public purse of supporting children back into their family units (reunification) versus the costs associated with children returning to care due to failed reunification – and it is over four times less.

Set in a care home for kids and youth with intellectual disabilities, the hybrid pic follows a team of social workers in their daily routines and interactions with the youths. When a young resident reveals she is pregnant and wants to keep the baby, the head therapist Eivor (Amalie Ibsen Jensen) has to take difficult decisions.

Reporting Highlights
– Militias After Jan. 6: Internal messages reveal how AP3, one of the largest U.S. militias, rose even as prosecutors pursued other paramilitary groups after the assault on the Capitol.
– Organized Vigilantism: AP3 has already sought to shape American life through armed vigilante operations — at the Texas border, outside ballot boxes and during Black Lives Matter protests.
– Close Ties With Police: AP3 leaders have forged alliances with law enforcement around the U.S. Internal files reveal their strategies for building these ties and where they’ve claimed success.

“While we see potential efficiency gains in using the generative AI LLM for information extraction tasks, issues of reliability and hallucinations currently limit its utility,” said Andrew Rundle, DrPH, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School and senior author.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to know exactly how many people with an intellectual disability are in sheltered work programs in Canada.

The move has been slammed by charities, including the Maryhill Integration Network. They said in a statement: “This decision will have a significant negative impact for people seeking asylum in Scotland, for some, it was a last ray of hope under such difficult and hostile policies…. People in the asylum process cannot work, cannot access public funds and some live on as little as £1.36 per day.”

As far-right hate and violence sweep across Britain, exploiting the Southport murders as a pretext but especially targeting Muslim communities, anti-fascists of a certain vintage are taking to social media and posting defiant images of an Anti-Nazi League (ANL) badge. It’s a way of saying: “We have seen this before, and we will stand up to it again.” Above: A massive column of demonstrators occupying the full width of the Strand after the start of a procession from Trafalgar Square to Hackney’s Victoria Park in a “Carnival Against the Nazis” organised jointly by the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism, April 30, 1978

Taiwan has a history of charitable services, particularly charitable relief to support the ‘poor’, founded on Western missionaries. Post the Second World War social work began to be developed, supported by resources provided by the United States and founded on the ‘American style’ of social work practice. Whilst the job title of ‘social worker’ was first mentioned in 1949 in the social services department in Taipei Hospital, government departments did not establish a social work employment system until 1972.

Beneath this sweeping repression aimed at silencing dissent, free speech and critical inquiry lies a series of right-wing policies that threaten to undermine education’s role as a democratic public sphere and its commitment to fostering critical thinking. In this environment, we can expect a sustained assault on critical pedagogy, historical understanding, informed judgment, faculty job security, critical literacy, civic awareness, and any effort to connect learning with civic engagement and democratic values.

Allison Schmitt of the United States celebrates after winning gold in the Women’s 200m Freestyle final on Day 4 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre…. She earned her Masters’ degree in social work from Arizona State University, which she said has given her the education she needs to not just rely on her own experiences to make a macro change.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick speaks at a 2024 campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Waco, Texas…. In Texas now, criticizing the lieutenant governor can get professors investigated and formally censured. That’s what happened to opioid expert and Texas A&M professor Joy Alonzo after she gave a speech where she remarked on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s handling of the opioid crisis. Unsurprisingly, Patrick is also at the forefront of Texas’ attempt to eliminate tenure, which is another way red states seek to control public universities.

Brunel University London’s Tienga Ngale and Vishal Udaya Kumar have both been shortlisted for the Social Work Student of the Year 2024.

“Social workers want to go above and beyond constantly. But people are saying they are permanently exhausted and it’s leeching into their personal lives. There’s no off-switch,” says PSA Delegate and Social Worker Jameela Diallo.

For some critics, the concept of toxic masculinity flattens the many layers of a complex social identity, including race, sexuality, class, and age. For this reason, some academics have come to prefer “hegemonic masculinity” or “machismo” or good old-fashioned “patriarchy.” And yet, according to social workers and educators on the ground, the divisiveness of toxic masculinity as a phrase can be an asset. “In my experience teaching violence prevention programs over the past decade, the tensions arising from the term’s popularity and infamy are an opportunity,” says Dr. Will McInerney, a researcher at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics. McInerney believes that when handled the right way, the reaction the term provokes can lead to engagement. “It’s an entry-point for men to think more critically about masculinity, the harms associated with some versions of it, and the possibilities of more equitable, less violent alternatives.”

Project 2025’s plan to train an army of political appointees who could fight the so-called deep state on behalf of a future Trump administration remains on track…. Dozens of never-before-published videos created for Project 2025 were provided to ProPublica and Documented by a person who had access to them.

The South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) has named Robin “Holly” Morris as the new Child Welfare Services Lowcountry Regional Director. Morris, a 28-year veteran of working with children and families, began her new role on August 2.