Welcome to the Nexus of Ethics, Psychology, Morality, Philosophy and Health Care

Welcome to the nexus of ethics, psychology, morality, technology, health care, and philosophy
Showing posts with label Adolescent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adolescent. Show all posts

Sunday, February 1, 2015

More Americans Getting Mental Health Treatment

By Deborah Brauser
MedScape
Originally published January 27, 2015

Behavioral health in the United States appears to be improving, especially for those between the ages of 12 and 17 years, a new report suggests.

The latest national behavioral health barometer from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showed that treatment for adults with mental illness increased from 62.9% in 2012 to 68.5% 1 year later. Substance use treatment for all age groups also increased significantly.

The entire article is here.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Ethical Dilemmas of Confidentiality with Adolescent Clients: Case Studies from Psychologists

Rony E. Duncan, Annette C. Hall, Ann Knowles
Ethics & Behavior 
DOI:10.1080/10508422.2014.923314

Abstract

Navigating limits to confidentiality with adolescent clients can be ethically and professionally challenging. This study follows on from a previous quantitative survey of psychologists about confidentiality dilemmas with adolescents. The current study used qualitative methods to explore such dilemmas in greater depth. Twenty Australian psychologists were interviewed and asked to describe an ethically challenging past case. Cases were then used to facilitate discussion about the decision-making process and outcomes. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretive content and thematic analysis. Three key findings are discussed. First, it is of little use to perceive confidentiality dilemmas as binary choices (breach/don’t breach) because psychologists described five distinct options. These can be conceptualised on a spectrum of varying degrees of client autonomy, ranging from ‘no disclosure’ (highest client autonomy) to ‘disclosure without the client’s knowledge or consent’ (lowest client autonomy). Second, confidentiality dilemmas often involve balancing multiple and conflicting risks regarding both immediate and future harm. Third, a range of strategies are employed by psychologists to minimise potential harms when disclosing information. These are primarily aimed at maintaining the therapeutic relationship and empowering clients. These findings and the case studies described provide a valuable resource for teaching and professional development.

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1. It is of little use to conceptualise confidentiality as a binary choice.

2. Reaching a final decision about confidentiality dilemmas often entails balancing multiple and conflicting risks.

3. Participants demonstrated significant practice wisdom about how to negotiate confidentiality with adolescents in a manner that minimises harm.

The entire article is here.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

An Ordinary Football Game, Then a Player Dies

By Jorge Castillo
The New York Times

Football coaches and school administrators at John C. Birdlebough High School congregated in a small room off the library Monday, huddling around a computer for a most painful and unusual review of game video. They examined every play that one student was involved in, assuming the role of medical examiners.

They were trying to discern which collision of the hundreds in a football game at Homer High School on Friday night might have caused Ridge Barden, a 16-year-old defensive tackle, to fall to the turf in the third quarter and die within a few hours. The coroner attributed Barden’s death to a subdural hematoma, or a brain bleed.

“There’s nothing here; there’s still nothing there; there’s nothing there; there’s nothing there — and now he’s laying on his stomach,” Jeff Charles, the head coach, said while watching the sequence frame by frame.
As those who play and coach football learn new ways to improve safety — through training, medical response and equipment — sometimes they are left to contemplate this: brains remain vulnerable, and even the most ordinary collisions on the field can kill.

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Barden’s father, Jody, said he had no objection to the sport in the wake of his son’s death.

“I just don’t want a negative spin on this,” Mr. Barden said Sunday. “There is no blame in this. I don’t want to scare kids from playing the game. Ridge loved playing the game, and I know he wouldn’t want it to get a bad name.”

The entire story can be read here.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Parental Military Deployment Has Detrimental Affect On Adolescent Boys

Mary Guiden
University of Washington
Medical News Today

In 2007, nearly two million children in the United States had at least one parent serving in the military. Military families and children, in particular, suffer from mental health problems related to long deployments. 

A new study from researchers at the University of Washington (UW) concludes that parental military deployment is associated with impaired well-being among adolescents, especially adolescent boys. The study, "Adolescent well-being in Washington state military families," was published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Lead author Sarah C. Reed, who has a master's degree from the UW School of Public Health, said the findings show that it is time to focus more on the children that are left behind in times of war. "There is a lot of research about veterans and active-duty soldiers, and how they cope or struggle when they return from a deployment," said Reed. "Those studies hit the tip of the iceberg of how families are coping and how their children are doing."

Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to adverse health effects from parental military deployment. Healthy development, including identifying a sense of self and separation from family, can be interrupted during parents' active military service.

Media exposure and the developmental ability to understand the consequences of war may further disrupt adolescents' adjustment and coping. Teens may also have additional responsibilities at home after a parent's deployment, researchers said.

UW researchers used data from the Washington state 2008 Healthy Youth Survey, administered to more than 10,000 adolescents in 8th, 10th- and 12th grade classrooms. Female 8th graders with parents deployed to combat appear to be at risk of depression and thoughts of suicide, while male counterparts in all grades are at increased risk of impaired well-being in all of the areas examined (low quality of life, binge drinking, drug use and low academic achievement). 

Read the entire story here.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Teen Athletes Should Get Concussion Test Score Before Play

-- Robert Preidt

(HealthDay News) -- Individual concussion baselines need to be created for young athletes at the start of a playing season for them to be accurately diagnosed and treated if they suffer a concussion during the season, researchers report.

The investigators also noted that the sex of the players affects the scores on a standardized concussion assessment tool.

The study included 1,134 high school athletes in the Phoenix area who completed a brief questionnaire regarding their concussion history and were given a score based on the new Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-2 (SCAT2).

There were 872 males and 262 females, average age 15, included in the study. The predominant sports were football for the males and volleyball for the females.

Females scored significantly higher than males on the SCAT2 total score, and athletes with a prior history of concussion scored much lower on the SCAT2 than those with no history of concussion.

The findings were slated for presentation Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in San Diego.

"Our results showed that otherwise healthy adolescent athletes do display some variability in results so establishing each player's own baseline before the season starts and then comparing it to test results following a concussion leads to more accurate diagnosis and treatment," study author Dr. Anikar Chhabra, of the Orthopaedic Clinic Association in Phoenix, said in an AOSSM news release.

"This data provides the first insight into how the SCAT2 scores can be used and interpreted as a sideline concussion tool and as an initial baseline analysis. With concussions accounting for approximately 9% of all high school athletic injuries, accurately utilizing assessments like these to quickly determine an athlete's return-to-play probability is critical to long-term athletic and educational performance," Chhabra said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.