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By Karen Frances Eng, Image: Anson Chan, IDEAS.TED.COM, November 11, 2021 When approaching diseases, scientists usually look for two things — ways to cure them and ways to prevent them. But with mental illnesses, we have neither. For example, SSRIs are the most popular antidepressant medications, but they only suppress symptoms. Yet pharmaceutical research has focused almost entirely on fine-tuning these drugs rather than looking for ways to prevent mental disorders from occurring in the...

By Emily Henderson, Photo: Unsplash, Medical News, January 19, 2021 Researchers know that experiencing a high number of adverse events in childhood correlates with worse health outcomes in adulthood. These studies have led to an emphasis on trauma-informed practice in schools and workplaces in an attempt to mitigate the harm of early adversity. At the other end of the spectrum, focusing on wellness, Darcia Narvaez, emerita professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, has helped...

Please join us for a presentation of MARC ATR Network Survey findings from the study’s principal investigator, Margaret Hargreaves, PhD, MPP, Senior Fellow with NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey presentation will be followed by a panel discussion featuring network experiences from Fresno County, CA, and New Jersey. Guest Speakers: Amanda Adams , New Jersey Education Association Ingrid Cockhren , PACEs Connection Martha Davis , Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Dave Ellis , New...

By Gretchen Reynolds, Photo: Piotr Redlinski/The New York Times, The New York Times, January 18, 2022 To better cope with all the dispiriting news this winter about rising Covid-19 cases and so much else, you might want to get out and play in the snow, according to a new report. The large-scale study of almost 200,000 cross-country skiers found that being physically active halves the risk of developing clinical anxiety over time. The study, from Sweden, focused on skiing, but the researchers...

By Brian Mann, Photo: Unsplash, National Public Radio, January 13, 2022 The U.S. is facing the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in its history, but there is hope. Research shows most people with addiction do survive and recover, especially when they get quality treatment. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Would you like some good news? Yeah, me too. We've been reporting on the epidemic of drug deaths in the U.S. More than 100,000 fatal overdoses last year alone. Here's the good part. This morning, we're...

By Jeremy Loudenback, Photo: File photo, The Imprint, January 13, 2022 t the end of last year, Bobby Cagle stepped down as leader of Los Angeles County’s child welfare system after four years at the helm, citing the overwhelming pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past two years, Cagle shepherded the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) through a host of challenges, including a lack of personal protective gear, outbreaks at congregate care facilities, social workers...

By Jesse Rhodes, Raymond La Raja, Tatishe Nteta, and Alexander Theodoridis, Photo: Carlos Carria/Reuters, The Washington Post, January 17, 2022 In his famous address at the 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. drew a direct line between the struggle for racial equality and the nation’s efforts to realize democracy. “When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which...

By Jeff Asher and Rob Arthur, Photo: Education Images/Getty, January 10, 2022 After murders in the United States soared to more than 21,000 in 2020, researchers began searching for a definitive explanation why. Many factors may have contributed, such as a pandemic-driven loss of social programs and societal and policing changes after George Floyd’s murder . But one hypothesis is simpler, and perhaps has significant explanatory power: A massive increase in gun sales in early 2020 led to...

By Terri Huggins, Illustration: iStock/Washington Post Illustration, The Lily, January 4, 2022 When it comes to taking care of their health, Black women in the United States have a lot working against them, according to research. They are three times as likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause as White women. They have the highest rate of obesity in comparison to other groups, and they experience higher rates of discrimination, which is a stressor related to poor physical and mental health...

By The Imprint Staff Reporters, Photo: Unsplash, The Imprint, January 11, 2022 A new study of young people who have been in foster care and are enrolled at community colleges in Illinois paints a dismal picture of their educational success, and researchers said they would expect similar results if studies were conducted in other states. Released Monday by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, the study said such youths typically struggled in high school, leaving them ill-prepared for...

By Annia Ciezadlo, Photo: Seth Wenig/AP, The Guardian, January 14, 2022 I n New York , some things never change. If you die in a fire, it’s always your fault. When a fire started in a heater and ripped down the hallway of an apartment building in December 1998, killing four people in a blast of heat and smoke, city officials framed the fire as a tragedy that could have been avoided if people had only remembered to close their doors. “People should close the door behind them when leaving a...

Laura Porter’s research supports increasing three capacities that allow people to thrive. They are: building capabilities, increasing attachment and belonging, and supporting the culture and spirituality in communities. When working with organizations and communities, she warns that if the focus is solely on building capabilities, we make the process into an “individual fix.” Building individual capacities is very important to help people thrive, however we cannot deny the biologically...