PsychBriefs: September 2-8, 2007

Suicide Rates Rise in U.S. Girls
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on 2004 suicide rates shows an eight percent increase in suicides among Americans age 10 to 24 following a 13-year decline. This increase was most dramatic among girls age 10 to 14, who experienced a 76 percent increase in 2004. The report also noted a change in method of suicide, with hanging and suffocation replacing handguns as the most common method.
[REPORT][ARTICLE]

Anxiety High in Children Six Months Before Entering School
Examining cortisol levels in preschool aged children, research shows that children experience increasing anxiety levels about starting school, beginning about six months before they enter primary school and ending about six months later. This was especially true for extroverted children, perhaps because they were more likely to get into confrontational situations. While high cortisol levels are thought to correlate with a suppressed immune system, researchers found that children with higher cortisol levels were actually less likely to become sick during the academic year.
[FULL TEXT][ARTICLE]

Pregnancy Increases Chance of Binge Eating Disorder
A study of 100,000 pregnant Norwegian women shows that pregnancy increases the likelihood of a woman developing a new case of binge eating disorder. While other eating disorders tend to go into remission during pregnancy, binge eating disorder was more likely to continue after in women with existing cases who became pregnant.
[ABSTRACT][ARTICLE]