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Mental health hospitalization rates among U.S. children have been increasing locally and nationally in recent decades. Children in New York State (NYS) have also witnessed several collective traumatic events during the last two decades including the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (9/11), the Great Recession, and Hurricane Sandy (2012) and its aftermath. Decomposition of these rates into age, period, and cohort effects may help elucidate how large-scale collective traumatic events may be driving time trends. This study examined age-period-cohort effects in children and youth mental health hospitalizations in NYS from 1999-2013. Age effects followed a linear trend from age 5 years, B = -2.76, 95% CI [-3.48, -2.03)] up to age 15 years, B = 1.62, 95% CI [1.52, 1.73]. The largest period effects were noted in 2004, B = 0.36, 95% CI [0.28, 0.45], and in 2013, B = 0.31, 95% CI [0.15, 0.47], approximately 3 years after 9/11 and the Great Recession, respectively. The largest birth cohort effect was noted for children born in 1992-1995 (range: 0.29 for children born in 1992-0.27 for children born in 1995), suggesting that the birth cohorts who experienced the 9/11 attacks during middle childhood and the Great Recession during puberty are at increased risk of mental health hospitalizations compared to other birth cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Still one of the fasting growing minoritized groups in the U.S., Latinxs [we are using the term Latinx rather than Latino/a or Hispanic, unless a term is used by cited resources. See Scharrón-de Río and Aja (The case For "Latinx"—And why this term matters for intersectionality—everyday feminism [magazine], 2016)], historically, have endured major socio-economic and educational crises that have produced challenges to mental health and wellness. Unfortunately, the challenges many Latinxs face are often overlooked, misunderstood and underserved. This paper is a study of high school youth who were part of the Education in our Barrios Project, #BarrioEdProject, a Philadelphia-based participatory action research (PAR) collaborative, where high school-aged and undergraduate youth work together to conduct research on issues that affect their local communities and schools. Using an ecological-feminist-Latinx framework (Heiman and Artiga in Beyond health care: the role of social determinants in promoting health and health equity, 2015; Nelson and Prilleltensky in Pursuit of Liberation and Well-being, 2nd ed. Palgrave, New York, 2010; Smith and Romero in AJOP Am J Orthopsychiatr 80(1):12–25, 2010) the authors consider how #BarrioEdProject, as a form of PAR Entremundos, function as a space to support youth mental health and address oppressive social determinants of mental health. Drawing on observations, interviews, and written responses from participants, the authors assert that #BarrioEdProject and its curriculum of conocimiento can help participants identify the kinds of trauma that young people face, and create an experience where participants are humanized, share power and develop the skills to take social action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the engagement of young people who use drugs (PWUD) in harm reduction programs (HRPs), and few studies have included non-opioid users and non-injectors. While HRPs have effectively engaged PWUD, young people are under-represented in their services.Methods: The Injection Drug Users Health Alliance Citywide Study (IDUCS) is the largest community-based study of PWUD in HRPs in the US. From 2014-2015, 2421 HRP participants across New York City (NYC) completed a cross-sectional survey. We investigated differences in socio-demographics, service utilization, and risk behaviors between young (aged 18-30) and older participants and examined factors associated with overdose among young participants.Results: The study included 257 young participants. They were significantly more likely than older participants to be white, educated, uninsured, unstably housed or homeless, and have a history of incarceration and residential drug treatment. They were more likely to report recent overdose but less likely to report knowledge of naloxone. Young participants also had higher rates of alcohol, marijuana, benzodiazepine, and injection drug use, and related risk behaviors such as public injection. Factors associated with past year overdose among young participants included experiencing symptoms of psychological distress (AOR=9.71), being unstably housed or homeless (AOR=4.39), and utilizing detox (AOR=4.20).Conclusions: Young PWUD who access services at HRPs in NYC differ significantly from their older counterparts. New York City and other urban centers that attract young PWUD should consider implementing harm reduction oriented services tailored to the unique needs of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the documented importance of the neighbourhood environment on youth physical activity, little empirical research exists regarding the geographical boundaries of neighbourhoods within which youth are physically active around their homes. Studies and public policies often arbitrarily assume the extent of these boundaries, which vary from study to study. This paper combines GPS data, diaries and accelerometry to delineate empirically the local area and distance within which youth play in Erie County, New York. The study found that youth tend to be physically active within a quarter-mile radius around their homes and to focus on one section of the often assumed circled neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses research done on the association between weight gain in youths and second-generation antipsychotics. It references a study by Christoph U. Correll and colleagues, published in the 2009 issue of the "Journal of American Medical Association." The non-randomized cohort study was conducted in academic inpatient and outpatient clinics in Queens, New York from 2001 to 2007. The researchers recommended balancing the benefits of antipsychotics against cardiometabolic risks.