Over controlling helicopter parents are avoided by their children as they get older

FRIDAY, Feb. 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Helicopter parents, take note: A mother has a better relationship with her child if she respects the youngster's need for independence at a young age, a new study suggests.

Mothers who allowed children more freedom at age 2 were viewed more positively by their children later in childhood, according to the University of Missouri study.

The study included more than 2,000 mothers and their children. The researchers observed how much the mothers controlled the children's play at age 2 and then interviewed the children at fifth grade to assess how they felt about their mothers.

"When mothers are highly controlling of small children's play, those children are less likely to want to engage with them," Jean Ispa, co-chair of the department of human development and family studies, said in a university news release.

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Stigma keeps employees from disclosing mental health problems to employers according to recent study

FRIDAY, Feb. 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Many workers say they wouldn't tell their manager if they had a mental health problem, a Canadian survey finds.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health poll of more than 2,200 working adults in the province of Ontario found that 38 percent would not disclose a mental illness to a manager.

Their reasons for keeping quiet included fears about the effect on their career, bad experiences of others who came forward and the risk of losing friends. Some said they wouldn't disclose a mental illness because it would not affect their work.

On the other hand, having a good relationship with their manager and supportive company policies were the main reasons given by those who said they would disclose a mental illness.

"A significant number of working people have mental health problems, or have taken a disability leave related to mental health. Annually, almost 3 percent of workers are on a short-term disability leave related to mental illness," said study leader Carolyn Dewa, head of the center's division for research on employment and workplace health.

"Stigma is a barrier to people seeking help. Yet by getting treatment, it would benefit the worker and the workplace, and minimize productivity loss," she said in a center news release.

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Teen Birth Rate Drops Again to All-Time Low: CDC

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Editor's note:

There are many reasons for this drop in the teen birth rate. Having worked on this problem over several decades, my experience tells me it is improved sex education and the availability of birth control which has made the improvement. Abstinence based programs have been shown not to work.

Copy cat suicide

From Science Daily 

Heightened newspaper coverage after a suicide might have a significant impact on the initiation of some teenage suicide clusters, according to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The study reveals that the content of media reports is also important, with more prominent stories (ie, published on the front page) and those that describe the suicide in considerable detail more likely to be associated with so-called copycat suicides.

"Our findings indicate that the more sensational the coverage of the suicides, and the more details the story provides, then the more likely there are to be more suicides," explains lead author Dr Madelyn Gould from the New York State Psychiatric Institute in the USA.

Editor's note: 
When I do a risk assessment on a client who is suicidal I always ask if they know someone, or is there someone in their family who has committed suicide. If the answer is "yes" this increases the risk.

Because of the phenomenon of copy cat suicide there has been a lot of controversy over Netflix TV series, 13 reasons why, which some people say make teenage suicide justifiable. For more information click here.

What's in a name? Choose your child's name thoughtfully.

What's in a name? Turns out quite a bit. Social science research has shown that names have influence on later life success. Parents need to choose their children's names carefully with a view on how the name will affect the child's life prospects.

This video describes popular names chosen in Western New York city of Buffalo, NY in 2014. They all sound like Caucasian middle class names to me. Names are associated with race and ethnicity and so their implications are significant for first perceptions and initial impressions.

Do you like your name? Has it caused problems for you. Many people change their names for a variety of reasons. Would you change yours? While you can't tell a book by its cover many people wouldn't even pick up a book with certain covers, and many people find it hard to get past their initial prejudices stimulated by a name.

Sex in long term marriage

From Science Daily 02/16/15:

While people in the early years of marriage have sex more frequently, and their sexual activity tapers off over time, a slight rebound occurs for those whose marriages endure longer than half a century, according to new research.

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Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Are You a Cat Person or Dog Person? University of California Television (UCTV) (Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/) A web-based survey of more than 1,000 pet owners nationwide analyzed the key personality traits and nurturing styles of people who identified as a “cat person,” a “dog person,” “both” or “neither.” Surprisingly perhaps, those who expressed the greatest affection for their pets also rated among the most conscientious and neurotic, suggesting that the qualities that make for overbearing parents might work better for our domesticated canine and feline companions, who tend to require lifelong parenting. The research was conducted by UC Berkeley and California State University, East Bay. Mikel Delgado, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley co-authored the study. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Show ID: 29308]