Suicide-related behavior (SRB) is a growing mental health concern on college campuses. We argue that causes of this rising trend go beyond student stress, to include outdated campus policies, overburdened counseling center staffing, and untapped targets for prevention efforts. We outline the social-ecological model applied to suicide and related…

G. Rumay Alexander is a leader working to transform nursing education and address systemic racism within the nursing profession and the health care system more broadly. At the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Alexander serves as clinical professor at the School of Nursing and assistant dean for relational excellence at the Adams…

The National Center on Family Homelessness is determined to end family homelessness. Sheltering families provides a temporary safe haven. Connecting families to permanent housing, essential services, and critical supports can change their lives forever. Through research the Center learns what families need to rebound from the housing, economic,…

This paper reaches into a comprehensive study of a generation of young people in Australia, drawing on a comparison with Canadian longitudinal data. It argues that this is a generation of reluctant change makers who have created new ways of living as a response to economic changes and government policies. These new ways of living, once exposed,…

Black men are disproportionately exposed to adverse social and economic factors that may be linked to depression. Little is known about depression among Black fathers, although depression is a significant health problem and detrimental to the instrumental and affective support of their families. The authors use data from the "Fragile Families and…

The 2009 Institute of Medicine report on prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders (National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, 2009b) presented evidence that major depression can be prevented. In this article, we highlight the implications of the report for public policy and research. Randomized controlled trials have shown…

Recent studies have highlighted the progressively increasing number of children prescribed psychotropic medication, while findings have illustrated significantly greater usage among child welfare-involved children. These findings have raised serious concerns among mental health and child welfare professionals as well as the general public. To…

According to the Institute of Medicine, health care access is defined as "the degree to which people are able to obtain appropriate care from the health care system in a timely manner." Two key components of health care access are medical insurance and having access to a usual source of health care. Recent national data show that 34% of Latino…

The impact of stressful life events on health has been the object of inquiry for decades. Health care professionals have studied how stressful life events may precipitate or contribute to the onset of illness. Traumatic events and experiences can profoundly affect physical and psychological well-being, which in turn may predispose an individual to…

Reviews the history of primary prevention in public and mental health, with special focus on the prevention of emotional problems in children. Emphasizes the need to approach prevention efforts from understanding causes of mental illness in the context of general social conditions, rather than from an individual perspective. (Author/MJL)

Recent research indicates that basic indicators of quality of life have some consistent associations with mental health needs. Factors such as socioeconomic status, proportion of a population in poverty, unemployment and underemployment rates, family instability and family life cycle have persistent associations with social and economic stress and…

Lack of data on mental health status of Blacks precludes effective prevention programing. Any prevention program must reflect the social, psychological, and physical milieu of the individual, but ideological biases toward preventive health often deny the importance of political factors that create an environment in the Black community that is…

The issues of this quarterly publication and year end supplement contain professional articles on topics that concern at risk youth and emphasize preventive measures. Number 1 highlights the challenges facing gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth in schools. Many schools have nothing in their curricula to help provide an understanding of these issues…

Reviews of selected films and videotapes which illustrate the relationship between social factors and health care are presented in this catalog. Some 41 films were chosen for their proven ability to present social and behavioral science concepts to medical students and others involved in the health sciences. The films relate to two areas of health…

Discusses social influence and social cognition's effect on health and social well-being, and examines the efficacy of public health campaigns, the effects of negative stereotyping, and why some teenagers resist drug use and others do not as part of the social problems addressed by behavioral science research. Future directions for research on…