Science Media Centre

The latest edition of the manual defining criteria for mental illness is set to have a major impact on how patients are diagnosed and how their treatment is funded. Walk into the office of any psychiatrist or psychologist and one item is guaranteed to be on the book shelf: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of [...]

The shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut has left many wondering how such an event could happen. The tragedy has led to public debate not only on gun controls but also access to mental health services. Our colleagues at the UK SMC collected the following expert commentary. [...]

Leading medical journal The Lancet has published a special series of articles focusing on adolescent health, including an international comparison of health and mortality data which highlights New Zealand’s poor ranking in youth suicide and death statistics. The 45th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population Development, which has an adolescent health theme takes [...]

Government proposals to spend $62 million on mental health issues among the nation’s young people includes money budgeted for schools, online, in communities and in the health system. Prime Minister John Key told the University Youth Health and  Wellbeing Symposium in Wellington on April 4 that the nation’s  youth mental health system had some weaknesses [...]

A new study has shown that men are more likely than women to develop a mild form of mental impairment known to be a risk factor for dementia. Researchers involved in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging reported today in the journal Neurology that more than 6 percent of Americans age 70 to 89 develop [...]

The trauma and resilience of Cantabrians in the wake of earthquakes has been the focus of research presented at a psychology conference in Queenstown this week. More than 300 psychologists and scientists from New Zealand and overseas met in the scenic resort town to take part in the New Zealand Psychological Society Annual Conference. The [...]

New Zealand has the highest female youth suicide rate in the OECD, but also shows high life satisfaction in international surveys, according to the findings of new report. Wednesday saw the release of the National Indicators 2011 report from the Mental Health Commission. The report noted that New Zealand ranked relatively high in life satisfaction [...]

New Zealand’s youth suicide rate, while declining, is still one of the highest in the developed world, according to a new mental health report. The National Indicators 2011 report, released on Wednesday by the Mental Health Commission, examined a number of mental health issues in New Zealand. According to the Commission’s media release: “National Indicators [...]

New Zealand consistently ranks poorly in a variety of depression statistics, according to a new comparison of international data. The study, published this week in BMC Medicine, collated survey data from 18 different countries to compare rates of depression . The Dominon Post’s  Kate Newton reported on the research. An excerpt (read in full here): [...]

Continuing large aftershocks that shook Christchurch this week — the biggest a magnitude 6.3 quake — have caused significant damage to infrastructure and renewed distress among residents. The Science Media Centre received the following comment on the situation from a Christchurch-based risk assessment and disaster management expert. We will update our website with additional comments [...]