New brain networks come 'online' during adolescence, allowing teenagers to develop more complex adult social skills, but potentially putting them at increased risk of mental illness, according to new research.

Children with mental health needs require urgent support from primary school onwards to avoid exclusion, which can be both cause and effect of poor mental health, new research concludes.

Children born to mothers who both drank and smoked beyond the first trimester of pregnancy have a 12-fold increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) compared to those unexposed or only exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy, according to a new study.

Teenagers in the US simply don't get enough shut eye. The consequences of this sleep deprivation epidemic are extensive and include increasing rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents, as well as suicidal thoughts and actions. Researchers found that a simple and timeworn solution yields solid results: a clear bedtime that parents consistently enforce.

During early adolescence, especially the transition to middle school, kids face a number of challenges both socially and academically. Parents can act as social 'coaches,' offering support and advice to youth as they navigate these challenges. Researchers are finding that not all kids benefit from the same types of parental coaching because kids respond to stress differently.

The primary focus of smoking cessation research has been adults in the past, but a new study zeroed in on adolescents. This study found that while there was no significant difference between the varenicline group and the placebo group at end of treatment, those in the varenicline group quit earlier in the trial and were less likely to relapse after the trial was over. And it encourages new treatments designs for adolescents.

A new study suggests there is a two-way relationship between bullying perpetration and mental health problems among U.S. youth. Researchers report that bullying perpetration increased the risk of developing internalizing problems, and having internalizing problems increased the probability of bullying others. While previous research has focused on the causes and consequences of bullying victimization, this is the first study to comprehensively explore the time sequence between bullying perpetration and mental health problems.

Concussion, the most common form of traumatic brain injury, has been linked to an increased risk of depression and suicide in adults. Now new research suggests high school students with a history of sports-related concussions might be at an increased risk for suicide completion.

Binge drinking among U.S. adolescents precipitously declined from 1991 to 2018, according to a new study. Depressive symptoms among U.S. adolescents have sharply increased since 2012. And for the first time in the past 40 years, binge drinking and depressive symptoms among adolescents are no longer associated.

Children who experience maltreatment, such as neglect or physical or sexual abuse, are more likely to engage in delinquent and offending behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood, according to a new study.

Ideal heart health declines between ages 9 and 19 for girls, particularly for black girls and girls from families with lower education and income levels.

A new analysis of US data finds an unexpectedly high prevalence of prescription opioid use among youth. As recently as 2015-2016, 21% of adolescents and 32% of young adults said they had used these drugs in the past year. Nearly 4 percent and 8 percent, respectively, reported misusing opioids.