Parenting influences course of ADHD

Good parenting can make a world of difference for kids with ADHD.

A University of Maryland study found that children with attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder were less likely to misbehave if parents responded to them with praise, a warm tone of voice and other positive parenting techniques beginning in preschool.

The same study found that children with ADHD and depressed mothers were more likely to act out by lying, fighting, bullying and stealing. Researchers looked at the development of 108 children with ADHD from ages 4 to 18.

They found that there's often a growing cycle of negativity as parents' nerves fray and their children's behavior worsens due to harsh or withdrawn parenting.

Researchers are developing a 14- week behavioral intervention for depressed mothers of children with ADHD to help improve parenting and reduce depression.

The study appears in January's Developmental Psychology.

Heart attack, depression locked in dangerous cycle

Heart attack and the blues go hand in hand, and depression makes another episode more likely.

Harvard researchers say that having a heart attack depresses 50 percent of survivors and that those with post-heart-attack depression are two to three times more likely to have another heart attack or to die prematurely.

Depression that began before the heart attack appears to be less dangerous than depression that occurs for the first time during recovery, according to the April Harvard Heart Letter.

Doctors say that depression and heart disease may reflect a genetic predisposition to both conditions and that depression that first appears after a heart attack may represent fear of dying or grief over loss of health.

The fear and grief don't necessarily respond to the same treatment strategies, so figuring out the cause of the problem will help determine the right therapy.

Early blooming, older boyfriends a risky mix

University of North Carolina researchers have found that teen girls who reach puberty at an early age and have boyfriends at least two years older are more likely to experiment with drugs, sex or both.

The national study followed 4,000 adolescents who were under age 15 during the 1994-95 school year. One in five teen girls in the study who started physically maturing earlier than their peers reported having a romantic partner who was older.

More than 40 percent of the teens in the study reported having no romantic partners, and more than 36 percent of girls and 47 percent of boys had romantic partners of the same age or younger.

Researchers say having a romantic partner of any age increased the likelihood of risky behavior for both boys and girls.

The study appears in the March issue of Prevention Science.

Drinking-intervention program gets results

A university's program to reduce binge drinking seems to be working.

University of Texas at El Paso researchers say they're having success with the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program. It identifies students who are binge drinkers or at risk of becoming binge drinkers. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more for women.

Four hundred seventy students have participated in the program, which teaches them how to monitor their drinking, drink in moderation and avoid situations that can result in overdrinking. A screening of 130 at-risk students six months later found that 67 percent no longer fall in that category. About 50 percent showed a decline in risk from their pre-intervention levels.

Researchers modified the BASICS program to make it more relevant to the school's largely Hispanic student body. For example, program leaders told students that it's a myth that eating hot menudo - tripe stew seasoned with chili peppers - lowers blood-alcohol levels.