Gender may affect susceptibility, recovery, and risk of relapse.

Until the early 1990s, most research on substance abuse and dependence focused on men. That changed once U.S. agencies began requiring federally funded studies to enroll more women. Since then, investigators have learned that important gender differences exist in some types of addiction. (For a brief explanation of how we're defining these terms, see below.)

Addiction, dependence, or abuse? Terminology matters. Addiction specialists use the following words in specific ways.

Addiction. The term does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), but incorporates ...

Two recent reviews offer advice about assessing and improving treatment adherence.

Many patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia — like those with other chronic health conditions — find it difficult to follow a prescribed medication regimen (see table). This is unfortunate, as studies consistently show that the more carefully such patients take medications as prescribed, the less likely they are to experience a relapse or hospitalization.

Rates of medication adherence Following a medication regimen is difficult for many patients with chronic health problems, not just those with psychiatric disorders.

Medical condition

Rates and caveats

Bipolar disorder

Long-term ...

Expanded diagnostic criteria and greater public awareness may explain why.

Results from a large study have reignited the debate about whether autism spectrum disorders have become more common — or whether expanded diagnostic criteria and increased awareness are fueling the increase in the number of cases identified.

Researchers at the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau (part of the Department of Health and Human Services) analyzed data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. This telephone survey collected information from 78,037 parents of children ages 3 to 17, selected through random digit dialing (a standard technique to produce ...

A study of treatment for depression in adolescents found that cognitive behavioral therapy and medication achieved results, but were more effective when combined.

Government agencies are being tasked with developing regulations regarding implementation of the mental health parity law.

Children who took second-generation antipsychotic drugs were likely to experience weight gain as a side effect.

In the National Football League, players are generally not considered real men unless they shrug off injuries and play on. As common and even understandable as it is, this attitude has undesirable consequences when the brain is injured. A hearing before the U.S. Congress in October 2009 called attention to the long-term effects of head injury in professional football — and by extension provided cautions worth heeding by the parents of football players as young as age 6.

At issue is the growing awareness that repeated blows to the head, not just those that are severe enough to cause concussion, ...