Richard Bonnie Give Insight into Mental Health and Gun Policy

In a recent New York Times article, Professor Richard J. Bonnie, a professor in public policy in UVa's School of Law offered insight into the current dialog surrounding mental health and it's connection to gun control policies. “Anytime you have one of these tragic cases like Newtown, it’s going to expose deficiencies in the mental health system, and provide some opportunity for reform. But you have to be very careful not to overreact.” Bonnie led a state commission that overhauled policies after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings that left 33 people dead. The vast majority of individuals with mental health conditions are not considered a threat and it is challenging to create a system that identifies those who are a threat and provides that information to those who need it without penalizing those who are not a threat. For more reading, see Health Affairs publication of an article written by Bonnie: "Mental Health System Transformation After the Virginia Tech Tragedy."

Madison House promotes Girls on the Run

Student volunteers at UVa's Madison House are implementing the Girls on the Run program with fifteen Johnston Elementary School girls. The program, started by Molly Barker (a four-time Hawaii Ironman athelete) in Charlotte, NC, helps provide young girls the opportunity for exercise while teaching them about making healthy choices and avoiding risky behaviors. See the full article posted on UVaToday.

U.Va. Employees Legally Obligated to Report Child Abuse

Susan A. Carkeek, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, sent the following in an email to staff on July 7th, 2012:

"In the 2012 legislative session, the General Assembly passed legislation on reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.  Specifically, the law requires "any person employed by a public or private institution of higher education" to report suspected instances of child abuse and neglect.  All University employees are now required to contact local or state Social Services if they see or suspect child abuse or neglect.  This law went into effect July 1, 2012.

University Human Resources has developed a web page at http://www.hr.virginia.edu/go/abuse-reporting with the legal definition of a neglected or abused child, instructions on where and how to report suspected child abuse or neglect, and other resources.  I ask that you familiarize yourself with the basic definitions and requirements so that you know how to proceed if you encounter or suspect child abuse or neglect. 

All employees need to be aware of this new legislation, particularly those of you who come in contact with children as part of your teaching, research, or other operations.  I appreciate your support in helping us comply with this law, and encourage you to share it with your colleagues. If you have questions, please contact the HR Service Center at 982.0123 or email AskHR@virginia.edu."

In the past, researchers were not obligated to report abuse (though they were highly encouraged!) but the new legistlation changes their status. If you or anyone on your research team interact with children, please be aware of the signs of abuse and how to report. For more information about working with this population, please see Child Abuse on our website.

Seen anything cute lately?

U.Va. researchers Gary Sherman, Jonathan Haidt, and James Coan demonstrated that seeing a cute object can improve your ability to handle delicate things. Participants in their study were shown either a "very cute" picture of a puppy or kitten or a "less cute" picture of an adult cat or dog. After viewing the images, participants were asked to play Operation, a game that requires very careful fine motor skills. The participants who viewed the "very cute" images had greater success in playing the game than the "less cute" image participants, demonstrating that viewing "cuteness" helped to engage the participants in more careful behavior. Alexis Madrigal of the Atlantic Journal highlighted their work in his June 7th article "Why the Puppy Cam Is About to Make the Whole Internet Better at Photoshop." The original article published by Sherman, Haidt, and Coan in Emotion can be found here.

Is Pretend Play Crucial for a Child's Development?

The answer, according to UV.a. psychologist Angeline Lillard, is that the research in the past was not done very well and pretend play may not play a significant role in creative and intellectual development. Lillard and her team concluded after reviewing over 150 studies on the subject that better designed studies need to be done and previous researchers may have been biased in their approach. For more details, see the article on UVa Today.

Announcing the Sixth Annual Virginia IRB Consortium Conference

Join us at UVa's Newcomb Hall on October 12th for the Sixth Annual Virginia IRB Consortium Conference. This year's conference, Research Review Challenges: From the Small IRB to the Age of Technology, will feature Michael Zimmerman, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies and the co-director for Information Policy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Registration is free, though your registration form must be submitted by Sept 14th. To register for the conference and for more details about the events, please see our website.

Does Your Teenager Argue? Maybe It's Not a Bad Thing

The Daily Progress and NPR's All Things Considered highlighted research conducted by UVa psychology professor Joseph Allen and his team regarding young teenagers, research that was recently published in the Child Development journal. They found that young teenagers who argued assertively with their parents were able to take the skills learned from that exercise and apply it with their peers. The same teens were less likely to give into peer pressure and resisted taking drugs or engaging in other harmful behaviors that would otherwise be encouraged by peers. For more information, check out the article in the Daily Progress, the interview on NPR's All Things Considered, or the report in the Child Development journal.