Good morning!
Thank you all for the feedback! Rest assured, we’ve read through it and are considering the different requests. Also, if you have any other thoughts, feel free to reply directly to this email 😊
Today’s question: In what year was the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) established and how many chapters does it have?
News
Teeth and mental health
There may be a reason for all of your cavities 😬
Researchers have been studying the relationship between tooth health and mental health for a while. For example, previous studies by anthropologists have shown connections between growth patterns in teeth and stressors such as illnesses and injuries. There’s also research showing that traces of toxins or pesticides can show up in baby teeth and that stress lines appeared in some baby monkies after they were separated from their mothers 🐒
How does this work?
Teeth begin to form before birth. As these teeth grow, they capture the conditions of their surrounding, similar to the growth rings in a tree. When researchers look at slices of a tooth, they can see discoloration and other differences.
For example, a dark line can be a marker for birth and a lighter growth after that a daily record of life and enamel growth. Darker bands can also point to disruption in the tooth and the person’s development.
Why is this important?
Because this may allow us to have an effective way of tracking a person’s life experiences, stressors, history, and mental health. Today, we rely on questionnaires for obtaining a person’s history and mental health. Yet these questionnaires are flawed for many reasons, including the fact that most of us can’t remember many things, including a person’s name when they just told us what it was 10 seconds ago 😳
Research on the ability to use teeth to track different signs related to mental health has been published and is showing promising results.
Other social work-related news
World surfing champion Gabriel Medina withdraws from competitions for mental health reasons
A big win for the LGBTQ community: “Jeopardy!” contestant Amy Schneider ends with total lifetime winnings of $1,382,000 after her incredible 40-game hot streak on the show
Universal screening for suicide at a hospital may have prevented suicides that would have otherwise gone undetected (a smart practice for others to adopt?)
Policy
Liability insurance for gun owners 🔫
The San Jose Council voted in favor of a first-of-its-kind local gun-ownership law that will require gun owners in San Jose to carry liability insurance and pay an annual fee for safety programs such as suicide prevention. For the local law to pass, it must be voted for once more during a second reading next month.
Proponents of the local law mention that more dedicated funding should come from gun owners because currently, many taxpayers who do not own a firearm end up paying for services that treat gun violence. On the other end, opponents of the law argue that the law is a strike against the 2nd Amendment and is a “publicity stunt.”
This all leads to the question: Do gun laws actually have an effect on outcomes? Research says that they do.
Studies have shown that:
State laws requiring universal background checks before the sale of firearms resulted in 15 percent lower homicide rates than states without such laws (21 states and the District of Columbia have extended background checks beyond federal law)
Laws prohibiting the possession of firearms by people who have been convicted of a violent crime were associated with an 18 percent reduction in homicide rates
Despite this, more research is needed to better understand the effects of gun policies.
Other reads on policy
A Colorado bill was introduced that seeks to create a panel to study plant-based medicines to support mental health, such as Hallucinogens
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that $23 million will be allocated towards preventing gun and group violence across Pennsylvania
Research
Cash health leads to brain health 🧠
Last week, we wrote about upcoming research that seeks to understand the relationship between giving people money and decreases in poverty and other positive life outcomes.
On that same theme, a very interesting study showed that monthly unconditional case transfers to low-income families resulted in actual changes in children’s brains. How does that happen?
Well, childhood poverty has been shown to be related to different outcomes including changes in the brain, lower school achievement, and adult earnings. On the other hand, higher family income is related to a higher surface area of the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for language, memory, reasoning, and many other important tasks.
The research, dubbed The Baby’s First Years Study, put 1,000 low-income mothers into two groups. The first group received $333 per month, while the second group received $20 per month. There were no restrictions placed on how the money was used.
Children from the group which received the larger payments showed greater brain activity in certain areas responsible for brain and social-emotional health, compared to the other group.
Other reads on research
Mindfulness-based training gives athletes an edge (and can help create healthier humans) 🧘
Machine learning is being used to improve mental health 💻
Answer: The NASW was established in 1955 and has 56 chapters.
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