Mental Illness & Poverty
It’s a long-standing debate — what causes mental illness? At a recent seminar sponsored by Birmingham-area mental health advocacy groups, the message was mixed. The director of UAB’s Mental Health Center, Jackie Feldman, stressed biology.
“Anybody, anybody here or any of your family members can get a mental illness. It can touch anybody at any time of their life.”
While Reverend Caroline Pitts, who ministers the homeless at Birmingham’s Church of the Reconciler, focused on the environment.
“Lifetime deprivation of love. Lack of caring parents, lack of money or resources. Anger that they have been passed over by the good things.”
Christopher Hudson of Salem State University takes up this nurture-versus-nature debate in a paper in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Christopher Hudson’s research is published in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry — published by the American Psychological Association.
Peruvian farmer loses landmark climate case against German energy giant
A Peruvian farmer has lost a decade-long legal climate case against Germany energy giant RWE. Saúl Luciano Lliuya claimed the company's emissions had contributed to glacial melt threatening his Andean hometown.
GOP’s budget package proposes to cut benefits and raise fees for legal immigrants
The goal of the changes, which head to the Senate next week, is to save money and send a signal that Republicans are tough on immigration.
China is now the biggest debt collector in the developing world, report says
Developing countries owe billions to China, which threatens to undermine poverty reduction efforts and fuel instability, according to a new report from Australia's Lowy Institute.
After CDC cuts, doctors fear women will lose access to contraception research
A small team of researchers responsible for keeping clinicians up to date on contraception research has been cut. Doctors say they rely on the team's guidance when advising women about contraception.
Greetings from the Galápagos Islands, where the blue-footed booby shows its colors
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.
Trump’s foreign policy: deals with allies over diplomacy with rivals
When President Trump talks about his foreign policy, he often frames it as a business deal. He says much less about conventional diplomacy, like ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
