News

On December 5, 2012, the NICHD released the Scientific Vision: The Next Decade, the culmination of a collaborative process that began in 2011 to identify the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and the research community to pursue over the next decade. The Vision statement was made available during the NICHD’s 50th anniversary colloquium.

​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

As the Institute marks its golden anniversary, we look back on the NICHD's early years, its scientific accomplishments, and its future.

Children's health and human development includes more than just physical and physiological changes. Mental and emotional health and well-being are as important to a child's development. Such factors as exposure to violence, parental occupation and stress, special health care needs, injuries, and exposure to illicit and prescription drugs can have long-lasting effects on children. Addressing the needs of children with or at-risk for mental or emotional health issues can help improve their quality of life through adolescence and adulthood.

For its part in this special month, the NICHD supports research to inform outreach and training programs for parents and people who care for abused and neglected children According to data collected through the DHHS National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and reported in Child Maltreatment 2009, an estimated 763,000 children were exposed to incidents of child abuse and neglect in 2009. These data translat

The NICHD joins other agencies and organizations in examining existing research, supporting new research, and helping put an end to bullying.

Unlike traditional forms of bullying, youth who are the targets of cyber bullying at school are at greater risk for depression than are the youth who bully them, according to a survey conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

As agencies, schools, organizations, and communities work together to take a stand against bullying, they are finding that this seemingly simple problem is actually very complex. For example, new research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that those bullied electronically—sometimes called cyber bullying, such as by computer or cell phone—are at high risk for depression .

The results of an international survey show that young adolescents in the United States are no more likely to engage in violent behavior than are youth in 4 other countries.