NEW YORK, June 19 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Hispanic families now have a trusted online source in child and adolescent mental health accessible in Spanish at AboutOurKids.org. The NYU Child Study Center (CSC) has translated its Web site into Spanish to help this underserved community find important information about children's psychiatric and learning disorders.

"Only one in seven Hispanic children who are affected by psychiatric and learning disorders get the help they need," said Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., founder and director of the NYU CSC. "We're committed to bringing the latest and best information on children's mental health to all in the Hispanic community."

HERE ARE THE FACTS*:

-- Hispanic adolescents have the highest number of suicide attempts among all ethnic groups in the U.S.
-- Hispanic high school students exhibited the highest rate of sadness or hopelessness according to one study assessing risk behavior in high school students.
-- Hispanic youth have higher levels of emotional distress because of the pressures to rapidly adopt the values of their new culture.
-- Hispanic teens evidence high rates of substance abuse and increasing rates of juvenile justice involvement.
-- Few Spanish-speaking or Latino mental health professionals exist.

"This is a community that we can help by providing accurate and timely information in a user-friendly format that can be easily understood by parents," said Raul R. Silva, M.D., vice-chair of the NYU Child Study Center and associate professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. "Concerned that your child is anxious or depressed? Worried that your child is abnormally thin? Things not going well at school? Where can you find help? It's all there at AboutOurKids.org en Español."

The new site offers visitors translated articles and tips from renowned CSC experts on a variety of relevant issues ranging from suicide and depression to discipline and obesity. Helpful features such as the "A-Z Disorder Guide" and links to other web sites and essential resources allow Spanish-speaking visitors to quickly locate important information with the click of a mouse.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

New York University Child Study Center is the nation's leading organization for research, prevention and treatment of child and adolescent psychiatric and learning disorders. Through science-based clinical care, cutting-edge research, expert professional training, and extensive public education, the Center strives to generate new knowledge about child mental health, improve the practices of healthcare professionals who serve children, and influence child-related public health policy. Most importantly, the Center provides hope, help and care to children and their families who suffer from these disorders.

The NYU Child Study Center is committed to giving children back their childhood. To learn more, visit AboutOurKids.org.

*All statistics sourced from The American Psychiatric Association

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