California will begin its first statewide collection of data on students who are chronically absent, according to the California Dept. of Education. Chronic absenteeism in the early grades has been linked to difficulty in 3rd grade reading proficiency and an increased risk of dropping out of high school.

Children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sometimes find that their symptoms decrease as they become adolescents, while others find that their symptoms -- including losing focus and reacting impulsively -- remain unchanged. Now researchers at UCLA and other institutions have found that students whose parents "regularly expressed high levels of criticism over time" were less likely to experience a decline in symptoms. The study was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association. Read more.

Increasing the empathy of bystanders through role-playing exercises and computer simulations that encourage students to practice how they would act when confronted with a bullying situation has been found to benefit the mental health of 6th graders who have experienced the most bullying, a large study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found.

"Our findings are the first to show that the most tormented children - those facing bullying several times a week - can be helped by teaching bystanders to be more supportive," said Jaana Juvonen, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at UCLA.

Early registration is open for "Advocating for Equity in Education & Health Care," a conference hosted by the California School-Based Health Alliance on Friday, May 6 in Sacramento. The discount rate ends Monday, Feb. 29.

Making its television debut at the Grammy Awards this week was a cat video from Truth.org, a nonprofit organization working to raise awareness of tobacco company marketing practices. Pets are twice as likely to get cancer if their owners smoke, the video states. "And without cats, there would be no cat videos. Can you imagine?" The video is the latest in a campaign to encourage youth to stop smoking or, better yet, not to start.