To suppress or to explore? Emotional strategy may influence anxiety
When trouble approaches, what do you do? Run for the hills? Hide? Pretend it isn't there? Or do you focus on the promise of rain in those looming dark clouds? New research suggests that the way you regulate your emotions, in bad times and in good, can influence whether – or how much – you suffer from anxiety.
EurekAlert - 5/13/2013
Circadian clock gene rhythms in brain altered in depression, UC Irvine Health study finds
UC Irvine Health researchers have helped discover that genes controlling circadian clock rhythms are profoundly altered in the brains of people with severe depression. These clock genes regulate 24-hour circadian rhythms affecting hormonal, body temperature, sleep and behavioral patterns.
University of California - Irvine - 5/13/2013
Link between intimate partner violence and depression
Not only are women who have experienced violence from their partner (intimate partner violence) at higher risk of becoming depressed, but women who are depressed may also be at increased risk of experiencing intimate partner violence, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
EurekAlert - 5/7/2013
Breaking the silence of suicide
ust over a month ago, a young high school student from Halifax committed suicide after photos of her being raped were posted on the Internet. Her story wasn’t just about bullying. It was also about the complex feelings her friends and family faced with her decision to take her own life. Such a reaction is common to cultures around the word. New research from Concordia University shows that, no matter where it occurs, a veil of shame and sense of taboo surround suicide.
Concordia University - 5/6/2013
Preschoolers with ADHD often treated incorrectly
Doctors usually do not follow guidelines for treating very young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study suggests. In the study, about 90 percent of doctors surveyed did not strictly adhere to new guidelines recommended for treating preschoolers with ADHD, such as guidelines that address when to start medications, and which medications to use.
Fox News - 5/6/2013
Cyberbullying rampant among high school students: Nearly one-third of youths also report playing video/computer games for more than 3 hours a day
Step into a class of 30 high school students and look around. Five of them have been victims of electronic bullying in the past year. What's more, 10 of those students spend three or more hours on an average school day playing video games or using a computer for something other than school work, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.
EurekAlert - 5/5/2013
Exercise Proves to Be Ineffective Against Care Home Depression
Researchers at the University of Warwick and Queen Mary, University of London have shown that exercise is not effective in reducing burden of depression among elderly care home residents. Exercise is a low risk intervention that can improve mental health but the findings of a National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme study, published in The Lancet, conclude that there is a requirement for alternative approaches to reduce ...
ScienceDaily - 5/2/2013
Risk of Depression Influenced by Quality of Relationships
The mantra that quality is more important than quantity is true when considering how social relationships influence depression, say U-M researchers in a new study. After analyzing data from nearly 5,000 American adults, the researchers found that the quality of a person's relationships with a spouse, family and friends predicted the likelihood of major depression disorder in the future, regardless of how frequently their social interactions took place.
ScienceDaily - 4/30/2013
Psychological Trauma After Miscarriage Is More Likely in Women Using Assisted Reproduction
Subfertile women who conceive through assisted reproduction are more likely to experience a greater traumatic impact following early pregnancy loss compared with women who conceive naturally, suggests a new study published today (1 May) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy affecting 20% of all clinically recognised pregnancies.
ScienceDaily - 4/30/2013
Encountering Connections May Make Life Feel More Meaningful
Experiencing connections, regularities, and coherence in their environment may lead people to feel a greater sense of meaning in life, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Association for Psychological Science - 4/30/2013
Good Days, Bad Days: When Should You Make Sacrifices in a Relationship?
Making sacrifices for your partner after a stressful day may not be beneficial, new UA research in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships suggests. A pile of dirty dishes looms in the kitchen. It's your spouse's night to wash, but you know he or she has had a long day so you grab a sponge and step up to the plate. It's just one of the minor daily sacrifices you make in the name of love. But what if you had a long, stressful day, too?
ScienceDaily - 4/30/2013
Forced exercise may still protect against anxiety and stress, says CU-Boulder study
Being forced to exercise may still help reduce anxiety and depression just as exercising voluntarily does, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. Past studies have shown that people who exercise are more protected against stress-related disorders. And scientists know that the perception of control can benefit a person's mental health. But it has been an open question whether a person who feels forced to exercise, ...
EurekAlert - 4/25/2013
Prescription Drug Abuse Up Among U.S. Teens: More than 5 million, nearly 25 percent, said they had abused these medications
The United States appears to be in the throes of a prescription drug abuse crisis among teens, with a new survey showing that 24 percent of high school students -- more than 5 million kids -- have abused these medications. That's a 33 percent increase from 2008, the survey authors noted. They said that 13 percent of teens acknowledged having experimented at least once with either Ritalin or Adderall (normally prescribed for the treatment of ...
HealthDay - 4/23/2013
Is food truly addictive? A Biological Psychiatry special issue tackles the debate
Biological Psychiatry is proud to announce this week's publication of a special issue focusing on the question of food as an addiction. Addiction is the continued or compulsive use of a substance, despite negative and/or harmful consequences. Over the years, addiction has come to be re-defined to include behaviors, as well as substances, and the term is now used to describe significant problems with alcohol, nicotine, drugs, gambling, internet use, and sex.
EurekAlert - 4/22/2013
Green Spaces May Boost Well-Being for City Slickers
People who live in urban areas with more green space tend to report greater well-being than city dwellers who don’t have parks, gardens, or other green space nearby, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Association for Psychological Science - 4/22/2013
Risk Factor for Depression Can Be 'Contagious'
A new study with college roommates shows that a particular style of thinking that makes people vulnerable to depression can actually "rub off" on others, increasing their symptoms of depression six months later. The research, from psychological scientists Gerald Haeffel and Jennifer Hames of the University of Notre Dame, is published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
ScienceDaily - 4/18/2013
Teen break-ups occur independent of how well couples handle disagreements
Adults who resolve and recover from conflict are known to be happier in their romantic relationships but the same does not hold true for teen romances, according to research published April 17 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Thao Ha and colleagues from the Behavioural Science Institute of Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands.
EurekAlert - 4/17/2013
Helping Children Make Sense of the Senseless: Tragedies like the Boston bombings require a loving, shared response, experts say
It's the day after the Boston Marathon bombings and three people are dead, including an 8-year-old boy who came to cheer on friends during the race. The boy's mother and sister are both seriously injured. A nation is on edge -- again. And parents are wondering what to tell their young children and how to help them cope with the carnage. "If it's a very young child, I would keep him away from TV sets, try to limit their access to the kind of news that I've been ...
HealthDay - 4/16/2013
Acute Stress Primes Brain for Better Cognitive and Mental Performance
Overworked and stressed out? Look on the bright side. Some stress is good for you. "You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it's not," said Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. "Some amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioral and cognitive performance."
ScienceDaily - 4/16/2013
Changes to Psychiatry's 'Bible' Could Widen Definition of ADHD: Experts disagree over whether this will help or harm in the long run
When the latest version of what is considered the "bible" of psychiatry is unveiled in May, experts believe several changes in it will broaden both the definition and diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder -- or ADHD. But experts also differ on whether the shifts in thinking about this neurodevelopmental disorder will be a good thing.
HealthDay - 4/12/2013
Posttraumatic Stress Significantly Reduced By Transcendental Meditation
A significant percentage of veterans returning from wars exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS). This is now recognized as a serious health problem, but what about the victims of such violence? Refugees live with the constant reminder of what war has done to their lives and those of their families. A randomized/matched study published in the April 2013 issue of Journal of Traumatic Stress (Volume 26, Issue 2, pp. 295-298.) measured the severity ...
Medical News Today - 4/10/2013
Low on Self-Control? Surrounding Yourself With Strong-Willed Friends May Help
We all desire self-control — the resolve to skip happy hour and go to the gym instead, to finish a report before checking Facebook, to say no to the last piece of chocolate cake. Though many struggle to resist those temptations, new research suggests that people with low self-control prefer and depend on people with high self-control, possibly as a way to make up for the skills they themselves lack.
Association for Psychological Science - 4/9/2013
Google searches about mental illness follow seasonal patterns: New study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports
A new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that Google searches for information across all major mental illnesses and problems followed seasonal patterns, suggesting mental illness may be more strongly linked with seasonal patterns than previously thought. Monitoring population mental illness trends has been an historic challenge for scientists and clinicians alike.
EurekAlert - 4/9/2013
Mental Illness a Frequent Cell Mate for Those Behind Bars: Former inmate describes efforts to stay emotionally healthy after his release
Eugene King ran away from home at the age of 16, the start of a lifelong pattern of drug abuse, crime and incarceration. In retrospect, King said, he realizes he was using illicit drugs at least in part to self-medicate a variety of psychiatric conditions. But he also realizes that prison, with its lack of adequate medical treatment and what he called a generally abusive environment, only made his problems worse.
HealthDay - 4/5/2013
Negative Emotions in Response to Daily Stress Take a Toll on Long-Term Mental Health
Our emotional responses to the stresses of daily life may predict our long-term mental health, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Psychological scientist Susan Charles of the University of California, Irvine and colleagues conducted the study in order to answer a long-standing question: Do daily emotional experiences add up to make the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or ...
Association for Psychological Science - 4/2/2013
Review: Few effective, evidence-based interventions to prevent posttraumatic stress disorder
Millions of adults are exposed to traumatic events each year. Shortly after exposure many experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as flashbacks, emotional numbing and difficulty sleeping. Despite this high rate of exposure, little is known about the effectiveness of treatments aimed at preventing and relieving posttraumatic stress symptoms that adults may experience after such events, according to researchers at the ...
EurekAlert - 4/2/2013
Access to mental health care lacking for children, teens across the US: National survey shows adults who work and volunteer with children and teens do not believe youth have appropriate access to mental health care
Everyday, news reports detail the impact of the deficiencies in the nation's mental health care services. Even more startling, a survey from the University of Michigan reveals that many adults across the U.S. believe children and teens have extremely limited or no access to appropriate mental health care services.
EurekAlert - 4/2/2013
Mental Illness Linked to Heavy Cannabis Use
People with mental illnesses are more than seven times more likely to use cannabis weekly compared to people without a mental illness, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) who studied U.S. data. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance globally, with an estimated 203 million people reporting use. Although research has found links between cannabis use and mental illness, exact numbers and prevalence ...
ScienceDaily - 4/2/2013
Parent-Focused Classes May Help Tots at Risk for ADHD: Programs try to promote positive relationship between parent and child
Parent behavior training is an effective and well-studied intervention for preschoolers at risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new review shows. Such programs seek to promote a positive relationship between the parent and child, and to teach effective discipline strategies that rely on rewards and non-punitive consequences.
HealthDay - 4/1/2013
Marital Conflict Causes Stress in Children, May Affect Cognitive Development
Marital conflict is a significant source of environmental stress for children, and witnessing such conflict may harm children's stress response systems which, in turn, may affect their mental and intellectual development. These conclusions come from a new study by researchers at Auburn University and the Catholic University of America. The study appears in the journal Child Development.
ScienceDaily - 3/28/2013
People with depression may not reap full benefits of healthy behaviors
Depression may inhibit the anti-inflammatory effects typically associated with physical activity and light-to-moderate alcohol consumption, according to researchers at Duke Medicine. The finding – based on measurements of the cardio-metabolic risk marker C-reactive protein (CRP) – points to another potential danger of depression, which afflicts an estimated one in 10 adults in the United States.
EurekAlert - 3/26/2013
Too Much TV May Make Kids Antisocial, Study Suggests: Spending hours in front of the tube at age 5 linked to bad behavior at age 7, researchers say
Five-year-olds who watch television for three or more hours a day are a bit more likely to fight, steal and have other antisocial behaviors by the age of 7, a new study suggests. The researchers also found that time spent playing computer or electronic games had no effect on children's behavior, according to the report published online March 25 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
HealthDay - 3/26/2013
Mindfulness Improves Reading Ability, Working Memory, and Task-Focus
If you think your inability to concentrate is a hopeless condition, think again -- and breathe, and focus. According to a study by researchers at the UC Santa Barbara, as little as two weeks of mindfulness training can significantly improve one's reading comprehension, working memory capacity, and ability to focus. Their findings were recently published online in the empirical psychology journal Psychological Science.
ScienceDaily - 3/26/2013
Family Meals Nourish Teens' Mental Health: Dinners with parents may improve behavior and well-being, study finds
Having regular family suppers is good for teens' mental health, according to a new study. This is true whether or not youngsters feel they can easily talk to their parents. For their study, the researchers examined data from about 26,000 adolescents, aged 11 to 15, who took part in a 2010 study on health behaviors in school-aged children in Canada.
HealthDay - 3/25/2013
Arguments in the Home Linked With Babies’ Brain Functioning
Being exposed to arguments between parents is associated with the way babies’ brains process emotional tone of voice, according to a new study to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The study, conducted by graduate student Alice Graham with her advisors Phil Fisher and Jennifer Pfeifer of the University of Oregon, found that infants respond to angry tone of voice, even when they’re asleep.
Association for Psychological Science - 3/25/2013
Teen Moms More Likely to Have Been Neglected, Abused: Study found childbirth rate 5 times higher than national average
Girls who are sexually abused or neglected during adolescence are more likely to become teen moms, regardless of their race, family income or if they come from a one- or two-parent home, according to a new study.
Childbirth rates of teenagers who were the victims of abuse or neglect were more than 20 percent, which is five times higher than the national rate of roughly 4 percent, the researchers say.
HealthDay - 3/25/2013
Parents' Divorce May Up Kids' Odds for Smoking as Adults: Study authors suggest habit might be 'coping mechanism' for some
Children whose parents divorce are more likely to smoke as adults than kids from families of divorce, according to a new study. Men who were younger than 18 when their parents divorced were 48 percent more likely to have smoked at least 100 or more cigarettes than men whose parents did not divorce. For women, the risk was 39 percent higher, according to the researchers from the University of Toronto.
HealthDay - 3/25/2013
Gone but Not Forgotten: Yearning for Lost Loved Ones Linked to Altered Thinking About the Future
People suffering from complicated grief may have difficulty recalling specific events from their past or imagining specific events in the future, but not when those events involve the partner they lost, according to a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
ScienceDaily - 3/18/2013
Avoiding Scary Situations May Leave Kids More Anxious: Study author says counseling may help youngsters face issues head-on
Children who avoid scary situations are more likely to have anxiety, according to researchers who developed a new way to assess avoidance behavior in youngsters. The Mayo Clinic study included more than 800 children, aged 7 to 18, and used two eight-question surveys, one for parents and one for children.
HealthDay - 3/15/2013
Unhealthy eating can make a bad mood worse
Taking part in unhealthy eating behaviors may cause women who are concerned about their diet and self-image to experience a worsening of their moods, according to Penn State researchers. In a study, college-age women who were concerned about their eating behaviors reported that moods worsened after bouts of disordered eating, said Kristin Heron, research associate at the Survey Research Center.
EurekAlert - 3/15/2013
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