news 2022

A team from the University of Geneva shows that participating in camps helps develop valuable socio-emotional skills. Be able to control oneself, cooperate or help others: having socio-emotional abilities is essential for those who wish to interact positively with their peers. These skills are largely acquired during childhood and can be trained in different contexts, such as school, family or leisure.

Problematic alcohol use is associated with increased odds of suicide or self-harm, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in BJPsych Open , did not identify a clear association with levels of alcohol consumption and risk of suicide or self-harm, other than among those with 'probable dependence' (the highest consumption level); rather, they identified signs of alcohol negatively impacting people's lives as risk factors.

A new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry from Bath psychologists highlights the far-reaching effects of trauma in children. Findings from a major birth cohort study in Brazil suggest that children exposed to life threatening or horrifying events, such as witnessing someone die, or experiencing serious injury or sexual violence, are almost twice as likely to develop psychiatric disorders.

Sleep strategies and simple bedtime routines can improve sleep in autistic children, reducing anxiety and enhancing family wellbeing, a new study reveals. The largest study of its kind into sleep problems in children on the autism spectrum, led by Monash University's Professor Nicole Rinehart , found clinician-led behavioural interventions helped kids get a better night's sleep.

Fewer men than women are diagnosed as having depression. One possible reason for this is that there is still a lack of awareness that this mental illness is characterised by different symptoms in men than in women.

Study: Caregiving in the COVID-19 pandemic: Family adaptations following an intensive care unit hospitalization Roughly 21% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic required an intensive care stay and the bulk were cared for by family upon discharge. However, not much is known about how these caregivers and patients adapted.

General practitioners regularly see patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS) that have no clear explanation. These patients often feel misunderstood. But the researcher Inge Stortenbeker, who will receive her PhD from Radboud University on 3 November, found that a physician's use of language and choice of words can influence how anxious patients are after a consultation.

After a busy day at the office, many people collapse onto the sofa instead of getting some exercise. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is what Sven van As explored in his PhD thesis, which he is defending at Radboud University on 2 November. "When we feel stressed or tired, we tend to go for the easy option." Contrary to expectations, Sven van As's PhD research did not provide evidence that cognitively demanding work leads to lower levels of physical activity.

Regardless of the topic, conspiracy texts refer to a greater number of themes and are less coherent than non-conspiracy writings. This is the result of the largest comparison ever carried out between texts supporting these theories and non-conspiracy writings, i.e. 96,000 articles analyzed in total.

Autistic people are more vulnerable to depression and anxiety during pregnancy, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. The results are published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and have important implications for supporting autistic people during pregnancy. This study suggests that autistic people are more vulnerable to mental health difficulties during pregnancy.

Individuals who deal with anxiety are not less hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine Individuals who deal with anxiety are no less hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine compared to those without anxiety, according to new research. The new study led by the University of Waterloo aimed to investigate the relationship between vaccine hesitancy, psychological factors associated with anxiety, and individuals' reasoning for and against getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The tablet form of the stress hormone cortisol could accelerate the process of forgetting intrusive memories, when given immediately after a traumatic event, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published in Translational Psychiatry , found that hydrocortisone (30mg) - an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat conditions such as arthritis - acts to weaken the emotions that underly painful memories, such as those experienced in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

People who follow sleep duration recommendations are likely to live longer, according to a study by researcher Julie Carrier, professor in the Psychology Department, and her colleagues. Are you an adult aged between 18 and 64 who sleeps 7-9 hours a day? Or are you over 65 and sleep 7-8 hours a day? Following these Canadian recommendations on sleep duration could increase your life expectancy.

A large-scale gene study identifies series of DNA variants linked to dyslexia An international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen (Netherlands), has for the first time pinpointed a large number of genes that are reliably associated with dyslexia.

Writing in The Conversation, Dr Ruth Plackett (UCL Epidemiology & Health) synthesises the results of research looking into how to best protect one's mental health while navigating the volatile social media landscape. The recent inquest into the death of British teenager Molly Russell in 2017 has concluded that the 14-year-old "died from an act of self harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content".

Mask-wearing has become the norm for many since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite their effectiveness in preventing the spread of viruses, opaque masks impair our ability to understand and convey emotions, a group of McGill researchers has found. McGill researchers Jelena Ristic , Full Professor in the Department of Psychology, and Sarah McCrackin , Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychology, discuss whether transparent masks reduce the negative impacts on social communication.

A new long-term study led by neuroscientists at Western University shows short-term symptoms from COVID-19, like laboured breathing, fever, and dry cough, may just be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The findings, published by Cell Reports Medicine , reveal short and possible long-term cognitive impairments among people who had COVID-19.

Study investigates the influence of birdsong on mood, paranoia, and cognition When you next hear cheerful twittering of birds, you should stop and listen. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf have shown that birdsong reduces anxiety and irrational thoughts.

People living with dementia may benefit from talking therapies available on the NHS, if they suffer from anxiety or depression, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are very common in people with dementia, and previous studies estimate that 38% of people with mild dementia are affected by the conditions.

Some studies reveal worrying numbers of young people with symptoms of depression. For this reason, a clinical trial coordinated by Guillem Feixas, professor at the Faculty of Psychology and the Institute of Neurosciences ( UBNeuro ) of the UB, and Adrián Montesano, lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia , is trying to find new tools to improve psychological treatment for this population.