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Health - Psychology - 24.01.2023

Generational inequalities in mental health accelerated during Covid-19 pandemic
Core symptoms of anxiety and depression were more common among younger generations compared to older age groups during the COVID-19 outbreak - with the gap between young and old widening further during the pandemic, according to a new study by UCL and King's College London. Published today in Psychological Medicine, the study explores data from 26,772 people living in the UK across five different birth cohort studies - following those born in 1946, 1958, 1970, 1989-90 and 2000-02.

Psychology - Media - 23.01.2023

When mental health moves through social media
Can a Tweet or a post on Instagram tell us something about our mental health? How meaningful is the relationship between well-being and the use of these platforms? To answer these questions, Marta Fadda, a researcher in bioethics at Università della Svizzera italiana, Oliver Grübner, a health geographer, and Marcus Wolf, a psychologist, at the University of Zurich conducted a series of studies to demonstrate the usefulness of social platforms for mental health research.

Psychology - Social Sciences - 23.01.2023

Parental support linked to teen internet addiction
Teenagers who feel well-supported by their parents are more likely to report increased internet addiction over time, in a surprise finding from a new University of Sydney Business School study. The researchers studied nearly 3,000 adolescents across four critical years of development, from Year 8 to Year 11 (age 14-17), to examine the link between social support and compulsive internet use.

Pharmacology - Psychology - 23.01.2023

Scientists explain emotional ’blunting’ caused by common antidepressants
Scientists have worked out why common anti-depressants cause around a half of users to feel emotionally -blunted-. In a study published today, they show that the drugs affect reinforcement learning, an important behavioural process that allows us to learn from our environment. According to the NHS, more than 8.3 million patients in England received an antidepressant drug in 2021/22.

Life Sciences - Psychology - 23.01.2023

Risky business: Teenage chimps risk it all, like humans
Study (PDF): Distinct developmental trajectories for risky and impulsive decision-making in chimpanzees For young chimpanzees, gambling on the possibility of a big payout is an attractive prospect, whereas adult apes are more likely to hedge their bets, a new University of Michigan study shows. Research on primates can offer insights into the biology of human behavior.

Health - Psychology - 23.01.2023

Q&A: How AI can help people be more empathetic about mental health
Sarah McQuate Empathy is critical to having supportive conversations about mental health. But this skill can be tricky to learn, especially in the moment when a person is sharing something hard. A team led by researchers at the University of Washington studied how artificial intelligence could help people on the platform TalkLife , where people give each other mental health support.

Health - Psychology - 19.01.2023

Following pandemic, educators are not all right but meditation could ease burden
Approaching the 3-year anniversary of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many can attest to the mental health challenges that came with the sudden changes to everyday life as the disease took hold. In schools, teachers and support staff were forced to revamp lesson plans for virtual and hybrid learning environments, all while toggling between remote and in-person duties and supervising at-home learning.

Pharmacology - Psychology - 17.01.2023

New study tests impact of coming off antidepressants on mood and thinking patterns
University psychologists aiming to improve help for people withdrawing from antidepressants want volunteers to come forward to participate in the new study. New research being led by a team of psychologists at the University of Bath hopes to provide evidence to improve the clinical care of people in the process of withdrawing from antidepressants.

Psychology - Health - 16.01.2023

The link between mental health and ADHD is strong - so why aren’t we paying attention?
Adults with high levels of ADHD symptoms are more likely to have anxiety and depression than adults with high levels of autistic traits, new research finds. Adults with high levels of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are more likely to experience anxiety and depression than adults with high levels of autistic traits, according to new research led by psychologists at the University of Bath.

Psychology - Health - 12.01.2023

From emotional maltreatment to psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence
Children between the ages of three and sixteen have an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders as a result of emotional maltreatment. In younger children, the consequences are mainly seen in their behaviour, and in adolescents more in the form of anxiety and depression. These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers at Leipzig University Hospital in cooperation with other German universities.

Psychology - Health - 12.01.2023

Placebo reduces feelings of guilt
Guilt is an uncomfortable feeling and can be burdensome. Researchers at the University of Basel have shown that placebos can help reduce feelings of guilt, even when the placebo is administered openly. People don't always behave impeccably in relationship to others. When we notice that this has inadvertently caused harm, we often feel guilty.

Psychology - Health - 11.01.2023

Childhood maltreatment linked with multiple mental health problems
Experiencing abuse or neglect as a child can cause multiple mental health problems, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry , seeks to examine the causal effects of childhood maltreatment on mental health by accounting for other genetic and environmental risk factors, such as a family history of mental illness and socioeconomic disadvantage.

Health - Psychology - 11.01.2023

Can neuroimaging reveal the roots of psychiatric disorders? Not just yet
Technology shows great promise in helping clinicians link mental health disorders to abnormal brain activity, but work remains for illnesses such as PTSD. Neuroimaging technology has been shown to hold great promise in helping clinicians link specific symptoms of mental health disorders to abnormal patterns of brain activity.

Psychology - Health - 09.01.2023

Predicting the Onset of Anxiety Disorders in Adolescence Thanks to Artificial Intelligence
Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric conditions in adolescence, with nearly one in three individuals affected. Some of these disorders - such as panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder - tend to emerge slightly later in life or consolidate in early adulthood. Therefore, identifying those who are at high risk of developing clinical anxiety (which meets specific diagnostic criteria) is crucial.

Psychology - Life Sciences - 05.01.2023

Managing emotions better could prevent pathological ageing
A team from the University of Geneva deciphers how negative emotions durably modify brain activity in the older adults . Negative emotions, anxiety and depression are thought to promote the onset of neurodegenerative diseases and dementia. But what is their impact on the brain and can their deleterious effects be limited? Neuroscientists at the University of Geneva observed the activation of the brains of young and older adults when confronted with the psychological suffering of others.

Psychology - Social Sciences - 04.01.2023

Fathers Who Take 2 Weeks Paternity Leave Are Considered Less Likely to Develop Postpartum Depression
In the weeks that follow the birth of a child, both parents are likely to develop depression. Paternity leave, recognized for its benefits on family balance, child development and male-female equality, could be one of the keys to preventing this condition that affects one in ten fathers and almost two in ten mothers.

Psychology - 26.12.2022

Females perform better than males on a ’theory of mind’ test across 57 countries
Females, on average, are better than males at putting themselves in others- shoes and imagining what the other person is thinking or feeling, suggests a new study of over 300,000 people in 57 countries. Our results provide some of the first evidence that the well-known phenomenon - that females are on average more empathic than males - is present in wide range of countries across the globe David Greenberg Researchers found that females, on averag

Health - Psychology - 23.12.2022

COVID-19 pandemic increased the vulnerability of people living with obesity
The COVID-19 pandemic may have left people living with obesity more vulnerable to the cost-of-living crisis, warns a study led by UCL researchers. Adults with obesity surveyed in the study reported that their mental health - which is known to be associated with weight gain - had deteriorated between the end of the UK's first COVID-19 lockdown in July 2020 and September 2021.

Psychology - 22.12.2022

New model explaining difficulty in language comprehension
Built on recent advances in machine learning, the model predicts how well individuals will produce and comprehend sentences. Cognitive scientists have long sought to understand what makes some sentences more difficult to comprehend than others. Any account of language comprehension, researchers believe, would benefit from understanding difficulties in comprehension.

Economics / Business - Psychology - 15.12.2022

Bots with feelings: Study explores how human customers react to AI chatbots with emotions
Artificial intelligence chatbots that show positive feelings - such as adding an -I am excited to do so!- or a few exclamation marks - do not necessarily translate into positive reactions or contribute to higher customer satisfaction, according to a recent study by researchers from the University of South Florida, the Georgia Institute of Technology and McGill University.