science wire

Bell Let's Talk, McGill University, The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) and the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital are pleased to announce the official launch of the  Multicultural Mental Health Resource Centre  (MMHRC).

Women who are young, "conventionally attractive" and appear and act feminine are more likely to be believed when making accusations of sexual harassment, a new University of Washington-led study finds. That leaves people who don't fit the prototype potentially facing greater hurdles when trying to convince a workplace or court that they have been harassed.

Mindfulness courses can reduce anxiety, depression and stress and increase mental wellbeing within most but not all non-clinical settings, say a team of researchers at the University of Cambridge.

People with certain genetic conditions are likely to have significant symptoms of autism, even if they do not meet all diagnostic criteria, a study concludes.

Editor ' s note: This column is written by Nicholas Epley, the John Templeton Keller Professor of Behavioral Science.

If you were asked to draw a picture of your grandparents' living room from memory, could you do it? For most people, certain details are easy to visualize: "There's a piano in the corner, a palm by the window and two seashells on the coffee table.

New study suggests focusing on past successes, instead of failures, improves decision making, especially for people with anxiety and depression. (iStockphoto) The more chaotic things get, the harder it is for people with clinical anxiety and/or depression to make sound decisions and to learn from their mistakes.

A female-typical language style promotes the popularity of talks in the digital context and turns out to be an underappreciated but highly effective tool for social influence. This was shown by UZH psychologists in an international study in which they analyzed 1,100 TED Talks. A large part of social interaction nowadays takes place digitally.

The latest survey by the University of Basel on psychological stress in the second Covid-19 wave has revealed that levels have increased significantly in comparison with the spring of this year. The proportion of people with severe depressive symptoms stood at 9% during lockdown in April, but this figure had risen to 18% in November.

Pretend play promotes the development of socio-emotional competences in children aged five and six. Being socially and emotionally competent from an early age is likely to help children win acceptance by their peers, build better relationships with teachers, and facilitate academic learning.

The coronavirus is not only a risk for our physical health, but also affects our mental health and emotional well-being.

Perceived lack of trustworthy news sources led people to make 'gut instinct' decisions People understood emotions were heightened but voting choices weren't led by feelings Contrary to the prevailing

More than nine in ten (92%) people grade their own compliance with Covid-19 lockdown restrictions as better than what they think the population average is, find UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19 Social Study.

A new course at Carnegie Mellon University helps students find new ways to see the world and live a happy, healthy and fulfilling life The new Dietrich College course titled "Hack Your Life: The Scie

Mental health difficulties in children increased during the first national lockdown (between March and June 2020), but have decreased since. The latest report from the Co-SPACE study highlights that for participating primary school aged children: Over the course of the first national lockdown (March - June 2020), behavioural and restless/attentional difficulties increased, while most children were not attending school.

Relapse in people with bipolar disorder can be predicted accurately by their tendency towards having pessimistic beliefs, according to a new study involving UCL researchers.

COVID-19 is continuing to lead to worsening mental health outcomes for young Australians, with the highest levels of psychological distress for 18- to 24-year-olds observed this year, new analysis from The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The analysis from a survey of more than 3,000 Australians found psychological distress among 18- to 24-year olds jumped from 14.6 in August to 15.7 in October.

Women have found the Covid-19 pandemic more challenging than men psychologically, reporting higher levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness, and lower levels of life satisfaction and happiness, find UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19 Social Study. Respondents to the study from BAME backgrounds also reported consistently worse mental health than other groups across every measure throughout the pandemic, with higher levels of depression, anxiety, thoughts of death or self-harm, reported abuse and loneliness, and lower life satisfaction and happiness.

If you're dealing with anxiety in 2020, could watching a horror movie make you feel better? University of Chicago graduate student Coltan Scrivner says the answer-surprisingly-could be yes.

Trust or disappointment in government crisis management is an important factor for the general mood, shows a study by the University of Zurich based on surveys in Israel and Switzerland.

FACULTY Q&A Are you feeling angst and frustrated about politics-just counting the days until Election Day? You're certainly not alone.

An new app which uses football as a theme to provide positive resources and support for vulnerable groups including the young and the homeless has been launched by the Street Soccer Foundation , a charity run by ex-football player Keith Mabbutt.

In honour of DLD Awareness Day, Professor Courtenay Norbury (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) and her colleague explain the challenges facing children with developmental language disorder and calls for teachers and schools to use more techniques to help pupils.

With the current flood of misinformation and "fake news" undermining democracies around the world, a consensus document that summarises the science of debunking has been published by a team of 22 prominent researchers of misinformation and its debunking.

Study finds high levels of PTSD in nursing and care staff dealing with COVID-19 A University of Glasgow mathematician has helped map the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing and care home staff in Italy.

Freie Universität research team is looking for trial participants for "Step-by-Step" improvement program No 189/2020 from Oct 12, 2020 A team of psychologists is currently testing the effectivity of a new self-help app for Syrian refugees in a new study entitled "STRENGTHS" at Freie Universität Berlin.

A new research centre focused on improving support for lifelong learning and cognitive agility opened on 1 October 2020 in Singapore.

There are solid psychological explanations for how consistently we follow the behaviour rules to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, such as the expectations we have towards ourselves and others.

Minister for Democracy Katja Meier said: "The Else Frenkel-Brunswik Institute will compile studies on anti-democratic attitudes and supplement them with its own research and research assignments on Saxony and individual regions in Saxony.

Neuroscientist Michael Silver, inaugural director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.

Despite the easing of lockdown measures, 28% of adults have reported that their lives are currently 'completely different' or have 'lots of differences' compared to prior to Covid-19, find UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19 Social Study.

Head of systems modelling at the Brain and Mind Centre, A/Prof Jo-An Atkinson, told the National Press Club luncheon today that prompt action could cushion future impacts of the coronavirus on mental health and the economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic may be stressful for many Minnesotans, leading to fear, anxiety and other strong emotions.