Boys who enter sixth-grade with co-occurring social skills, anxiety, learning and conduct problems are at the greatest risk of developing aggressive behavior and using tobacco, alcohol and marijuana by the end of eighth grade, a new study found. “While substance use among all boys in the study population increased over time, it increased the fastest […]
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Over the past decade, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become a central part of everyday life. Despite their massive popularity, however, controversy abounds regarding their impact on mental health and wellbeing. A new research study by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) has now found a correlation between the passive use of social […]
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An emotionally intelligent, partially autonomous social robot could help children with autism spectrum disorder improve their social skills, according to EU-funded researchers who have been developing the next generation of robot-enhanced therapy. Therapists often use puppets or animated characters to help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) learn to recognise and express emotions. Although children […]
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New research published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs suggests that tobacco packaging that reminds smokers that broad societal ‘others’ disapprove of the activity can trigger feelings of self-consciousness, which in turn reduces smoking intentions. This approach was particularly effective in ‘isolated’ smokers who did not see smoking as identity-relevant or congruent with their social […]
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WEDNESDAY, Nov. 14, 2018 — For the billions of young people who seek community and connection on social media, new research warns their search may be in vain. Instead, spending too much time on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram may actually increase the risk of depression and loneliness. So concludes a small analysis that tracked the […]
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A new study has established that excessive use of social media, in particular the posting of images and selfies, is associated with a subsequent increase in narcissism. Published in The Open Psychology Journal, researchers from Swansea University and Milan University studied personality changes of 74 individuals aged 18 to 34 over a four-month period. They […]
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New research led by Lijun Song, associate professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, and graduate student Phillip Pettis suggests that knowing people in high and diverse positions may be good or bad for your health. The culprit? Economic inequality. Song studies the relationship between a person’s health and the socioeconomic status of their social contacts–what’s […]
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Those pesky bees that come buzzing around on a muggy summer day are helping researchers reveal the genes responsible for social behaviors. A new study published this week found that the social lives of sweat bees — named for their attraction to perspiration — are linked to patterns of activity in specific genes, including ones […]
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“Recent media reports highlighting NHS statistics which show a rapid increase in the number of boys and young men being admitted to hospital suffering from eating disorders are welcome, if only for helping to draw attention to this issue. Although girls and young women are still around seven times more likely to be treated for […]
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Credit: American Chemical Society Children with autism often find social interactions awkward, leaving them isolated. Now in a study appearing in ACS’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, scientists report that they have discovered a first-of-its-kind compound that promotes social interaction among laboratory mice that display autistic traits. The finding could lead to the development of drugs […]
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In-person social contact seems to offer some protection against depression and PTSD symptoms, but the same is not true of contact on Facebook, suggests a study by Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System and Oregon Health and Science University researchers. The results are online now and slated to appear in the Jan. 15, 2019, issue […]
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A large American Cancer Society study links social isolation with a higher risk of death from all causes combined and heart disease for all races studied, and with increased cancer mortality in white men and women. The study, appearing in the American Journal of Epidemiology, says addressing social isolation holds promise if studies show interventions […]
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A Dartmouth study finds that recognition of faces varies by where they appear in the visual field and this variability is reduced by learning familiar faces through social interactions. These biases are stable and idiosyncratic. More importantly, these biases are reduced for more familiar identities suggesting that the brain recognizes personally familiar faces more uniformly […]
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Working to further the understanding of how the brain processes information, Valentin Dragoi, Ph.D., of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has been awarded a three-year, $1.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative. It is Dragoi’s third award from the highly […]
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With a few finger strokes or swipes on a computer or cell phone, seniors with pain reduce the risk of depression when visiting social media sites. In a newly published University of Michigan study, researchers reported that using social media can reduce the negative health effects of curtailed social contact that comes as a consequence […]
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