Feature Channels: Psychology and Psychiatry

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In recognition of their outstanding research that has brought visibility to issues impacting the Armed Forces and their families, several behavioral health professionals from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) were the recipients of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University (MFRI)’s 2022 Barbara Thompson Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award. The award is based on their scientific publication, "The role of posttraumatic stress symptoms and negative affect in predicting substantiated intimate partner violence incidents among military personnel,” published in the journal Military Behavioral Health in August 2021.

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New UCLA-led research finds that a college preparatory program for youth experiencing educational inequities that operates in about 13% of U.S public high schools has a positive effect on students’ social networks, psycho-social outcomes, and health behaviors.  The findings, published Dec. 16 in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics, suggests that the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, aimed at increasing educational opportunities for under-represented and economically disadvantaged students, also significantly reduces substance use.

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Fathers who acknowledge binge drinking are less involved with their children, according to new research in several countries that have traditionally been understudied. Globally, men are increasingly involved in children’s development. The latest analysis, in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, explores fathers’ binge drinking in relation to the quality of their parenting, and suggests that preventing or treating heavy alcohol use among fathers may have broad benefits for families. Previous studies around the world have flagged the harms of parents’ problematic alcohol use on family relationships and children’s development. Paternal alcohol use disorder, depression, and marital satisfaction are known to be important for parenting. Heavy drinking, which is related to notions of masculinity, has been linked across cultures to more punitive parenting, child abuse and neglect, and intimate partner violence. Little is known about how heavy alcohol use impacts fathers’ relationships

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The annual pattern of winter depression and melancholy – better known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD – suggests a strong link between your mood and the amount of light you get during the day. Binghamton Univesity mood expert offers strategies to beat the winter blues.

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People with cluster headaches may be more than three times more likely to have other medical conditions such as heart disease, mental disorders and other neurologic diseases, according to a study published in the December 14, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center is expanding an evidence-based mental health promotion and crisis prevention program for adolescents to schools across Texas after receiving $11.5 million in funding from the state.

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Training individuals to inhibit imitation of others increases empathy and allows them to recognize facial expressions in others regardless of their situations.

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Expert shares advice to mitigate anxiety heightened by the holidays

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Researchers at Aston University have developed anew experimental task, involving a mock social networking site, which grouped people into three distinct styles of social media use—passive, reactive and interactive.

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Structural racism has not only psychosocial but also biological consequences.

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What are the keys to “successful” or optimal aging? A new study followed more than 7000 middle aged and older Canadians for approximately three years to identify the factors linked to well-being as we age.

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According to Rutgers Institute for Health researchers, strong neighborhood connections reduced the negative impact of living alone on the death rates of older Chinese Americans.

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Frequent use of devices like smartphones and tablets to calm upset children ages 3-5 was associated with increased emotional dysregulation in kids, particularly in boys, according to a Michigan Medicine study in JAMA Pediatrics.

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People with a wide range of emotional disorders, including anxiety disorder and depression, react negatively to uncertainty. When worrying about future events, not knowing can feel very uncomfortable, leading to increased avoidance and inflexibility.

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Although many emerging adults find social interactions enjoyable on days with increased time alone, those who seek solitude as an escape from stress or unpleasant social circumstances may not, according to the results of a new study by University at Buffalo researchers.

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The University of Chicago Medicine has launched a novel partnership with Legal Aid Chicago, embedding two full-time lawyers within the health system’s Level 1 trauma center to provide civil legal support to patients who've been injured from intentional violence.

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Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers continue their exploration into psychedelics and how these drugs may produce a wide range of profound changes in perception, cognition and mood.

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Florida State University College of Medicine researchers have linked aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in nearly 5,000 diet foods and drinks, to anxiety-like behavior in mice. Along with producing anxiety in the mice who consumed aspartame, the effects extended up to two generations from the males exposed to the sweetener.

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Pesquisadores da Mayo Clinic descobriram que pessoas com transtorno depressivo maior e histórico de tentativa de suicídio possuem biomarcadores distintos que estão correlacionados com a resposta à terapia antidepressiva. As novas descobertas, publicadas na revista Frontiers Pharmacology, são a chave para estratégias de tratamento individualizado e identificação precoce dos pacientes com alto risco de suicídio.  

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Investigadores de Mayo Clinic han descubierto que las personas con trastorno depresivo mayor y un historial de intento de suicidio tienen biomarcadores característicos que se correlacionan con su respuesta a la terapia antidepresiva. Los nuevos hallazgos, publicados en Frontiers Pharmacology, son claves para las estrategias de tratamiento individualizado y la identificación temprana de los pacientes que corren el mayor riesgo de suicidio.  

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Gig workers, waiters, salespeople and others who rely on fluctuating income may be paying for wage volatility with their health, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) — a debilitating chronic lung disease that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis — has previously been linked to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders.

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Their older parents need care. Their kids are still under 18. And they probably have a job, too. They’re the “sandwich generation” – a longtime nickname for the mostly female, mostly middle-aged group of Americans who serve as caregivers for both older and younger family members at once. A new study estimates there are at least 2.5 million of them, while giving a detailed view into who they are, and which older adults rely on them.

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People who are feeling tense due to demands at work or home tend not to reward themselves with gifts, new research finds – even though a new product or visit to the spa might be exactly what they need.

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Advise from Nina Debrot, MSW, LSW, social worker at Rutgers Cancer Institute, on how cancer patients and their families and caregivers can manage SAD.

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Research in Psychological Science finds that audio cues can not only help us to recognize objects more quickly but can even alter our visual perception. Pair birdsong with a bird and we see a bird—but replace that birdsong with a squirrel’s chatter, and we’re not quite so sure what we’re looking at.

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Researchers from the Desai Sethi Urology Institute, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have launched a study to determine if wearing virtual reality headsets during in-office vasectomy helps relieve patients of procedure-related pain and anxiety.

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