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A new systemic review and multivariate meta-analysis published in the Journal of Nature Human Behaviour looked at the physical and mental health benefits of touch interventions. “Our study is a meta-analysis, meaning that we collected data from all available studies and merged it together, on the effects of touch interventions on health benefits,” study author Julian Packheiser told us. [More]

Middle aged Americans are experiencing significantly higher levels of loneliness than their European peers. Research published in American Psychologist found that baby boomers in particular are experiencing high levels of loneliness. [More]

A new study published in Taylor & Francis looked at forced separation between people and their companion animals. “The research was about people and pets that shared a human-animal bond and had experienced a crisis situation, such as domestic violence, homelessness and natural disasters,” study author Jasmine Montgomery told us. [More]

A new study published in PLOS One looked at reactions to macro-level shocks and re-examination of adaptation theory using Big Data “Our study wanted to determine whether two different types of macro-level shocks (lockdown – endogenous and the invasion of Ukraine – exogenous to the countries under investigation) affected happiness differently,” study author Stephanié Rossouw told us. [More]

A recently published study looked at depression detection using in-the-wild smartphone images. “Our study, MoodCapture, explores the innovative use of smartphone technology to detect signs of depression through ‘in-the-wild’ facial expressions captured by the front-facing camera during routine phone unlocks or app use,” co-first author Subigya Nepal told us. “We aimed to assess whether these spontaneous images, which reflect authentic emotions free from the biases of self-presentation, could serve as reliable indicators for depression." [More]

A new study published in PLOS ONE looked at personal resources to mitigate the dark side of digital working. “The study focused on the personal resources of mindfulness and digital confidence and ways in which these resources can help to reduce negative well-being impacts from working digitally,” study author Elizabeth Marash told us. “We aimed to understand how experiences such as technology-related stress, anxiety and overload might manifest in higher burnout and poorer health.” [More]

A new study published in PubMed looked at the case for screening and evidence-based intervention in pregnant Black people to detect depression, anxiety, and stress. “As part of a larger randomized clinical trial to determine whether a newly created cognitive-behavioral skills building intervention is effective in improving the mental health of pregnant people of color, we screened Black pregnant women for anxiety, depression, and stress,” study author Susan Gennaro RN, PhD, FAAN told us. [More]

A recently published study looked at benzodiazepine prescriptions for homeless veterans affairs service users with mental illness. “People experiencing homelessness are at high risk for substance use disorders, overdose, and death,” study author Dr. Katherine A. Koh told us. “Benzodiazepines are medications that are known to increase risk of overdose particularly when combined with other sedating medications. [More]

A recent review in the Journal of Trends in Pharmacological Sciences was written by four scientists from different universities -- Dr. Bernhard Luscher from Penn State University, Dr. Jamie Maguire from Tufts University, Dr. Uwe Rudolph from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Etienne Sibille from the University of Toronto -- who have a longstanding interest in the role that GABAA receptors play in the brain, specifically for the development and therapy of depression. [More]

Women experience a large variation in perceptions of their own body during pregnancy. Research published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth found that average levels of body image dissatisfaction was similar in pregnant and non-pregnant, but there were significant differences between individuals. [More]