June 18, 2020
by Elizabeth Pratt
Recent research from BYU suggests that spending too much time in front of the screen playing video games can be responsible for negative developmental outcomes for adolescents and result in an addiction to video games.
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June 16, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
There are over five million people in the United States today who are living with dementia and 50 million around the globe. By 2050, it’s predicted that nearly 14 million people in the U.S. will have dementia and 152 million worldwide. A new study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at whether personality traits were associated with a risk of developing cognitive decline in aging.
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The brutal treatment of George Floyd that resulted in death has hit on a chord with far-reaching intensity. The specifics were revealed because Damella Frazier, 17, had the presence of mind to film the almost-unbelievable incident that occurred in Minneapolis on May 25,2020.
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June 12, 2020
by Tina Arnoldi
Some Americans say their religious faith has strengthened as a result of the outbreak, even though churchgoers report that their congregations have stopped in-person worship services, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. What is it about a crisis that causes people to think more about their spiritual life?
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June 12, 2020
by Kimberly Lucey
In-person learning has been canceled for most students for more than two months now, and for students most in need of emotional support, missing the classroom may be taking a big toll. "Even before the pandemic there were a lot of students at risk", says Dr. Glenn Albright, Ph.D. "Anxiety, depression, and substance abuse disorders can grow when a child is in a home where they don't feel safe."
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June 10, 2020
by Elizabeth Pratt
A survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) found the pandemic is taking a toll on the mental health of parents. Almost half of parents with children aged less than 18 report their stress relating to the COVID19 pandemic is high.
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June 9, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
Sensitivity is a basic trait. It’s defined as the ability to perceive and process information about the environment. All people are sensitive but some considerably more than others. A new study published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry examined the genetic architecture of environmental sensitivity using a sample of 2868 adolescent twins. Twins are usually used in psychological or biological studies. Studies with twins are useful to researchers because twins share 100 per cent of their genes. That means, any differences between the twins are due to outside influences.
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June 5, 2020
by Tina Arnoldi
Our ability to socialize has decreased significantly as a result of the pandemic. But even pre-COVID, not everyone was able to be out and about to make new friends. While there are plenty of opportunities to find “friends” on various social media channels and other online networks, the question is how authentic relationships can be that start - or even remain - online? Studies suggest there are benefits to becoming active in multiple online groups to find community and that authentic relationships are possible.
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June 2, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics looked at the number of times children visited emergency departments in the U.S. for mental health care. The purpose of the study was to describe the trends in pediatric mental health emergency department visits on a national scale. We know from other studies that often times, low pediatric volume and/or emergency departments located in non-metropolitan areas tend to be less prepared to treat children, as they may only see a few children a day.
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May 26, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
The pandemic pushed much of medical care to online, virtual platforms, virtually overnight. But is Internet-based health care, particularly mental health care, a safe and viable option? A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry looked at the effects of Internet versus face-to-face cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for health anxiety.
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