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A new study published in PLOS ONE looked at whether dogs can reduce stress levels in school children. “Our research is the first to demonstrate the mediating effects of dog-assisted interventions on stress levels in school children over the school term and in both, children with and without special educational needs,” study author Kerstin Meints told us. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Human Development looked at the evidence for protective effects of peer play during the early years. “We were hoping to find out whether early play experiences with other children are important for later mental health and wellbeing,” study author Jenny Louise Gibson told us. “We think that play with others protects against future mental health challenges because it is a natural way for children to develop the cognitive and emotional maturity they need to build up a strong social network.” [More]

A new study published in JAMA looked at the association between repeated exposure to hurricanes and mental health in Florida residents. “Our study sought to examine the relationship between exposure to catastrophic hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and both mental health and functional impairment (e.g., work and social functioning),” study author Dana Rose Garfin told us. [More]

A new study published in Science Direct looked at bereavement and mental health and the generational consequences of a grandparent's death. “We were interested in examining whether adolescents who experience the death of a grandparent between the ages of nine and 15 showed evidence of lasting mental health challenges that might predict subsequent difficulties in schooling,” study author Dr. Ashton M Verdery told us. [More]

A new study published in Scientific Reports looked at the epidemiology of accelerometer-based sleep parameters in US school-aged children and adults. “The study is about the age, gender and racial distribution of objectively measured sleep parameters in the US population,” study author William V. McCall told us. [More]

A new study published in Frontiers of Psychiatry looked at whether conspiratorial beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic post a mental health risk and the relationship between conspiracy thinking and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Polish adults. “My research looks at the relationship between the severity of belief in false information about COVID-19 and the severity of symptoms of anxiety and depression,” study author Pawel Debski told us. [More]

A new two-year longitudinal study published in the BMJ looked at lifestyle risk behaviors among adolescents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our study focused on the ‘Big 6’ health behaviors among adolescents, being physical activity, diet, sleep, recreational screen time, alcohol use and smoking, given these are key predictors of both short- and long-term health and wellbeing,” lead author Dr. Lauren Gardner from the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre told us. [More]

A new study out of Oregon State University looked at the risk of psychiatric diagnoses in the months after a COVID-19 infection. “Previous work during earlier parts of the pandemic reported a high risk of new mental health conditions occurring following COVID infection,” study author Lauren Chan told us. “This study was intended to determine if that risk still exists for patients in the US including patient data until Fall of 2021.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Human Development looked at the association between time spent playing and child mental health. “In January 2021, we published a paper explaining why we thought adventurous play might help to prevent anxiety in children,” study author Helen F. Dodd told us. “We explained how, when children play adventurously, they have opportunities to learn about uncertainty, coping and physiological arousal (heart beating fast, butterflies in your tummy etc.). These learning opportunities should target some of the risk factors that we know exist for child anxiety.” [More]

A new study published in Cell Reports looked at early stress-induced impaired brain functioning. “We were trying to figure out how the long-lasting, life-long adverse effects of transient early-life stress on behavioral and endocrine responses to adult stresses come about,” study author Tallie Z. Baram told us. “This is important, because these changes are tied to mental illnesses.” [More]