Theravive Home

Did your parents have a favorite child? Research published in the Psychological Bulletin suggests they may have and the factors contributing to favoritism may surprise you. [More]

A new study published in the Lancet looked at associations between childhood trauma and childhood psychiatric disorders in Brazil. “This study looks at the impact of childhood trauma exposure on the mental health of adolescents at ages 15 and 18 in a Brazilian birth cohort,” study author Megan Bailey told us. Bailey is an ESRC-Funded PhD Researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Nature aimed to understand the neural code of stress to control anhedonia. “The goal of the study was to understand what drives reduced reward-seeking in individuals who are susceptible to traumatic stress,” study author Mazen A. Kheirbek told us. “We were hoping to identify patterns of activity in the brains of mice that may be related to this process of anhedonia, and patterns that are associated with resiliency to developing anhedonia.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry looked at the contribution of childhood lead exposure to psychopathology in the US population over the past 75 years. “We set out to determine the toll that leaded gasoline took on the US population’s mental health over the past century,” Dr. Aaron Reuben told us. “We knew it would be higher than anyone previously understood.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association looked at a longitudinal treatment effect analysis of antipsychotics on the behavior of residents in long-term care. “Our study was focused on the use of advanced statistical methods to evaluate the effects of antipsychotic use among nursing home residents who do not have existing conditions associated with psychosis,” study author, Dr. John Hirdes told us. Dr. Hirdes is a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences. “These drugs are often use ‘off label’ to manage behaviours in persons with dementia. We wanted to determine whether these drugs would be effective in managing behaviour problems in long-term care.” [More]

A new study published in Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine assessed the psychobiological demands of high-fidelity training in pre-hospital emergency medicine. “Individuals who provide emergency medical services mount physiological responses including activation of the nervous and endocrine systems,” study author Mark Wetherell told us. “These responses are highly adaptive and provide the energy resources to deal with the situation, however, frequent and sustained responding, with little opportunity for recovery, causes wear and tear on the body and this can lead to increased risk of stress-related illness.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology looked at the frequency of self-reported persistent post-treatment genital hypoesthesia among past antidepressant users in Canada and the US. “In my counselling practice, I specialize in working with people with Post Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), which is a type of sexual dysfunction where sexual function does not return to normal upon discontinuation of commonly prescribed antidepressants such as SSRIs, Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs), and some tricyclic antidepressants,” study author Yassie Pirani told us.he [More]

Feeling lonely has a greater impact on sleep for college students than too much screen time. Research from Oregon State University found that students with high levels of loneliness were more likely to have difficulties sleeping compared with less lonely students, regardless of their level of screen time. [More]

A new study published in JAMA Network looked at a nature-based intervention and the mental health of schoolchildren. “We found that a 12-week nature-based intervention in Grades 5 and 6 did not lead to overall reductions in mental health symptoms, according to both per-protocol and intent-to-treat analyses,” study author Marie-Claude Geoffroy told us. [More]

More than 33% of people aged between 50 to 80 feel lonely. Loneliness and isolation among this group has mostly returned to pre pandemic levels, but remains high. [More]