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A new study published in iScience looked at whether pet and owner personality and mental wellbeing associate with attachment to cats and dogs. “We delved into the personality and mental wellbeing profiles of both owners and their pets (cats and dogs) concerning owners’ attachment insecurity, explicitly focusing on avoidant and anxious attachment styles,” study author Aada Ståhl told us. [More]

Parents are feeling the pressure this holiday season. Data from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at University of Michigan Health found one in five parents think their children have unrealistic expectations of the holiday, and one in four parents admit they themselves set overly idealistic expectations for the holidays. [More]

Adults across the country are feeling festive but overwhelmed this holiday season. A new poll by the American Psychological Association found 89% of respondents are stressed about not having enough money for the holidays, missing loved ones and family conflict. [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]

Keeping secrets may actually brighten your day. Research has found that keeping good news a secret makes people more alive and energized. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Neurology looked at the association between peer victimization, gender diversity, mental health, and recurrent headaches in adolescents. “In this study, we wanted to try and understand if bullying and being gender diverse are associated with frequent headaches in teens,” study author Serena L. Orr told us. “Although some past studies have looked at the relationship between bullying and headaches, they have not adequately controlled for other risk factors associated with both of these, including mental health, age, and sex." [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity looked at the effect of modernized collaborative care for depression on depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk biomarkers. “We set out to determine whether treating depression, a psychological risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), could reduce the risk of developing CVD in the future, like treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” study author Jesse C. Stewart told us. “Our study, the eIMPACT trial, was based on more than three decades of research showing that people with depression are at elevated risk of developing CVD, similar to people with traditional CVD risk factors.” [More]