November 30, 2021
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Science looked at active learning. “The notion of active learning has been receiving a lot of attention recently,” study author Nesra Yannier told us. "Especially with COVID-19, the importance of engaging students with novel ways of learning has become even more apparent. While schools and teachers are trying to adapt by incorporating new techniques and technologies, quarantine has also been having psychological effects on students such as social isolation, restlessness and attention problems.”
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September 7, 2021
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Pediatric Research looked at family environment and development in children adopted from institutionalized care. “This prospective study followed children recently adopted from institutionalized care over two years to investigate the relationship between family environment, executive function, and behavioral outcomes,” study author Constantine A. Stratakis told us. “My research interest is how early life stress effects development.”
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May 18, 2021
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Body Image looked at the effect playing with ultra-thin dolls has on the way young girls view their own bodies. “We were interested in understanding whether doll play would influence girls’ developing sense of an ‘ideal’ body,” study author Lynda Boothroyd, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Durham University in the UK told us.
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May 14, 2021
by Elizabeth Pratt
Adults are more generous and compassionate in the presence of children.
Researchers from the University of Bath and Cardiff University undertook eight experiments with more than 2000 participants and found that the presence of children can cause adults to be more generous.
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May 5, 2021
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Applied Neuropsychology: Child looked at computerized inhibitory control training and its effect on reducing anxiety in preadolescent students. “The key goal of the study was to further examine the interrelation between inhibitory control (IC) and anxiety in preadolescent-aged children, and to determine whether training IC through a remote, computerized program could serve as an effective means for reducing anxiety,” lead author, Nathaniel Shanok, Ph.D. told us.
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February 23, 2021
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the journal, PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) looked at how childhood self-control forecasts the pace of midlife aging and preparedness for old age. “We studied whether as adults, children who exercise better self-control age more slowly, and are more prepared to manage the health, financial, and social demands of later life,” study author Leah Richmond-Rakerd told us. “We also investigated whether self-control in adulthood – not just childhood – is important for aging.” Prior studies have shown that people with better self-control live longer lives. Richmond-Rakerd and the team predicted that people with better self-control would also age more healthily, in midlife.
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October 27, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study looked at the treatment of insured children (average age 12) after they experience a first mental health episode. Most of these children were experiencing anxiety or depression. “We looked at the treatment of these children received in the three months after the incident and focused on whether they had received any follow-up care in that interval, whether they received any therapy, and the types of drugs they received if they received drugs,” study author Janet Currie told us.
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September 1, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatric looked at the association between early neural activity and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). “We wanted to characterize early brain differences that can be detected before the behavioral signs of autism emerge,” study author Dr. Abigail Dickinson told us.
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June 30, 2020
by Patricia Tomasi
Some children develop obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms quite suddenly, often after an infectious illness such as Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). It has been hypothesized that these symptoms derive from antibodies that cross-react with cells in the brain, causing local brain inflammation and impairing brain circuit function. However, this has been somewhat controversial, in large part because these antibodies have proven difficult to identify. A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry by a team of Yale scientists examined this phenomenon.
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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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