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A new study published in the Journal of Rural Sociology looked at the built environmental and social and emotional support among rural older adults and whether there is a case for social infrastructure and attention to ethnoracial differences. “In this study, we were interested in determining if and how older adult social and emotional health is associated with social infrastructure availability in rural contexts,” study author Danielle Rhubart told us. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Psychological Medicine looked at early-initiated childhood reading for pleasure and its associations with better cognitive performance, mental well-being and brain structure in early teens. “I and my co-authors wanted to understand the effects of reading for pleasure in young children on brain structure, cognition, school academic achievement and mental health,” study author Barbara J. Shakahian told us. “Some of the previously published literature suggested that there should be beneficial effects on cognition, but there had not been a very large scale study, with over 10,000 adolescents before on all these measures together.” [More]

The US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended adults under the age of 65 be screened for anxiety disorders. This is the first time anxiety screening for this group has been recommended. [More]

Employees who have frequent interaction with artificial intelligence systems are more likely to be lonely. Research published by the American Psychological Association found that the loneliness experienced by the employees could lead to insomnia as well as after work drinking. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Athletic Training looked at self-reported mental health measures among incoming collegiate student-athletes who had COVID-19. “We were interested in seeing if a young, highly active group experienced a lasting emotional upheaval following recovery from COVID-19,” study author Melissa Anderson told us. “Based on reports that up to a third of people who had a COVID-19 diagnosis experience persistent psychological symptoms, we expected to see similar results in our study." [More]

A new study published in Frontiers in Public Health looked at how attending live sporting events can predict subjective wellbeing and reduces loneliness. “The data was collected as part of a large government survey looking at all sorts of things measuring people’s health and wellbeing, as well as some other information about them, such as their age, income level, and some information about what activities they take part in,” study author Dr. Helen Keyes told us. “Our study honed in on the questions that participants were asked about their wellbeing (life satisfaction, sense that life is worthwhile, loneliness, happiness and anxiety) and whether attendance at a live sporting event over the past 12 months had any impact on these measures.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Dental Research looked at dental health and mental health in a nationally representative cohort. “The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between oral health and mental health both cross-sectionally and longitudinally,” study author A. Kalaigian told us. “In addition, we sought to evaluate the impact of mental problems (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and substance abuse) on adverse oral health conditions (i.e., bleeding gums, loose teeth, self-rated oral health, tooth extraction, gum disease, and bone loss around teeth) when controlling for potential confounders. Through this work, we hoped to inform dental practitioners in treating patients experiencing mental illness." [More]

A new study looked at peer health navigation experiences before and after prison release amount people with opioid use disorder. “Our study looked at the experiences of participants in a specific peer navigation program that paired people with opioid use disorder exiting incarceration with peer navigators and other supports,” study author Michael Enich told us. “We were hoping to capture, in their own words, program participants’ feelings working with peers who have also experienced incarceration and/or substance use or mental health challenges. We also wanted to see what aspects of the program these participants found to be most helpful—or aspects of the program they would change if they could.” [More]

A new study published in PLOS ONE looked at the effectiveness of a brief online resilience intervention during the COVID-19 lockdown. “Our study aimed to test a new positive psychological intervention, SPARK Resilience® @Work,” study author Evgeny Osin told us. “It is a programme that aims to help employees understand, activate, and develop the psychological resources and strategies that are important to deal efficiently with stressful situations and to maintain high well-being and high performance at work.” [More]

People who frequently watch YouTube have elevated levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Researchers from the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention found that the most widely used streaming platform had both positive and negative impacts on the mental health of users. [More]