February 13, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A recently published study looked at depression detection using in-the-wild smartphone images. “Our study, MoodCapture, explores the innovative use of smartphone technology to detect signs of depression through ‘in-the-wild’ facial expressions captured by the front-facing camera during routine phone unlocks or app use,” co-first author Subigya Nepal told us. “We aimed to assess whether these spontaneous images, which reflect authentic emotions free from the biases of self-presentation, could serve as reliable indicators for depression."
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February 6, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in PLOS ONE looked at personal resources to mitigate the dark side of digital working. “The study focused on the personal resources of mindfulness and digital confidence and ways in which these resources can help to reduce negative well-being impacts from working digitally,” study author Elizabeth Marash told us. “We aimed to understand how experiences such as technology-related stress, anxiety and overload might manifest in higher burnout and poorer health.”
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January 31, 2024
by Elizabeth Pratt
People remember moments immediately after a distressing episode with more clarity than the moment preceding the distressing event.
Research investigating memory and trauma published in Cognition and Emotion could help inform the approach to treating PTSD, assist clinicians in combating memory loss in Alzheimer’s and even improve evaluation of eyewitness testimonies.
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January 30, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in BMC Public Health looked at married women’s decisions to delay childbearing, as well as loneliness, severe psychological distress, and suicidal ideation under crisis during the pandemic. “This study intended to find out how pregnancy decisions affect the well-being of women,” study author Midori Matsushima told us. “We used the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment that affected the population as a whole.”
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January 28, 2024
by Elizabeth Pratt
Got a challenging goal you want to achieve? Getting angry may help.
Despite sometimes being seen as a negative emotion, research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology has found that anger can be a powerful source of motivation for people to achieve their goals.
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January 23, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Behavior and Information Technology looked at whether less social media use can contribute to more satisfaction, work-engagement and mentally healthy employees. “The study focused on the question how to reduce potential negative effects of social media use on work- and mental health related variables,” study author Dr. Julia Brailovskaia told us. “Based on our previous findings, we hypothesized that the reduction of social media use time will have those positive effects.”
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January 16, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
autistic children in the aftermath of events on October 7th, 2023 in Israel. “Following the unprecedented attacks by Hamas on October 7th, we sought to understand the psychological experience of autistic and non autistic children and their parents,” Dr. Judah Koller of the School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told us.
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January 9, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the Journal of Translational Psychiatry looked at the spatiotemporal expression patterns of anxiety disorder-associated genes. “There are a substantial number of neuroimaging and microstimulation studies that identify neural circuits linked to anxiety as a trait or specific anxious behaviors such as pessimistic decision-making,” study author Kalyani B. Karunakaran told us.
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January 2, 2024
by Patricia Tomasi
A new survey was recently released by the American Heart Association regarding health habits during the holidays. The survey found that nearly 80 per cent of people overlook their health needs during the holidays. “The survey is about the general trends and attitudes U.S. adults have about stress during the holiday season,” Dr. Glenn Levine told us. Dr. Levine is a volunteer medical expert from the American Heart Association.
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December 26, 2023
by Patricia Tomasi
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.
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