Youth from low-income families who succeed academically and socially may pay a price with their health, according to a study by scientists at Northwestern University and the University of Georgia. The researchers focused on a group of approximately 300 rural African-American teenagers transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. They found that the teens who had high levels of self-control, or the ability to focus on long-term goals over more immediate ones, fared better on a variety of psychosocial outcomes, including less depression, substance use and aggression as young adults. Measurements of participants' DNA methylation, however, pointed to more rapid immune cell aging among these successful adolescents, highlighting potential health costs of positive psychosocial outcomes for disadvantaged youth (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online July 13opens in new window).
Children and teens have better behavioral health outcomes when mental health providers team with pediatricians, finds a meta-analysis by psychologists at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers examined 31 studies of 13,000 children and adolescents that compared outcomes from those who were treated by integrated-care teams with those who received traditional primary care. The researchers found that for children and teens who received integrated behavioral care, the probability that they would have better behavioral health outcomes (such as those related to mental health, substance use and risky behaviors) than if they were in traditional primary care was 66 percent. Further, when a psychologist or social worker was embedded in a pediatrician's or family physician's office and collaborated with the physician on patients' evaluation, treatment and follow-up, the probability of better outcomes rose to 73 percent (JAMA Pediatrics, online Aug. 10).
Exercise can improve brain function in older adults, according to research conducted at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The six-month-long randomized controlled trial involved 101 healthy adults ages 65 and older who showed no signs of cognitive decline. Participants were placed in one of four groups: a control group that did not have monitored exercise, one that exercised for 75 minutes a week, one that exercised for 150 minutes a week, and one that exercised for 225 minutes per week. All of the exercising groups showed some cognitive benefits, but those who exercised more saw more benefits, particularly improved visual-spatial processing as well as increases in their overall attention levels and ability to focus (PLOS ONE, July 9).
Growing up poor can lead to slower brain development and lower tests scores, according to a six-year longitudinal study with 389 economically diverse children and young adults ages 4 to 22. Scientists from Duke University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison analyzed 839 MRI scans collected from participants every two years. They found that children who came from families below the poverty line showed differences in brain structure from middle-class and higher-income children. Specifically, children from poor families had differences in the brain areas most crucial for academic development, including the frontal and temporal lobes and the hippocampus. The poorer children also had less gray matter overall than the other children. The authors estimate that these brain differences could explain as much as 15 percent to 20 percent of the gap in test scores between poor and other children (JAMA Pediatrics, online July 20opens in new window).
Boys are more likely than girls to receive a prescription for an antipsychotic medication, according to a study by Columbia University scientists. They looked at prescription data from 2006 to 2010 and found antipsychotic use increased with age in both boys and girls, before dropping at age 19. In addition, boys ages 1 to 12 were more than twice as likely as girls to receive an antipsychotic prescription. The gap narrowed from ages 13 to 18 before becoming comparable with girls between ages 19 and 24. The authors suggest that these patterns are consistent with the use of antipsychotics to manage impulsive and aggressive behaviors rather than psychotic symptoms (JAMA Psychiatry, online July 1opens in new window).
Contrary to popular belief, sex and violence don't sell, finds research led by Ohio State University psychologists. The scientists conducted a meta-analysis of 53 studies that examined the influences of sexual and violent content on advertising effectiveness. They examined the content both of ads and of the media in which the ads were embedded. Overall, ads with sexual or violent content did not lead to better memory for the advertised brand or to increased intentions to purchase the brand. Sexual content of ads led to less favorable attitudes toward the brand. Regarding the ads' surrounding media, there were either no significant effects or negative effects of sexual or violent content on memory, purchasing intentions, and attitudes related to the brand (Psychological Bulletin, online July 20opens in new window).
Explaining the dangers of deadly diseases can help convince those who are skeptical about vaccinations, according to research by psychologists at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Researchers divided 315 adults, two-thirds of whom expressed skepticism toward vaccines, into three groups. One group read material from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying that all children should be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella, and explaining that the vaccine for those diseases is safe and effective. A second group read materials that described the dangers of measles, mumps and rubella, and explained how a vaccine can prevent them; these materials included photographs of children with these diseases, as well as comments by a mother whose 10-month-old son suffered a life-threatening bout of measles. The third group, the control, read an unrelated statement about feeding birds. Among group members who were skeptical about or very opposed to vaccines, the second approach, explaining the dangers of the diseases, substantially increased support for vaccination; the other materials had no effect on participants' support for vaccination (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online Aug. 3opens in new window).
Cognitive abilities often worsen for years after a stroke, according to a study out of the University of Michigan. Researchers examined data from more than 23,000 Americans age 45 or older, all of whom had no history of cognitive impairment when they entered the study. Scientists tested their memories and thinking abilities at the beginning of the study and at regular intervals over the next six to 10 years, and monitored them twice a year for acute stroke events. The researchers found that stroke was associated with declines in global cognition, new learning and verbal memory soon after the stroke occurred, as well as accelerated and persistent declines in global cognition and executive function throughout the study's follow-up years (Journal of the American Medical Association, July 7opens in new window).
Childhood stress fuels weight gain in women — but not men, finds research by Michigan State University and University of Texas scientists. The researchers analyzed the data from a national survey of more than 3,600 adults who answered questions about their stress levels during childhood and again three additional times over the course of 15 years. They found that women who experienced higher levels of childhood stress, including economic hardship and divorce, gained weight more rapidly than women who experienced less childhood stress. A similar trend was not evident among men, likely because men and women typically respond to stress differently. For example, women often eat more to cope with stress, while men are more likely to engage in less weight-related strategies, such as withdrawing or drinking alcohol, the authors say (Social Science & Medicine, Augustopens in new window).
Men may feel more threatened by female hiring managers than male ones, and act more assertively toward them, finds a study led by a scientist at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. In an experiment with 76 U.S. college students, participants were asked to negotiate their salaries at a new job in a computer-based exercise with a male or female hiring manager. After the negotiation, participants took an implicit threat test where they guessed words that appeared on a computer screen for a fraction of a second. Researchers judged participants who chose more threat-related words, including "fear" or "risk," as feeling more threatened, and found that male participants who negotiated with a female manager exhibited more threat and pushed for a higher salary compared to men negotiating with a male manager. The manager's gender didn't affect female participants, who did not negotiate for a higher salary with either gender (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Julyopens in new window).
Parents' estimations of their children's happiness differ significantly from the children's own assessment of their feelings, according to research by Plymouth University psychologists. Scientists asked 172 10- and 11-year-olds and 185 15- and 16-year-olds from two different schools in Spain how happy they were, and also asked parents to estimate their child's happiness. They found that parents of 10- and 11-year-olds consistently overestimated their children's happiness, while those with 15- and 16-year-olds underestimated it (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Novemberopens in new window).
Getting married can lead to dramatic drinking reductions, even among people with severe drinking problems, finds research by psychologists at the University of Missouri and Arizona State University. They examined the drinking rates of the study's 844 participants as they progressed from age 18 to 40, and how the rate was affected by whether or not participants married during that time. Results showed that marriage not only led to reductions in heavy drinking in general, but that this effect was much stronger for those who were problem drinkers before getting married (Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, June).
Workplace rudeness is contagious, according to a study conducted at the University of Florida. In one experiment, 90 graduate students practiced their negotiation skills with classmates. Those who rated their negotiation partner as rude were more likely to be rated as rude by a subsequent partner, and the effect was maintained even when a week elapsed between the first and second negotiations (Journal of Applied Psychology, June 29opens in new window).
A diet high in refined carbohydrates may be associated with an increased risk for new-onset depression in postmenopausal women, finds research led by a scientist at Columbia University Medical Center. The researchers looked at the dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, types of carbohydrates consumed and depression symptoms in more than 70,000 postmenopausal women. They found that higher dietary glycemic index scores and consumption of added sugars and refined grains were associated with increased risk of new-onset depression in postmenopausal women. Conversely, greater consumption of dietary fiber, vegetables and nonjuice fruits was associated with decreased risk for the disorder (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Augustopens in new window).
— Amy Novotney
