The amount of time children spend in daycare appears to have little impact on aggressive behavior, according to a study by Boston College and University of Oslo scientists. Researchers interviewed parents of 939 Norwegian children about the amount of time their children spent in daycare at ages 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years. Each year, the child's daycare teacher reported on such aggressive behaviors as hitting, pushing and biting. The findings suggest that at age 2, children who had been in daycare at earlier ages showed modestly higher levels of aggression than peers who entered later. However, these differences in physical aggression diminished over time, regardless of how much time children spent in daycare (Psychological Science, online Aug. 14).
Forgiving others appears to protect older women — but not older men — from depression, according to research out of the University of Missouri. Scientists analyzed data from a national survey of more than 1,000 adults ages 67 or older and found that older women who forgave others were less likely to report symptoms of depression. This was true regardless of whether they felt unforgiven by others. Older men, however, reported the highest levels of depression when they both forgave others and felt unforgiven by others. The results may help those who counsel older adults to develop gender-appropriate interventions to treat depression, according to the authors (Aging & Mental Health, online July 2opens in new window).
The ability to lie about misbehavior is reduced in a sparsely furnished room, according to a study by psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley. In an experiment with 79 college students, participants were instructed to steal $100 from a wallet in an empty room. The participants were then questioned about the theft and got to keep the money if their lies weren't detected. Findings showed participants who were questioned in a room with only a table and chair, similar to a traditional police interrogation room, exhibited more behavioral cues about their deception — including short or hesitant responses, a slowed rate of speech, uncooperativeness and false smiles — than participants in a decorated office with framed photos on a desk and colorful prints adorning the wall (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, online Aug. 24opens in new window).
The IQs of adults born very prematurely or with very low birth weights can be predicted when they are toddlers, suggests research from the University of Warwick. The study followed 260 babies born either before 32 weeks or with a weight of less than 3.3 pounds. The researchers assessed cognitive function with developmental and intelligence tests at ages 5 months, 20 months, 4 years, 6 years, 8 years and 26 years and compared them with 229 full-term babies. The assessments taken around age 2 among those born prematurely provided a good prediction of what their adult IQ would be. Among full-term babies, however, adult IQ could not be adequately predicted until they reached the age of 6 (Pediatrics, September).
Girls and boys with autism differ in their behavior and brain structures, finds a study out of Stanford University. Looking at nearly 800 U.S. children with high-functioning forms of autism, researchers found that girls with the condition display less repetitive and restricted behavior than boys. The researchers also used brain scans to examine gender differences and found that patterns of gray matter in brain regions involved in motor control and social behavior differed between girls and boys. These findings suggest that clinicians may want to diagnose and treat autistic girls differently than boys, the authors say (Molecular Autism, online Sept. 4opens in new window).
Air pollution appears to be linked to low academic achievement among children, finds a study by University of Texas at El Paso scientists. The researchers analyzed academic performance and sociodemographic data for 1,895 fourth- and fifth-grade children living in El Paso. They used the Environmental Protection Agency's National Air Toxics Assessment to estimate children's exposure to toxic air pollutants, such as diesel exhaust, around the location of the children's homes. Results showed that children who were exposed to high levels of motor vehicle emissions had significantly lower grades, even when accounting for other factors known to influence school performance (Population and Environment, online July 17opens in new window).
Men who buy sex appear to be more aggressive than other men, according to work conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and other institutions. Investigators interviewed 101 men in the Boston area who buy sex from prostitutes and a matched sample of 101 men who do not. The researchers found that the men who buy sex had less empathy for women in prostitution than men who don't buy sex. The men who buy sex were also more likely to report having committed rape and other acts of sexual aggression, the study found (Journal of Interpersonal Violence, online Aug. 31opens in new window).
Older adults are getting smarter but not fitter, according to research by scientists at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. They collected data measuring cognitive processing speed, physical fitness and mental health from a sample of German adults ages 50 to 90 in 2006 and from another sample of the same ages in 2012. Cognitive processing speed in the 2012 sample was significantly faster than in the 2006 sample, which the researchers suggest may be linked to higher education rates and increased use of technology in daily life. But the 2012 sample's physical functioning and mental health scores were lower, especially for lower-educated men ages 50 to 64 (PLOS ONE, Aug. 31opens in new window).
Teenagers who use e-cigarettes may be more likely to start smoking traditional tobacco products than teens who don't, according to University of Southern California researchers and colleagues. The study compared tobacco use initiation among 222 students who had used e-cigarettes but not traditional tobacco products with 2,308 who had not used e-cigarettes or traditional tobacco. In the first six months after being surveyed, 30 percent of teens who had used e-cigarettes started using more traditional tobacco products, compared with only 8 percent of those who had never used e-cigarettes (Journal of the American Medical Association, Aug. 18).
Making computer science classrooms less stereotypical may get girls more interested in the subject, according to research conducted by University of Washington psychologists. Researchers asked 270 high school boys and girls about their interest in a computer science class, their sense of belonging in such a class and how much they thought they fit the computer-science stereotype. Students then viewed photos of two different computer science classrooms decorated with objects that either represented the computer science stereotype (laden with computer parts and Star Trek posters) or were nonstereotypical (displaying art and nature pictures). Three times as many girls reported interest in enrolling in computer science if the class were in the less stereotypical room (Journal of Educational Psychology, online Aug. 17opens in new window).
Hospital nurses who work 12-hour shifts or longer may be more likely to suffer emotional exhaustion and experience job dissatisfaction, finds research led by scientists at the University of Southampton. The researchers examined survey results from more than 31,000 nurses in 12 European countries. The results suggest that nurses who had worked more than 12 hours were 50 percent more likely to report job dissatisfaction, intention to leave their jobs, and job burnout and emotional exhaustion than nurses who worked eight-hour shifts (BMJ One, Aug. 23opens in new window).
Contrary to previous research, omega-3 supplements do not slow cognitive decline in older adults, according to a study by National Institutes of Health researchers. They assigned the trial's 4,000 older adult patients to take daily doses of either a placebo, an omega-3 supplement, or supplements with lutein and zeaxanthin — nutrients found in green leafy vegetables that are used to prevent age-related eye diseases. Researchers tested cognitive function at the beginning of the study to establish a baseline, then again two and four years later. The results indicate that cognition scores decreased similarly over time among all patients (Journal of the American Medical Association, Aug. 25).
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and psychological conditions have higher rates of early hospital readmission, according to research conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Looking at hospitalization data among Medicare patients with COPD from 2001 to 2011, the researchers found that 22 percent of COPD patients had one or more psychological conditions, including depression, anxiety or alcohol/drug abuse. They also found that their rate of readmission within 30 days of a hospital discharge was 5 percent to 14 percent higher than patients who had no psychological conditions. Patients with alcohol abuse, psychosis, more than one psychological condition and low income levels had even higher readmission rates (CHEST, online July 23opens in new window).
Shorter sleepers may be more likely to catch a cold, finds a study led by a University of California, San Francisco, psychologist. The researchers asked 164 healthy men and women to wear a wrist device that monitored how much they slept every night for a week. Then, they brought them into the lab and sprayed a live common cold virus into each participant's nose and quarantined them in a hotel for five days, where they were monitored for clinical symptoms of a cold. Results showed that participants who averaged five or six hours of sleep a night were four times more likely to develop cold symptoms than people who slept at least seven hours a night (Sleep, Septemberopens in new window).
Women in the military are at no greater risk than men for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), given similar experiences, including combat, suggests a study by researchers with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. For seven years, starting in 2001, the study followed more than 2,300 pairs of men and women who were matched based on several variables, including combat exposure. During the study, 6.7 percent of women and 6.1 percent of men developed PTSD, and there was no difference in severity between men and women. The authors point out that these rates of PTSD are lower than the commonly cited rates of 11 percent to 20 percent among returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, likely because the study excluded men and women who had PTSD at the outset (Journal of Psychiatric Research, Septemberopens in new window).
— Amy Novotney
