Happiness doesn't help women live longer, finds a study following one million middle-aged women in the United Kingdom. Researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed data from the women who were recruited at ages 50 to 69 and followed for an average of about 10 years with periodic questionnaires about how happy, relaxed and stressed they were. The researchers also asked the women to rate their health and list their chronic health conditions, and tracked the women's hospital admissions and deaths. The study found that unhappiness and stress were not associated with an increased risk of death. The authors point out that it's not yet clear whether the findings also apply to men (The Lancet, online Dec. 9).
Daughters of women who give birth at age 30 or older are more likely to experience stress as young adults, according to research conducted at the University of Western Australia. Researchers looked at self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress from 1,200 20-year-olds. Daughters whose mothers were age 30 to 34 when they gave birth reported significantly higher levels of stress compared with daughters whose mothers were under age 30. Those whose mothers were over age 35 had significantly higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety. The fathers' age at the time of birth had no effect on the daughters' outcomes, and the authors also found no effect among sons (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, online Nov. 16).
Couples who have sex at least once a week are happiest, according to a survey of more than 25,000 Americans collected over four decades. Psychologists at the University of Toronto–Mississauga found that well-being tended to increase with more frequent sex, although well-being did not increase further with frequencies of more than once a week. The authors note that the findings were specific to people in romantic relationships. They also found that, despite common stereotypes that men want more sex and older people have less sex, there were no differences observed based on gender, age or length of relationship (Social Psychological and Personality Science, online Nov. 18).
Exposure therapy can improve obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, according to a study by University of Pennsylvania psychiatrists. Researchers provided 17 twice-weekly sessions of exposure and response prevention therapy to 32 patients with OCD who had not improved with common drug treatment options. Follow-up evaluations up to 32 weeks after the start of therapy showed that the patients experienced significant reductions in OCD symptoms and depression, as well as increases in insight, quality of life and social functioning (Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, online Nov. 10).
The more serious and prolonged a youth's interaction with the justice system becomes, the more likely he or she is to die prematurely, according to research conducted at Indiana University. Investigators analyzed 518 youth offender deaths between 1999 and 2011 in Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana. They found that, in general, the mortality rate for youth offenders was 1.5 times greater than that of the general population of the same age. The data also revealed that the more prolonged and complicated the interaction between the youth and the justice system, the more likely it was that the offender would die young (American Journal of Preventative Medicine, online Nov. 12).
Going back to school can enhance cognitive capacity in older adults, finds research by University of Tasmania psychologists. In the study, 359 participants ages 50 to 79 completed a series of cognitive tests before undergoing at least a year of full- or part-time university study. Researchers assessed participants annually for three years following their studies and found that more than 90 percent of the participants displayed a significant increase in cognitive capacity, compared with 56 percent of participants in a control group who did not take any college courses (Neuropsychology, online Nov. 16).
Emotionally supportive relationships are linked to lower testosterone, according to a study with 371 older men. University of Notre Dame scientists collected testosterone levels and data about emotional social support, including the participants' relationships with spouses, siblings, friends, neighbors and co-workers. They found that men who reported receiving emotional support from two or more sources had lower testosterone levels than men who reported no support. They also found that men who had four or more sources of support had lower testosterone levels than men with one source of support (Hormones and Behavior, February).
Four-year-olds in Head Start show less academic development when their classrooms have a high concentration of 3-year-olds, according to a study led by University of Texas at Austin scientists. The researchers examined data from 2,829 children from 438 Head Start classrooms nationwide, who were tested to determine their progress on language and literacy skills, math skills, and social skills and behaviors related to school readiness. The researchers found that when 3-year-olds comprised approximately 20 percent of a class, the older children showed about two months less academic development over the school year compared with their peers in non-mixed-age classrooms. When the younger children made up nearly half the class, the 4-year-olds showed about four to five months less academic development. No consistent effect of the age composition of the classrooms was found for 3-year-olds' development (Psychological Science, online Nov. 13).
Parents' unrealistic aspirations can harm a child's performance in math classes, according to research led by a University of Reading psychologist. The research team analyzed data from 3,530 students in grades five to 10 and their parents in Bavaria, Germany. The study found that children of parents who had high but realistic expectations for performance in mathematics did well, but when parents' aspirations exceeded reasonable expectations, the children's achievement was lower. The researchers found similar results in a two-year study with more than 12,000 U.S. students and their parents (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, online Nov. 16).
Youth who bully others are at increased risk for eating disorders, according to a study by researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. They examined interviews with 1,420 children and adolescents, dividing participants into four categories: those who had no involvement in bullying, those who were victims of bullying, those who sometimes were victims and sometimes were instigators, and those who were solely bullies. Participants who bullied were most likely to display symptoms of bulimia, with 30.8 percent having symptoms of bulimia compared with 17.6 percent of those not involved in bullying. Participants who were both bullies and victims had the highest prevalence of anorexia symptoms — 22.8 percent compared with 5.6 percent of those not involved in bullying. They also had the highest prevalence of binge-eating symptoms — 4.8 percent compared with less than 1 percent of uninvolved study participants (International Journal of Eating Disorders, December).
Children and teens who take medication to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are twice as likely to be bullied as those who don't have ADHD, according to a study by University of Michigan scientists. The researchers surveyed nearly 5,000 middle and high school students over four years and found that about 15 percent had been diagnosed with ADHD and roughly 4 percent were prescribed stimulants within the past 12 months. They found an even higher risk for being bullied among students who sold or shared their medications: These participants were 4.5 times likelier to be victimized by peers than those without ADHD (Journal of Pediatric Psychology, online Nov. 19).
The effort involved in performing a small courtesy — such as holding a door open for others — influences whether people say "thank you" or return the favor, according to research by University of Southern California scientists. In the first experiment, researchers opened doors for 120 strangers. Half of the time they smiled and made eye contact, while half the time they behaved passively, propping open the door with low effort while checking text messages. Results showed that door holders who made more of an effort were told "thank you" more often than the passive door holders. In a second experiment with 194 strangers, door holders carried a file box that had 12 pens on top that spilled out shortly after opening the door. More participants helped the smiling, high-effort door holders pick up their pens compared with door holders who had made a low effort (Frontiers in Psychology, online Nov. 12).
Teaching social and emotional skills to inner-city students can improve their academic achievement, according to a study led by an investigator at the University of Southern California. The researchers randomly assigned 24 inner-city elementary schools to receive either an evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum or a standard curriculum that addressed few, if any, SEL topics. Based on data gathered from 705 students who remained in the same group from third to sixth grade, findings revealed that students enrolled in the intervention schools showed greater basic proficiency in fourth-grade reading and math, as well as fifth- and sixth-grade writing, compared with the control group (School Psychology Quarterly, September).
Latino immigrant youth who feel discriminated against are more depressed and less likely to help others, according to research conducted at the University of Missouri. For the study, 302 Latino immigrants ages 13 to 17, who had lived in the United States for five years or less, completed three questionnaires over the course of a year about discrimination experiences, mental health and prosocial behaviors, such as volunteering or helping others. The authors suggest that accessible mental health services might help buffer these youth against depression (Journal of Youth and Adolescence, online Nov. 23).
Adolescents become less similar to their friends with regard to alcohol abuse and more similar to romantic partners after they start new romantic relationships, finds research by Florida Atlantic University psychologists. More than 1,200 participants ages 12 to 19 completed a questionnaire about their alcohol use. Findings showed that friends with romantic partners were less similar on rates of alcohol abuse than friends without romantic partners. Researchers then did follow-up analyses on a subsample of nearly 650 participants who reported their friendships had been stable for two years. The findings suggest that associations between friend reports of alcohol abuse declined after adolescents became involved in romantic relationships, at which point they became more similar to their romantic partners than to their friends (Developmental Psychology, online Nov. 23).
Employees who plan how they will resolve incomplete work tasks before they leave for the day are better able to switch off from work, suggests research led by a Ball State University psychologist. The team first surveyed 103 employees and found that people had more difficulty detaching from work tasks that had been left uncompleted. Then the team encouraged one group of employees to create plans by writing down where, when and how they would complete these unfinished tasks. This group detached themselves from work more effectively than employees who did not create plans, the researchers found (Journal of Organizational and Occupational Psychology, online Nov. 12).
A Web-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program may help reduce suicidal thoughts among medical trainees, according to research led by investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina. Researchers randomly assigned nearly 200 interns from multiple specialties to one of two groups — the Web-based CBT group, in which participants completed online CBT modules, or a control group that received emails with general information about depression, suicidal thinking and local mental health professionals. Each group completed their activities for 30 minutes a week for four weeks before starting their internship year. Results showed that 12 percent of those who received the CBT intervention experienced suicidal thoughts during their internship year compared with 21 percent of the control group (JAMA Psychiatry, December).
Children born to mothers with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, according to research conducted at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet. The researchers examined data from all children ages 4 to 17 who were born in Sweden from 1984 to 2007; 24,000 children were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The researchers then compared these children to 200,000 controls and found that a maternal diagnosis of PCOS increased the risk of autism in the offspring by 59 percent. The risk was further increased among mothers with both PCOS and obesity, a condition common to PCOS (Molecular Psychiatry, online Dec. 8).
Poverty may slightly increase a child's risk for neurological impairment, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions, which analyzed health information from more than 50,000 pregnancies and followed the children until age 7. Results showed that by age 7, the chance of having a neurological abnormality was nearly 7 percent higher in the most disadvantaged children compared with the least disadvantaged. Researchers also found that the greater frequency of pregnancy complications in the most disadvantaged group did not account for its higher percentage of neurological impairment (International Journal of Epidemiology, December).
Short sleep — defined as less than seven hours a night — appears to be associated with more time spent eating and drinking, finds research conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Using data from 28,150 American adults age 21 to 65, the investigators assessed time spent on secondary eating and drinking as well as primary eating and drinking, with sleep duration as the principal independent variable. Compared with participants who reported normal sleep — seven to eight hours a night — people who reported short sleep ate an additional 8.7 minutes a day. They also drank a beverage other than water an additional 28.6 and 31.28 minutes a day on weekdays and weekends, respectively (American Journal of Health Promotion, online Nov. 11).
Young adults are happier now than they were 40 years ago, although older adults are less happy, according to research led by a San Diego State University psychologist. Scientists analyzed data from four nationally representative samples of a total of 1.3 million Americans ages 13 to 96, collected from 1972 to 2014. In the early 1970s, 38 percent of people over 30 said they were "very happy," compared with 32 percent in the 2010s. Comparatively, 28 percent of those ages 18 to 29 said they were "very happy" in the early 1970s, versus 30 percent in the 2010s. Teens' happiness also increased: 19 percent of 12th-graders said they were "very happy" in the late 1970s compared with 23 percent in the 2010s (Social Psychological and Personality Science, online Nov. 5).
— Amy Novotney
