Babies make quick judgments about adults' anger and adjust their behavior accordingly, finds research by University of Washington psychologists. In the study, 15-month-olds sat on their parents' laps across the table from a researcher. The babies watched the researcher demonstrate how to play with toys while a second researcher reacted in either a neutral way, saying, "That's entertaining," or a negative way, saying, "That's aggravating!" in a stern voice. The researchers then measured how readily the babies played with the toys. The babies who witnessed the angry outburst were less likely to play with the toys than those who saw a neutral reaction (Developmental Psychologyopens in new window, March).
Integrating motivational interviewing with cognitive behavioral therapy improves long-term patient outcomes more than CBT alone, according to a five-year randomized clinical trial. In the study, led by a York University psychologist, researchers randomly assigned 43 participants with anxiety to receive CBT alone and 42 to receive CBT plus motivational interviewing, a therapy approach to help clients explore and resolve ambivalence. They found that after one year post-treatment, patients who received the combined MI-CBT therapy showed more significant improvement in worry and global distress compared with the CBT-only patients (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychologyopens in new window, online March 17).
Non-black teachers expect less achievement from their black students than black teachers do, suggests a study led by American University scientists. For each 10th-grade student in a national sample, two different teachers (for math and reading) predicted how far the student would go in his or her education. Among other results, the researchers found that non-black teachers were 12 percent less likely than black teachers to predict that black students would complete college. Such subtle bias could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, making those black students less likely to perform well in school, according to the researchers (Economics of Education Reviewopens in new window, online March 11).
Only about half of suicidal emergency-room patients are asked whether they have access to a gun at home, despite national guidelines urging doctors to ask that question, according to research led by a University of Colorado investigator. The researchers interviewed 1,358 emergency-room patients, from eight sites across the country, and reviewed the patients' medical records. They found that only 50 percent of the patients had been asked about access to firearms. Of the half of patients who had not been asked and were later sent home, 13 percent did have a gun in their home (Depression and Anxietyopens in new window, online March 17).
Veterans with subclinical post-traumatic stress disorder may respond better to psychotherapy treatment than those with the full-blown disorder, according to research conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina. The researchers offered 200 veterans with combat-related PTSD symptoms eight weeks of behavioral activation and therapeutic exposure therapy. Some of the participants had been diagnosed with full post-traumatic stress disorder, while others fell just short of the threshold for diagnosis. The researchers found that after the course of therapy, PTSD symptoms were reduced by 29 percent for patients with subclinical PTSD, and 14 percent for patients with full PTSD. The findings suggest that there may be large benefits for treating patients with PTSD early in the course of the disorder, before their symptoms worsen from subclinical to full PTSD (Journal of Anxiety Disordersopens in new window, March).
Children exposed to high levels of a common air pollutant in utero are more likely to have delayed emotional and social development, suggests a study led by researchers at Columbia University. The researchers analyzed blood samples taken from 462 pregnant women for the common pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (found in car emissions, coal burning and tobacco smoke). They later assessed the women's children at ages 3 to 5, 7, 9 and 11. Children of mothers who had high levels of PAH in their blood during pregnancy later showed delayed development of emotional self-regulation and social competence (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatryopens in new window, online March 17).
A facial expression that includes pursed lips and a furrowed brow signals negative emotion across disparate cultures and languages, according to researchers at the Ohio State University. They filmed 158 college students who were native users of English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and American Sign Language as the students spoke or signed in their native language, then analyzed the footage frame by frame. All of the students made the same expression — pursed lips, furrowed brows and a raised chin — whenever they spoke or signed a negative phrase such as "that's not a good idea." The researchers also found that the students' facial muscles moved at the same tempo as their language (Cognition, May).
Women with Alzheimer's disease may retain their verbal memory skills better than similarly afflicted men, according to research conducted at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. The researchers tested 235 people with Alzheimer's disease, 694 people with mild cognitive impairment and 379 people with no memory or thinking problems. They tested the participants' verbal memory and also measured the hippocampal area of their brains, which shrinks in Alzheimer's patients. Among participants with minimal to moderate hippocampal shrinkage, women significantly outperformed men on verbal memory tests. The researchers suggest that this may cause doctors to miss the first signs of Alzheimer's disease in women, and that tests for the disease may need to be adjusted to account for the difference (Neurologyopens in new window, online March 16).
A Twitter-based smoking-cessation program proved twice as effective as a standard smoking intervention, according to a study by researchers from the University of California, Irvine and other universities. The researchers recruited 160 smokers to take part in the study — all were given nicotine patches and access to the smokefree.gov smoking-cessation website. In addition, half the participants were also enrolled in the "Tweet2Quit" program, which sent automated messages to small, private, virtual self-help groups, meant to offer encouragement and spur discussion via Twitter. At the end of two months, the researchers found that 40 percent of the Tweet2Quit participants managed to abstain from smoking, compared with 20 percent of the control participants (Tobacco Controlopens in new window, online February 29).
Providing quick Medicaid access to former inmates with serious mental illness as they are released from prison increases their use of medical services, including mental health services, but it doesn't reduce criminal recidivism, according to a study by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They examined data from Washington state from 2006, the year expedited Medicaid enrollment for former prisoners with severe mental illness was implemented in that state. They found that 69 percent of former prisoners with expedited access to Medicaid used outpatient mental health services in the year after their release, compared with only 37 percent of those without expedited access. But the access did not reduce criminal recidivism — more than half of those in each group were arrested again at least once in the year after their release (Psychiatric Servicesopens in new window, online March 15).
Money can buy happiness if your purchases fit your personality, according to a study examining nearly 77,000 bank transactions. Cambridge University psychologists, in collaboration with a United Kingdom-based multinational bank, compared 625 participant responses to a standard personality and life satisfaction questionnaire with respondents' bank transaction data. They found that people generally spent more money on products that match their personality. For example, highly extroverted participants spent more each year on "pub nights" than introverted participants. The data also showed that those who bought products that more closely matched their personalities reported higher satisfaction with their lives, and this effect was stronger than that of their total income or total spending (Psychological Scienceopens in new window, online April 7).
Professional football players are twice as likely to get concussions on colder game days, according to a study out of the University of Toronto. The researchers analyzed injury reports from the National Football League's 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. They found that NFL players were twice as likely to suffer concussions on days colder than 50 degrees than they were on days warmer than 70 degrees. The researchers say more work needs to be done to examine the reasons for the association (Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, March).
Teenagers who take part in cultural activities with their parents are more likely than those who don't to pursue further education, finds a study by a University of Warwick scientist. She analyzed responses from more than 10,000 adolescents in the United Kingdom about family emotional closeness, bullying, friendships, homework, extracurricular activities and perception of parental interest in the child's education. Even compared with teens who attended homework clubs or participated in extracurricular activities, those who went to museums, galleries and concerts with their parents were more likely to believe in the importance of going to college (Journal of Youth Studiesopens in new window, online Feb. 19).
Being married may help prolong survival in patients with cancer, according to research by scientists at Stanford University and other institutions. They assessed information on nearly 800,000 adults in California who were diagnosed with invasive cancer between 2000 and 2009, and followed them through 2012. Results showed that unmarried cancer patients had higher death rates than married patients. For unmarried males, the death rate was 27 percent higher, while for unmarried females it was 19 percent higher. These patterns were only partially accounted for by greater economic resources among married patients, including having private health insurance and living in wealthier neighborhoods. (Canceropens in new window, online April 11).
Mothers' use of marijuana during pregnancy is linked to low birthweight and the need for intensive care for their infants, according to a meta-analysis by University of Arizona researchers. They examined 24 studies looking at the effects of cannabis use during pregnancy and up to six weeks after birth. Across the studies, expectant mothers who used marijuana were 36 percent more likely to have anemia than women who didn't use the drug. Infants exposed to cannabis in the womb were 77 percent more likely to be underweight at birth and twice as likely to require intensive care as those who were not exposed to the drug (BMJ Open, April 5).
Sensation-seeking may be linked to brain anatomy, according to a study by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital. The researchers used MRI to measure cortical regions of the brains of more than 1,200 participants ages 18 to 35. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing sensation-seeking and impulsivity, including their need for novel and intense experiences, willingness to take risks and tendency to make rapid decisions. They also reported on their alcohol, tobacco and caffeine use. Results showed that people who reported seeking high levels of stimulation or excitement had reduced cortical thickness in brain regions associated with decision-making and self-control, including the anterior cingulate and middle frontal gyrus. Reduced cortical thickness in those brain structures also correlated with participants' self-reported tendency to act on impulse and with heightened use of alcohol, tobacco or caffeine (Journal of Neuroscience, April 6).
Nearly 14 percent of veterans reported suicidal thinking at some point during a two-year period, according to research by the VA's National Center for PTSD. The center investigators surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. veterans in 2011 and 2013 about several areas, including whether they had experienced suicidal thoughts in the past two weeks. About 5 percent of veterans reported suicidal thoughts both times they were surveyed. Nearly 4 percent reported suicidal thoughts in 2011 but not 2013, and 5 percent reported suicidal thoughts only in 2013. Combined, 13.7 percent of the sample reported suicidal thinking at either or both time points. Higher levels of psychiatric distress, physical health problems and substance use history predicted more chronic suicidal thinking (Journal of Affective Disordersopens in new window, June).
Among young adults, depression is more common among the highest users of social media, according to work by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. The researchers surveyed 1,787 young adults ages 19 to 32 about their use of social media — including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others — and administered a depression assessment. Participants who reported the most social media use throughout their day were 1.7 times more likely to be depressed compared with those who reported the least use. The researchers say that the study does not identify cause and effect — it could be that social media use contributes to depression, or that people who are already depressed turn to social media more often, or some combination of the two (Depression and Anxietyopens in new window, online Jan. 19).
— Amy Novotney and Lea Winerman
