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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/girls-are-better-than-boys-at-detecting-their-own-adhd-symptoms/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Girls are better than boys at detecting their own ADHD symptoms</a>
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<p><p>A study of adolescents with ADHD in Sweden found that boys tended to self-report fewer ADHD symptoms compared to reports by their parents and clinicians. In contrast, girls’ self-reported ADHD symptoms did not differ from ratings provided by their parents and clinicians. Overall, regardless of sex, adolescents’ self-reports were more closely aligned with clinicians’ reports than with those given by parents. The paper was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.05.026"><em>Journal of Psychiatric Research</em></a>.</p>
<p>Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects both children and adults. It is characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that interfere with daily functioning across various settings. People with ADHD often struggle to focus, follow instructions, organize tasks, or remain still.</p>
<p>Symptoms are often first noticed when a child starts school, as they tend to conflict with school expectations and rules. This is also the period when ADHD is most frequently diagnosed. However, the condition often continues into adulthood. There are three primary types: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined type. Diagnosis is based on clinical evaluation and typically includes input from parents, teachers, and standardized behavior rating scales.</p>
<p>Study author Matilda A. Frick and her colleagues note that ADHD diagnostic criteria have historically been more tailored to males. Because of this, they sought to investigate sex differences and the role of different informants in ADHD assessments. The researchers aimed to examine agreement and discrepancies between adolescents’ self-rated symptoms and ratings provided by parents and clinicians—and whether these patterns differed between boys and girls.</p>
<p>The study included 159 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 who had received a clinical diagnosis of ADHD. Fifty-eight participants were boys. Approximately 71% of the sample had the combined type of ADHD, while 26% had the inattentive type. Participants were recruited from Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient units across seven regions in Sweden: Uppsala, Gävle, Falun, Karlstad, Uddevalla, Västerås, and Växjö.</p>
<p>To assess ADHD symptoms, researchers collected data from three sources: adolescent self-ratings using the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale for Adolescents, parent ratings using the same instrument, and clinician ratings based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children and adolescents.</p>
<p>The results showed that boys tended to self-report fewer symptoms than were reported by their parents and clinicians. In contrast, girls’ self-ratings did not significantly differ from either parent or clinician ratings. In general, girls showed higher agreement with both parents and clinicians than boys did. Additionally, adolescents’ self-reports aligned more closely with clinician ratings than with those from parents.</p>
<p>“Our results indicate that adolescent males with ADHD may underestimate their symptoms whereas females may have more insight into their symptoms when compared to other raters. Adolescents are important raters of their own ADHD symptoms and their perspectives need to be taken into account in diagnostic assessments,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the intricacies of adolescents’ self-reports on their ADHD symptoms. However, it should be noted that all participants of this study were from Sweden, while reporting and self-reporting tendencies often differ between cultures and countries. Findings in other countries and cultural groups may be different.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.05.026">Are adolescent males or females more proficient self-raters of symptoms of AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?,</a>” was authored by Matilda A. Frick, Lin Lindman, Jenny Meyer, and Johan Isaksson.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/many-ayahuasca-users-report-challenging-experiences-yet-some-are-linked-to-better-mental-health/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Many ayahuasca users report challenging experiences—yet some are linked to better mental health</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 4th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000097" target="_blank">PLOS Mental Health</a></em> highlights a complex relationship between the intense psychological effects of ayahuasca and users’ long-term mental health. Drawing from a global survey, the research found that some adverse effects commonly experienced after using ayahuasca—such as feeling down or disconnected—were tied to poorer mental health, especially in people with a history of depression. However, other effects traditionally labeled as negative, such as visual distortions, were associated with better mental health outcomes. </p>
<p>The findings suggest that not all challenging experiences during or after ayahuasca use should be considered harmful, and that context, individual vulnerability, and integration support play key roles in shaping outcomes.</p>
<p>Ayahuasca is a plant-based psychedelic brew with a long history of ritual use in Indigenous Amazonian traditions. It typically combines the vine <em>Banisteriopsis caapi</em> with DMT-containing plants like <em>Psychotria viridis</em>. The combination produces strong hallucinatory and emotional effects, often described as spiritually significant. In recent years, ayahuasca has gained attention in Western countries as an alternative treatment for mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. While research on its therapeutic potential has grown, much less is known about its adverse effects and how these experiences may influence long-term psychological well-being.</p>
<p>“While numerous studies have highlighted ayahuasca’s potential mental health benefits, adverse effects have received much less scientific attention,” said study author José Carlos Bouso, the scientific director at <a href="https://www.iceers.org/" target="_blank">ICEERS</a>. “Our motivation was to fill that gap by exploring how commonly these effects are reported, what they actually consist of, and whether they truly constitute ‘negative’ outcomes. Ultimately, our aim is to help facilitators and participants better understand and prepare for challenging experiences so they can be handled constructively, and ideally, avoided when harmful.”</p>
<p>To address this gap, the researchers analyzed data from the Global Ayahuasca Survey, an online questionnaire completed by 10,836 individuals from more than 50 countries between 2017 and 2019. Participants were over 18 and had used ayahuasca at least once. The survey collected information on their demographics, history of mental health diagnoses, ayahuasca use patterns, subjective experiences during ceremonies, and mental health status at the time of the survey. Researchers focused on adverse psychological states reported in the weeks or months after ayahuasca use and used statistical and machine learning tools to examine how these experiences related to current mental health.</p>
<p>After accounting for missing data and applying statistical preprocessing, the final sample included 5,400 participants. The average age was about 41 years, nearly half were women, and most had used ayahuasca more than 30 times. Mental health was assessed using the SF-12 survey, a widely used measure that reflects psychological functioning. Participants were also asked to rate whether they experienced various post-ayahuasca effects, including depression-like symptoms, anxiety, feelings of disconnection, hallucinations, and spiritual distress.</p>
<p>One of the most consistent findings was that individuals with a history of depression or anxiety were more likely to report increases in adverse states after using ayahuasca. Those with depression were especially prone to reporting feelings of hopelessness, lack of interest in activities, and emotional disconnection. These same symptoms were strongly associated with poorer mental health outcomes at the time of the survey. </p>
<p>However, some of these experiences may reflect a resurfacing of previous conditions rather than entirely new effects caused by ayahuasca. The researchers note that understanding individual vulnerabilities is essential for anticipating these outcomes.</p>
<p>In contrast, other effects often described as adverse—such as visual distortions or hallucinations—were not linked to poorer mental health. In fact, participants who reported these experiences tended to have better mental health scores. Visual distortions in particular were positively associated with long-term well-being, especially among those who rated their ceremonies as spiritually significant. These findings suggest that experiences often labeled as “negative” might play a constructive role, depending on how they are interpreted and integrated.</p>
<p>“One surprising insight was that we may need to reconsider what we classify as ‘adverse effects’ when studying psychedelics,” Bouso told PsyPost. “In traditional pharmacology, symptoms like confusion or perceptual distortions are often treated as negative. But in the context of ayahuasca and similar medicines, these experiences may actually form part of the healing process.”</p>
<p>The setting and cultural context of ayahuasca use also influenced outcomes. Participants who drank ayahuasca in traditional settings—such as Indigenous ceremonies or ayahuasca churches—were less likely to report emotional distress after the experience compared to those in non-traditional or informal contexts. People from non-traditional countries (outside South America) were more likely to feel emotionally disconnected after ceremonies, which in turn related to lower mental health. This highlights the importance of preparation, guidance, and cultural grounding in shaping how people make sense of their experiences.</p>
<p>Another important factor was the emotional tone of the ceremony. Participants who described their ayahuasca experience as spiritually meaningful tended to report fewer depression-like effects and better mental health overall. On the other hand, those who reported experiencing extreme fear during the ceremony were more likely to experience a range of adverse mental states, and this fear was linked to worse mental health later on. The authors suggest that fear during ceremonies may reflect a lack of psychological safety or inadequate support from facilitators, and that additional preparation and aftercare could reduce these risks.</p>
<p>Interestingly, although women were more likely to report adverse effects in earlier analyses of the same dataset, gender was not associated with worse mental health outcomes in the current study. This finding suggests that women may have protective social factors or coping strategies that buffer against the negative impact of challenging experiences. It also points to the need for more gender-sensitive research on psychedelic use, as most existing studies do not break down outcomes by gender.</p>
<p>“The main takeaway is that many of the so-called ‘adverse effects’ of ayahuasca—especially perceptual changes like visual distortions—may not be inherently harmful and can even be associated with better mental health,” Bouso said. “Experiences of fear or emotional disconnection, especially among individuals with prior mental health issues or in non-traditional contexts, are more likely to correlate with negative outcomes. Context, preparation, and support are key in determining whether these effects lead to growth or distress.”</p>
<p>The researchers emphasize that their study does not establish cause-and-effect relationships. Because the data were self-reported and collected retrospectively, it is possible that people’s memories or interpretations of their experiences were influenced by other factors. The non-random sampling method also limits how generalizable the findings are to all ayahuasca users. </p>
<p>“Our study can’t prove causality,” Bouso said. “The data depend on participants’ memory and subjective interpretation of past experiences, which may be influenced by personal beliefs. The sample is also self-selected and not representative of all ayahuasca users. ”</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the size and diversity of the sample make it one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of how ayahuasca-related experiences relate to mental health.</p>
<p>Regarding the long-term goals for this line of research, Bouso said that “we want to deepen our understanding of how individual vulnerabilities (like previous mental health diagnoses) and non-pharmacological factors (such as ceremony context, guidance, and integration support) shape outcomes. This knowledge is vital for designing harm reduction strategies, informing policy, and eventually creating regulatory frameworks that ensure safety and accessibility while respecting the cultural origins of these practices.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000097" target="_blank">A new insight into ayahuasca’s adverse effects: Reanalysis and perspectives on its mediating role in mental health from the Global Ayahuasca Survey (GAS)</a>,” was authored by Óscar Andión, José Carlos Bouso, Jerome J. Sarris, Luís Fernando Tófoli, Emérita Satiro Opaleye, and Daniel Perkins.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/these-common-sounds-can-impair-your-learning-according-to-new-psychology-research/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">These common sounds can impair your learning, according to new psychology research</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 4th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>New research suggests that certain sounds associated with illness—like coughing and sniffling—may interfere with learning by distracting people during educational tasks. In a recent study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-025-00430-w" target="_blank">Evolutionary Psychological Science</a></em>, participants who were exposed to these types of sounds while watching a statistics lecture and taking a quiz performed significantly worse than those who heard no distracting sounds. The findings suggest that the human brain may be particularly sensitive to cues that signal the presence of disease, which could divert attention away from other tasks.</p>
<p>The researchers designed the study to explore how the behavioral immune system—a set of psychological mechanisms that help people detect and avoid potential sources of infection—might influence learning. While the behavioral immune system is typically associated with responses like disgust or social avoidance, prior research has also shown it can affect perception, memory, and attention. </p>
<p>For instance, people tend to rate bodily sounds like sneezing or coughing as especially aversive, even if there is no actual threat. The researchers wanted to test whether these kinds of pathogen-related sounds might also reduce the brain’s capacity to retain unrelated academic information.</p>
<p>“I conducted an experiment back in 2018 which found that people will perceive the taste of water differently when they believe that water came from a dirty source (e.g., a bathroom sink). That laid the foundation for realizing that pathogen-prevalent details alter our perception. I began wondering what other senses may be affected by this phenomenon,” said study author Carey J. Fitzgerald, an assistant professor of psychology at the State University of New York Oneonta.</p>
<p>“Then, a few years ago, when I was teaching a class in the winter, I noticed a lot of coughing, sneezing, and sniffling from my students when they were taking a test – something normal when teaching in upstate New York. Most of those sounds, however, were met by other students looking up from their tests and visually searching for whomever was the source of those sounds. This led me to think about how distracting those sounds were, and made me wonder if they were affecting my students test scores.”</p>
<p>To test this idea, Fitzgerald and his two co-authors — Robert F. Lockamyeir and Richard A. Kauffman Jr. — recruited 89 undergraduate students from an introductory psychology course at a small university in the northeastern United States. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 24, and none had taken a statistics course before. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: a control group, a neutral sound group, or a pathogen sound group.</p>
<p>Each participant watched the same seven-minute video lecture about z-scores and frequency distributions. Afterward, they completed a short distractor task and then took a 20-question quiz based on the lecture content. The quiz included both factual recall questions and applied math problems involving z-score calculations.</p>
<p>Participants in the control group completed the tasks in silence. In the neutral sound condition, students heard background noises like keys jingling, papers shuffling, and a backpack zipper being zipped. In the pathogen sound condition, students heard periodic coughing and sniffling. All sounds were presented at the same volume—about 70 decibels—and occurred every 15 seconds during both the lecture and the quiz. The coughs and sniffles were real recordings taken from a researcher who had influenza B.</p>
<p>All participants used headphones to listen to the audio and completed the tasks alone in a small room. After finishing the quiz, students in the sound conditions were asked whether they noticed the sounds and how distracting or loud they found them. As expected, participants in both sound conditions reported hearing the sounds, and there were no significant differences in how loud or distracting they rated them. In both cases, the average rating of loudness was high, and the level of distraction was rated as moderate.</p>
<p>“Participants did not perceive the pathogen-prevalent sounds as being louder or more distracting than the neutral sounds,” Fitzgerald told PsyPost. “This means that the participants were probably not consciously aware of the distracting effects that these sounds produced.”</p>
<p>Despite the similar ratings, participants who heard the coughing and sniffling performed significantly worse on the quiz than those in the control group. On average, the pathogen sound group answered about 10 out of 20 questions correctly, while the control group averaged nearly 14 correct answers. This represents a performance drop of roughly 17%. The pathogen sound group also scored slightly lower than the neutral sound group, who averaged around 12 correct answers, although that difference was not statistically significant.</p>
<p>There was no significant performance difference between the neutral sound group and the control group, which suggests that the sounds themselves weren’t inherently distracting. Instead, the researchers believe that the specific nature of the pathogen-related sounds triggered a deeper cognitive response, drawing attention away from the task at hand.</p>
<p>This idea aligns with cognitive load theory, which holds that people have limited mental resources for processing information. Learning new academic concepts—what researchers call “biological secondary knowledge”—requires more cognitive effort than basic, instinctive tasks like recognizing faces or speaking a native language. If part of the brain’s attention is diverted to assessing a possible health threat in the environment, fewer resources are available to focus on learning. The result may be decreased retention of new information.</p>
<p>The findings also support prior research on the behavioral immune system. When people encounter signs of illness in their surroundings—whether visual, tactile, or auditory—they may unconsciously shift attention to evaluating those cues. This could serve an adaptive purpose by helping people avoid infection, but it may also come at a cost, especially in modern environments where performance on tasks like schoolwork or office assignments is essential.</p>
<p>“Our data suggests that people pay greater attention to pathogen-prevalent details – probably as a means of keeping us safe and healthy – and because attention is limited, this enhanced attention toward pathogen-prevalent details may come at the cost of decreased attention toward other things, resulting in lower quiz scores,” Fitzgerald explained. “In other words, students may be better able to ignore distracting sounds that are neutral compared to distracting sounds that are indicative of pathogens.”</p>
<p>There were some limitations to the study. “This experiment was conducted with individual students who were being tested in an enclosed room with no one else around,” Fitzgerald noted. “Therefore, we cannot conclude with certainty that this effect generalizes to real-world classroom settings with multiple students taking a test at the same time. We hypothesize that this effect will be stronger in classroom settings, but our experimental method does not allow us to know that.”</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the results offer new insight into how the human mind responds to potential health threats in the environment. Even when people are not consciously aware of feeling distracted, pathogen-related sounds may subtly impair their ability to focus and learn. This could have implications for how educators and employers think about background noise and performance. It also highlights the influence of evolutionary responses on modern cognition, especially in situations where attentional resources are limited.</p>
<p>“My colleagues and I hope to design a similar follow-up study that utilizes a real-world classroom setting, but that type of design is proving to have a lot of confounding variables to control for,” Fitzgerald said. “We are currently designing an experiment to examine whether pathogen-prevalent images (e.g. rotten food) elicit greater attention compared to similar images that are not indicative of pathogens (e.g. that same food but not rotten).”</p>
<p>“I conducted this experiment with my two colleagues – Dr. Robert Lockamyeir and Dr. Richard Kauffman. They were immensely helpful with the design and execution of this study.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-025-00430-w" target="_blank">Pathogen‑Prevalent Auditory Distractions may Differentially Impact Retention of Newly Learned Information</a>,” was published April 7, 2025.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/hispanic-adolescents-experience-later-sleep-timing-and-greater-social-jet-lag-than-peers-study-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Hispanic adolescents experience later sleep timing and greater social jet lag than peers, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 3rd 2025, 22:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf019" target="_blank">Sleep Advances</a></em> sheds light on the complex web of behavioral and social factors that influence adolescent sleep patterns, especially among Hispanic youth. Drawing on data from the large, ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the researchers found that Hispanic adolescents tend to go to bed later, have more misalignment between their weekday and weekend sleep schedules, and sleep slightly less on school nights compared to their non-Hispanic peers. </p>
<p>The researchers conducted the study to better understand why some adolescents experience more disrupted or delayed sleep than others. Past studies have shown that teens across the board are sleeping less than recommended, and that poor sleep in adolescence can impact mental health, academic performance, and physical development. </p>
<p>But Hispanic youth may face unique sleep challenges that haven’t been fully explored. Cultural traditions around caffeine, different screen use habits, and varying levels of stress or social support might all contribute. The team wanted to examine how these factors interact, and whether they help explain disparities in sleep timing and duration between Hispanic and non-Hispanic teens.</p>
<p>To investigate these questions, the researchers analyzed data from over 2,700 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 12. The dataset came from the nationally representative Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which includes information on sleep, behavior, mental health, and environment. Participants provided self-reports on how much caffeine they consumed, how much time they spent on screens during the week and on weekends, and their perceptions of their school environment and peer relationships. </p>
<p>Parents also reported on their children’s symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Sleep habits were measured using a standardized questionnaire that estimates chronotype (sleep preference), social jet lag (the gap between weekday and weekend sleep timing), and weekday sleep duration.</p>
<p>The researchers found several statistically significant differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic adolescents. Hispanic youth reported going to bed and waking up later, with a moderate shift in their preferred sleep midpoint. They also experienced greater social jet lag, meaning the difference between their sleep schedules on school days and weekends was larger. On average, they got slightly less sleep during the school week. These differences remained even after accounting for age, gender, and income.</p>
<p>The researchers also observed higher levels of caffeine consumption among Hispanic adolescents, especially in the form of soda and coffee. Cultural traditions, such as drinking café de olla with family, may contribute to early and more frequent caffeine exposure. However, caffeine use—despite being more common in this group—was not linked to differences in sleep timing or duration in the statistical models. This finding runs counter to common assumptions about caffeine’s impact on sleep and suggests that other factors may play a more prominent role.</p>
<p>One of the strongest predictors of delayed sleep timing and increased social jet lag was screen time. Hispanic adolescents reported more screen use during weekday evenings and weekends than their non-Hispanic peers. Across the full sample, more evening screen time was consistently associated with a later chronotype and greater weekday–weekend sleep misalignment. Afternoon screen time during the week was also linked to shorter sleep duration on school nights. These results suggest that managing when adolescents use screens may be more important than the total amount of screen time when it comes to supporting better sleep.</p>
<p>Psychological and social factors were also linked to sleep outcomes. Adolescents with higher levels of perceived stress tended to go to bed later and had more social jet lag. Depression symptoms, interestingly, were linked to earlier sleep timing and longer sleep duration on school nights. This may reflect social withdrawal, fatigue, or changes in activity patterns among teens experiencing depressive symptoms. Anxiety symptoms, in contrast, were not significantly related to sleep timing or duration in this study.</p>
<p>Social connections appeared to shape sleep patterns as well. Adolescents with stronger and healthier peer networks tended to have a later chronotype and greater social jet lag. This may reflect more frequent evening socializing or texting, as well as norms within peer groups that support later bedtimes. While strong peer networks are generally considered protective for adolescent health, they may also influence behaviors that delay sleep.</p>
<p>The statistical model used in the study explained about 13% of the variation in chronotype, 10% in social jet lag, and 6% in weekday sleep duration. These numbers suggest that while the included factors play a role, many other influences—biological, environmental, or behavioral—are also at work. Importantly, the study design does not allow for conclusions about cause and effect. The results show associations between variables, but they do not prove that screen time or stress, for example, directly changes sleep patterns.</p>
<p>The study also has several limitations. Caffeine intake was measured only at the start of the study, which may not reflect how consumption changes as adolescents get older. The measure also focused on maximum caffeine use rather than typical daily patterns, which may have limited its ability to detect subtle effects on sleep. Additionally, the timing of data collection varied across variables, and some measures were taken years apart, which makes it more difficult to interpret how one factor might influence another over time.</p>
<p>Another limitation was the inability to fully explore how these patterns differ across other racial and ethnic groups. Attempts to create separate models for each group were not successful due to small sample sizes and statistical instability. As a result, findings may not generalize to all populations, and future studies with more diverse samples will be important to clarify whether similar trends hold in other communities.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study adds to a growing body of research highlighting the role of behavioral and environmental influences on adolescent sleep. The findings suggest that reducing screen time during evenings and weekends could help support healthier sleep patterns, especially among Hispanic adolescents who may be more likely to engage in late-night digital activities. Helping adolescents manage stress and supporting positive peer relationships may also be beneficial, although the impact of these factors on sleep is complex and may vary across individuals.</p>
<p>The study’s authors say that future research should continue to investigate how sleep behaviors develop over time and how they interact with other aspects of adolescent life. Longitudinal studies that track sleep, screen use, stress, and social factors simultaneously may offer clearer insights into how these variables influence one another. As adolescent sleep patterns become increasingly out of sync with natural circadian rhythms and social demands, understanding the full range of influences will be key to developing strategies that promote healthier development for all youth.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf019" target="_blank">Preliminary findings on caffeine intake, screen time, social factors, and psychological well-being: their impact on chronotype and sleep health in Hispanic adolescents</a>,” was authored by Alexander L. Wallace, Laika Aguinaldo, Michael L’ Thomas, Michael J McCarthy, and Alejandro D Meruelo.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/student-loan-debt-doesnt-deter-civic-engagement-it-may-actually-drive-it-new-research-suggests/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Student loan debt doesn’t deter civic engagement — it may actually drive it, new research suggests</a>
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<p><p>A new study suggests that Americans burdened by student loan debt are not retreating from the political process. In fact, they may be more likely to engage. The research, published in <em><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10659129251331004" target="_blank">American Politics</a></em>, finds that individuals with student loan debt are more likely to vote, donate to candidates, and participate in other forms of political action than their counterparts without student loan debt. </p>
<p>This finding may seem surprising at first glance. Student loan debt is often discussed in the context of financial stress, economic immobility, and long-term hardship. In the United States, more than 40 million adults collectively owe about $1.8 trillion in student loan debt, a sum that exceeds the nation’s total credit card debt. The rising cost of higher education, paired with stagnant wages and limited avenues for debt relief, has turned the issue into a political flashpoint—particularly for younger Americans and progressive policymakers. But until now, little research had explored how this financial burden shapes political behavior.</p>
<p>The study was conducted by David Macdonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida, who sought to better understand how personal financial circumstances influence civic engagement. Drawing on survey responses from the Cooperative Election Study—a large, nationally representative dataset—Macdonald examined whether having student loan debt predicted participation in national elections, even after accounting for factors like age, education, income, race, political interest, and contact by campaigns.</p>
<p>Americans with student loan debt were more likely to vote in presidential elections than those without it. They were also more likely to take part in other electoral behaviors, such as displaying political yard signs, working for a campaign, or donating money to political causes. These results were consistent across two election cycles, across swing states and non-competitive states, and across levels of educational attainment.</p>
<p>This pattern runs counter to the commonly held belief that economic hardship leads people to disengage from politics. Prior research has shown that unemployment, financial insecurity, and stress can lower rates of political participation. Under this logic, student debt might be expected to sap time, energy, and motivation—making it harder for people to stay politically active. But Macdonald offers a different explanation.</p>
<p>Unlike credit card or medical debt, student loan debt is directly tied to the federal government. Over 90% of student loans are federally held, and the government plays a central role in setting repayment terms, offering deferments, and shaping loan forgiveness programs. Because of this direct connection, individuals may see electoral participation as a pathway to economic relief. In other words, voting or engaging politically could be seen as a practical way to address their financial concerns.</p>
<p>This reasoning aligns with what scholars call “policy feedback” theory—the idea that people are more likely to become politically active when they are affected by government programs, especially those that are visible and easily attributed to public policy. Just as recipients of Social Security often recognize the government’s role in providing benefits and are motivated to defend them, student loan borrowers may view their debt as a government-controlled burden that can be changed through political action.</p>
<p>Supporting this idea, public opinion surveys show that most Americans with student debt are well aware that their loans are federal. A 2023 USA Today/Ipsos poll found that more than 70% of borrowers correctly identified their loans as federal. Borrowers were also significantly more familiar than the general public with government policies like the COVID-era pause on loan payments and proposals to cancel up to $20,000 in debt. This level of awareness suggests that borrowers see the government not just as the lender, but as a potential agent of change.</p>
<p>Macdonald also explored whether these findings held across different subgroups. For instance, he found that borrowers with a four-year degree or a graduate degree were more likely to vote than those who took out loans but did not complete college. While the positive relationship between student loan debt and turnout was consistent, it was strongest among those with higher levels of education—possibly reflecting a mix of civic knowledge, political efficacy, and economic self-interest. Even so, the data showed that student debt was linked to higher participation regardless of educational attainment.</p>
<p>The relationship between debt and political engagement was also present in both swing states and non-swing states. This suggests that the mobilizing effect of student loan debt is not limited to high-stakes battlegrounds, but may reflect a broader shift in how Americans understand the political relevance of their financial obligations.</p>
<p>To test whether these behavioral differences had the potential to influence policy outcomes, Macdonald looked at public opinion data from the 2019 American National Election Study Pilot. He found that borrowers were significantly more likely than non-borrowers to support student loan forgiveness and free public college tuition. </p>
<p>For example, 66% of borrowers supported canceling existing student loan debt, compared to just 31% of those without debt. These differences indicate that higher turnout among borrowers could have a tangible effect on electoral outcomes and policymaking—especially as student loan debt becomes an increasingly prominent issue in national debates.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations. It focuses on presidential election years, when participation tends to be higher and more broadly representative. It’s unclear whether the same patterns would emerge during lower-salience midterm elections or in local races. Additionally, the study relied on self-reported debt status, which may not capture differences in loan amounts, repayment status, or the emotional burden of debt. Future research could explore whether borrowers who are struggling more intensely are more or less politically active, or how engagement varies by political ideology.</p>
<p>Another open question is how policy changes—such as the Biden administration’s efforts to forgive some student debt—might influence participation over time. If government action succeeds in reducing borrowers’ financial burdens, it may strengthen the perceived connection between civic engagement and personal well-being. On the other hand, if promised reforms stall or are blocked, borrowers might become more disillusioned or politically polarized.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129251331004" target="_blank">Student Loan Debt and Participation in American National Elections</a>,” was published March 28, 2025.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/understanding-neuronal-ensembles-could-revolutionize-addiction-treatment/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Understanding “neuronal ensembles” could revolutionize addiction treatment</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 3rd 2025, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>Everyday human behavior is guided and shaped by the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81147-1_4">search for rewards</a>. This includes eating tasty meals, drinking something refreshing, sexual activity and nurturing children. Many of these behaviors are needed for survival. But in some instances, this search for rewards can pose a significant threat to survival.</p>
<p>People rely on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15958">memories of rewards</a> to function and survive. Associated with positive experiences, these memories provide context for evaluating present and future choices. For example, if foods high in sugar are associated with a positive experience, this can <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-can-be-hard-to-stop-eating-even-when-youre-full-some-foods-may-be-designed-that-way-126729">reinforce the behavior of eating</a> the food that provided the reward. Similarly, a flavorful meal at a specific restaurant increases the likelihood you’ll become a returning customer.</p>
<p>A deeper understanding of how reward memories work and interact with each other is critical to informing the choices you make and to treating disorders where seeking rewards has become problematic. Eliminating all reward seeking would negatively affect behaviors essential for survival, such as eating and reproducing. But if you can specifically target reward memories linked to different drugs, this could help reduce their abuse.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4o0vbSkAAAAJ&hl=en">behavioral neuroscientist</a> studying addiction, and <a href="https://www.bobadillalab.com/">my team</a> is interested in how reward memories are formed and processed in the brain. We study how memories linked to natural rewards such as food, water and sex differ from those linked with rewards from drugs such as fentanyl and cocaine.</p>
<p>Understanding the differences between these types of rewards and how memories of different drugs interact may lead to more effective treatments for addiction.</p>
<h2>What is memory?</h2>
<p>To study reward memories, it is important to understand the neurobiology of memory, or how the brain remembers things.</p>
<p>In 1904, evolutionary zoologist Richard Semon <a href="https://archive.org/details/cu31924100387210">introduced the term engram</a> to describe the physical representation of a memory – also called its trace – that forms in the brain after an experience. Later, psychologist Donald Hebb hypothesized that interconnected brain cells that are active at the same time during an experience <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.168156">form a physical ensemble</a> that make up a memory.</p>
<p>In the past decade, neuroscientists have developed new tools that support the idea that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw4325">neuronal ensembles</a>, or small populations of brain cells that are activated at the same time, are likely the physical representation of memory. How new memories recruit neurons into ensembles is not fully understood, but the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg9982">plasticity of neurons</a> – their ability to change their connections with each other – <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2024.1440588">seems to play</a> a major role.</p>
<p>Research on neuronal ensembles has transformed how scientists understand learning and memory. Researchers can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1239073">now create</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3970">artificial memories</a>, activate positive memories to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14514">counteract negative feelings</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17955">alter how memories are linked</a>. All these experiments on altering memory have been conducted on animal models, since the technology required to apply these techniques to humans is not yet available.</p>
<p>To <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1239073">create artificial memories</a>, for instance, researchers can mark a neuronal ensemble associated with a specific environment A in genetically modified mice. They can then activate those neurons when exposing the mice to a foot shock in a different environment B. Later, the mice showed increased freezing behavior in environment A, though they never received a shock in that space. By activating the memory of environment A during the foot shock, mice created a false memory that the foot shock was associated with that space.</p>
<h2>Treating substance use disorders</h2>
<p>Neuronal ensembles hold untapped promise for the study and treatment of substance use disorders and other reward-related disorders. These include those involving a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8875142/">deficit in their ability to experience reward</a>, such as gambling disorder, eating disorders and depression.</p>
<p>Natural rewards – food, water, sex and nurturing – induce pleasurable feelings that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145124">reinforce the behavior</a> that elicits that reward. This is known as <a href="https://opentext.wsu.edu/psych105nusbaum/chapter/operant-conditioning/">positive reinforcement</a>, a strategy often used in everyday life; think training a dog with treats, or using sticker charts for potty training.</p>
<p>Research has linked positive and negative experiences with neuronal ensembles: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03301-z">exploratory</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1280-20.2020">social</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0866-8">behaviors</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.07.425728">fear</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0866-8">feeding</a>. In substance use disorders, a drug can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000059">induce both pleasant and unpleasant feelings</a>. For example, cocaine induces an intense rush or high, but the crash induced by the drug wearing off causes irritability and lethargy. These feelings reinforce drug use at the expense of essential behaviors that ensure survival, such as eating, sleeping or maintaining social networks and relationships.</p>
<p>Neuronal ensembles may also <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2017.00028">play a</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2014.11.005">causal role</a> in the development of multiple aspects of substance use disorders, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0918-19.2019">drug taking</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3091-16.2016">drug</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1505-16.2016">craving</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0684-15.2015">and</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1914-12.2012">seeking</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0524-y">behaviors</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2364">increased</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05984.x">sensitivity</a> to certain drugs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0238-14.2014">and</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2758">relapse</a>.</p>
<h2>How drug memory changes the brain</h2>
<p>Similarly to how any memory is stored in the brain as a neuronal ensemble, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2015.08.004">drug memories</a> are carried in specific neuronal ensembles and activated during drug-related behaviors.</p>
<p>Fundamental questions remain about how neuronal ensembles encode drug-related memories. Because the processing centers for drug rewards and natural rewards <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jnc.15297">mostly overlap</a> in the brain, it is challenging to develop treatments that target only drug reward seeking. Emerging treatments for addiction, such as certain types of <a href="https://theconversation.com/brain-stimulation-can-rewire-and-heal-damaged-neural-connections-but-it-isnt-clear-how-research-suggests-personalization-may-be-key-to-more-effective-therapies-182491">brain stimulation</a>, are not specific enough to differentiate between drug or natural reward pathways.</p>
<p>Discovering how particular drugs of abuse affect genes, cells and neuronal circuits can help researchers develop new treatments for substance use disorders without altering the natural reward-seeking behaviors essential for survival.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106752">about 72% of people</a> suffering from substance use disorders <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.07.009">report using</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00569">multiple substances</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10550887.2012.735563">frequently together</a>. To better understand how polysubstance use affects the brain, my team tags neurons active during drug-related behaviors in genetically modified mice. This allows us to map and compare the neurons carrying reward-related memories for one drug with the neurons associated with another drug. In this way, we can study how the brain represents and stores memories when mice are exposed to cocaine and fentanyl – two substances people in the U.S. are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-00343-z">increasingly taking together</a> – and how different brain regions communicate this information with each other.</p>
<p>To dissect exactly how drugs of abuse hijack the brain’s natural reward system, my team is comparing how seeking different types of rewards changes the neurons carrying reward memories. For example, we have previously shown that the network of cells carrying the memory of seeking cocaine are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-020-00888-z">mostly distinct from</a> those linked to seeking sugar.</p>
<p>Based on this work, we are currently using fruit fly models to analyze the genetic activity of the neuronal ensemble linked to seeking cocaine. This will allow us to better identify which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.02.565378">genes could be potential targets</a> to reduce the activity of that neuronal ensemble and treat substance use disorder.</p>
<h2>Psychedelics and addiction</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105196">Drug-related intrusive thoughts</a> and fixed behavioral patterns – meaning actions that are repeatedly taken regardless of negative consequences – are common symptoms of substance abuse that lead to the formation of harmful neural pathways in the brain. Psychedelics may be able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-024-00876-0">help reform</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20230902">these pathways</a> by triggering an overall “system reboot” of the brain.</p>
<p>Several <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-024-01101-3">clinical trials</a> point to the potential of psychedelics to treat tobacco, alcohol and opioid use disorders, with early results showing increased abstinence and reduced drug cravings.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bobadillalab.com/">My lab</a> is currently examining how psilocin – the active metabolite of the psychedelic psilocybin – affects the drug-related memories of mice. Our research focuses on two questions. First, can psilocin alter drug seeking and intake in fentanyl addiction? And second, what type of memory does psilocin create in the brain, and could it alter prior cocaine memories?</p>
<p>Reward memories both help people survive and lead to substance use disorders. Delving into the intricate mechanisms of how the brain remembers rewards at the cellular and genetic levels can help researchers and doctors better treat addiction without altering the reward pathways needed for survival.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/245529/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
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<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/memories-of-the-good-parts-of-using-drugs-can-keep-people-hooked-altering-the-neurons-that-store-them-could-help-treat-addiction-245529">original article</a>.</em></p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/not-bothered-by-celebrity-infidelity-this-psychological-trait-might-be-why/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Not bothered by celebrity infidelity? This psychological trait might be why</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 3rd 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>Many social media users condemn celebrities who cheat on their partners, yet new research suggests that the intensity of that outrage is not the same in everyone. A survey of more than one thousand Japanese adults published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100893" target="_blank">Behavioral Sciences</a></em> found that people who hold a strong belief that the world is fundamentally fair reported less anger and disgust when reading about celebrity affairs and were, in turn, less willing to pile on public blame.</p>
<p>The investigators set out to understand why some people are quick to excoriate famous figures for marital misconduct while others remain relatively unmoved. In Japan, online “flaming” incidents have grown sharply since the early 2010s, with high-profile affairs receiving millions of hostile comments. </p>
<p>Earlier work suggested that a motivation to restore justice explains why bystanders scold wrongdoers, yet most studies have focused on crimes or fictional scenarios. Celebrity adultery is different: it breaks social expectations but is not illegal, and the perpetrators are individuals whom many fans already admire. This combination raises a puzzle. Does a strong desire for a just world push observers to punish the famous for cheating, or does positive regard for celebrities soften the urge to condemn them? </p>
<p>Adding to the complexity, outrage at sexual betrayal is steeped in visceral emotion—people often feel angry or disgusted long before they reason about fairness. By bringing these strands together, the authors hoped to clarify how beliefs about fairness and raw emotions interact to fuel or dampen public shaming.</p>
<p>To probe these questions, the team partnered with a large Japanese online research firm and conducted a cross-sectional survey over two days in March 2018. They invited men and women across five age groups and both metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions, ending with 1,186 respondents whose average age was about forty-five years. The gender split was almost equal, and the quotas helped align the sample with national demographics, reducing the chance that results were skewed by overrepresentation of a particular group. Participation was voluntary and anonymous, and each person received a small cash honorarium equivalent to roughly forty United States cents.</p>
<p>After giving informed consent, volunteers answered several scales presented through a secure website. First, they completed three statements measuring the belief that the world is just—for example, rating agreement with “effort is eventually rewarded.” Responses ranged from zero (“strongly disagree”) to five (“strongly agree”), and higher averages indicated a stronger conviction that virtue is rewarded and wrongdoing punished. Although brief, the scale is widely used in Japan and showed acceptable internal consistency in this sample.</p>
<p>Next, participants read a short prompt asking them how they typically feel about infidelity. They then rated three emotional reactions—anger, disgust, and feeling “dirty”—on the same six-point scale. These items captured the gut-level revulsion that often accompanies moral judgments about sexual betrayal.</p>
<p>Finally, each participant evaluated five real-world scandals that had made national headlines: affairs involving a popular singer, a politician, a traditional comic storyteller, a successful actor, and an actress. For each affair, respondents indicated how acceptable they found the misconduct and how much they agreed that the celebrity’s behavior was unforgivable. The researchers averaged these answers to create an overall index of blame. By using actual scandals, the study avoided purely hypothetical judgments and ensured that respondents were reacting to events that had provoked real online fury.</p>
<p>The research team first ruled out common-method bias, a statistical issue that can inflate relationships when all data come from the same questionnaire. They then confirmed that the three concepts—belief in a fair world, negative emotions, and blame—were distinct yet related. With these checks complete, they applied structural equation modeling, a technique that estimates how well a set of paths among variables fits the observed data. Age and gender were included as controls because younger adults and women often express stronger disapproval of infidelity in earlier research.</p>
<p>The emotional storylines turned out to be the main drivers of condemnation. Stronger anger and disgust were linked to harsher judgments toward the cheating celebrities, replicating decades of evidence that moral emotions spur punitive impulses. In numerical terms, a one-unit rise in negative emotions corresponded to a sizable jump in blame on the six-point scale.</p>
<p>The belief that the world is fair told a different tale. Instead of stoking outrage, a stronger fairness belief predicted milder reactions. People high on this belief reported less anger and disgust and, through that emotional channel, assigned less blame. Even after accounting for feelings, the direct link between fairness belief and blame remained negative, though smaller, suggesting that the conviction that justice prevails may also temper condemnation through cooler cognitive routes.</p>
<p>These findings surprised the authors because they originally expected the opposite. Drawing on earlier Japanese work stressing karmic ideas that wrongdoers should face consequences, the team hypothesized that fairness believers would demand tougher punishment to restore moral balance. Instead, the data aligned with several Western studies showing that people who believe in a fair world often view celebrities in a positive light and extend leniency to them, perhaps because they assume admired figures must be “good people” who deserve benefits. In short, for non-criminal misbehavior such as adultery, the desire to see a fair world appears to reduce eagerness to shame rather than increase it.</p>
<p>Gender offered one more nuance. Women expressed stronger anger and disgust than men, consistent with previous work suggesting that women tend to be less tolerant of infidelity. Yet once emotions were in the model, gender had no additional effect on blame. Age did not meaningfully predict any of the main variables.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations to note. All measures were self-reports gathered at a single point in time, so they capture associations but not how beliefs and emotions unfold across a news cycle. The sample was Japanese, and cultural factors such as Buddhist notions of karmic balance might shape reactions differently than in Western countries, where adultery norms and celebrity culture vary. Finally, although the use of real scandals boosts ecological validity, it also means that personal feelings about each celebrity—admiration, envy, or indifference—could sway responses in ways not captured by the study.</p>
<p>Future investigations can build on these insights in several ways. Longitudinal designs that track social media posts before, during, and after a scandal would show how emotions flare and fade over time and whether appeals to fairness influence that trajectory. Cross-cultural comparisons could test whether the soothing effect of believing in a just world emerges in societies with different moral scripts around marital fidelity. Researchers might also experiment with online interventions—such as prompts reminding users that legal remedies exist or delaying comment posting—to see if activating fairness reasoning or giving emotions time to cool can curb flaming behavior.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100893" target="_blank">Belief in a Just World Decreases Blame for Celebrity Infidelity</a>,” by Ching-Yi Huang, Takashi Arai, and Tsuneyuki Abe.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/genetic-factors-may-influence-how-well-exercise-buffers-against-childhood-trauma/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Genetic factors may influence how well exercise buffers against childhood trauma</a>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.01.017" target="_blank">Journal of Psychiatric Research</a></em> suggests that exercise can help reduce the psychological toll of childhood adversity—but only for some individuals. People who experienced adverse childhood environments were more likely to report psychological distress in young adulthood. However, those who exercised regularly showed lower levels of distress. Importantly, the benefit of exercise appeared to be influenced by a genetic variant in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, suggesting that genetics may partly determine how well someone responds to physical activity as a buffer against childhood trauma.</p>
<p>Childhood adversity is a well-documented risk factor for psychological problems later in life. Events like neglect, abuse, loss of a parent, or growing up in an unstable or chaotic home environment can leave lasting emotional scars. Numerous studies have shown that such experiences increase the risk for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other psychiatric disorders. In Taiwan, where this study was conducted, about 6% of junior high school students have experienced two or more adverse events by the age of 12.</p>
<p>Given these risks, the researchers were interested in identifying protective factors that could reduce the likelihood of developing psychological symptoms in young adulthood. One such factor is exercise, which is widely known to improve mental health and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Physical activity is thought to help regulate stress and improve mood by increasing blood flow and supporting brain chemistry. However, not everyone benefits equally from exercise, and some studies have pointed to genetic differences as one possible reason.</p>
<p>The researchers also focused on a genetic variation known as the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. This variation affects the brain’s ability to produce and release brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that plays an important role in brain development, learning, and emotional regulation. People with one version of this gene (carriers of the “Met” allele) tend to produce less of the protein in response to activity, which may limit the brain’s ability to adapt and heal in response to stress.</p>
<p>To explore the complex relationship between childhood adversity, exercise, genes, and mental health, the research team recruited 750 healthy young people aged 16 to 23 from southern Taiwan. The participants completed questionnaires that measured their history of childhood adversity, frequency of moderate to vigorous exercise, and levels of psychological distress. They also provided saliva samples for DNA testing to determine which version of the BDNF gene they carried.</p>
<p>The researchers used statistical models to examine whether exercise helped explain the link between adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress—and whether that pathway was affected by the BDNF gene. They also separated childhood adversity into two categories: adverse environments, such as growing up with a parent who had mental illness or substance use problems, and childhood maltreatment, such as physical abuse or neglect.</p>
<p>Overall, the study confirmed that higher levels of childhood adversity were linked to more psychological distress in young adulthood. It also found that individuals who had experienced adversity were less likely to report regular exercise. In turn, lower exercise levels were associated with higher psychological distress. This suggests that one reason childhood adversity may lead to poorer mental health is that it reduces engagement in healthy behaviors like physical activity.</p>
<p>However, the effect of exercise was not the same for everyone. When the researchers looked at participants’ genetic data, they found that the relationship between exercise and psychological distress depended on which version of the BDNF gene they carried. Specifically, individuals with the Met/Met genotype—those with two copies of the Met allele—experienced less benefit from exercise in terms of reducing psychological distress. For these individuals, even if they exercised regularly, the reduction in distress was smaller than for people with other genotypes.</p>
<p>The moderating effect of the BDNF gene was most evident for participants who had experienced adverse childhood environments, such as parental divorce, starvation, or household mental illness. In these cases, exercise helped buffer the psychological impact of early adversity—but only for those without the Met/Met genotype. In contrast, among those who had experienced direct maltreatment such as physical abuse, the benefit of exercise was not statistically significant, regardless of genetic differences.</p>
<p>These findings add to a growing body of research showing that genetics can shape how people respond to both adversity and interventions. While exercise is generally good for mental health, its ability to protect against the effects of childhood trauma may depend on the underlying biology of the individual.</p>
<p>The study has some important limitations. It was based on self-reported data, which can be influenced by memory biases or current mood. It also used a cross-sectional design, meaning the researchers could not determine the direction of cause and effect. For example, it is possible that psychological distress led to reduced exercise rather than the other way around. In addition, the study focused on a single genetic variation, and other genes may also play a role in how individuals respond to stress or benefit from physical activity.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the research offers a promising direction for personalized mental health strategies. It suggests that encouraging regular exercise might be especially helpful for young people who have experienced adverse environments in childhood. However, genetic differences such as the BDNF polymorphism may influence how much individuals benefit from these interventions. In the future, identifying such gene-environment interactions could help tailor mental health programs to better fit each individual’s biological and environmental background.</p>
<p>Further studies are needed to explore other possible mediators between childhood adversity and mental health, such as family relationships, social support, or emotional regulation. Researchers also suggest expanding the genetic analysis to include a wider range of variations that may affect resilience or vulnerability. As understanding of these complex interactions grows, it may become possible to develop more effective, personalized approaches to preventing and treating psychological distress in individuals with difficult early life experiences.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.01.017" target="_blank">Exercise as a mediator between childhood adversity and psychological distress: Can BDNF moderate the mediating effect?</a>,” was authored by Jia Chi Chan, Chih-Ting Lee, Yee-How Say, Yu-Fang Lin, and Meng-Che Tsai.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/tips-for-parents-in-talking-with-your-kids-about-your-partners-mental-illness/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Tips for parents in talking with your kids about your partner’s mental illness</a>
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<p><p>Since the mid-1990s, researchers have been studying Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), defined as preventable and potentially traumatic experiences occurring before age 18. Examples of these experiences include abuse, neglect, family violence, and parental substance abuse, mental illness, and incarceration. Studies have revealed significant connections between the number of ACEs experienced in childhood and a wide array of physical and mental health problems in adulthood.</p>
<p>Most of the studies have used two primary research methods, namely (a) retrospective surveys of adults, and (b) parental report of their teen’s experiences. Both of these methods have some inherent problems. For example, recency bias may hinder adults’ ability to remember some childhood events, and parents may not be aware of all of their children’s experiences.</p>
<p>Important <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/su7304a5.htm">new research</a> led by Dr. Elizabeth Swedo at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from over 20,000 high school students from across the United States (Swedo et al., 2024). This report is the first national study of high school students that assessed the lifetime prevalence of ACEs; they also analyzed relationships between ACE exposure(s) and teenagers’ health and risky behavior.</p>
<p>Although the report has many important findings, we focus here on an important but often overlooked issue, namely how parental mental health problems can impact kids. The question posted to students in the survey was “<em>Have you ever lived with a parent or guardian who had severe depression, anxiety, or another mental illness or was suicidal?”</em> The lifetime prevalence was 36% for females an 22% for males, with an overall rate of 28%.</p>
<p>Thus, over 1 in 4 youth report that their parent/guardian is living with (or has lived with) severe mental health problems or is suicidal…a figure similar to rates of parental substance abuse as found in both this study and other recent research (<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2833575">McCabe, McCabe & Schepis, 2025</a>).</p>
<p>Research has clearly documented that offspring of parents experiencing mental illness are at increased risk for an array of physical and mental health problems themselves. The youth’s risk level is affected by many variables, some beyond their control (e.g., genetics) but others that are modifiable (e.g., exercise, healthy diet, avoiding substances, staying social connected).</p>
<p>However, sadly, these youth are often invisible. The parents may be preoccupied with helping the individual with the illness, and our healthcare system does not routinely assess offspring well-being nor engage them in care. This often leaves parents feeling alone and unsure how to most effectively support their child(ren).</p>
<p>Further, parents often have minimal guidance on what to say to their children about parental mental health problems. Due to the complexity surrounding mental illness and other family demands, sometimes children are told nothing…which can result in kids coming up with inaccurate and often scary explanations (e.g., it’s their fault their parent is ill).</p>
<p>So, how can parents know WHAT to tell their kids, WHEN, and HOW?</p>
<p>Here we offer 7 suggestions, including some resources for youth. Seeing your children struggle with your partner’s behavior can be painful, so we hope these recommendations are empowering for your family.</p>
<h2>7 Tips for Talking to Your Kids about Your Partner’s Mental Health Problems</h2>
<h3>1. Offer information in bite-size chunks, using language your kids can understand.</h3>
<p>Children are perceptive. Although they may not fully understand what they see and feel, they usually sense when someone in the family is struggling. As children fear what they don’t understand and often blame themselves, it’s important for kids to know at least some of what is going on (e.g., Mommy is really sad today so is sleeping a lot in her room; I know you’re disappointed she cannot come to your soccer game tonight…so is she!). By naming and openly talking about the situation, you also have the opportunity to discuss and honor how it’s impacting your kids.<br>
As these conversations might be awkward and stressful, you may choose to ask for help from professionals or other resources (see below for examples).</p>
<h3>2. Listen more than you talk. Follow your kids’ lead in the conversations. Encourage them to share their feelings and ask questions.</h3>
<p>When you acknowledge the elephant in the living room of the mental illness, you open the door for children to share their feelings and questions. Although you may have an agenda for certain issues to discuss in a specific conversation, your child may raise the subject at random times, such as while driving to school or at bedtime. It’s helpful to encourage ongoing dialogue, and to help your kids feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings freely. Let them know you want to hear what’s on their mind and in their heart. The questions kids have and their reactions to mental illness change over time, so the discussions and responses need to shift accordingly.</p>
<p>As a parent, you may not know the answers or what to say, and that’s ok to acknowledge! You may consult with a professional or family member to think through how to respond. On the other hand, some questions just don’t have easy answers, and you can help your kids learn to live with ambiguity and uncertainty.</p>
<h3>3. Engage your partner in the conversations with kids as appropriate.</h3>
<p>In some situations, it may be more appropriate for you to talk with your children without your coparent present, such as conversations about violence (or threats thereof), active substance misuse, paranoia, or other frank symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations or delusions. It may be easier to explain and your child may feel more comfortable if your partner with the illness is not involved in these discussions.</p>
<p>However, much of the time, it’s helpful for everyone to be involved as appropriate. It’s empowering to encourage kids to talk about and ask their parents questions about mental illness, even if it may be difficult. Of course, selecting a good time when your partner is stable and open to conversation is important.</p>
<h3>4. Be hopeful and reassuring.</h3>
<p>There are many good reasons to be hopeful about managing mental illness, and children can be comforted by positive messages.</p>
<p>You might consider ideas such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>We have doctors and counselors who are helping us during this difficult time.</li>
<li>Mental illness is treatable. There are many medicines and therapies that can manage your parent’s symptoms and help them to lead a meaningful life. Scientists and doctors are developing new treatments all the time.</li>
<li>We have a lot of family members and friends who want to help.</li>
<li>You’re not alone. About 1 in 4 families has a loved one living with mental illness.</li>
<li>We’re working through this together as a family. Just like we all came together as a team when grandma got cancer, we can all work together and help each other now.</li>
</ul>
<h3>5. Be honest about your kids’ increased risk of developing mental health problems, but focus on building resilience and what they can control.</h3>
<p>Older children and teenagers may ask difficult questions about their own risk for developing a mental illness, wondering “Am I going to be like that someday?” Such questions are understandable and reflect considerable fear among the kids, and parents may struggle to know how to respond.</p>
<p>This issue goes beyond the scope of this article, but a more detailed exploration of navigating these conversations can be found in Chapter 16 of our book for teens, “I’m not alone.” In general, acknowledging there is some genetic component to mental illness and they may be at higher risk is important. At the same time, parents can help children focus on what they have control over, such as their activity levels, diet, use of alcohol/drugs, and social connections. Parents can help their children by teaching them how to understand and cope effectively with feelings, recognize early signs of more serious problems, and seek out treatment early.</p>
<h3>6. Avoid parentifying your child, but do let them know how they can help.</h3>
<p>Sometimes children in families with parents managing mental illness become caregivers, taking on extra responsibilities. They may help more with household chores, take care of younger siblings, assist parents with keeping doctor appointments or managing medications, or try to “cheer up” their distressed parent. The reality is that sometimes these behaviors are helpful, especially during times of crisis, but it’s best to avoid children bearing these additional responsibilities in daily routines.</p>
<p>However, at the same time, children often want to know how to support their parent; they may want to be encouraging, but don’t know how. Thus, it can be helpful to talk with kids about how they can be supportive yet not take on the responsibility for their parent’s wellbeing. For example, you might say: Although you can’t cure your parent, there are ways you can help and support him/her. Your mom/dad loves it when you (fill in the blank with small things your child can do, such as offer hugs, pick up their room, send loving text message)</p>
<h3>7. Monitor your kids’ social media use, and seek out resources for them</h3>
<p>Depending on your child’s age and developmental level, they have likely already searched online for information about mental illness. Although there is a lot of excellent content online, unfortunately many inaccurate messages also circulate. Therefore, it helps to be aware of what your kids view and help them find reputable sources, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association.</p>
<p>A variety of books are now available addressing issues of parental mental illness, including memoirs and fictional books for young children. There are also a few nonfiction books that offer skills and support. Many parents find it helpful to read the books before (or along with) their children to gain insight and facilitate dialogue. Some resources we recommend include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Clarke, L. (2006). <em>Wishing wellness: A workbook for children of parents with mental illness. </em>Magination Press.</li>
<li>Boucher, V., & Fitzpatrick, O. (n.d.) <em>KARE: The magazine for young caregivers</em>. AMI Quebec. <a href="https://olivergfitzpatrick.wordpress.com/portfolio/kare-the-magazine-for-young-caregivers/">https://olivergfitzpatrick.wordpress.com/portfolio/kare-the-magazine-for-young-caregivers/</a></li>
<li>Sherman, M.D., & Sherman, D.M. (2024). <em>I’m not alone: A teen’s guide to living with a parent who has a mental illness or has experienced trauma </em>(2<sup>nd</sup> ed).<em> </em>Seeds of Hope Books.</li>
<li>Villatte, A., Piché, G., Habib, R. (2020). <em>When your parent has a mental illness: tips and testimonies from young people</em>. Université du Québec en Outaouais: LaProche Laboratory. https://lapproche.uqo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/When_your_parent_has_mental_issue_VA_web.pdf</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><strong>Michelle D. Sherman</strong>, PhD, LP, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist in Minnesota who has dedicated her career to supporting families of adults living with a mental illness or trauma history. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Couple and Family Psychology and was named its Family Psychologist of the Year in 2022. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, <em>Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice</em>. She worked for 17 years in the VA system and as a professor at the University of Minnesota and University of Oklahoma medical schools. In her personal life, she writes books (with her mother as co-author) for family members who love someone living with a mental illness or PTSD (<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.SeedsofHopeBooks.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.SeedsofHopeBooks.com</a>).</p>
<p>She is the author of “<a href="https://amzn.to/4kpznk5">Loving Someone with a Mental Illness or History of Trauma: Skills, Hope, and Strength for Your Journey</a>” (2025, Johns Hopkins University Press) and “<a href="https://amzn.to/40zSe4U">I’m Not Alone: A Teen’s Guide to Living with a Parent Who Has a Mental Illness or History of Trauma</a>” (2nd ed., 2024, Seeds of Hope Books).</p>
<p><a href="https://amzn.to/4kpznk5"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-228025" src="https://www.psypost.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/loving-someone.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="296"></a> <a href="https://amzn.to/40zSe4U"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-228026" src="https://www.psypost.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/no-alone.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="296"></a></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/subjective-cognitive-struggles-strongly-linked-to-social-recovery-in-depression/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Subjective cognitive struggles strongly linked to social recovery in depression</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jul 3rd 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A longitudinal study of individuals with major depressive disorder in China found that subjective cognitive dysfunction is strongly linked to the severity of depressive symptoms. Recovery of social functioning in these individuals was influenced by improvements in both depressive symptoms and subjective cognitive function, with subjective cognitive improvements contributing more substantially to recovery. The research was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725001011"><em>Psychological Medicine</em></a>.</p>
<p>Depression, or major depressive disorder, is a mental health condition marked by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. It affects how people feel, think, and behave, and can lead to a range of emotional and physical problems. Individuals with depression often have difficulty carrying out daily tasks and may feel hopeless. Common symptoms include fatigue, appetite changes, sleep disturbances, and low motivation or energy.</p>
<p>In addition to emotional symptoms, research indicates that people with depression frequently experience cognitive impairments, such as difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, trouble making decisions, and slowed thinking. These cognitive issues can continue even after mood symptoms have improved.</p>
<p>Study author Jingjing Zhou and her colleagues set out to explore the relationship between subjective and objective cognitive function and emotional symptoms in people with depression. They also investigated how these symptoms affected social functioning. The researchers hypothesized that cognitive symptoms and emotional symptoms might be at least partly independent and that subjective and objective cognitive difficulties would have different effects on patients’ daily lives.</p>
<p>The study analyzed data from the Prospective Cohort Study of Depression in China (PROUD), a multicenter project designed to recruit a nationally representative sample of people with major depressive disorder. This analysis included data collected between June 2022 and June 2024 from 1,376 patients across 18 hospitals in China. Of these participants, 900 were female, 252 had a family history of mental illness, and 820 were experiencing their first episode of depression. The median age of participants was approximately 28 years.</p>
<p>Patients received antidepressant monotherapy and were followed over an 8-week period, with additional follow-up assessments conducted 52 weeks after the start of treatment. The researchers used several standardized tools to evaluate depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology – Self-Report), anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), cognitive functioning (Chinese Brief Cognitive Test for objective performance, and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire – Depression-5 for subjective experience), and social impairment (Sheehan Disability Scale).</p>
<p>The results showed that both depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning improved significantly during the first 8 weeks of treatment. However, subjective cognitive complaints at the beginning of the study predicted the severity of depressive symptoms at week 8, and to a lesser extent, the reverse was also true. This mutual relationship was observed for both depressive and anxiety symptoms.</p>
<p>When the researchers looked at recovery of social functioning, they found it was influenced by both mood improvement and improvements in subjective cognition. However, changes in subjective cognitive function were more strongly associated with social recovery than changes in depression symptoms.</p>
<p>“Subjective cognitive dysfunction is more strongly associated with depressive symptoms and plays a significant role in social functioning recovery, highlighting the need for targeted interventions addressing subjective cognitive deficits in MDD [major depressive disorder],” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on the importance of impaired cognitive functioning in depression. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be derived from the results.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725001011">A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between emotional symptoms and cognitive function in patients with major depressive disorder,</a>” was authored by Jingjing Zhou, Jinjie Xu, Zizhao Feng, Rui Liu, Le Xiao, Ruinan Li, Xiaoya Li, Xueshan Zhang, Jing Liu, Yuan Feng, Jia Zhou, and Gang Wang.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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