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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/altered-brain-activity-patterns-affect-adhd-risk-not-vice-versa/" 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;">Altered brain activity patterns affect ADHD risk, not vice versa</a>
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<p><p>A new study used genetic variations to determine whether certain brain activity patterns influence the risk for developing ADHD, or vice versa. Results showed that genetic variants leading to lower levels of a specific type of brain activity when a person is at rest (resting alpha-band EEG activity) increase the risk for ADHD. No evidence was found that genetic liability to ADHD influences these brain activity patterns. The paper was published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251349253" target="_blank">Journal of Attention Disorders</a></em>.</p>
<p>Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health condition that affects attention, behavior, and emotional regulation. People with ADHD may struggle to concentrate, stay organized, or complete tasks that require sustained mental effort. Its key symptoms fall into two categories: inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Hyperactivity can manifest as constant movement, fidgeting, or an inability to sit still, while impulsivity can lead to acting or speaking without thinking.</p>
<p>Although ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood, many adults continue to experience its symptoms throughout life. It can influence academic performance, work productivity, and relationships if left untreated. Genetic factors play a strong role, though environmental influences like stress or early childhood experiences also contribute.</p>
<p>The study authors, led by Kwangmi Ahn, note that previous studies established an association between brain activity patterns at rest, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG), and ADHD. They aimed to determine the causal direction of this relationship: do these brain patterns contribute to ADHD risk, or does having ADHD cause the changes in brain activity?</p>
<p>They conducted a Mendelian randomization analysis. The authors analyzed summary statistics from two large-scale data sources. The first, from the ENIGMA-EEG consortium, included resting-state EEG recordings from 7,983 individuals in twin and family studies.</p>
<p>They combined this with genetic data for ADHD from 225,534 individuals, sourced from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC).</p>
<p>The analysis revealed that genetic variants leading to lower resting alpha-band activity were causally linked to an increased risk of ADHD. Conversely, they found no evidence for reverse causation; a genetic predisposition for ADHD did not appear to cause changes in alpha-band activity.</p>
<p>“Our findings provide genetic evidence that reduced resting-state alpha power is not merely correlated with ADHD but may causally predispose individuals to developing the disorder,” the study authors concluded. “This supports previous observational studies linking lower alpha activity to ADHD and establishes a causal pathway from altered EEG activity to ADHD risk, with important implications for understanding ADHD pathophysiology and potential biomarker development.”</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the neural underpinnings of ADHD. However, the authors note that while Mendelian randomization provides strong evidence for causality, it is an inferential method and not definitive proof. Another limitation is that the EEG data was sourced from a single electrode location on the scalp. The authors suggest that findings could differ when examining other brain regions.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251349253" target="_blank">ADHD and Differences in Brain Function as Measured by EEG: Cause or Effect?</a>” was authored by Kwangmi Ahn, Jenny Jean, Luke J. Norman, and Philip Shaw.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/the-psychology-of-scary-fun-new-study-reveals-nearly-all-children-enjoy-recreational-fear/" 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;">The psychology of scary fun: New study reveals nearly all children enjoy “recreational fear”</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 20th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study has found that a vast majority of children enjoy engaging in activities that are both scary and fun, a phenomenon scientists call “recreational fear.” The research reveals that this type of playful engagement with fear is a common part of development from infancy through the teenage years, with the specific activities changing as children get older. The findings were published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-025-01850-2" target="_blank">Child Psychiatry & Human Development</a></em>.</p>
<p>Fear is typically viewed as a negative emotion, a response to perceived danger that triggers reactions like fight, flight, or freeze. However, it is also clear that people often intentionally seek out frightening experiences for entertainment, such as watching horror movies or riding roller coasters. This mix of fear and enjoyment is known as recreational fear. While this behavior has been studied in adults, much less was known about how it manifests in children. Past research on children and fear has often focused on the potential negative outcomes of frightening media, like nightmares or anxiety.</p>
<p>A team of researchers led by Mihaela Taranu of Aarhus University wanted to create a comprehensive picture of children’s positive engagement with fear. They recognized that while some theories suggested scary play could be beneficial for development, there was a lack of systematic data on how common these experiences actually are across childhood. The study aimed to map out the prevalence of recreational fear, exploring what types of activities children enjoy, how often they engage in them, and the social contexts in which these experiences happen.</p>
<p>To gather this information, the researchers designed a detailed survey for parents and caregivers in Denmark. The final sample included 1,600 respondents, each reporting on one child between the ages of 1 and 17. The sample was balanced to ensure an even spread of children across each age. Before beginning the main survey, participants completed a training exercise to ensure they understood the concept of recreational fear. They were presented with scenarios and had to correctly identify which ones described an activity that was both scary and enjoyable, as opposed to experiences that were only scary or only enjoyable.</p>
<p>The survey itself listed 19 different categories of recreational fear activities, which were developed based on interviews with parents, children, and educators. These categories ranged from mild experiences, like being playfully chased, to more intense ones, like watching horror films. For each category, parents answered questions about their child’s enjoyment of the activity, the frequency of their engagement, who they typically engaged with, and where the activities took place. The researchers then analyzed this data to identify patterns and trends across different age groups.</p>
<p>The results revealed that recreational fear is an extremely common part of childhood. An overwhelming 93% of children were reported by their parents to enjoy at least one type of scary yet fun activity. Engagement was also frequent, with 70% of children participating in such an activity at least once a week and about 20% doing so on a daily basis. The most popular category across all ages involved experiences with high speeds, heights, or depths, such as on swings, slides, or amusement park rides. This was followed by various forms of media, including scary movies, television shows, stories, and video games. The least popular categories involved breaking norms, like engaging in activities that inflict mild pain or violate social rules.</p>
<p>The study identified clear developmental trends. The variety of recreational fear activities that children enjoy appears to change with age. The average number of different categories a child enjoys increases significantly between the ages of one and four. After that, from age five to seventeen, there is a slight but steady decrease in the number of different activity types enjoyed.</p>
<p>More telling was the shift in the nature of the activities themselves. Younger children were more likely to experience recreational fear through physical and imaginative play. Activities like rough-and-tumble play, pretend play with scary themes, and rule-based games like hide-and-seek were common. As children grew into adolescence, their engagement shifted toward media-based experiences. The enjoyment of scary movies, television series, video games, and frightening content on social media all increased steadily with age. The one constant was the popularity of activities involving speeds, depths, and heights, which remained high across the entire age range, though the frequency of participation tended to decrease as children got older.</p>
<p>The social context of these activities also evolved over time. The findings indicate that recreational fear is a predominantly social experience for children. Younger children most often engaged in these activities with parents, caregivers, or siblings. As they entered adolescence, friends and peers became their primary companions for scary fun. Solitary engagement with recreational fear was less common overall but did increase as children aged. This shift toward independence was also reflected in parents’ responses. For children around age 11 and older, parents were more likely to answer “I don’t know” when asked with whom or where their child was engaging in these activities.</p>
<p>The researchers propose that these changing patterns are closely linked to children’s overall development. The activities children find appealing for recreational fear align with their cognitive and physical abilities at different stages. For instance, the peak enjoyment of scary pretend play corresponds with the age that pretend play is a dominant form of learning and exploration. Similarly, the growing interest in scary video games matches the development of fine motor skills and attention required for gaming. This suggests that children naturally integrate the experience of fear into the activities that are most relevant to their developmental stage.</p>
<p>Given how widespread these behaviors are, the authors suggest they may serve an important function. They connect their findings to theories from the study of risky play, which proposes that voluntarily engaging with manageable fear helps children learn about their own limits and develop coping skills. By experiencing fear in a controlled and enjoyable setting, children may be practicing how to regulate their emotions. This practice could build resilience and potentially protect against later anxiety.</p>
<p>The social nature of these activities is also significant. Sharing an intense or frightening experience can strengthen social bonds. Engaging in scary activities with trusted family members or friends may create a secure environment where children feel safe enough to explore fear. The presence of others can help a child manage their emotional response, making the experience more enjoyable and educational.</p>
<p>The study has some limitations that the authors acknowledge. The data comes from the perspective of parents, not from the children themselves. Parents may not be fully aware of all their children’s activities, especially as they get older, and they might misinterpret a child’s feelings. This is a particular concern for activities that involve breaking rules, which children might hide from their parents.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the research was conducted entirely within Denmark. Cultural norms and environmental factors can greatly influence how children play and express themselves. The patterns observed in a Western, post-industrialized society may not apply to children growing up in different cultural contexts. The researchers suggest that future studies should aim to get children’s own perspectives on recreational fear and explore these behaviors in a wider range of cultures. This work could help to better understand why children are so drawn to these experiences and how they might support healthy emotional and psychological development.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-025-01850-2" target="_blank">Recreational Fear Across Childhood. A Cross-Sectional Study of Scary Activities that Children Enjoy</a>,” was authored by Mihaela Taranu, Mathias Clasen, Fernando E. Rosas, Helen Dodd, and Marc Malmdorf Andersen. </p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-finds-creativity-supports-learning-through-novel-mental-connections/" 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;">New study finds creativity supports learning through novel mental connections</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 20th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00334-1" target="_blank">npj Science of Learning</a></em> provides evidence that creative thinking may help students remember new information, such as foreign language vocabulary, by boosting their ability to form meaningful mental connections. The research suggests that the cognitive process of making novel associations—called associative thinking—helps explain why people with high creativity tend to perform better on learning tasks.</p>
<p>Creativity is often considered essential in education and professional life. Past research has shown that creativity is positively linked to academic achievement. However, less is known about how creativity actually supports learning at the cognitive level. The authors of the new study proposed that associative thinking might play a key role. This is the ability to connect different ideas or concepts, which is often seen as a hallmark of creative thought. They suspected that this same ability could also help people learn, particularly when it comes to tasks that require forming new associations, like matching a foreign word with its English translation.</p>
<p>Despite the theoretical connection, no previous research had directly tested whether associative thinking is the link between creativity and learning. The researchers aimed to fill this gap by testing whether students who show higher levels of associative thinking also do better at learning tasks. They also wanted to see whether this effect holds even when controlling for general intelligence, which is known to influence both learning and creativity.</p>
<p>“Creativity has often been linked to academic learning, yet little is known about the mechanisms underlying their relationship,” said study author <a href="https://www.simoneluchini.com/" target="_blank">Simone Luchini</a>, a PhD student at Penn State University and an incoming postdoctoral researcher at the Paris Brain Institute. “In our work, we wanted to explore if associative thinking could underlie this link. Associative thinking involves connecting distant concepts or ideas in memory. For example, the concepts of ‘dog’ and ‘cat’ are highly related, while ‘dog’ and ‘plane’ are less related. Does the ability to generate these distant connections allow creative individuals to learn better?”</p>
<p>To explore these questions, the researchers conducted two studies with undergraduate students. In both, participants completed a language learning task that required them to memorize pairs of Lithuanian and English words. They were then tested on how well they remembered the word pairs after 24 hours.</p>
<p>In the first study, 146 students completed the language learning task and a word association test that measured associative thinking. In this test, they were shown a series of nouns and asked to come up with verbs that were meaningfully connected but not commonly linked with the noun. For example, given the word “boot,” a creative response might be “travel” instead of a more typical response like “wear.” These responses were analyzed using a computational model that scores how semantically distant the noun-verb pair is. The greater the semantic distance, the more novel the association.</p>
<p>The results showed that students who generated more semantically distant associations recalled more word pairs, both immediately and after a 24-hour delay. This held true even after accounting for their scores on tests of fluid and crystallized intelligence. These findings suggest that associative thinking plays a distinct role in learning beyond general mental ability.</p>
<p>The second study included 145 new participants and extended the investigation in several ways. In addition to the language learning and word association tasks, students also completed creative tasks, such as writing short stories and drawing sketches. These tasks were scored using automated systems that assess the novelty and integration of ideas in text and images. The researchers again found that students who performed better on the associative thinking task recalled more words after 24 hours.</p>
<p>Importantly, the second study distinguished between two kinds of associations: free association, where participants responded with any related verb that came to mind, and goal-directed association, where they were instructed to think creatively and produce more novel connections. The researchers found that only goal-directed associative thinking predicted learning outcomes. This suggests that intentional creative thinking is more relevant for learning than simply making quick or obvious connections.</p>
<p>They also looked at whether creativity influenced learning through associative thinking. Statistical modeling showed that associative thinking partly explained the link between creativity (measured by the drawing and writing tasks and personality measures related to openness) and learning. When they controlled for intelligence, the data indicated that associative thinking fully accounted for the relationship between creativity and learning. In other words, creativity helped learning primarily through the ability to form distant, meaningful associations.</p>
<p>“We find that associative thinking mediates the link between creativity and learning,” Luchini told PsyPost. “In other words, how good a person is at connecting these distant concepts in memory determines whether their creativity can translate into better learning.”</p>
<p>The findings also point to a distinction between spontaneous associations and more deliberate creative thinking. While people can often make quick associations without much effort, it is the more thoughtful, inventive connections that appear to help with memory and learning. This may have implications for education, suggesting that encouraging students to think in more creative and flexible ways could improve their ability to retain new information.</p>
<p>While the study provides new insight into how creativity supports learning, it comes with some limitations. The research relied on a specific type of learning task—memorizing foreign vocabulary—which may not represent all forms of learning. It is unclear whether the same findings would apply to learning in other areas, such as math, science, or visual-spatial tasks.</p>
<p>The study also used a college student sample from psychology courses, which may limit how widely the results can be applied. Future studies could test whether the findings hold in other age groups, educational settings, or cultural contexts.</p>
<p>“Our study was conducted online, so we want to extend our research to a more realistic setting by testing students in their classrooms,” Luchini noted. “We hope that our work will inform classroom practices. This kind of research can be used to facilitate learning, by treating each student as an individual with their own strengths and weaknesses.”</p>
<p>The authors also suggest that future studies explore the neural basis of these effects. Understanding the brain mechanisms involved in associative thinking could help explain why some people are better at learning through creativity than others.</p>
<p>“To clarify, we think of creativity as a standard measure of individual differences, much like intelligence or personality,” Luchini explained. “While creativity is certainly malleable, there is a stable degree of creative ability that we capture with our psychological tests, which then informs our research questions.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00334-1" target="_blank">Creativity supports learning through associative thinking</a>,” was authored by Simone A. Luchini, James C. Kaufman, Benjamin Goecke, Oliver Wilhelm, Yoed N. Kenett, Daisy Lei, Mathias Benedek, Janet G. van Hell, and Roger E. Beaty.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/review-of-12-years-of-research-highlights-gaps-in-knowledge-about-non-binary-sexual-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;">Review of 12 years of research highlights gaps in knowledge about non-binary sexual health</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 19th 2025, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>Sexuality research has increasingly begun to include gender-diverse people, but a new review suggests that studies still fall short when it comes to representing the experiences of non-binary individuals. Published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03224-0" target="_blank">Archives of Sexual Behavior</a></em>, the review examined twelve years of research on sexuality, sexual health, and relationship satisfaction among non-binary people. It found that while non-binary individuals are often grouped with other gender minority populations in studies, their distinct experiences are rarely examined in detail. </p>
<p>Non-binary is an umbrella term used by individuals whose gender identity does not align with the traditional categories of man or woman. Some people may see their gender as fluid, others may not identify with any gender at all. These identities are not new. Across different cultures and historical periods, gender diversity has existed, though the language and recognition of it has varied.</p>
<p>Despite increased visibility in recent years, non-binary individuals remain underrepresented in psychological and health research. When included, they are often analyzed together with binary transgender people, a practice that risks erasing differences between these groups. </p>
<p>“Historically, research has had paid little attention to people that do not fit into the traditional man-woman gender binary. I would argue that this lack of recognition has had real world consequences on non-binary individuals, slowing down societal understanding and leaving important needs unaddressed,” explained study author Fraedan Mastrantonio, a PhD candidate in Health Psychology at the University of Southampton.</p>
<p>“In recent years, more studies have started to include non-binary participants, which is an encouraging step. However, I felt like there was a need to look at the available research and clarify what we actually know about non-binary people’s sexuality and sexual health, and what we are still missing.”</p>
<p>“I also wanted to look at how existing studies were asking their questions. If research tools are not inclusive, if they don’t allow non-binary participants to describe their experiences authentically, we won’t be able to correctly amplify non-binary voices.”</p>
<p>The review looked at quantitative studies published between 2012 and 2024 in English or Italian. A total of 44 articles were selected for analysis, all of which included non-binary participants. The researchers screened more than 26,000 papers across major scientific databases. Most of the included studies were conducted in Western countries, often using online surveys and convenience samples. Despite the growing number of studies that include non-binary individuals, many of them did not report detailed demographic data for this group. Most did not analyze results for non-binary participants separately from binary transgender participants.</p>
<p>“I was actually pleasantly surprised by how many studies I found,” Mastrantonio told PsyPost. “I had expected far fewer papers including non-binary participants. While the research isn’t always perfect (no research ever is!), it was encouraging to see that many scholars are recognizing the importance of including non-binary voices and perspectives. It shows that the field is moving in the right direction.”</p>
<p>One of the central findings was that non-binary people often report sexual identities that fall outside traditional categories. Labels like queer and pansexual were commonly used, suggesting that many non-binary people see their sexual orientation as flexible and not tied to the binary concept of gender. A number of studies found that non-binary individuals were more likely to report attraction to people of multiple genders, including other non-binary individuals.</p>
<p>When it came to sexual and romantic relationships, non-binary participants appeared to experience levels of satisfaction similar to binary transgender individuals. Several studies found that non-binary people were more likely to be in non-monogamous relationships or to report attraction to a wide range of partners. In some samples, non-binary people were also more likely to be sexually active in the past year and to have had sexual partners of more than three different genders in recent years.</p>
<p>However, the researchers found that the way sexuality was measured often did not reflect this diversity. Many studies asked about attraction or behavior in terms that only included men and women. Some used scales that were originally developed for cisgender populations, which may not be appropriate for people with gender experiences that fall outside the binary. A few studies attempted to adjust the language of their surveys, but this was the exception rather than the rule.</p>
<p>The review also noted that measures of sexual satisfaction and relationship quality tended to use gendered language or assume heterosexual experiences. Despite this, the studies that did assess sexual satisfaction generally found no significant differences between non-binary and binary transgender participants.</p>
<p>Only a small number of studies examined issues like sexual assertiveness, consent, fantasies, or sexual function. Among the few that did, some suggested that non-binary participants reported lower arousal to certain types of fantasies and were more likely to emphasize consent. A few studies looked at how body image or sexual self-esteem played a role in sexual well-being, finding that non-binary people reported unique challenges that were not always captured by existing measures.</p>
<p>The review also pointed to disparities in access to gender-affirming care. Non-binary individuals were less likely than binary transgender individuals to receive or seek medical interventions such as hormone therapy or surgery. Some reported being denied access to gender-affirming services altogether. These findings reflect ongoing issues in healthcare systems that may not recognize or validate non-binary identities.</p>
<p>A small number of studies examined experiences in sexual healthcare. These studies indicated that non-binary people were more likely to report discrimination or discomfort in medical settings, particularly in hospitals. Some sought out community-based healthcare providers instead, which were viewed as more inclusive.</p>
<p>The review also identified that while many studies allowed participants to self-identify their gender, they often grouped all non-binary labels together. In several cases, participants who selected “other” were asked to describe their gender identity in a text box. Even when more expansive options were offered, researchers often merged them into a single non-binary category for analysis, limiting the ability to examine variation within this group.</p>
<p>“We need to recognize that non-binary people are not monolith or a completely uniform group,” Mastrantonio said. “They have complex identities that need to be accounted for within research. Many studies failed to include basic demographic details for non-binary participants, making it hard to understand how factors like age, race, disability or socioeconomic background might shape sexuality and sexual health outcomes and experiences.”</p>
<p>“We need to make an effort to better represent non-binary individuals from minoritized ethnic/racial backgrounds, non-binary people that are disabled or neurodivergent, non-binary people that are of older age or from lower socio-economical background within our research.”</p>
<p>“Additionally, there still work to do to improve representation within research,” Mastrantonio continued. “That means asking more expansive questions as well as ensuring that enough non-binary people are included in studies, so that non-binary people’s experience can be meaningfully understood.”</p>
<p>“The good news is that sex research, is moving forward and making space for non-binary people. However, sexual wellbeing is still under-researched in this population, and a more clear focus on this aspect could shift the conversation from risk, stigma and negative sexual experiences towards pleasure, satisfaction and community.”</p>
<p>The current review focused exclusively on Western contexts, which means the findings may not apply to non-binary individuals in other parts of the world where gender diversity is understood differently.</p>
<p>“For this review, I chose to focus on studies based in Western contexts, reflecting Western understandings of what it means to be non-binary,” Mastrantonio said. “I made that decision to avoid misinterpreting or oversimplifying non-Western gender identities, which may have very different cultural meanings. As a result, the findings don’t capture non-binary experiences outside Western societies, and that’s an important limitation to keep in mind.”</p>
<p>The researchers suggest that future work should focus on developing better survey tools and adopting language that is inclusive of all gender identities. More studies should aim to recruit larger numbers of non-binary participants and analyze their experiences separately from other gender minority groups. Importantly, future research should explore topics beyond risk and discrimination. There is also a need to better understand how non-binary people form and maintain intimate relationships and how community support and acceptance shape their sexual experiences. </p>
<p>“I would like to see research continuing to move towards the de-medicalization of trans and non-binary identities, shifting towards more holistic approaches to sexuality, with greater attention on sexual wellbeing, pleasure, satisfaction,” Mastrantonio told PsyPost. “I would also like to see research that looks at intimate and romantic partnerships and the impact of community acceptance and solidarity on sexual outcomes. I am also interested in seeing more studies that explore how intersecting minoritized identities shape non-binary people’s experiences when in comes to sexual wellbeing and health. Understanding this is essential for quantitative literature to reflect more diversity and the complexity of non-binary people’s lived experiences.”</p>
<p>“In many countries, the socio-political climate is becoming overall less accepting of non-binary and trans identities, and resources for this kind of research are increasingly limited. As a non-binary person myself, I also see the barriers that trans and non-binary researchers themselves continue to face within and outside academia. Even so, doing this review reminded me how many researchers (trans/non-binary researchers as well as allies) are committed to trying making a difference and to representing gender-diverse experiences within their work. That makes me happy and gives me hope for the future of the field.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03224-0" target="_blank">Non-Binary People’s Sexuality, Sexual Health, and Relationship Satisfaction: A Review of 12 Years of Quantitative Research (2012–2024)</a>,” was authored by Fraedan Mastrantonio, Hanna Kovshoff, and Heather Armstrong. </p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/early-life-sugar-restriction-is-linked-to-lower-adult-asthma-and-copd-risk-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;">Early-life sugar restriction is linked to lower adult asthma and COPD risk, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 19th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study suggests that restricting sugar intake during pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life is associated with a reduced risk of developing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adulthood. The research, which also found a link to improved adult lung function, was published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.09.045" target="_blank">The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition</a></em>.</p>
<p>The period from conception to a child’s second birthday is a foundational window for lifelong health. Previous studies in animals and humans have suggested a connection between a mother’s high sugar intake during pregnancy and an increased risk of asthma and allergies in her children. However, the long-term consequences of early-life sugar exposure on respiratory health extending into adulthood remained largely unknown.</p>
<p>A team of researchers led by Jiazhen Zheng of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) sought to investigate this long-term relationship. They took advantage of a unique historical event: the end of sugar rationing in the United Kingdom in September 1953. This event created a natural experiment. After rationing ended, national data shows that average daily sugar consumption for adults nearly doubled, while the intake of other foods remained relatively stable. This sharp change allowed the scientists to compare the health outcomes of people born during rationing with those born just after it was lifted.</p>
<p>The study utilized data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database containing health information from over half a million participants. The researchers focused on 58,670 individuals born in the United Kingdom between 1951 and 1956. Based on their birth date, participants were categorized by their exposure to the national sugar rationing policy during their first 1,000 days of development. Those born before July 1954 were considered exposed to rationing for varying lengths of time, while those born after this date were considered unexposed.</p>
<p>The scientists then tracked the participants’ health records over many years to identify new cases of three respiratory diseases: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. They also analyzed results from spirometry tests, which measure lung function. These tests assess metrics like the total amount of air a person can exhale and how quickly they can exhale it. The analysis accounted for a wide range of factors, including age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking history, parental health, and other medical conditions.</p>
<p>The results showed a clear association between being exposed to sugar rationing in early life and better respiratory health in adulthood. Individuals who experienced sugar restriction both in the womb and for one to two years after birth had a 25% lower risk of developing asthma and a 27% lower risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to those who were not exposed to rationing.</p>
<p>The findings also revealed a dose-response relationship, meaning that longer periods of sugar restriction were associated with greater protection. The risk of respiratory disease gradually increased for groups born closer to the end of rationing, whose exposure was shorter. For those exposed to rationing for the longest period, the onset of asthma was delayed by an average of 3.6 years and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 2.8 years. The association with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rarer lung disease, showed a similar trend but did not reach statistical significance.</p>
<p>Beyond disease risk, the study found a link between early-life sugar rationing and improved lung capacity. Participants in the rationed group showed significantly better performance on lung function tests. Their measurements for forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity, which indicate how much air the lungs can forcefully exhale and hold, were higher than those in the non-rationed group.</p>
<p>To strengthen their conclusions, the researchers conducted several validation tests. They examined a control group of UK Biobank participants who were born outside the United Kingdom during the same years and found no association between their birth date and respiratory health. This suggests the effect was specific to the conditions in the United Kingdom. Similar analyses using data from large aging studies in the United States and England further supported the main findings.</p>
<p>The team also tested for associations with “placebo outcomes,” which are health conditions not expected to be linked to early-life diet, such as influenza and shingles. They found no connection between sugar rationing and the risk of these illnesses, reinforcing the idea that the observed effect on respiratory health was not a coincidence or due to general improvements in health over time. The researchers also explored potential pathways for the association. They found that conditions like type 2 diabetes and hypertension, which are related to sugar consumption, explained about 18% of the relationship, suggesting other biological mechanisms are also at play.</p>
<p>The study does have some limitations. Because it is based on a historical event, it identifies associations rather than proving direct causation. The analysis relied on birth dates as a proxy for sugar exposure, as individual dietary records from that time do not exist. Information about early-life factors like breastfeeding was self-reported by adults and may be subject to recall errors. Finally, the UK Biobank population is predominantly of White European ancestry, so the findings may not apply to other ethnic groups.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study offers compelling evidence that limiting sugar intake during the critical developmental window of the first 1,000 days may have lasting benefits for respiratory health. The findings align with modern dietary guidelines that recommend reducing free sugar intake for pregnant women and avoiding added sugars for children under two. Future research, including randomized controlled trials, could help confirm these results and clarify the biological processes that connect early sugar consumption to adult lung disease.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.09.045" target="_blank">Sugar restriction in the first 1000 days after conception, and long-term respiratory health: a quasi-experiment study</a>,” was authored by Jiazhen Zheng, Chuang Yang, Zhen Zhou, Jinghan Huang, Qiang Tu, Haisheng Wu, Quan Yang, Wenbo Huang, Junchun Shen, and Feng Cao.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/people-who-love-horror-movies-tend-to-exhibit-certain-personality-traits-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;">People who love horror movies tend to exhibit certain personality traits, study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 19th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>College students’ favorite film genres may offer insight into their personalities, according to new research published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.84683" target="_blank">Cureus</a></em>. The study found consistent associations between certain movie preferences and the Big Five personality traits, such as extraversion and conscientiousness. These findings may hold potential for future personality assessments and hiring practices, though more research is needed before applying them outside academic settings.</p>
<p>People often choose entertainment that matches their moods, values, or outlook on life. Past studies have indicated that media preferences may reflect certain personality traits. For example, some research has shown that those who enjoy romantic or comedic films tend to be more extraverted or agreeable. Others have proposed that people high in openness may prefer complex or unconventional narratives, like science fiction or mystery.</p>
<p>Given the increasing role media plays in everyday life, especially among young adults, understanding the relationship between personality and film preferences could offer new tools for psychological assessment. The authors of this study aimed to explore these connections in detail, using the Big Five personality model. In doing so, they also hoped to consider whether such preferences could inform recruitment or screening practices in the future.</p>
<p>The study involved 300 college students between the ages of 20 and 23. All participants were from India and fluent in English, which was the language used for the surveys. Before participating, students were asked to indicate whether they had a consistent film genre preference. Those who reported watching all types of movies equally were excluded from the sample.</p>
<p>Participants ranked six film genres—adventure, drama, comedy, romance, horror, and mystery—from most to least preferred. They also completed a 44-item personality questionnaire that measured traits based on the Big Five model: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. The survey used a five-point scale, where participants rated how strongly they agreed or disagreed with various personality statements.</p>
<p>The researchers then analyzed the data using correlation and regression techniques. They looked for statistically meaningful relationships between film preferences and personality traits, with a focus on results showing correlation values above 0.25 or below -0.25.</p>
<p>Adventure films were linked to higher levels of extraversion. Students who preferred these fast-paced and energetic genres tended to be more outgoing and sociable. These preferences also showed a negative relationship with both conscientiousness and neuroticism, suggesting that fans of adventure movies may be more spontaneous, less emotionally reactive, and less inclined toward structured behavior.</p>
<p>Drama films showed a different pattern. Those who favored drama scored higher in conscientiousness and neuroticism. This suggests they may be more responsible and emotionally sensitive. The genre also correlated negatively with extraversion, implying that drama fans may be more introverted and reflective.</p>
<p>Unlike the other genres, comedy showed no meaningful relationship with any of the personality traits. This finding indicates that comedy may appeal to a wide range of individuals, regardless of their personality characteristics.</p>
<p>Students who preferred romance films tended to score higher in neuroticism and openness. They were also less likely to be extraverted or agreeable. This combination suggests that romantic film fans may be emotionally responsive and open to new experiences but may also be more introspective and less socially cooperative.</p>
<p>Horror films were associated with higher scores in extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. These students appeared to be outgoing, cooperative, and organized, even while enjoying films that focus on fear and suspense. They also scored lower in neuroticism and openness, suggesting that horror fans may be less emotionally reactive and less drawn to unconventional or abstract ideas.</p>
<p>Students who liked mystery films scored higher in openness, aligning with the idea that these viewers enjoy mental challenges and curiosity-driven content. At the same time, they scored lower in conscientiousness and agreeableness, which could point to a greater focus on individual problem-solving over social harmony or structure.</p>
<p>The findings provide evidence that personality and film preferences may be related, but there are limitations to consider. The sample was limited to Indian college students in a narrow age range. This group was chosen for convenience and consistency, but the results may not apply to other populations, such as older adults or people from different cultural backgrounds.</p>
<p>Another limitation is that the study was cross-sectional, meaning the data were collected at a single point in time. This design makes it impossible to say whether personality influences film preference or the other way around. Long-term studies could help clarify this relationship.</p>
<p>The researchers also noted that while they used a well-established personality inventory, they did not assess how reliably it measured the traits in this particular sample. Including this type of information would strengthen future research.</p>
<p>Lastly, while the authors suggest possible applications in hiring and screening, such uses should be approached with caution. Film preferences can be influenced by many external factors, including culture, peer influence, and mood.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.84683" target="_blank">Association Between One’s Preferred Film Genres and Personality Traits: A Cross-Sectional Study</a>,” was authored by Arjun S. Menon, Chaitra M. S., Srinivasulu Naidu, and Naladala Disha Chowdary</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-links-mothers-selfie-habits-to-her-teens-interest-in-cosmetic-surgery/" 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;">New study links mother’s selfie habits to her teen’s interest in cosmetic surgery</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Oct 19th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A mother’s frequent engagement with taking, editing, and posting selfies may indirectly influence her adolescent child’s interest in cosmetic surgery, according to new research. The study found that the connection is not direct, but instead operates through a chain of effects involving the adolescent’s own selfie habits, their tendency to monitor their appearance, and their satisfaction with their face. The findings were published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053241273663" target="_blank">Journal of Health Psychology</a></em>.</p>
<p>The researchers, led by Lijuan Xiao of Xi’an Jiaotong University, initiated the study to better understand the factors contributing to the rising popularity of cosmetic surgery among young people. This trend is particularly noticeable in China, where the market for cosmetic procedures is expanding rapidly and the number of consumers under the age of 20 is growing. </p>
<p>Since considering cosmetic surgery is a strong predictor of actually undergoing a procedure, the scientists wanted to investigate the influences that shape these attitudes in adolescents. Prior research has established that parents, and mothers in particular, play a significant role in shaping their children’s body image. The study aimed to connect this established parental influence with the modern, widespread phenomenon of selfie-related behaviors on social media.</p>
<p>To conduct their investigation, the researchers recruited 541 mother and adolescent pairs from two high schools in China. The adolescents had an average age of about 16 and a half years old. Both the mothers and their children completed a series of questionnaires. Mothers reported on their own selfie-related behaviors, which included how much effort they put into taking and choosing photos, how often they edited their selfies with filters or software, and how frequently they took them. </p>
<p>The adolescents answered the same questions about their own selfie habits. In addition, the adolescents completed surveys that measured their levels of body surveillance, facial dissatisfaction, and their consideration of cosmetic surgery. Body surveillance refers to the habit of viewing one’s own body as an object to be looked at and evaluated by others.</p>
<p>The analysis of the data revealed a complex set of relationships. The researchers first determined that there was no direct statistical link between a mother’s selfie-related behaviors and her child’s consideration of cosmetic surgery. In other words, a mother’s selfie habits alone did not directly predict whether her teenager was thinking about surgical or non-surgical procedures to change their appearance. The influence was found to be indirect and passed through a series of intermediate steps involving the adolescents themselves.</p>
<p>A key finding was that mothers who engaged in more frequent selfie-taking and editing tended to have adolescent children who did the same. This suggests that adolescents may learn and imitate these behaviors by observing their mothers. The study then showed that the adolescents’ own selfie behaviors were connected to their body image. Teenagers who engaged in more selfie-related activities reported higher levels of body surveillance, meaning they were more likely to constantly monitor their own appearance. These same selfie habits were also linked to greater dissatisfaction with their facial appearance.</p>
<p>The final steps in the chain connected these body image concerns to thoughts about cosmetic surgery. Adolescents who reported higher levels of body surveillance were more likely to consider cosmetic surgery. Similarly, teenagers who expressed greater dissatisfaction with their faces also showed a stronger inclination to consider cosmetic procedures. The statistical analysis confirmed that these factors worked together in sequence. </p>
<p>For example, one indirect pathway showed that a mother’s selfie behaviors were linked to her child’s selfie behaviors, which in turn predicted higher body surveillance, which then predicted greater consideration of cosmetic surgery. Another pathway showed that this chain could extend further, with body surveillance leading to facial dissatisfaction, which then led to considering cosmetic surgery.</p>
<p>The researchers also explored whether these patterns of influence differed between boys and girls. While they did find that adolescent girls tended to engage in more selfie-related behaviors than boys, the overall model of influence was the same for both genders. A mother’s selfie habits were linked to her son’s or daughter’s consideration of cosmetic surgery through the same indirect pathways involving the adolescent’s own behaviors and body image perceptions. This suggests that the pressures related to appearance and social media may affect male and female adolescents in similar ways in this context.</p>
<p>The study authors acknowledged certain limitations in their research. The investigation focused exclusively on mothers, and the influence of fathers was not examined. Future studies could include fathers to provide a more complete picture of parental influence, especially given that fathers can have a distinct impact on their sons’ body image. </p>
<p>The research was also conducted with a specific population in China, and the findings may not apply universally. Cultural norms around beauty standards and family dynamics could mean that these relationships are stronger or weaker in different parts of the world. Finally, because the data was collected at a single point in time, it shows connections between variables but cannot definitively prove cause and effect. Future research using a longitudinal design, which follows participants over time, could help clarify the direction of these influences.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053241273663" target="_blank">Selfie-loving mothers and children in China: The relationship between the selfie-related behaviors of mothers and adolescents’ cosmetic surgery consideration</a>,” was authored by Lijuan Xiao, Yurui Ren, and Baolin Li.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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