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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/anthropologists-just-upended-our-understanding-of-normal-testosterone-levels/" 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;">Anthropologists just upended our understanding of “normal” testosterone levels</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 22nd 2026, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70166" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Journal of Human Biology</a></em> suggests that Western medical standards for male testosterone might not reflect the natural variation found in different environments. Researchers found that among Indigenous Shuar males in the Ecuadorian Amazon, testosterone levels change across the lifespan in ways that differ from patterns seen in high-income nations. These findings imply that what doctors consider a typical hormonal profile is actually a physiological response to specific lifestyle and environmental factors.</p>
<p>Testosterone is a hormone produced primarily in the testes that supports male physical development, muscle growth, and reproductive function. It is part of a biological feedback system involving the brain and the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus releases a hormone that triggers the pituitary to produce substances that tell the testes to make testosterone. When levels of the hormone rise, the brain senses the increase and slows down the production cycle.</p>
<p>This biological process is sensitive to the environment and the energy available to the body. Building muscle and maintaining high hormone levels requires a lot of calories. In environments where food is scarce or where the body must fight off many parasites, the body may lower its hormone production to save energy for survival. This trade-off is a central idea in the study of how organisms allocate their limited resources.</p>
<p>Theresa E. Gildner, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, led the study to understand how these factors work in a non-Western setting. Gildner and her colleagues focused on the Shuar people because they live in a resource-constrained environment in Amazonian Ecuador. Many Shuar individuals continue to rely on traditional gardening, hunting, and foraging while facing high rates of infectious diseases.</p>
<p>Most research on male hormones has focused on men in wealthy, industrialized nations who are relatively sedentary and have easy access to calorie-rich food. In those populations, testosterone typically peaks in early adulthood and then steadily declines as a man ages or gains body fat. This decline is so common in the West that it is often viewed as a universal part of male aging. Gildner wanted to see if this same pattern would appear in a population living under different ecological pressures.</p>
<p>The research team worked with 104 Shuar males between the ages of 12 and 67 from 11 different communities. To measure hormone levels, the researchers collected saliva samples from each participant twice a day for three consecutive days. They took one sample in the morning before nine o’clock and another in the evening after four o’clock. This allowed the team to see how hormone levels fluctuated from the time a person woke up until the end of the day.</p>
<p>The researchers also measured the height, weight, and body fat percentage of the participants. They used these measurements to calculate the Body Mass Index of each person. While this index is not a perfect measure of fat, it helps researchers estimate the energy reserves an individual has stored in their body. The team used statistical models to see how age and body fat related to the daily changes in testosterone.</p>
<p>The analysis revealed that Shuar males generally have lower testosterone levels than men in the United States. On average, the concentration of the hormone at the time of waking was about 401.77 picomoles per liter. The levels then dropped by about 2.1 percent for every hour that passed throughout the day. This daily decline is a standard biological rhythm that helps the body mobilize energy in the morning and rest in the evening.</p>
<p>Age played a notable role in how high these morning levels were for each participant. Young men in their twenties showed the highest levels of the hormone at the start of the day. Participants in their teens and those over the age of fifty had the lowest waking concentrations. This suggests that the hormone peaks during the years when men are most active in seeking partners and starting families.</p>
<p>The study also looked at the ratio between morning and evening hormone levels to see how the daily rhythm changed over time. As men got older, the difference between their morning peak and evening low became less pronounced. This specific finding suggests that some aspects of hormonal aging might be consistent across different cultures. It may happen because the brain becomes less sensitive to energetic signals as the body gets older.</p>
<p>A clear interaction was found between age and body fat that challenged common Western assumptions. In men with lower levels of body fat, the researchers observed an inverted U-shaped pattern for testosterone over the lifespan. These lean men had lower hormone levels in their youth, which then rose to a peak in middle age before declining slightly in their later years. This differs from the Western pattern where levels tend to drop continuously after early adulthood.</p>
<p>For participants with higher levels of body fat, the pattern looked more like what is typically seen in the United States. In these individuals, the highest hormone levels were seen in younger men, followed by a steady decrease as they aged. This suggests that having more stored energy in the form of fat allows the body to maintain higher hormone levels earlier in life. When energy is limited, the body may delay its peak hormone production until middle age.</p>
<p>The researchers also looked at how social factors influenced these biological markers. Men who were living with a partner or wife had notably lower morning testosterone levels than single men. This association suggests that the body may lower hormone production once a man has successfully found a partner. Shifting energy away from the pursuit of mates may allow a man to invest more in his current family and household.</p>
<p>While the number of children a man had was not a statistically significant factor in the model using Body Mass Index, it did show an association in the model using body fat percentage. In that specific analysis, men with more children tended to have lower waking hormone levels. This finding aligns with the idea that the body adjusts its physiology based on a man’s social role and parental responsibilities. These biological shifts may encourage cooperative behaviors rather than competitive ones.</p>
<p>The study provides evidence that there is no single “normal” level of testosterone for all men worldwide. Instead, the body seems to calibrate its hormone production to match the specific challenges of its environment. In the Amazon, where physical labor is intense and pathogens are common, a lower level of testosterone may be a healthy and adaptive response. This contrasts with Western clinical views that often treat lower levels as a medical deficiency in need of treatment.</p>
<p>There are some limitations to this research that should be considered. The study was cross-sectional, meaning it looked at a group of people at one point in time rather than following the same individuals for years. This makes it hard to say for sure how an individual’s hormone levels will change as they specifically grow older. Following the same group of Shuar men over a decade would provide even clearer data on these transitions.</p>
<p>The number of older participants in the study was also relatively small. Because many Shuar communities have a younger population, there were fewer men over the age of 50 available to participate. Future studies could benefit from including more elders to better map out the end of the male reproductive lifespan. Gathering more detailed information on physical activities like hunting or soccer would also help clarify short-term hormone spikes.</p>
<p>Using Body Mass Index as a measure of fat also has its drawbacks in this context. This index cannot tell the difference between muscle mass and fat mass, which is a point of contention among some biologists. In a population where men perform a lot of manual labor, a high index score might reflect muscle rather than body fat. Future research could use more precise tools, such as skinfold measurements or isotope tests, to get a better picture of body composition.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70166" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salivary Testosterone, Age, and Adiposity Associations Among Shuar Males in Amazonian Ecuador Challenge Assumptions of “Normal” Testosterone Patterns</a>,” was authored by Theresa E. Gildner, Melissa A. Liebert, Joshua M. Schrock, Samuel S. Urlacher, Dorsa Amir, Christopher J. Harrington, Felicia C. Madimenos, Tara J. Cepon-Robins, Richard G. Bribiescas, Lawrence S. Sugiyama, and J. Josh Snodgrass.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/scientists-reveal-atypical-depression-is-a-distinct-biological-subtype-linked-to-antidepressant-resistance/" 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;">Scientists reveal atypical depression is a distinct biological subtype linked to antidepressant resistance</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 22nd 2026, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new genetic and clinical analysis suggests that atypical depression represents a distinct biological subtype of the disorder with specific implications for treatment. The study found that individuals with this form of depression possess unique genetic risk profiles, experience different physical symptoms, and tend to respond less favorably to standard antidepressant medications. These findings were published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2026.01.003" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biological Psychiatry</a></em>.</p>
<p>Depression is often viewed by the general public as a single condition characterized by sadness and low energy. Mental health professionals and researchers recognize it as a complex and heterogeneous disorder with various trajectories. Patients often report vastly different symptoms and have uneven responses to available treatments. Some individuals find relief quickly with the first medication they try. Others struggle with chronic symptoms despite multiple interventions.</p>
<p>The scientific team behind this research aimed to address this variability by investigating the biological mechanisms driving these differences. They focused specifically on atypical depression. This subtype has been a subject of debate in psychiatry for over sixty years. It is historically characterized by a specific set of symptoms that differ from “melancholic” or typical depression.</p>
<p>The researchers sought to determine if atypical depression represents a valid biological category rather than just a cluster of symptoms. They wanted to see if people with this profile carry different genetic risks compared to those with other forms of depression. They also investigated whether these biological differences translate into different experiences with medication. Identifying such distinctions provides a foundation for moving away from a trial-and-error approach to mental health care.</p>
<p>“Depression is a complex illness—it’s not one thing. It has many trajectories with different underlying mechanisms and pathways,” explained study author <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/mirim.shin.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mirim Shin</a>, a research fellow<br>
at the University of Sydney. “Some people respond well to antidepressants, others don’t, and we don’t fully understand why. I’m interested in uncovering the mechanisms behind these differences—finding the distinct biological pathways that lead to different illness trajectories and, ultimately, identifying which interventions or treatments might work best for which people.”</p>
<p>The researchers utilized data from the Australian Genetics of Depression Study. This cohort is one of the largest groups of genetically documented individuals with depressive disorders in the world. The researchers analyzed information from 14,897 participants. The participants provided DNA samples and completed detailed online surveys about their mental health history. The average age of the participants was approximately 44 years. About 75 percent of the sample was female.</p>
<p>The researchers classified participants based on the symptoms they experienced during their worst depressive episode. They defined atypical depression by the presence of two reversed neurovegetative symptoms: excessive sleeping and weight gain. Standard depression is often associated with insomnia and weight loss. Participants who reported both weight gain and hypersomnia were categorized as having atypical depression. This group consisted of 3,098 individuals, or about 21 percent of the total sample. The remaining participants were categorized as having other depressive disorders.</p>
<p>“About 1 in 5 people with depression in our study had the atypical depression—so this isn’t rare,” Shin told PsyPost.</p>
<p>The research team calculated polygenic risk scores for each individual. These scores estimate a person’s genetic likelihood for developing certain traits or conditions based on thousands of genetic variants scattered across their genome. The team compared the genetic profiles of the atypical group against the non-atypical group. They specifically examined genetic risks for mental disorders, metabolic and inflammatory conditions, and sleep patterns.</p>
<p>In addition to genetic analysis, the study assessed real-world treatment experiences. Participants rated the effectiveness of ten common antidepressants they had previously taken. They also reported any side effects they experienced. The researchers categorized these medications into classes, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.</p>
<p>The analysis revealed clear demographic and clinical differences between the two groups. Individuals with atypical depression tended to have an earlier age of onset for their condition. They experienced more severe illness trajectories. They were more likely to suffer from co-occurring conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder and substance use disorders.</p>
<p>A distinct pattern emerged regarding sleep and daily rhythms. The atypical group showed a strong preference for evening activity. They also reported spending significantly less time outdoors during the day compared to the other group. This suggests a disruption in their circadian rhythms, or body clocks.</p>
<p>Genetic analysis reinforced these clinical observations. Participants with atypical depression had higher polygenic risk scores for major depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and bipolar disorder. They did not show an increased genetic risk for schizophrenia. This suggests the genetic architecture of atypical depression is specific and distinct.</p>
<p>The atypical group also carried a higher genetic risk for physical health issues. They had elevated polygenic scores for body mass index, type 2 diabetes, and C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation. Conversely, they had lower genetic scores for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, often called “good” cholesterol.</p>
<p>A key genetic finding involved body clock regulation. The atypical group had lower genetic scores for morningness. This indicates a biological predisposition toward being “night owls” or having delayed sleep-wake cycles. This genetic tendency aligns with the physical symptoms of staying up late and sleeping excessively.</p>
<p>The study also found differences in how these individuals responded to medication. Participants with atypical depression were less likely to report that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors worked well for them. These are the most commonly prescribed classes of antidepressants.</p>
<p>The atypical group also reported higher rates of side effects. Specifically, they were nearly three times more likely to report weight gain while taking these medications compared to patients with other forms of depression. They also reported higher rates of drowsiness and fatigue.</p>
<p>“The genetic associations we found are modest, as is typical in psychiatric genetics, but they point toward real biological differences,” Shin explained. “The treatment findings are more immediately relevant: people with atypical depression were about 12-15% less likely to report that SSRIs or SNRIs worked well, and nearly three times more likely to experience weight gain as a side effect.”</p>
<p>The researchers performed additional calculations to ensure these results were not driven solely by body weight. Atypical depression is defined partly by weight gain, so a link to obesity-related genetics is expected. However, even when the researchers statistically controlled for body mass index, the genetic link to eveningness remained significant.</p>
<p>The reduction in reported medication effectiveness also persisted regardless of body mass index. This suggests that the sleep-wake disruption and treatment resistance are core features of the condition. They are likely not simple byproducts of being overweight.</p>
<p>“What struck me was how robust the circadian/chronotype finding was,” Shin told PsyPost. “Even after accounting for BMI—which is central to how we defined atypical depression—the genetic predisposition toward being an ‘evening person’ remained significant. And treatment differences actually strengthened after controlling for BMI. This suggests there’s something about circadian rhythm disruption in atypical depression that goes beyond weight, and it might be a promising treatment target.”</p>
<p>“If you’ve tried antidepressants and they haven’t worked well for you, it’s not your fault. You may simply have different biology and genetics, which means you might need a different approach. If you’re not responding well to treatment, monitor your sleep patterns, weight changes, and other physical symptoms—and talk to your doctor. These details matter and can help guide treatment decisions. Depression isn’t one-size-fits-all, and understanding your specific symptom profile is an important step toward finding what works for you.”</p>
<p>A potential misinterpretation of this study involves the definition of atypical depression. Clinical manuals typically require “mood reactivity,” or the ability to feel temporarily better in response to positive events, as a diagnostic criterion. The researchers in this study defined the condition based only on reversed physical symptoms of increased sleep and weight gain. This was necessary because mood reactivity is difficult to measure in retrospective self-reports.</p>
<p>“Our definition captures something biologically meaningful, but it may not perfectly overlap with how clinicians use the term,” Shin noted.</p>
<p>The study also relied on participants remembering past symptoms and treatment effects. This reliance on memory can introduce recall errors. The sample consisted of individuals with European ancestry. This limits the ability to generalize findings to other ethnic populations. Additionally, the cross-sectional nature of the genetic analysis highlights associations but cannot definitively prove that specific genetic markers cause the observed symptoms.</p>
<p>The high rate of missing body mass index data for some participants limits the precision of certain adjustments. The study also only looked at common antidepressants. It did not evaluate experiences with other types of medication that might work better for this subgroup, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors.</p>
<p>Future research intends to explore treatments that target the body clock. Given the strong link to eveningness and circadian disruption, therapies such as bright light exposure or strict sleep scheduling could offer relief. The study authors suggest that clinicians should consider these distinct physical symptoms when prescribing medication. Recognizing the atypical profile could lead to earlier consideration of alternative treatments rather than persisting with standard antidepressants that may be ineffective.</p>
<p>“Given that circadian disruption emerged as a key feature, we need to test whether circadian-targeted interventions — like bright light therapy, sleep-wake schedule regularization — might help people with atypical depression who haven’t responded well to standard antidepressants,” Shin said.</p>
<p>“This was one of the largest genetically-informed studies of depression: Australian Genetics of Depression Study. I also hope clinicians take note of these findings—when patients present with atypical features like weight gain and hypersomnia, it may signal a different biological profile that could affect how they respond to standard antidepressants. Being aware of this can help guide treatment selection.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2026.01.003" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atypical depression is associated with a distinct clinical, neurobiological, treatment response and polygenic risk profile</a>,” was authored by Mirim Shin, Jacob J. Crouse, Tian Lin, Enda M. Byrne, Brittany L. Mitchell, Penelope A. Lind, Richard Parker, Sarah Mckenna, Emiliana Tonini, Joanne S. Carpenter, Kathleen R. Merikangas, Naomi R. Wray, Sarah E. Medland, Nicholas G. Martin, and Ian B. Hickie.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-study-reveals-how-gaze-behavior-differs-between-pilots-in-a-two-person-crew/" 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 reveals how gaze behavior differs between pilots in a two-person crew</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 22:00</div>
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<p><p>New research utilizing eye-tracking technology has demonstrated the ability to accurately distinguish between the roles of a pilot flying and a pilot monitoring based solely on gaze behavior. These findings indicate that visual scanning patterns are reliable indicators of task engagement and team dynamics in a cockpit environment. The study, which suggests potential advancements for adaptive automation systems, was published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1027/2192-0923/a000293" target="_blank">Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors</a></em>.</p>
<p>Sophie-Marie Stasch, Yannik Hilla, and Wolfgang Mack from the University of the Bundeswehr Munich and the University of Zurich conducted this investigation. The researchers sought to address a significant gap in aviation safety regarding how flight crews manage multitasking. Commercial and military flights often require two pilots to coordinate complex duties, yet most research on pilot workload focuses on single operators.</p>
<p>Flight manuals typically prescribe a structured division of labor where tasks are handled sequentially. Real-world operations often force crews to engage in concurrent multitasking due to unexpected events or weather changes. This discrepancy can lead to varying levels of cognitive load that are difficult for automated systems to detect.</p>
<p>The research team aimed to determine if eye-tracking metrics could serve as a diagnostic tool for these dynamic states. Their goal was to support the development of adaptive assistance systems. These future systems would need to perceive the current state of the crew before selecting an appropriate automated intervention.</p>
<p>To investigate this, the researchers recruited 28 participants for the experiment. The sample consisted primarily of officer cadets from the University of the Bundeswehr Munich. The average age of the group was approximately 23 years, and 14 of the participants possessed prior flight experience.</p>
<p>The study utilized a desktop simulation software known as openMATB. This platform is designed to mimic the multitasking demands of a flight deck through four distinct concurrent tasks. Participants were required to keep a cursor centered on a target using a joystick, which simulated manual flight control.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, they monitored gauges for system failures and managed fuel levels between tanks. They also had to respond to specific radio communication signals. The experiment required participants to perform these tasks first individually and then as a two-person team.</p>
<p>In the team condition, one participant assumed the role of the pilot flying. This individual was responsible for the manual manipulation of the joystick. The second participant acted as the pilot monitoring and provided verbal support without making physical control inputs.</p>
<p>The researchers recorded the participants’ eye movements using Tobii Glasses 3. These wearable devices captured data at a rate of 100 times per second. The team focused on specific metrics such as fixation duration, which measures how long the eye rests on a specific object.</p>
<p>They also analyzed the number of times the gaze switched between different tasks on the screen. Another metric called Coefficient K was calculated to assess the mode of visual processing. This metric determines whether a person is using focal vision to concentrate on details or ambient vision to scan the environment.</p>
<p>The researchers also examined “entropy” in the visual scan path. Transition entropy measures the randomness of moving the eyes between different areas of interest. Stationary entropy indicates how evenly visual attention is distributed across all available tasks.</p>
<p>The analysis of the data revealed distinct differences in how the two roles engaged with the visual environment. Participants in the monitoring role tended to fixate longer on the tracking task than those who were manually flying. This finding suggests that the monitoring pilots were heavily invested in observing the active pilot’s performance.</p>
<p>Those in the monitoring role also exhibited a significantly higher number of task switches. This pattern indicates that they had more attentional resources available to scan the various instrument panels. Without the demand of manual control, they could distribute their gaze more broadly.</p>
<p>In contrast, the participants acting as the pilot flying focused more intensely on specific operational tasks. Their visual behavior showed increased fixation frequency on communication and resource management displays. This suggests a prioritization of active system inputs over general monitoring.</p>
<p>The study also found differences in visual processing modes between the two groups. The monitoring pilots displayed negative values for Coefficient K. This value is associated with an ambient processing mode, implying a broader awareness of the overall environment.</p>
<p>The active pilots tended toward positive values, indicative of focal processing. This aligns with the need to concentrate on specific instruments to maintain aircraft control. The data paints a picture of two distinct cognitive states defined by the assigned role.</p>
<p>Beyond statistical differences, the researchers tested whether a computer could automatically identify the pilot’s role. They employed machine learning algorithms to classify the data segments. Specifically, they used a Random Forest classifier to analyze 30-second windows of eye-tracking data.</p>
<p>The classification model achieved a predictive accuracy of 97 percent. It showed equal precision in identifying both the pilot flying and the pilot monitoring. The most important features for this prediction were the duration and number of fixations on the tracking task.</p>
<p>These results provide evidence that eye-tracking is a viable method for real-time user state diagnosis. An adaptive cockpit system could theoretically use this data to understand which pilot is doing what. If a system detects that the pilot flying is becoming overloaded, it could automatically reallocate tasks.</p>
<p>For example, an automated assistant might take over radio communications if it sees the pilot’s gaze becoming too fixated on flight controls. This would close the loop in the “perceive-select-act” cycle of adaptive automation. The system would perceive the workload, select a helpful action, and act to relieve the crew.</p>
<p>There are several limitations to the current study that warrant consideration. The experiment utilized a low-fidelity desktop simulator rather than a full-motion cockpit. This setting may not fully replicate the high-pressure environment of actual flight operations.</p>
<p>The sample size was reduced from the original 40 participants due to technical issues with the recording equipment. A smaller sample size can limit the generalizability of the statistical findings. Additionally, the participants were largely students rather than seasoned airline captains.</p>
<p>The use of wearable eye-tracking glasses introduced some noise into the data due to head movements. In a real cockpit, remote sensors integrated into the dashboard might be necessary for consistent tracking. The current analysis also relied on 30-second intervals, which might be too slow for some emergency situations.</p>
<p>Future research should aim to replicate these findings in high-fidelity simulators with expert pilots. It would be beneficial to investigate how these eye-tracking metrics change during specific emergency procedures. The researchers also suggest integrating other physiological measures, such as heart rate monitoring.</p>
<p>Combining multiple data streams could improve the reliability of the user state diagnosis. It is also necessary to develop algorithms capable of processing the data in near real-time. This would ensure that any adaptive assistance is triggered immediately when a pilot needs it.</p>
<p>The study provides a foundational step toward smarter aviation systems. By making the “invisible” cognitive states of pilots visible to the computer, safety could be significantly enhanced. Understanding team dynamics at this level of detail opens new doors for human-machine teaming.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1027/2192-0923/a000293" target="_blank">The Invisible Copilot? Assessing Task Engagement and Team Dynamics in a Virtual Flight Environment Using Eye-Tracking Metrics</a>,” was authored by Sophie-Marie Stasch, Yannik Hilla, and Wolfgang Mack.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-large-study-finds-little-evidence-that-social-media-and-gaming-cause-poor-mental-health-in-teens/" 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 large study finds little evidence that social media and gaming cause poor mental health in teens</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 20:00</div>
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<p><p>For years, the narrative surrounding teenagers’ use of digital technology has been one of alarm.</p>
<p>Time spent scrolling through TikTok or playing video games is widely seen to be driving the current crisis in <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/youth-mental-health-5606">youth mental health</a>, fuelling rising rates of anxiety and depression.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pubmed/fdaf150/8371934">our recent study</a> suggests that this simple story of cause and effect is not supported by the evidence.</p>
<p>After following more than 25,000 young people in Greater Manchester over three school years, we found little evidence that self-reported time spent on social media or frequent gaming causes mental health problems in early-to-mid adolescence. Instead, the relationship between digital technology use and teenagers’ wellbeing is far more nuanced than simple cause and effect.</p>
<p>While many previous studies have looked at a single snapshot in time, we used a longitudinal approach: observing the same young people over an extended period of time. We did this through the <a href="https://beewellprogramme.org/">#BeeWell</a> programme, which surveys young people annually. We tracked the same pupils across three annual waves, from year eight (when they were aged 12-13) to year nine (aged 13-14) to year ten (aged 14-15).</p>
<p>Another crucial point is that our analysis separated “between-person” effects from “within-person” effects. In other words, rather than just comparing the mental health of heavy users of social media or gaming to that of light users, we looked at whether a specific teenager’s mental health worsened after they started spending more time on social media (or gaming) than they usually did.</p>
<p>When we applied this rigorous method, the supposed link between digital technology use and later “internalising symptoms” – worry, low mood – largely vanished. For both boys and girls, an increase in time on social media or gaming frequency did not predict a later rise in symptoms.</p>
<h2>How teens use social media</h2>
<p>A common theory is that how we use social media matters more than how long we spend on it. Some argue that “active” use, like posting photos and chatting, is better than “passive” use, such as endless scrolling.</p>
<p>However, our sensitivity analyses found that even when we distinguished between these two types of online behaviour, the results remained the same. Neither active nor passive social media use was a significant driver of later mental health problems in our sample.</p>
<p>While we found no evidence of digital technology use causing later mental health issues, we did find some interesting differences in how boys and girls navigate their digital lives over time.</p>
<p>Girls who spent more time gaming in one year tended to spend less time on social media the following year. This suggests that for girls, gaming and social media may compete for the same limited free time.</p>
<p>Boys who reported higher levels of internalising symptoms (like low mood) in one year went on to reduce their gaming frequency the next. This suggests boys may lose interest in hobbies they previously enjoyed when their mental health declines. This is known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/depression-isnt-just-sadness-its-often-a-loss-of-pleasure-210429">“anhedonia”</a>.</p>
<h2>The gap between headlines and research</h2>
<p>If the evidence is so weak, why is the concern so strong? Part of the issue is a reliance on simple correlations. If you find that anxious or depressed teens use more social media, it is easy to assume the social media caused their difficulties.</p>
<p>But it is just as likely that the mental health problems came first, or that a third factor, such as school stress or family difficulties, is driving both. By using a large, diverse sample and controlling for factors like socio-economic background and special educational needs, our study provides a clearer view of the real-world impact (or lack thereof) of teenagers’ digital technology use.</p>
<p>Our findings do not mean that the digital world is without risks. Our study looked at year-on year trends, so it does not rule out the possibility of negative effects of social media or gaming in the shorter-term – such as immediately after use. Furthermore, issues like cyberbullying, sleep disruption or exposure to harmful content remain serious concerns.</p>
<p>However, our findings suggest that limiting the hours spent on consoles and apps or measures such as banning social media for under 16s is unlikely to have an effect on teenagers’ mental health in the long term. Policymakers should take note. Worse, such blanket bans may obscure the real risk factors by offering a simple solution to a complex problem.</p>
<p>Instead, it’s important to look at the broader context of a young person’s life, including the factors that may lead to both increased digital technology use and internalising symptoms. If a teenager is struggling, technology use is rarely the sole culprit. By moving away from the predominant “digital harm” narrative, we can focus on the real, complex factors that drive adolescent wellbeing.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/273386/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>
<p> </p>
<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/evidence-for-link-between-digital-technology-use-and-teenage-mental-health-problems-is-weak-our-large-study-suggests-273386">original article</a>.</em></p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/laughing-gas-treatment-stimulates-new-brain-cell-growth-and-reduces-anxiety-in-a-rodent-model-of-ptsd/" 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;">Laughing gas treatment stimulates new brain cell growth and reduces anxiety in a rodent model of PTSD</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 18:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.12.017" target="_blank">Neuroscience</a></em> provides evidence that nitrous oxide may be an effective treatment for symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. The study found that exposure to this gas, commonly known as laughing gas, reduced anxiety-like behaviors in rats that had been subjected to severe stress. Additionally, the researchers observed that this treatment stimulated the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory and emotional regulation.</p>
<p>Post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious mental health condition that can develop after an individual experiences a dangerous or shocking event. The prevalence of this disorder has increased in recent years following global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and various geopolitical conflicts. Individuals with this condition often suffer from flashbacks, severe anxiety, and a constant state of hyperarousal.</p>
<p>Current treatments for this disorder often involve psychotherapy and medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. However, a significant number of patients do not respond adequately to these standard interventions. This gap in effective care has led scientists to investigate alternative therapeutic options that can provide rapid relief from symptoms.</p>
<p>One area of focus in this research is the hippocampus. This part of the brain plays a central role in how we process memories and handle stress. Previous studies indicate that chronic stress can physically alter the hippocampus, leading to a reduction in its volume. This shrinkage is often linked to a decrease in neurogenesis, which is the process by which the brain creates new neurons.</p>
<p>The authors of the new study sought to test whether nitrous oxide could reverse these negative changes. Nitrous oxide is an anesthetic gas often used in dental and medical procedures. Recent investigations have suggested that it possesses rapid antidepressant properties, potentially working by blocking specific receptors in the brain to boost neural plasticity.</p>
<p>“This study was motivated by the sharp rise in anxiety, depression, and PTSD observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting an urgent need to explore effective therapeutic options for stress-related disorders,” said study author <a href="https://www.aub.edu.lb/fm/DACP/Pages/WassimAbouKheirLab.aspx" target="_blank">Wassim Abou-Kheir</a>, a professor at the American University of Beirut.</p>
<p>“Given this real-world mental health crisis, we sought to address the gap in understanding how treatments targeting neural plasticity might alleviate PTSD symptoms. Our laboratory’s primary focus is on neurogenesis, which provided a natural framework for this investigation. By integrating our expertise with the emerging need for PTSD therapies, we examined whether enhancing neurogenesis could have therapeutic potential. This approach was further supported by our previous findings demonstrating that nitrous oxide treatment increases hippocampal neurogenesis, which led us to investigate its effects in a PTSD context.”</p>
<p>To test their hypothesis, the researchers employed a group of twenty adult male Sprague Dawley rats. They utilized a well-established experimental protocol known as the Single Prolonged Stress model to induce symptoms mimicking post-traumatic stress disorder. This model is designed to disrupt the animal’s normal stress response system.</p>
<p>The stress protocol consisted of three consecutive stages. First, the rats were immobilized in a confined space for two hours. Immediately following this restraint, they were placed in a forced swim test for twenty minutes. Finally, the animals were exposed to an anesthetic gas called isoflurane until they lost consciousness.</p>
<p>After recovering from these stressors, the rats were housed individually. This social isolation was intended to replicate the withdrawal often seen in humans suffering from trauma. A separate control group of rats did not undergo these stress procedures and remained in standard housing conditions.</p>
<p>The researchers waited nine days after the stress induction to begin the treatment phase. They divided the stressed rats and the control rats into subgroups. Half of the animals in each group were exposed to a gas mixture containing 70 percent nitrous oxide and 30 percent oxygen.</p>
<p>The exposure sessions lasted for one hour. The researchers repeated this treatment on days 11, 14, and 16 following the initial stress event. The remaining rats in both the stress and control groups were exposed to regular atmospheric air during these same time periods.</p>
<p>To measure the effects of the treatment, the team used a behavioral test called the Elevated Plus Maze. This apparatus consists of two open, elevated arms and two enclosed, protected arms. Rats that are experiencing high levels of anxiety typically avoid the open arms and stay in the enclosed spaces.</p>
<p>The researchers also utilized a Y-maze test to assess spatial memory and exploratory behavior. This test relies on a rodent’s natural tendency to explore new environments. A reduction in exploratory behavior in this maze is often interpreted as a sign of cognitive or memory impairment.</p>
<p>Beyond behavioral observation, the study examined biological changes within the brain. The researchers injected the rats with a compound called BrdU. This substance incorporates itself into the DNA of dividing cells, allowing scientists to track and count newly born neurons.</p>
<p>Four weeks after the injections, the researchers examined the brain tissue. They specifically focused on the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus. They counted the number of cells marked with BrdU to determine the rate of neurogenesis. They also used immunofluorescence staining to look for markers of inflammation in brain support cells called microglia and astrocytes.</p>
<p>The results of the behavioral tests showed a clear distinction between the groups. The rats exposed to the stress model initially exhibited significant anxiety-like behavior. In the Elevated Plus Maze, these animals made significantly fewer entries into the open arms compared to the control group.</p>
<p>However, the stressed rats that received nitrous oxide treatment displayed a marked recovery. Their behavior in the maze changed significantly, as they spent more time exploring the open arms. The data showed that their anxiety levels had returned to a range comparable to that of the unstressed control rats.</p>
<p>The results from the Y-maze were less definitive regarding long-term effects. Initially, the stressed rats showed reduced exploration of the novel arm, suggesting some memory impairment. By the end of the four-week period, however, these deficits appeared to resolve naturally in both treated and untreated groups.</p>
<p>The biological examination of the brain tissue provided evidence supporting the behavioral findings. The researchers found that the Single Prolonged Stress model caused a severe reduction in the number of new neurons in the hippocampus. The untreated stressed rats had lower counts of BrdU-positive cells compared to the controls.</p>
<p>“One surprising finding was the extent to which PTSD alone suppressed hippocampal neurogenesis,” Abou-Kheir told PsyPost. “At the time of this study, this level of impairment had not been well documented, making it a novel and unexpected result. This observation underscored the profound impact of traumatic stress on brain plasticity and further strengthened the rationale for targeting neurogenesis as a therapeutic strategy.”</p>
<p>This suppression of neurogenesis was effectively reversed in the group treated with nitrous oxide. The rats that inhaled the gas showed a robust increase in the number of new brain cells. The cell counts in the treated stress group were statistically similar to those found in the healthy control animals.</p>
<p>The study did not find significant changes in the support cells of the brain. The optical density of markers for microglia and astrocytes remained consistent across all groups. This suggests that the treatment did not cause overt structural changes to these specific cell types, at least detectable by the methods used.</p>
<p>These findings suggest that nitrous oxide may help the brain repair itself following trauma. The gas appears to counteract the suppressive effects of stress on the hippocampus by promoting the birth of new neurons. This restoration of neural plasticity correlates with the observed reduction in anxiety behaviors.</p>
<p>“The key takeaway for the average person is that our findings suggest nitrous oxide can stimulate the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory and emotional regulation,” Abou-Kheir explained. “In our study, this increase in neurogenesis was associated with a reduction in anxiety-like symptoms in a well-established animal model of PTSD.” </p>
<p>“Because nitrous oxide is already considered a safe and feasible treatment, our results indicate it may have the potential to help alleviate PTSD symptoms by enhancing the brain’s natural capacity for recovery. Therefore, our study suggests that nitrous oxide can help the brain heal itself during PTSD by promoting the growth of new brain cells in an area important for memory and emotional control.”</p>
<p>But there are some limitations to this study that should be considered. The research was conducted using a rodent model, which cannot fully capture the complexity of human psychological disorders. While the Single Prolonged Stress model is a standard tool in neuroscience, it is an approximation of the human experience of trauma.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study only utilized male rats. Sex differences are known to influence how the brain responds to stress and how it metabolizes treatments. It remains unclear whether female subjects would demonstrate the same physiological and behavioral responses to nitrous oxide exposure.</p>
<p>“While this study was conducted in an animal model, the observed reductions in anxiety-like behavior and the enhancement of hippocampal neurogenesis suggest a biologically significant effect,” Abou-Kheir said. “Importantly, the potential value of these findings lies in the feasibility and safety profile of nitrous oxide, highlighting its promise as a therapeutic option that could be translated into clinical settings with minimal risk.”</p>
<p>The authors propose that nitrous oxide could serve as a potential therapeutic intervention for patients who do not respond to traditional treatments. Because the gas is already widely used in medicine and has a known safety profile, it represents a feasible option for clinical translation.</p>
<p>Future research is needed to explore the long-term impacts of this treatment. The researchers intend to investigate whether age influences the efficacy of nitrous oxide. </p>
<p>“A key next step for this line of research is to investigate age-related sensitivity to PTSD,” Abou-Kheir explained. “Specifically, we aim to examine how exposure to the SPS model affects neurogenesis in younger versus older animals, and whether the efficacy of nitrous oxide treatment differs across age groups. Understanding these age-dependent effects will be critical for determining how broadly applicable neurogenesis-targeting therapies may be across the lifespan.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.12.017" target="_blank">Nitrous oxide promotes exploratory activity and stimulates neurogenesis in a male rat model of post-traumatic stress disorder</a>,” was authored by Batoul Darwish, Jad El Masri, Lina Hourieh, Ziad Nahas, Wassim Abou-Kheir, and Farah Chamaa.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/forceful-language-makes-people-resist-health-advice/" 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;">Forceful language makes people resist health advice</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>When public health campaigns aim to change behavior, they often rely on urgent, directive language. A new comprehensive analysis suggests that telling people exactly what they must do can backfire by triggering a defensive psychological response. This synthesis of existing research confirms that forceful language creates a sense of threatened freedom, which leads to resistance and lowers the likelihood of persuasion. These findings were published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf004" target="_blank">Journal of Communication</a></em>.</p>
<p>The researchers focused on a concept known as psychological reactance theory. This framework helps explain why persuasion often fails. The core idea is that individuals value their autonomy and freedom to choose their own behaviors. When a message implies that this freedom is being removed or restricted, people experience a negative motivational state called reactance. This state drives them to restore their lost sense of autonomy. They might do this by ignoring the message or by engaging in the forbidden behavior to prove they still can.</p>
<p>The study was conducted by a research team led by Ma. They sought to clarify how specific types of language trigger this defensive process in the context of personal health. While previous research has looked at this phenomenon, there has been debate regarding how different components of reactance interact. The researchers wanted to understand the chain reaction from reading a message to rejecting it. They also aimed to identify exactly which words serve as triggers.</p>
<p>To achieve this, the team performed a meta-analysis. This is a statistical technique that combines data from multiple independent studies to find broad trends. The researchers screened over one thousand reports to find suitable experiments. They ultimately selected 35 studies involving a total of 10,658 participants. The selected studies all focused on personal health topics, such as smoking cessation or alcohol consumption. They excluded studies on prosocial behaviors, like organ donation, to ensure the psychological motivations were consistent.</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed the data to test a specific sequence of events. They proposed that freedom-threatening language leads to a perception of threat. This perception then generates a state of reactance. Finally, this reactance results in negative persuasion outcomes, such as a refusal to adopt the healthy behavior. The analysis involved coding the statistical results from the included studies to see if these links held up across the board.</p>
<p>A major part of the investigation involved defining what constitutes “state reactance.” The researchers examined different models used in the field. Some previous scholars viewed reactance primarily as an emotion, specifically anger. Others viewed it as a cognitive process, such as creating counterarguments against the message. The current study adopted an “intertwined model.” This view treats anger and negative thoughts as inseparable components of the same reaction.</p>
<p>The results supported the researchers’ expectations. They found a statistical link between the use of freedom-threatening language and participants feeling that their choices were being restricted. When messages used words that implied a lack of choice, people reported higher levels of perceived threat. This perception was not merely a passive observation. It served as a catalyst for the defensive response.</p>
<p>The study further established that this perceived threat is strongly associated with state reactance. When people felt their freedom was under siege, they became angry and generated negative thoughts about the message. This confirms that the feeling of being threatened is a necessary precursor to the state of reactance. The emotional and cognitive pushback does not happen in a vacuum. It is a direct response to the perception that autonomy is in danger.</p>
<p>Regarding the final outcome, the analysis showed that state reactance negatively affects persuasion. When participants experienced high levels of reactance, they were less likely to agree with the message or intend to change their behavior. The researchers noted that while this negative relationship was consistent, it was relatively weak. This suggests that while reactance hurts persuasion, it is not the only factor at play. Other elements could still influence a person’s decision to act healthily.</p>
<p>The researchers also examined the language itself. They created a detailed codebook to categorize the types of words used in the experiments. They looked for “imperative expressions,” such as “must” or “have to.” They also tracked “absolute allegations,” “exclamation points,” and “explicit mention of a lack of choice.” The analysis showed that most studies manipulated threat by using these directive features.</p>
<p>Conversely, low-threat messages often used “suggestive expressions.” These included words like “could” or “consider.” These messages offered recommendations rather than commands. The meta-analysis confirmed that the high-threat messages were effective at generating the perception of a threat. However, the researchers found that simply counting the number of threatening features did not predict the intensity of the reaction. This implies that the context and specific combination of words matter more than the sheer volume of forceful terms.</p>
<p>The team also investigated whether the way reactance was measured changed the results. They compared studies that measured only anger against those that measured only negative thoughts. They found no statistical difference in the outcomes. This supports the intertwined model. It suggests that whether a person expresses their resistance through anger or through mental arguments, the impact on persuasion is largely the same.</p>
<p>There are important caveats to these findings. The study revealed high heterogeneity across the included research. This means that the results varied widely from one experiment to another. While the overall trends were clear, the strength of the effects differed based on unmeasured factors. The researchers suggested that demographic differences, such as age or gender, might influence how people respond to threatening language. For instance, the data hinted that reactance might hurt persuasion more for male audiences than female audiences.</p>
<p>Another limitation is the focus on text-based messages. The current analysis only looked at written language. It did not account for visual elements, such as graphic images or color schemes, which can also trigger defensive reactions. The authors noted that future research should explore how visual design contributes to the perception of threatened freedom.</p>
<p>The implications for health communication are clear. Message designers face a difficult balancing act. They must convey the seriousness of health risks without stepping on the audience’s need for autonomy. The use of “dogmatic” or “controlling” language might capture attention, but it risks alienating the very people the campaign tries to help. The authors suggest that practitioners should consider alternative strategies. Narrative approaches or positive framing might achieve the same urgency without triggering the defensive shields of the audience.</p>
<p>The researchers emphasized that even small effects matter in public health. While the negative link between reactance and persuasion was not massive, it can accumulate over time. Repeated exposure to bossy health messages could lead to a general resistance to health advice. This “boomerang effect” creates a scenario where the campaign creates the opposite of the intended result.</p>
<p>Future research needs to refine the manipulation of language. The study found that many experiments combined multiple threatening features, making it hard to isolate which specific words cause the most damage. Scholars need to test these features individually. Additionally, more work is needed to understand how reactance operates in different cultural contexts or with different health behaviors.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf004" target="_blank">Psychological reactance in persuasive health communication: A meta-analysis of the roles of freedom-threatening language, perceived freedom threat, and state reactance</a>,” was authored by Ma, H., Ebesu, A., and Dillard, J. P.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/both-democrats-and-republicans-justify-undemocratic-actions-that-help-their-party/" 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;">Both Democrats and Republicans justify undemocratic actions that help their party</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study suggests that American political divides regarding democratic norms are often driven by which political party stands to gain from bending the rules. However, the research also indicates that apparent differences in how Democrats and Republicans value democracy may depend heavily on the specific issue at hand rather than a fundamental disagreement on democratic principles. The findings were published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251372671" target="_blank">Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin</a></em>.</p>
<p>Political scientists have long debated how voters evaluate the fairness of the democratic process. A central concept in this field is partisan motivated reasoning. This theory posits that citizens interpret political information in ways that align with their existing group loyalties. When a politician breaks a norm, supporters often find ways to justify the behavior.</p>
<p>Scholars have questioned whether this tendency is symmetrical between the two major American parties. Some researchers argue that both Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to rationalize norm violations that benefit their side. This is known as the Bipartisan Rationalization Hypothesis.</p>
<p>Others argue that the two parties differ psychologically. The Asymmetric Commitment Hypothesis suggests that Republicans may be more willing than Democrats to tolerate undemocratic actions to achieve their goals. A third possibility is that the parties simply prioritize different democratic values. For instance, Democrats might prioritize voter access while Republicans prioritize election security.</p>
<p>Paul E. Teas, a researcher in the Department of Political Science at The University of Chicago, sought to test these competing theories. He designed two experiments to determine if partisan gaps in support for norm violations reflect deep-seated differences in democratic commitment or temporary, issue-specific reactions.</p>
<p>The first study involved 980 participants recruited online. The sample was balanced between Democrats and Republicans. Teas presented these participants with three hypothetical news vignettes. Each story described a government official violating a democratic norm.</p>
<p>One vignette described a policy to drastically reduce the time allowed for mail-in voting. This represented a violation of voter access. Another scenario described a governor ignoring warnings about hacked voting machines. This represented a violation of election security. The third scenario involved a governor vetoing a popular bill passed by the opposition party. This represented a violation of the norm of compromise.</p>
<p>Teas manipulated the details of these stories for different participants. Some participants read versions where the violation helped their own political party. Others read versions where the violation hurt their party. A control group read versions where the political impact was neutral or unspecified.</p>
<p>The researcher measured how much participants supported or opposed the action. He also asked them to rate how democratic or undemocratic the action was. Finally, he asked them to rate how “fair” the action seemed. This distinction allowed Teas to see if supporters believed the action was truly democratic or simply acceptable for other reasons.</p>
<p>The results of the first study showed evidence of motivated reasoning on both sides. Participants from both parties were less opposed to violations that helped their team. Conversely, they were more opposed to violations that hurt their team. This supports the idea that partisanship colors judgment for nearly everyone.</p>
<p>However, clear asymmetries emerged. Republicans were generally less opposed to the restrictions on mail-in voting than Democrats were. This gap persisted even when the restriction did not explicitly benefit the Republican Party. This suggests a specific hostility toward mail-in voting among Republicans rather than a general rejection of voter access.</p>
<p>Republicans also reacted differently to partisan advantage in this study. They were more responsive to winning than Democrats were. When a violation benefited them, their opposition dropped more sharply than it did for Democrats in similar situations.</p>
<p>Despite supporting these beneficial violations, Republicans did not rate them as “more democratic.” instead, they rated the beneficial violations as “fair.” This finding challenges the idea that partisans always trick themselves into thinking their side is acting democratically. In this case, Republicans appeared to distinguish between what is democratic and what is fair game in political competition.</p>
<p>The pattern regarding mail-in voting supported the idea of principled asymmetry. It appeared that Republicans and Democrats held genuinely different baselines for acceptable behavior regarding that specific issue. Teas conducted a second study to see if these differences applied to other types of democratic violations.</p>
<p>The second study included 1,372 participants. Teas used a fully between-subjects design. This means each participant saw only one specific scenario. The researcher introduced two new types of norm violations to test the generalizability of the first study’s results.</p>
<p>The first new scenario involved a different type of voter access violation. Instead of limiting mail-in ballots, this scenario described a governor cutting funding for election administration. This resulted in shutting down physical polling places in specific areas.</p>
<p>The second scenario involved a violation of political protections. It described a president designating a domestic political group as a terrorist organization. This action would prohibit members of that group from running for public office. As in the first study, these actions were randomly assigned to help, hurt, or have no impact on the participant’s party.</p>
<p>The results of the second study were markedly different from the first. In this experiment, no partisan asymmetry emerged. Democrats and Republicans behaved almost identically. Both groups opposed the violations more when they hurt their party. Both groups supported the violations more when they helped their party.</p>
<p>Unlike the first study, the degree of motivated reasoning was symmetrical. Republicans were not more responsive to partisan advantage than Democrats. Furthermore, Republicans did not show a higher baseline tolerance for closing polling places. This contrasts with their higher tolerance for restricting mail-in ballots in the previous experiment.</p>
<p>The discrepancy between the two studies provides the key insight of the research. If Republicans were inherently less committed to democratic norms, they likely would have shown higher tolerance for violations in both studies. The fact that they did not suggests that the asymmetry observed in the first study was specific to the issue of mail-in voting.</p>
<p>Teas interprets these findings as evidence against fixed psychological differences between the parties. The results support the Bipartisan Rationalization Hypothesis in most contexts. When the specific issue of mail-in voting was removed, both parties engaged in the same level of self-serving justification.</p>
<p>The researcher argues that the unique response to mail-in voting likely stems from the high degree of elite politicization surrounding that specific practice. Political leaders have spent years attacking or defending mail-in ballots. This creates a context where partisans view that specific mechanism with suspicion, regardless of who it benefits in a hypothetical scenario.</p>
<p>These findings imply that public support for democratic norms is not static. It is highly responsive to the political environment. When political elites focus their rhetoric on delegitimizing a specific practice, their followers may become more willing to accept violations of that practice.</p>
<p>There are caveats to this research. The studies relied on hypothetical vignettes. How people say they will react to a news story may differ from how they react to real-world events. Real-world politics involves a constant stream of competing information that these controlled experiments cannot fully replicate.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study focuses on the American political context. The dynamics of polarization in the United States may not apply to other democracies. The specific issues that trigger asymmetric responses, such as mail-in voting, are particular to the current American political landscape.</p>
<p>Future research should investigate why certain issues become flashpoints for asymmetric tolerance. It is not entirely clear why mail-in voting elicits such a different reaction than closing polling places. Understanding the role of elite messaging in shaping these specific attitudes remains a priority for political scientists.</p>
<p>This research offers a nuanced view of American polarization. It rejects the simple narrative that one side is the sole aggressor against democratic norms. Instead, it paints a picture of two political coalitions that are both susceptible to placing victory above process. The differences that do exist appear to be products of the specific political battles of the moment rather than permanent character flaws.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251372671" target="_blank">Partisan or Principled?: Explaining Political Differences in Attitudes About Violations of Democratic Norms</a>,” was authored by Paul E. Teas.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/high-intensity-peloton-use-linked-to-mixed-mental-health-outcomes-for-working-mothers/" 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;">High-intensity Peloton use linked to mixed mental health outcomes for working mothers</a>
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<p><p>A new study in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2025.100743" target="_blank">Mental Health and Physical Activity</a></em> offers a detailed look at how high-intensity home exercise impacted the mental health of working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest that while parenting stress is a consistent predictor of lower quality of life, engaging in vigorous physical activity may offer specific psychological benefits. But the data also reveals complex and sometimes counterintuitive relationships between intense exercise and a mother’s sense of parental competence.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique set of challenges for families, particularly for mothers who often bear a disproportionate share of caregiving responsibilities. Schools and childcare facilities closed, forcing many working mothers to manage their professional lives alongside increased domestic duties. Public health organizations documented significant rises in anxiety and depression during this period.</p>
<p>With traditional support systems and gyms unavailable, many individuals sought autonomous ways to manage their well-being. Home-based fitness platforms grew in popularity as they provided accessible means to maintain physical activity. One such platform, Peloton, gained traction by offering structured workouts combined with social connectivity features.</p>
<p>The authors of the current study aimed to investigate the potential benefits of this specific type of exercise for working mothers. They sought to determine if maintaining an exercise routine using an online platform could buffer the negative effects of parenting stress. </p>
<p>“This study was motivated by the disproportionate stress and mental health burden experienced by working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside limited access to traditional mental health supports,” explained study author Bethany Fleck Dillen, a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. </p>
<p>“While exercise is often promoted as a protective factor, little research had examined how structured, online fitness platforms such as Peloton relate specifically to maternal well-being. We aimed to understand whether maintaining exercise through an online platform buffered parenting stress and how it related to quality of life, self-efficacy, guilt, and shame.”</p>
<p>“More personal, I am a mother of two and an avid Peloton user,” she continued. “I am in the group #pelotonmoms on the Peloton platform and I am in some Facebook groups for Peloton moms. I also ride almost exclusively with the coaches from Peloton who are also mothers. This is a great community and I found so much personal and physical support by being a part of it.”</p>
<p>To gather data, the researchers recruited 144 working mothers residing in the United States. Participants were required to be at least 18 years old and have at least one child between birth and 18 years of age. All participants used a Peloton device for their exercise routines.</p>
<p>The sample consisted of a highly educated and affluent demographic. Ninety-two percent of the participants held a bachelor’s degree or higher. Seventy-five percent reported a household income of $150,000 or more.</p>
<p>Participants completed an online survey that included several validated psychological measures. To assess their mental state, they completed the Parental Stress Scale and the Short Depression-Happiness Scale. They also filled out the Caring Shame and Guilt Scale, which differentiates between feelings of regret about specific actions and global negative self-evaluations.</p>
<p>The researchers assessed quality of life using the World Health Organization’s brief questionnaire. This instrument measures well-being across four distinct domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health. Participants also completed the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale to rate their perceived competence in raising their children.</p>
<p>For physical activity data, the study utilized self-reported metrics from the participants’ Peloton history. The survey asked for the total number of workouts completed in the last 30 days. It also asked for a breakdown of specific activities such as cycling, running, and strength training to calculate a high-intensity physical activity score.</p>
<p>The results highlighted a strong negative association between parenting stress and overall well-being. Mothers who reported higher levels of stress consistently reported lower scores across all four quality of life domains. These mothers also reported lower levels of happiness and a reduced belief in their ability to parent effectively.</p>
<p>The analysis also distinguished between guilt and shame. Parenting stress was positively correlated with shame, which involves a negative evaluation of the self. It was not, however, significantly correlated with guilt, which typically relates to specific behaviors.</p>
<p>Regarding the impact of exercise, the initial analysis showed that high-intensity physical activity was associated with better psychological and social quality of life. The researchers used regression models to test if exercise acted as a moderator. These models suggested that for mothers engaging in more high-intensity workouts, the negative link between stress and psychological well-being was weaker.</p>
<p>A similar buffering effect appeared regarding social relationships. High-intensity exercise seemed to mitigate the detrimental impact of stress on a mother’s satisfaction with her social connections. The platform’s community features, such as leaderboards and virtual groups, may contribute to this outcome.</p>
<p>However, the study produced an unexpected finding regarding parental self-efficacy. The data indicated that among mothers experiencing high stress, those who engaged in greater quantities of high-intensity exercise actually reported lower parental self-efficacy.</p>
<p>“One surprising finding was that higher levels of high-intensity exercise were associated with lower parental self-efficacy under conditions of high stress,” Dillen told PsyPost. “This suggests that for some mothers, intense exercise may feel like another performance domain rather than a restorative activity. It underscores the idea that how and why people exercise may be just as important as how much they exercise.”</p>
<p>It is important to note that the statistical significance of the exercise-related findings depended on the strictness of the analysis. When the researchers applied a Bonferroni adjustment to correct for multiple comparisons, the protective effects of exercise became less statistically robust. The negative associations between stress and well-being remained the most significant and consistent findings.</p>
<p>“Many of the effects were small to moderate, which is typical for psych research, especially during a complex and stressful period like the pandemic,” Dillen explained. “Importantly, parenting stress showed consistent and robust associations with nearly every well-being outcome we examined. These findings highlight that even modest effects can have meaningful real-world implications when stress is chronic and widespread.”</p>
<p>“The key takeaway is that parenting stress plays a powerful role in shaping mothers’ well-being, often outweighing the benefits of exercise alone. While high-intensity exercise was linked to better psychological and social quality of life for some mothers, it did not uniformly protect against stress and was even associated with lower parental self-efficacy. Exercise can be supportive, but it is not a cure-all. Context, motivation, and expectations matter.”</p>
<p>As with all research, there are some limitations to consider. The sample size was relatively small, which limits the ability to reliably detect small effects. The homogeneity of the sample regarding race and income limits the generalizability of the results to the broader population of working mothers.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study used a cross-sectional design, meaning data was collected at a single point in time. Because of this design, the study cannot establish a causal relationship. It is unclear whether exercise improves quality of life or if mothers with a higher quality of life are simply more able to find time for exercise. Future research would benefit from tracking participants over a longer period to better understand the direction of these relationships.</p>
<p>“A common misinterpretation would be assuming that more exercise is always better for mental health,” Dillen noted. “Our findings suggest that exercise does not automatically buffer parenting stress and, in some cases, may coincide with increased pressure or self-evaluation. Additionally, because this study was cross-sectional, we cannot draw causal conclusions.”</p>
<p>The researchers also note that the high variability in reports of guilt and shame suggests these are complex emotional experiences. Individual differences in how mothers internalize societal expectations likely play a role. Future studies could explore how body image and social comparison on fitness platforms influence these feelings.</p>
<p>“Future research should examine more diverse samples of mothers, include longitudinal designs, and compare different types of physical activity and platforms,” Dillen told PsyPost. “We are particularly interested in understanding how motivation, body image, and social comparison influence whether exercise supports or undermines maternal well-being. Ultimately, this work aims to inform more realistic and compassionate approaches to maternal self-care.”</p>
<p>This research underscores the complexity of maternal well-being during times of crisis. While exercise can be a valuable tool for maintaining mental health, does not completely offset the burdens of parenting stress.</p>
<p>“This study highlights that many mothers turned to self-guided strategies like exercise during a time when formal mental health care was inaccessible,” Dillen added. “While platforms like Peloton can offer flexibility and community, they exist within broader structural constraints that shape mothers’ stress and well-being. Supporting mothers requires more than individual solutions—it requires systemic support.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2025.100743" target="_blank">Maternal Well-Being for Working Mothers in the U.S. who Participate in Peloton<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley"> Exercise</a>,” was authored by Bethany Fleck Dillen, Michael Rhoads, and Isabel Kool.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/collective-narcissism-fueled-the-pro-trump-stop-the-steal-movement-on-twitter/" 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;">Collective narcissism fueled the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement on Twitter</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 11:00</div>
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<p><p>Social media platforms witnessed a surge in intense political debate following the 2020 United States presidential election. New research indicates that a specific psychological trait known as collective narcissism played a primary role in fueling the “Stop the Steal” movement on Twitter. The study finds that messages expressing an exaggerated sense of group importance combined with victimhood were more likely to go viral. These findings regarding online political behavior appeared in the journal <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251365272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Media & Society</a></em>.</p>
<p>Social psychologists describe collective narcissism as a belief system where individuals view their own group as exceptional. This belief is not merely about pride. It comes with a deep conviction that the group is not receiving the recognition or privilege it deserves from others. When the group faces a perceived threat, such as an election loss, this psychological trait can drive intense hostility toward outsiders.</p>
<p>Liwei Shen, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led the investigation into how this dynamic functions online. The research team included Yibing Sun, Luhang Sun, Yun-Shiuan Chuang, and Kaiping Chen. They sought to understand how feelings of group superiority shape digital discourse. They specifically wanted to see if these sentiments helped spread narratives about voter fraud.</p>
<p>The researchers based their work on a framework called the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects. This psychological theory suggests that anonymous online environments change how people relate to their social groups. When individuals lose their personal visibility online, they often identify more strongly with their group. They also feel a stronger pressure to conform to that group’s norms and language.</p>
<p>The team collected a massive dataset from Twitter to test their ideas. They gathered nearly 12,000 original posts and over 23,000 replies related to the “Stop the Steal” movement. The data covered the critical period from January 4 to January 7, 2021. This timeframe included the day of the Capitol attack, marking the peak of the movement’s activity.</p>
<p>Analyzing such a large volume of text required advanced computational methods. The authors utilized a form of artificial intelligence called the BERT model to read the tweets. This model was trained to classify posts based on whether they expressed collective narcissism. The researchers defined this expression as a combination of collective identity and a grandiose view of the in-group that is under threat.</p>
<p>The team also employed a technique called dependency parsing. This method breaks down the grammatical structure of sentences to find the subjects and objects. It allowed the researchers to see exactly which groups were being talked about. They wanted to know who the users viewed as the heroes and villains of their narrative.</p>
<p>The investigation revealed that national identity was the central theme in these expressions. Tweets characterized by collective narcissism frequently used the pronoun “we.” This usage created a sharp linguistic boundary between the in-group and everyone else. Terms like “America,” “Americans,” and “country” appeared often in these posts.</p>
<p>Liwei Shen and the team found that users did not just express support for a candidate. They framed the political contest as a battle for the nation’s existence. The language used often equated loyalty to Donald Trump with patriotism itself. Conversely, any opposition to the movement was framed as a betrayal of the country.</p>
<p>The researchers identified seven recurring themes in the posts labeled as collectively narcissistic. One major theme was “heightened patriotism,” where users claimed the title of “true patriots.” Another common theme involved religious language. Users frequently invoked God to suggest their political stance had divine approval.</p>
<p>A particularly aggressive theme focused on “internal traitors.” The analysis showed that users often directed hostility toward members of their own political party. They accused Republicans who did not support the movement of betraying the group. This policing of the in-group is a hallmark of collective narcissism.</p>
<p>The study also highlighted a focus on external enemies. Many posts contained unsubstantiated claims about foreign interference. Users frequently mentioned China or communism as existential threats to the United States. This focus helped reinforce the group’s sense of being a victim of a grand conspiracy.</p>
<p>One of the primary goals of the study was to see if this type of language increased user engagement. The results from statistical models were clear. Tweets that contained expressions of collective narcissism received substantially more attention than those that did not. They garnered higher numbers of likes, retweets, and quotes.</p>
<p>The researchers found that this rhetoric was highly contagious. When an original post used collective narcissistic language, the replies were likely to use it as well. The online environment appeared to encourage users to mimic the intense, identity-based language of the original poster. This created a cycle where users reinforced each other’s grievances.</p>
<p>This finding supports the idea that social media acts as an echo chamber for group-based emotions. The platform’s design allows users to find validation for their grandiose group image. When they see others expressing similar outrage and superiority, they feel emboldened to do the same. This leads to a rapid diffusion of these sentiments across the network.</p>
<p>The study also looked at the profiles of the users who posted this content. The team used a method called structural topic modeling to analyze user bios. They found that collective narcissistic expressions came from specific subsets of supporters. The most prominent group consisted of users who explicitly identified as Trump supporters.</p>
<p>Another group frequently using this language included conservatives who emphasized faith and country in their profiles. A third group consisted of female users who identified as patriots and Christians. The data showed that not all conservative profiles engaged in this rhetoric. Profiles that focused on family or general religious faith without the nationalist element were less likely to post collective narcissistic content.</p>
<p>These distinctions matter because they show that collective narcissism is not universal among all supporters of a movement. It is driven by specific sub-identities that view the nation and their group as synonymous. The “Stop the Steal” movement successfully tapped into these specific identities. It provided a narrative that validated their feelings of being exceptional but under attack.</p>
<p>The authors noted that the design of social media platforms facilitates this behavior. Platforms like Twitter allow for rapid, widespread broadcasting of information. They also enable users to easily find and connect with like-minded individuals. This structure is ideal for cultivating collective narcissism.</p>
<p>There are limitations to this research that the authors acknowledged. The study focused on a single platform during a unique historical event. Twitter has specific features that might shape discourse differently than Facebook or Reddit. The dynamics of the “Stop the Steal” movement might also be distinct from other political movements.</p>
<p>The researchers could not determine if these patterns hold true for different political orientations. Future research would need to examine if left-leaning movements exhibit similar patterns of collective narcissism. Comparing data across multiple social media platforms would also provide a more complete picture. It remains to be seen how different content moderation policies might affect the spread of such discourse.</p>
<p>Additionally, the study analyzed text but did not measure behavioral outcomes. It is unclear if engaging in this online discourse leads to real-world actions. Future studies could investigate whether online collective narcissism fosters stronger in-group solidarity offline. Understanding the link between digital words and physical actions remains a priority for social scientists.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251365272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How collective narcissism became contagious in public conversations of ‘Stop the Steal’ on Twitter</a>,” was authored by Liwei Shen, Yibing Sun, Luhang Sun, Yun-Shiuan Chuang, and Kaiping Chen.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-research-connects-daily-gardening-habits-with-reduced-anxiety-and-physical-limitations/" 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 research connects daily gardening habits with reduced anxiety and physical limitations</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 21st 2026, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A survey of individuals between 30 and 98 years in Sengkang, Singapore, found that engaging in daily gardening was associated with better health, defined as low anxiety and no health limitations. “Happiness or satisfaction” was the top reason for gardening, while “insufficient time” was the most often listed reason for not engaging in gardening. The paper was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03392-y"><em>Scientific Reports</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p>Gardening is the practice of cultivating plants such as flowers, vegetables, fruits, or herbs for food, aesthetic enjoyment, or recreation. It involves physical activities like digging, planting, watering, and pruning, which effectively constitute a regular exercise of moderate intensity. Gardening has been shown to improve physical health by supporting cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and flexibility. Exposure to sunlight during gardening helps regulate circadian rhythms and supports vitamin D production.</p>
<p>Psychologically, gardening is associated with reduced stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. It can promote relaxation by providing a calming, nature-focused activity that draws attention away from daily worries. Gardening also enhances mood and emotional well-being through a sense of accomplishment and nurturing living things. For many people, it fosters mindfulness and sustained attention, supporting cognitive restoration. Social gardening activities, such as community gardens, can strengthen social connections and reduce feelings of loneliness.</p>
<p>Study author Amir Chwa and his colleagues wanted to explore the association between daily gardening and health in Singapore, particularly among community-dwelling older adults. They decided to take into account two aspects of health—physical health, represented by the presence of any health limitations, and mental health, represented by participants’ level of anxiety.</p>
<p>Eligible study participants were individuals between the ages of 30 and 98, living in Sengkang, a town in the northeastern region of Singapore, for more than 6 months in the past year. In this geographical area, there were 4,023 eligible households. Study authors sent them letters of invitation to participate in the survey two weeks before the survey. At the time of data collection, study authors knocked on 2,576 doors. 410 doors were opened, and 386 participants completed the survey.</p>
<p>The survey asked participants if they garden and the reason for their choice. Those who stated that they garden were further asked about the type of gardening activities and the number of days each week they spend gardening. </p>
<p>Based on this, they were classified into two groups for analysis: daily gardeners and non-daily gardeners (a group that included both non-gardeners and occasional gardeners). Health limitations were assessed by asking participants, “How much does your health limit you in walking several blocks or carrying groceries?”. Anxiety was assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale.</p>
<p>Results showed that individuals who reported gardening daily had 43% lower odds of developing poor health (defined as having anxiety, health limitations, or both) compared to the group of non-daily gardeners, when controlling for chronic diseases, smoking, alcohol, income, education, age, gender, and a number of other characteristics.</p>
<p>The most often listed reasons for engaging in gardening were “happiness and satisfaction” and “relaxation.” The most often listed reasons for not gardening were “insufficient time” and “no interest in gardening.”</p>
<p>“Overall, this study shows that gardening daily was associated with better health outcomes, reducing anxiety and health limitations. This supports the promotion of gardening as an activity for healthy ageing,” study authors conclude.</p>
<p>The study contributes to the scientific understanding of health correlates of gardening activities. However, it should be noted that the design of this study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. While it is possible that gardening contributes to health, engaging in gardening requires a certain level of physical and mental fitness, and this likely contributed to the observed associations. Additionally, all the data were self-reported, leaving room for reporting bias to have affected the results.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03392-y">The association of daily gardening and healthy ageing in Singapore,</a>” was authored by Amir Chwa, Adithi Vasudevan, Stella Kai Min Chan, Yunru Chen, Clement Wei Jian Chia, Darius Soh, Donovan Lim, Eliza Khoo, Ernest Soh, Jayden Lew, Lara Loh, Omkar Mahadevan, Sarah Goh, Jing Xuan Tan, Xinyun Wang, Ngan Phoon Fong, and Cynthia Chen.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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