News by Subject Social & Behavior

A large American Cancer Society study links social isolation with a higher risk of death from all causes combined and heart disease for all races studied, and with increased cancer mortality in white men and women.

Three-quarters of prisoners struggling to sleep have reported major improvements after receiving cognitive behavioural therapy to treat their insomnia. In the first study of its kind in the world, experts from Northumbria University have found that a single one-hour session of cognitive behavioural therapy was effective in preventing the development of chronic insomnia in 73% of prisoners. Inmates also reported that the therapy made notable improvements to their anxiety and depression.

The majority of consumers, even those who prefer online shopping, think the extinction of brick-and-mortar stores would be bad for society, according to a new University of Arizona-led study that explores consumers' perceptions of today's transforming retail environment.

A new study showed that people who are afraid to have their blood drawn believe more people faint or have other symptoms than what statistics show actually occurs.

A team of researchers from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and the Berkeley School of Public Health at UC Berkeley recently conducted a study designed to better understand how patient engagement and activation (PAE) practices are being integrated into clinical practice. What they found was a great deal of positive sentiment about PAE among the healthcare professionals surveyed, but much less understanding and implementation of PAE tools and approaches.

Does engaging patients in research projects improve health? A comprehensive collection -- from youth involvement in mental health services to suicide prevention, Indigenous health, children with complex medical needs and more -- highlights the value of patient engagement in research.

Age-related declines in abstract reasoning ability predict increasing depressive symptoms in subsequent years, according to data from a longitudinal study of older adults in Scotland. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

A new study finds that bias-based bullying does more harm to students than generalized bullying, particularly for students who are targeted because of multiple identities, such as race and gender. What's more, the study finds that efforts to mitigate these harms are less effective against bias-based bullying.

Regular early head circumference assessments add valuable information when screening for long-term neurocognitive risk - according to new research by an international research collaboration, including the University of Warwick, UK and the University of Tennessee Knoxville, US.