News by Subject Social & Behavior

With a few finger strokes or swipes on a computer or cell phone, seniors with pain reduce the risk of depression when visiting social media sites.

Misuse of prescription opioids or benzodiazepines (such as Xanax) was associated with suicidal ideation in a study of US older adults.

In a study of 15 patients affected by major depressive disorder and complaining of insomnia, initiating treatment with vortioxetine for their depressive symptoms led to significant improvements in subjective sleep quality and daytime sleepiness.

A study published today in the BMJ Open shows that in countries where there is a complete ban on all corporal punishment of children there is less fighting among young people. There was 31 percent less physical fighting in young men and 42 percent less physical fighting in young women in countries where corporal punishment was banned in all settings, compared with those where corporal punishment was permitted both at school and at home. In countries where there was a partial ban on corporal punishment (such as in Canada, the US and the UK where corporal punishment not banned in at home), the level of violence in young men was similar to that in countries with no bans, though the level of violence in women was lower (at 56 percent).

A comprehensive new review article presents the most current understanding of the role selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) play in increased risk of multiple diverse gestational malformations and takes aim at the ongoing debate over whether SSRIs as a drug class can cause these malformations.

Research led by the University of Pennsylvania's Johannes Eichstaedt and Robert J. Smith finds that the language people use in their Facebook posts can predict a future diagnosis of depression as accurately as the tools clinicians use in medical settings to screen for the disease.

In a recent study of the parental caregiving environment, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, found that within identical twin pairs, the child who experienced harsher behavior and less parental warmth was at a greater risk for developing antisocial behaviors.

A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators identifies two subanesthetic dosage levels of the anesthetic drug ketamine that appear to provide significant symptom relief to patients with treatment-resistant depression.

From Twitter to daily interactions on the street, the constant impoliteness in today's politics is under examination in UTSA Department of Political Science and Geography. In his recent article, "Rousing the Partisan Combatant: Elite Incivility, Anger, and Anti-Deliberative Attitudes" published in Political Psychology, Bryan Gervais explores the connection between the lack of civility among political leaders and partisanship.

Patients with depression who used tablet computers to complete brief positive psychology exercises online several times a week scored lower on depressive symptoms and reported that they felt better able to cope with their kidney disease by the end of the five-week pilot study, led by University of Illinois social work professor Rosalba Hernandez.