News by Subject Social & Behavior

Researchers have shown that a new way of assessing women's relationship with their bodies during pregnancy could help predict how well the mother might bond with her unborn baby and her longer-term emotional wellbeing.

There have not been many scientifically evaluated therapies for teens and young adults who have suffered physical or sexual abuse until now. Psychologists at Goethe University have closed the gap by developing a psychotherapeutic approach designed specifically for this age group. Its effectiveness has now been proved in a nationwide study lasting four years.

Depression and mental health problems are increasing - and suicide and drug overdose rates are rising dramatically in the USA. In many US communities, traditional social networks -- face-to-face contacts of daily life -- are unraveling with the loss of social supports, Flinders University psychiatrists warn in a letter published in the international journal The Lancet. This is associated with increasing 'deaths of despair' related to alcohol, opiate overdose and suicide 'becoming more prevalent than ever.'

A new study from researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center looks at the correlation between exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and childhood anxiety, by looking at the altered neurochemistry in pre-adolescents.

Female firefighters are fighting for their mental health as they perform their grueling duties. A University of Houston psychologist is reporting that one-fifth of female firefighters in a large, urban fire department experience post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and are at higher risk of contemplating suicide than their male colleagues. Until now, little has been known regarding the mental health of female firefighters.

Increasing access to mental health services improves HIV outcomes among vulnerable patients, a new study suggests. Based on their findings, the researchers are urging HIV clinics to expand their mental health services on site.

Food insecurity, meaning inadequate or insecure access to food because of a lack of money, has worsened in Nunavut communities since the introduction of the federal government's Nutrition North Canada program in 2011, found research published in CMAJ.