‘A Little Bit of OCD’: The Downside of Mental Health Awareness
From The Guardian: People often claim to experience mental health problems only to excuse their unpleasant or hurtful behaviors. This can exacerbate prejudice toward those...
Study Explores Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence in College Women with Disabilities
A new study explores sexual violence and intimate partner violence in college women with mental health related disabilities.
Some Social Scientists are Tired of Asking for Permission
From The New York Times: The Department of Health and Human Services's Office for Human Research Protections recently revised its rules for social science research. Studies...
Moral Enhancement Technologies are Reportedly Ineffective, Impractical, and Unwise
A new paper published in Bioethics assesses proposals to “enhance morality” through neuropharmacological and neurotechnological interventions.
Researchers Find that Textbooks Include Biased Information About ADHD
A review of academic textbooks finds that they often leave out effect sizes and molecular genetics findings, both of which suggest minimal impact of genetics on ADHD. Instead, textbooks focus on overblown conclusions from behavioral studies.
In Patients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Depression Linked to More Accurate Assessments
Participants diagnosed with schizophrenia with higher levels of self-reported depression have more accurate assessments of abilities.
Doctors Too Reliant on Pfizer’s Depression Questionnaire
From The Telegraph: Depression is being overdiagnosed due to doctors' reliance on a nine-question form designed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer to assess patients for depression.
Article...
What Know-it-alls Don’t Know, or the Illusion of Competence
In this piece for Aeon, Kate Fehlhaber investigates why some people are overconfident in their knowledgeability and skills, despite holding inaccurate beliefs or being less competent...
PTSD and Psychiatric Medication Linked to Dementia in Older Veterans
Veterans diagnosed with PTSD and taking SSRIs, novel antidepressants, or atypical antipsychotics are more likely to develop dementia.
What a New University in Africa is Doing to Decolonize Education
From The Conversation: A new university in Africa is taking steps toward decolonizing the social sciences, including assigning students non-English texts, studying non-textual sources, and...
Sense of Purpose Reduces Negative Effects of Social Media Use
New research shows that having a strong sense of personal meaning and purpose can reduce the negative effects of social media use.
How Feedback Can Improve Psychotherapy Treatment
Researcher examines the impact of client feedback and progress assessment on improvement in outcomes.
Psychiatry Defends Its Antipsychotics: A Case Study of Institutional Corruption
Jeffrey LIeberman and colleagues have published a paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry stating that there is no evidence that psychiatric drugs cause long-term harm, and that the evidence shows that these drugs provide a great benefit to patients. A close examination of their review reveals that it is a classic example of institutional corruption, which was meant to protect guild interests.
Physical Inactivity Associated with Worse Cognitive Functioning in Psychosis
Higher levels of sedentary behavior are associated with poorer cognitive functioning in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Music Therapy Interventions Reduce Depression Symptoms in Dementia
Therapists can use music to meet the emotional and social needs of individuals with dementia.
Restricting Pharma Reps Contact with Docs Decreases Prescriptions
Implementing policies that regulate pharmaceutical sales representatives’ interaction with physicians may reduce prescription of promoted drugs.
Lancet Psychiatry’s Controversial ADHD Study: Errors, Criticism, and Responses
Amid calls for a retraction, Lancet Psychiatry publishes articles criticizing the original finding and a response from the authors.
Psychiatric Medications Heighten Risk for Major Bone Fractures
Important assessment tool found to underestimate the risk for fracture in patients on psychiatric medication.
Study Highlights Importance of Social Interactions in Psychosis Recovery
Study finds frequency of social interactions predicts long-term remission in first-episode psychosis.
Scott Gottlieb Confirmed as Head of the FDA
From Pacific Standard: This past Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Scott Gottlieb as head of the Food and Drug Administration.
"Although some Senate Democrats had worried about...
From Protoscience to Proper Science
From The Guardian: The field of psychology is fraught with fundamental problems in its research practices, from publication bias to data corruption. The field must...
Racism Linked to Poor Health Outcomes in Children
New study finds children who have been exposed to discrimination show higher likelihood of anxiety, depression, and ADHD.
Food Insecurity Linked to Mental Health Globally
Global analysis of 149 countries finds food insecurity is associated with poorer mental health.
Researchers Search for Subgroups Where Antidepressants Are More Effective
The researchers theorized that this increased effectiveness was due not to “antidepressant” properties, but rather to the drug’s side effects, which include insomnia, drowsiness, and nausea.
Introducing the Doing the Right Thing Award
From STAT: STAT has recently awarded the first-ever Doing the Right Thing (DiRT) Award to the American Diabetes Association and its flagship journal, Diabetes, for championing correct...
