High risk individuals frequently became so immersed and personally invested in news stories that the stories dominated the individual’s waking thoughts, disrupted time with family and friends, made it difficult to focus on school or work, and contributed to restlessness and an inability to sleep. Perhaps not surprisingly, people with higher levels of problematic news consumption were significantly more likely to experience mental and physical ill-being than those with lower levels, even when controlling for demographics, personality traits, and overall news use.
research news
New study examines how self-compassion makes life better
A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences reveals that there is more to self-compassion than meets the eye. While we already know it can help us deal with setbacks adaptively and with dignity, it can also help us appreciate the good times more fully.
Friendships empower women against unwelcome sexual experiences
Sexual victimization is a widely studied phenomenon on college campuses, yet surprisingly little is known about how first-year college women navigate and respond to this risk. A new study reviews how perpetrators might target first-year women for a variety of reasons that include inexperience with alcohol, and being new to many of the social settings that are common in college. Strategies developed by researchers called “capable guardianship” helps women understand that by working together they can maximize their protection and safety and reduce the possible occurrence of nonconsensual sexual acts, ranging from unwanted touching to rape.
Patients with dissociation following trauma more likely to experience PTSD
Results from the largest prospective study of its kind indicate that for individuals who experience trauma, the presence of dissociation — a profound feeling of detachment from one’s sense of self or surroundings — may indicate a high risk of later developing severe post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, physical pain, and social impairment. The research, which was led by investigators at McLean Hospital, is published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Teens exhibiting record levels of stress-related mental health problems
The mental health crisis among teens has prompted an urgent quest for preventive interventions. Researchers believe they have one. As the team explains in a recent study, the 30-minute online training module teaches teenagers to channel their stress responses away from something negative that needs to be feared and tamped down towards recognizing those responses — sweaty palms, a racing heart, for example — as a positive driving force.
New study looks at the impact stress can have on aging and disease
Stress — in the form of traumatic events, job strain, everyday stressors and discrimination — accelerates aging of the immune system, potentially increasing a person’s risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and illness from infections such as COVID-19, according to a new USC study.