How service dogs reduce PTSD symptoms: factors and mechanisms

Study explores characteristics of successful relationships between service dogs and veterans

July 27, 2022

Science Daily/PLOS

A new analysis dives into the use of service dogs by U.S. veterans who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), illuminating factors and mechanisms that may underlie the mental health effects of these relationships. Clare Jensen of Purdue University, Indiana, U.S.A., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on July 27, 2022.

Previous research suggests that pairing a veteran with a service dog is associated with lower severity of PTSD. However, the mechanisms underlying these potential benefits are unclear.

To improve understanding, Jensen and colleagues studied 82 military members or veterans and their service dogs, which had all been trained to alleviate PTSD symptoms. Shortly before the veterans and dogs were paired, and again after a three-month period together, the veterans completed a number of different surveys and allowed the researchers to make additional observations to capture a detailed view of veteran-dog interactions.

The researchers first analyzed results of surveys and records related to personal characteristics of the service dogs and veterans, and the closeness of their bond. They found that most of the dog characteristics evaluated were not associated with better or worse veteran mental health outcomes, except for lower dog excitability, which was linked to lower severity of PTSD symptoms and to a closer veteran-dog relationship.

Next, the researchers probed potential mechanisms underlying alleviation of mental health symptoms by analyzing the results of surveys and observations that captured dog behavior, training methods, and the use of specific trained tasks.

Better mental health was associated with a number of factors, including perception of the dog's care as being easy and a closer veteran-dog relationship. The analysis also found a link between worse depression and more frequently asking service dogs to initiate the social greeting. Veterans who more frequently asked their dogs to alert them to a human approaching from behind were more likely to have greater anxiety but less severity of PTSD symptoms.

Further research will be needed to expand on these findings, potentially leading to better understanding of how to identify veterans who could benefit from service dogs and how to best select and train dogs.

Clare Jensen adds: "This study provides new information about how and why service dogs may improve mental health for some veterans with PTSD. We are especially grateful to the military veterans who made this possible by sharing their time and experiences with us."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220727141337.htm

Specific brain responses to traumatic stress linked to PTSD risk

July 26, 2022

Science Daily/University of North Carolina Health Care

Results from the largest prospective study of its kind indicate that in the initial days and weeks after experiencing trauma, individuals facing potentially threatening situations who had less activity in their hippocampus -- a brain structure critical for forming memories of situations that are dangerous and that are safe -- developed more severe posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

This association between reduced hippocampal activity and risk of PTSD was particularly strong in individuals who had greater involuntary defensive reactions to being startled.

This research, published in the JNeurosci, suggests that individuals with greater defensive reactions to potentially threatening events might have a harder time learning whether an event is dangerous or safe. They also are more likely to experience severe forms of PTSD, which include symptoms such as always being on guard for danger, self-destructive behavior like drinking too much or driving too fast, trouble sleeping and concentrating, irritability, angry outbursts, and nightmares.

"These findings are important both to identify specific brain responses associated with vulnerability to develop PTSD, and to identify potential treatments focused on memory processes for these individuals to prevent or treat PTSD," said senior author Vishnu Murty, PhD, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Temple University.

This research is part of the national Advancing Understanding of RecOvery afteR traumA (AURORA) Study, a multi-institution project funded by the National Institutes of Health, non-profit funding organizations such as One Mind, and partnerships with leading tech companies. The organizing principal investigator is Samuel McLean, MD, MPH, professor of psychiatry and emergency medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and director of the UNC Institute for Trauma Recovery.

AURORA allows researchers to leverage data from patient participants who enter emergency departments at hospitals across the country after experiencing trauma, such as car accidents or other serious incidents. The ultimate goal of AURORA is to spur on the development and testing of preventive and treatment interventions for individuals who have experienced traumatic events.

AURORA scientists have known that only a subset of trauma survivors develop PTSD, and that PTSD is associated with increased sensitivity to threats and decreased ability to engage neural structures retrieving emotional memories. Yet how these two processes interact to increase risk for developing PTSD is not clear. To better understand these processes, Murty and colleagues characterized brain and behavioral responses from individuals two weeks following trauma.

Using brain-imaging techniques coupled with laboratory and survey-based tests for trauma, researchers found that the individuals with less activity in their hippocampus and greatest defensive responses to startling events following trauma had the most severe symptoms.

"In these individuals, greater defensive reactions to threats may bias them against learning information about what is happening so that they can discern what is safe and what is dangerous," said Büşra Tanriverdi, the lead researcher on the study and graduate student at Temple. "These findings highlight an important PTSD biomarker focused on how people form and retrieve memories after trauma."

"These latest findings add to our list of AURORA discoveries that are helping us understand the differences between individuals who go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder and those who do not," said McLean, an author on the paper. "Studies focusing on the early aftermath of trauma are critical because we need a better understanding of how PTSD develops so we can prevent PTSD and best treat PTSD."

"Since initiating our financial support of the AURORA Study in 2016, we remain steadfast in our commitment to helping AURORA investigators make important discoveries and to bridge the gaps that exist in mental health research funding and patient support," said Brandon Staglin, president of One Mind.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220726194446.htm

A new low-calorie sweetener could also improve gut health

August 4, 2022

Science Daily/American Chemical Society

From the wide variety of sodas, candies and baked goods that are sold worldwide, it's clear that people love their sweet treats. But consuming too much white table sugar or artificial sweetener can lead to health issues. In the search for a better sweetener, researchers in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry now report a low-calorie mixture that is as sweet as table sugar and, in lab experiments, feeds "good" gut microbes.

Artificial sweeteners have exploded in popularity because they let people consume sweets without the calories. However, while they're considered safe for human consumption, studies in animals and humans suggest that some of them can stimulate appetite, leading to increased food consumption and weight gain, as well as other negative health outcomes. So, researchers have been turning to the study of low-calorie or extremely sweet substances from natural sources as possible replacements. For example, galactooligosaccharides -- found in mammalian milk -- are low-calorie sugars with prebiotic activity that can be a source of energy for beneficial gut microbes, but they're not quite sweet enough to replace table sugar. Alternatively, extracts from the luo han guo fruit contain mogrosides -- compounds 200 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar. But these extracts sometimes have off-flavors, which can be removed with enzymes. So, F. Javier Moreno and colleagues wanted to take advantage of the best aspects of both natural substances, using enzymes to modify mogrosides while simultaneously producing galactooligosaccharides for a brand-new low-calorie sweetener.

The researchers started with lactose and mogroside V (the primary mogrosidein luo han guo fruit). When they added β-galactosidase enzymes, the researchers obtained a mixture that contained mostly galactooligosaccharides and a small amount of modified mogrosides. A trained sensory panel reported that the new combination had a sweetness similar to that of sucrose (table sugar), suggesting it could be acceptable to consumers. In test tube experiments, the new sweetener increased the levels of multiple human gut microbes that are beneficial, including Bifidobacteriumand Lactobacillus bacterial species. In addition, increases in bacteria-produced metabolites, such as acetate, propionate and butyrate, indicated that the mixture could potentially have a prebiotic effect on the gut microbiome. The researchers say that the new sweetener holds promise in these initial analyses, and their next step is to more closely study the substance's impact on human gut health.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220804130631.htm

Circadian clocks play a key role in fat cell growth

August 8, 2022

Science Daily/Weill Cornell Medicine

Disruption of the circadian clocks that keep the body and its cells entrained to the 24-hour day-night cycle plays a critical role in weight gain, according to a pair of studies by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

One study, published June 27, in Cell Reports revealed that stress caused by chronically administering glucocorticoid stress hormones and disturbing the normal daily cycle of release triggers a temporary protective mechanism in mice. This mechanism boosts fat cell growth and insulin production while reducing excess blood sugar and fat levels in the bloodstream and liver. The second study, published Aug. 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, shows that fat cell precursors commit to becoming fat cells during the rest period of mice. The studies suggest that stress and other factors that throw the body's "clocks" out of rhythm may contribute to weight gain and suggest new treatment approaches for obesity.

"A lot of forces are working against a healthy metabolism when we are out of circadian rhythm," explained the senior author of both studies Dr. Mary Teruel, associate professor of biochemistry and a member of the Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children's Health at Weill Cornell Medicine. "The more we understand, the more likely we will be able to do something about it."

In the first study, Dr. Teruel and colleagues mimicked the disruptive effects conditions like Cushing's disease or chronic stress have on the usual daily fluctuations in glucocorticoids, a class of stress-linked hormones. To do this, they implanted pellets that released glucocorticoids at a constant rate over 21 days under the skin of mice and compared them with normal mice who have normal daily fluctuations. The amount of brown and white fat in the mice with the glucocorticoid pellets doubled within 21 days, and insulin levels in their bodies skyrocketed even though the mice still ate the same healthy diet as the normal mice.

"If you stress the animals at the wrong time, it has a dramatic effect," Dr. Teruel said. "The mice aren't eating differently, but a big shift in metabolism causes weight gain."

Surprisingly, these metabolic disruptions seemed to have a "protective effect" by keeping blood sugar levels low and preventing fat from accumulating in the blood or liver. When they removed the pellets, the metabolic changes quickly reversed.

"It shows the animals can cope with chronic stress for a while," she said.

In the second study, Dr. Teruel and her colleagues attached a red fluorescent protein to protein that controls the expression of important circadian clock genes and a yellow fluorescent protein to peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARG), a protein that regulates fat cell production. They used these two fluorescent markers to monitor the daily fluctuations of PPARG and circadian gene expression in mouse fat cell precursors. During the rest period of the day, they found a circadian protein called CCAAT enhancer binding protein alpha (CEBPA) causes a rapid increase in the production of PPARG. Once PPARG levels reach a certain threshold, the precursor cells commit to becoming fat cells, a process that takes a few days to complete.

"The decision to become a fat cell happens rapidly over 4 hours. It is like a switch," she said. "It only happens at a certain time of day."

Dr. Teruel and her colleagues are now working to understand why disturbing the daily rhythms of glucocorticoids triggers temporary protective metabolic changes. They also want to learn whether prolonged stress or a high-fat diet makes these changes permanent. The results of these studies could help determine how long it is safe to treat individuals with glucocorticoid drugs for conditions like asthma.

The research might also lead to the development of drugs that help reset circadian rhythms in people with obesity as an alternative to more invasive treatments like bariatric surgery. Another possibility might be therapies targeting the 4-hour window when fat cell precursors commit to becoming fat cells to prevent excess fat accumulation.

Dr. Teruel and her colleagues also believe learning how to synchronize the body's cellular and master circadian clocks will be essential.

"Every cell in our body has an intrinsic cell clock, just like the fat cells, and we have a master clock in our brain, which controls hormone secretion," she said. "We are trying to understand how they work together and how we can coordinate them."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220808211750.htm

Deciphering a baby's cries of pain is not an innate ability and must be learned

August 8, 2022

Science Daily/Cell Press

Before young children learn to speak, crying is their only means of vocal communication. But do adults know when a baby is in pain as opposed to being mildly uncomfortable? A new study reported in Current Biology on August 8, 2022 finds that the answer to this question is that it depends.

"We found that the ability to detect pain in cries -- that is, to identify a pain cry from a mere discomfort cry -- is modulated by experience of caring for babies," says Nicolas Mathevon, University of Saint-Etienne, France. "Current parents of young babies can identify a baby's pain cries even if they have never heard this baby before, whereas inexperienced individuals are typically unable to do so."

The findings show that humans' ability to interpret babies' cries isn't innate but learned from experience. Parenting young babies shapes our ability to decode the information conveyed by babies' communication signals.

Mathevon and his University of Saint-Etienne colleagues including David Reby and Roland Peyron made this discovery as part of a broader research program investigating how information is encoded in babies' cries and how human listeners extract this information. In the new study, they wanted to find out how prior caregiving experience with babies shaped the ability to identify when they were in pain.

They recruited people with different amounts of experience caring for babies, ranging from people with no experience at all to current parents of young children. They also included people with occasional experience babysitting and non-parents with more extensive professional experience in caregiving.

Next, they gave everyone in the study a short training phase in which they heard eight discomfort cries from one baby over a couple of days. Next, their ability to decode the cries as discomfort or pain was put to the test.

And it turned out that experience was everything. People with little to no experience couldn't tell the difference between cries any better than chance. Those with a small amount of experience performed slightly better.

Current parents and professionals did better than chance. But parents of younger babies were the clear winners. They were able to identify the crying contexts of babies even when they'd never heard the cries of that youngster before. Parents of older kids and those with professional experience didn't do well with unfamiliar cries.

"Only parents of younger babies were also able to identify the crying contexts of an unknown baby they had never heard before," says first author of the study Siloe Corvin.

"Professional pediatric caregivers are less successful at extending this ability to unknown babies," says study co-author Camille Fauchon. "This was surprising at first, but it is consistent with the idea that experienced listeners may develop a resistance that decreases their sensitivity to acoustic cues of pain."

The findings show that babies' cries contain important information that's encoded in their acoustic structure. While adults are attuned to that information, our ability to decode it and identify when a baby is in pain gets better with exposure and experience.

The researchers hope that learning more about how babies communicate pain may help parents learn how to recognize and respond to it even better. They're now conducting neuroimaging studies to further explore how experience and parenthood shape brain activity when babies cry.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220808161630.htm

Inflammatory bowel disease increases risks for pregnant women

Study of 8 million pregnancies shows greater likelihood of poor maternal and fetal outcomes

August 3, 2022

Science Daily/University of Missouri-Columbia

Pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and their babies face increased risks and complications compared to pregnant women without IBD. Those are the findings from a new University of Missouri School of Medicine study that examined outcomes of more than 8 million pregnancies.

IBD is a term used for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. IBD mainly affects young people, which includes women who are in their peak reproductive years.

"IBD is an incurable disease, and its relapsing and remitting nature is stressful for the estimated 3 million U.S. men and women diagnosed," said senior author Yezaz Ghouri, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine. "Because this disease tends to affect women during their peak fertility period, we wanted to know the impact of IBD on maternal and fetal outcomes. To our knowledge, this study is the most comprehensive of its kind, using data from multiple institutions in 48 states."

The research team reviewed more than 8 million pregnancies between 2016 and 2018. Of those, 14,129 mothers had IBD. Results showed the pregnant women with IBD had higher incidence of gestational diabetes, postpartum hemorrhage, hypertensive complications, preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction and fetal death. Pregnant women with IBD also had longer hospital stays after delivering. They averaged an additional half-day length of stay and faced more than $2,700 in associated medical costs.

"Based on our findings, we suggest that women who have moderate to severe IBD should get pre-conceptional counseling and be treated aggressively to achieve remission prior to getting pregnant," Ghouri said. "Our study results illustrate the importance that IBD be optimally controlled prior to conception."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220803112620.htm

Women urged to eat potassium-rich foods to improve their heart health

July 21, 2022

Science Daily/European Society of Cardiology

Women who eat bananas, avocados and salmon could reduce the negative effects of salt in the diet, according to a study published today in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The study found that potassium-rich diets were associated with lower blood pressure, particularly in women with high salt intake.

"It is well known that high salt consumption is associated with elevated blood pressure and a raised risk of heart attacks and strokes," said study author Professor Liffert Vogt of Amsterdam University Medical Centers, the Netherlands. "Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake but this is difficult to achieve when our diets include processed foods. Potassium helps the body excrete more sodium in the urine. In our study, dietary potassium was linked with the greatest health gains in women."

The study included 24,963 participants (11,267 men and 13,696 women) of the EPIC-Norfolk study, which recruited 40 to 79 year olds from general practices in Norfolk, UK, between 1993 and 1997. The average age was 59 years for men and 58 years for women. Participants completed a questionnaire on lifestyle habits, blood pressure was measured, and a urine sample was collected. Urinary sodium and potassium were used to estimate dietary intake. Participants were divided into tertiles according to sodium intake (low/medium/high) and potassium intake (low/medium/high).

The researchers analysed the association between potassium intake and blood pressure after adjusting for age, sex and sodium intake. Potassium consumption (in grams per day) was associated with blood pressure in women -- as intake went up, blood pressure went down. When the association was analysed according to sodium intake (low/medium/high), the relationship between potassium and blood pressure was only observed in women with high sodium intake, where every 1 gram increase in daily potassium was associated with a 2.4 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure. In men, there was no association between potassium and blood pressure.

During a median follow-up of 19.5 years, 13,596 (55%) participants were hospitalised or died due to cardiovascular disease. The researchers analysed the association between potassium intake and cardiovascular events after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, sodium intake, use of lipid lowering drugs, smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes and prior heart attack or stroke. In the overall cohort, people in the highest tertile of potassium intake had a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular events compared to those in the lowest tertile. When men and women were analysed separately, the corresponding risk reductions were 7% and 11%, respectively. The amount of salt in the diet did not influence the relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events in men or women.

Professor Vogt said: "The results suggest that potassium helps preserve heart health, but that women benefit more than men. The relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events was the same regardless of salt intake, suggesting that potassium has other ways of protecting the heart on top of increasing sodium excretion."

The World Health Organization recommends that adults consume at least 3.5 grams of potassium and less than 2 grams of sodium (5 grams of salt) per day.2 High potassium foods include vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, dairy products and fish. For example, a 115 gram banana has 375 mg of potassium, 154 grams of cooked salmon has 780 mg, a 136 gram potato has 500 mg, and 1 cup of milk has 375 mg.

Professor Vogt concluded: "Our findings indicate that a heart healthy diet goes beyond limiting salt to boosting potassium content. Food companies can help by swapping standard sodium-based salt for a potassium salt alternative in processed foods. On top of that, we should all prioritise fresh, unprocessed foods since they are both rich in potassium and low in salt."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220721204852.htm

Seven-month-old babies already have a sense of symmetry

August 8, 2022

Science Daily/University of the Basque Country

A collaborative study examined the spontaneous looking patterns of 7-month-old babies when presented with mosaic-like sequences with a symmetrical and asymmetrical structure. The results show that these babies quickly detect whether a mosaic has a symmetrical structure, suggesting a robust, automatic ability to extract structure from complex images.

The UPV/EHU's Gogo Elebiduna research group is a pioneer in the field of psycholinguistics; it conducts research of various kinds to obtain knowledge about how the language faculty is acquired, represented and organised in the brains of speakers, and about the nature of the universal characteristics of language representation and processing.

The group's Ikerbasque research fellow Irene de la Cruz-Pavía conducted a study in collaboration with the University of Padua researcher Judit Gervain and which was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE; it explores the ability of 7-month-old infants to perceive structural symmetry in abstract, mosaic-like visual patterns. This research was carried out at the University of Paris. "We examined the spontaneous looking patterns of almost 100 infants when presented with mosaic-like sequences displaying symmetrical and asymmetrical structures," the researchers explained.

These mosaics comprised two categories of square tiles (A and B) that differed in terms of their colour scheme and internal shape. These tiles were arranged to create mosaics with symmetrical (e.g. ABA, ABABA) or asymmetrical (e.g. AAB, AABBA) structures. The study found that the infants "discriminated between structurally symmetrical and asymmetrical mosaics, and that the length of the sequence (3 or 5 tiles) or the level of symmetry did not significantly modulate their behaviour." These results suggest that infants quickly detect structural symmetry in complex visual patterns: "Babies as young as 7 months have a robust, automatic ability to detect that a structure is symmetrical. This ability coincides with those found in studies we conducted using other stimuli, such as sign language or speech, demonstrating that babies are simply very good at detecting structures and regularities," said the researcher in the UPV/EHU's Department of Linguistics and Basque Studies.

Ability of babies to extract structure and rules from various media

As the Ikerbasque research fellow pointed out, "the grammar of a language consists of the set of structures and rules of a language. I want to understand to what extent infants' abilities to extract structures, detect regularities and learn rules are specific to language or whether they are found in other areas." "We conducted this study using information that is visual but which is not language. With these mosaics, we were able to see how babies were capable of extracting structure from different media."

The researchers stress that this study allows them to better understand "these infants' fundamental skills, which will enable them to start initially with some of the more accessible parts of grammar and gradually build up to something as complex as the grammar of a language. What we want to understand is this: what are the fundamental abilities of babies when it comes to detecting structure?"

"We have many more questions to answer," they concluded. "In this study we were able to determine that babies are able to detect structures spontaneously and quickly. Now we want to understand when this ability begins, and the degree of detail with which they analyse that structure and what aspects of the mosaics allow them to detect its structure (the shape, the colour, both...)."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220808162226.htm

Moms' problems linked to adolescent attachment issues

Mothers' own experiences with caregivers may be important driver within this relationship

August 9, 2022

Science Daily/University of Houston

Psychology research finds that moms with personality disorder symptoms impact their adolescent children who subsequently show a higher likelihood of insecure attachment which can impact their socio-emotional development and mental health.

It should come as no great surprise that mothers have profound influence on their children. But what about mothers who have their own personality disorder symptoms, such as problems getting along with others? New research finds, for the first time, that maternal personality disorder symptoms impact their adolescent children who subsequently show a higher likelihood of insecure attachment.

Secure attachment is the goal -- it is when children feel comforted by the presence of their parent of caregiver and is a significant factor for socio-emotional development and mental health in youth. Previous research has shown that insecure attachment is associated with depression and anxiety, delinquency and substance use problems, and poorer social competence in children.

"When mothers struggle in their own interpersonal relationships, the passing on of secure attachment and healthy relationship functioning to adolescent offspring seem to be impeded," reports Carla Sharp, professor of psychology and director of the University of Houston Developmental Psychopathology Lab, in the journal Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation. "Maternal interpersonal problems were associated with higher levels of insecure attachment in adolescent offspring such that adolescents would either dismiss the need for attachment with their moms or show angry preoccupation with the relationship with their moms."

While mothers' problems have long been shown to be associated with maladaptive adult attachment in close or romantic relationships, this is the first study to examine relationships with offspring attachment. The research could inform interventions to prevent or reduce youth psychopathology and other negative outcomes.

Parent-child attachment security continues to play an important role through adolescence, which is thought to be the second most critical developmental window after infancy and early childhood.

Sharp and team interviewed 351 psychiatric inpatient adolescents (average age of 15 and 64% female) and their biological mothers. Participants were asked about distressing interpersonal behaviors that they find "hard to do" (e.g., "It is hard for me to feel close to other people") or "do too much" (e.g., "I try to please other people too much"). Children were assessed on their ability to describe their attachment experiences coherently and collaboratively and to reflect on these experiences and their impact on them.

The team also examined whether mothers' recalled bonding with their own mothers to explain the relationship with their children. It did.

"The way that parents recalled their experiences with their caregivers is likely impacted by their own interpersonal functioning and may impact the relationship that they build with their children," said Sophie Kerr, first author of the article and graduate student of Sharp's.

Those results will drive researchers to further examine mechanisms of intergenerational risk to tailor interventions aimed to improve parent-child relations and attachment.

"Findings highlight the mediating role of the mothers' recalled experiences with caregivers in the impact of their interpersonal problems on adolescents, suggesting interventions that enhance interpersonal function such as mentalization-based interventions may be helpful for mothers with interpersonal problems and personality pathology," said Sharp.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220809141259.htm

Targeting impulsivity early in adolescence could prevent later behavioral disorders

Study supports early intervention to halt cascading chain

August 9, 2022

Science Daily/Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Tendencies toward impulsivity in early adolescence are linked with a variety of poor outcomes in later adolescence, including antisocial personality disorder and alcohol use disorder. However, by the time teenagers reach mid-adolescence, it may be too late to target impulsivity to prevent the development of these behavioral disorders.

Past research has shown the link between impulsivity and these disorders, but not how it unfolds. Now, a new study based on data tracking hundreds of Philadelphia youth over more than a half-dozen years details the complex pathway connecting impulsivity, alcohol use, and antisocial behavior.

The findings suggest that targeting adolescents who exhibit high levels of impulsivity in early adolescence could halt a cascading chain of events that leads to late-adolescence antisocial personality disorder (APD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

"Kids with impulse control problems are at risk for a variety of adverse outcomes, such as drug use, acting-out behavior, and antisocial behavior," said study co-author Dan Romer, research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. "What we've found is that you've got to start mitigating impulsivity before it starts influencing behaviors that lead to substance use and antisocial behavior disorders. Once adolescents are on a trajectory of engaging in those behaviors, it may become more difficult to prevent disorders later in adolescence than it is to treat impulsivity itself."

The open-access study, published this week in the Journal of Adolescent Health, was conducted by researchers from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC), University of Amsterdam, University of Oregon, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Trajectory Study

The study is based on data from the Philadelphia Trajectory Study, a six-wave study during which participants ages 10 to 12 were interviewed annually from 2004 to 2010, with a final two-year follow-up in 2012. The current study relies on five years of self-reported data, from waves 3 through 6. During the final wave the participants were 18 to 21 years old. The study was based on data from 364 adolescents (at wave 3) of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The researchers said that to the best of their knowledge, "this is the first study to investigate cascading mediating links between impulsivity, alcohol use, and antisocial behavior across adolescence."

Adolescent impulsivity and antisocial behavior

The researchers found that from early to mid-adolescence, changes in impulsivity predicted changes in antisocial behavior and alcohol use. But by the time the participants had reached mid- to late adolescence, changes in impulsivity no longer predicted those behaviors. Instead, it was engaging in antisocial behavior that predicted subsequent symptoms of both alcohol use and antisocial personality disorders.

"It is also important to target antisocial behavior to interrupt the cascade that predicts both alcohol use disorder and antisocial personality disorder," said the lead author, Ivy Defoe, an assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam and a former postdoctoral fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center. "In fact, the study showed that increases in antisocial behavior in mid- to late adolescence further predicted increases in impulsivity as well. This is consistent with labeling theory that suggests that individuals who show antisocial behavior are subsequently labeled as 'antisocial' or 'rule-breakers,' which causes them to further exhibit attributes that are associated with such behavior."

In view of the mental health crisis among adolescents, it is critical to identify youths with conditions that can lead to later disorders. Screening for such conditions is one way to alert parents about the risks and to refer youths for treatment. As the researchers said, "Intervening early is critical to further avoid the consequences of impulsivity which are more difficult to reverse once psychopathology has developed." Such interventions, the researchers said, could include mindfulness training and family-based interventions in which parents and caregivers work to help their child overcome harmful impulsive tendencies.

Most of the participants were from families with a low-middle socioeconomic status (SES). The researchers found that socioeconomic status was a significant predictor of impulsivity at each wave of the study. "Future research could further investigate the mechanisms by which early exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage influences heightened impulsivity during adolescence, including impacts on child executive functioning and parenting behaviors," the researchers said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220809194924.htm

How college students perceive academic stress affects their mental well-being

Students who are nonbinary, female or in their second year of college are most affected by academic stress

August 9, 2022

Science Daily/Rutgers University

Academic stress takes a toll on the mental well-being of certain groups of college students more than others - a correlation further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School study.

Published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers found a significant correlation between perceived academic stress and poor mental well-being in all the students, but most acutely in those who are nonbinary, female or those who were in the second year of a four-year program.

"This study shows that college students are not uniformly impacted by academic stress or pandemic-related stress and that certain groups should be offered additional resources and support," said study author Xue Ming, a professor of neurology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. "The findings support prior studies that have shown that nonbinary adults face adverse mental health outcomes when compared to male- and female-identifying adults."

According to the American Psychological Association, up to 87 percent of U.S. college students cite education as their primary source of stress - arising from demanding course loads, studying, time management, classroom competition, financial concerns, family pressures and difficulty adapting to new environments - but few studies have looked at how that stress directly affects mental health.

The study sought to determine if a relationship exists between college students' perceived academic stress and their mental well-being, to identify groups that could experience varying levels of academic stress and mental health and to explore how the perception of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is affecting stress levels.

Researchers surveyed 843 college students between ages 18 and 30 in each academic year of study using questions from the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), which measures mental well-being and positive mental health, and questions from the Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PAS), which assesses sources of perceived academic stress and measures three main academic stressors: academic expectations; workload and examinations; and academic self-perceptions of students.

Nonbinary students reported the highest stress levels and worst psychological well-being, followed by female students. Both groups also reported higher COVID-19-related stress than males. Second-year students reported higher academic stress levels and worse mental well-being than students in other academic years. First-year students scored the best on the Perception of Academic Stress Scale, including stress resulting from COVID-19.

The researchers believe that second-year students as a group might be more affected by academic stress because they start taking more advanced courses, manage heavier academic workloads and explore different majors. Other factors could include increased studying and having less well-established social support networks and coping mechanisms compared with upperclass students.

"Colleges should consider offering tailored mental health resources to these groups to improve students' stress levels and psychological well-being," Ming said. "To raise awareness and destigmatize mental health, colleges can distribute confidential validated assessments, such as the PAS and SWEMWBS, in class and teach students to self-score so they can monitor their stress and mental well-being."

The researchers also recommend colleges provide stress-management and coping strategies such as mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy as well as offer stress-reduction peer support groups to help build resilience.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220809194856.htm

Air pollution, including during wildfires, shows ill effects in children

Markers for inflammation, cardiac regulation

August 5, 2022

Science Daily/University of California - Davis

New research linking air pollution data from federal monitors in the Sacramento area of California, including during significant fires, is showing ill effects of pollution exposure among children, a new University of California, Davis, study suggests.

Blood samples show that children have elevated markers of inflammation, such as interleukin 6, if they were exposed to higher air pollution. Further, higher air pollution was linked to lower cardiac autonomic regulation in children, which impacts how fast the heart beats and how hard it pumps, according to the study.

In the study, published Aug. 3 date in the journal New Directions for Child and Adolescent Research, researchers looked at blood samples from more than 100 healthy children ages 9-11 in the Sacramento area where pollutants near their homes were recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The study was authored by Anna M. Parenteau, a doctoral student, and Camelia E. Hostinar, associate professor, both from the UC Davis Department of Psychology. The work took place at UC Davis.

These findings are important because exposure to pollutants released during wildfires has been related to numerous negative health outcomes in children, who have smaller bodies and organ systems than adults, including asthma and decreased lung function, as well as neurodevelopmental outcomes like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and deficits in school performance and memory, researchers said.

Looked at particulates

Researchers looked at fine particulate matter data from the EPA (PM2.5) -- or the fine particles that can penetrate lungs and pass into the bloodstream -- finding the children's blood contained markers of systemic inflammation. Additionally, PM2.5, which refers to particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller by the EPA, was linked to lower cardiac autonomic regulation assessed using an electrocardiogram. Specifically, researchers used data files maintained by the EPA, which have daily air quality summary information from each outdoor monitor in the country.

In total, 27 of the children studied had inflammation markers in their blood recorded during significant fires when their neighborhoods recorded significant levels of PM2.5 in the air. These times when fires were burning included during the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018, which was active about 100 miles from the lab where blood was drawn. The findings were similar to those found in an earlier study, in which the blood of young primates was collected by UC Davis researchers after significant wildfires.

"By examining daily and monthly levels of particulate matter in relation to children's inflammation and autonomic physiology, this study further demonstrates the immediate consequences of exposure to air pollution, which may increase risk of future disease," Parenteau said. Furthermore, Parenteau added: "As climate change continues to impact children and families, it is paramount to understand the impact of environmental contaminants such as air pollution on children's physiology."

Previous studies with children have shown significant associations between ambient air pollution and allergic sensitization, respiratory symptoms, and ultra-structural and cellular changes to their lungs and airways, researchers said.

Researchers have found children may be especially susceptible to the effects of air pollution, given that, compared to adults, they have a higher intake of contaminants and greater lung surface area relative to their body weight.

Continued developmental research on environmental contaminants can sound the alarm about the effects of air pollution and inform policy changes that could promote long-term population health, researchers concluded.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220805091228.htm

How learning about wellbeing can benefit university students' own wellbeing

Studying wellbeing science could be a key way of improving how today's students cope with the pressures they face

August 5, 2022

Science Daily/Swansea University

Studying wellbeing science as part of their courses could be a key way of improving how today's students cope with the barrage of stressors they face, according to research.

Students are a high-risk population for mental ill-health and face increasing academic demands, high levels of loneliness and sustained financial pressures, which can adversely impact on mental health.

Now a Swansea University team have taken a closer look at just what impact an optional wellbeing science module offered to undergraduates would have on students' wellbeing.

The research, by Professor Andrew Kemp and his co-authors consultant clinical psychologist Dr Zoe Fisher, of the University's Health and Wellbeing Academy and PhD student Jessica Mead, has just been published in the journal Teaching of Psychology .

Professor Kemp, who is research lead at the School of Psychology, said: "The wellbeing of university students is deteriorating, highlighting a critical role for institutions to better support student wellbeing."

Previous studies have explored the impact of positive psychology on student wellbeing, but this module created by the team moved beyond positive psychology, focusing on promoting a sense of connection to self, others, and nature.

He said: "Research tells us that wellbeing can be influenced by issues such as inequality and anthropogenic climate change. Our module encourages reflection on these issues and what students might do to within their capacity to address major societal issues of importance.

"While the capacity of individuals to promote their own wellbeing is greater than their capacity to promote collective and planetary wellbeing, there remains tremendous scope for individuals themselves to promote collective and planetary wellbeing alongside larger collaborative efforts through for example, volunteering and effective activism."

The team used questionnaires to assess students' feelings of wellbeing before and after completing the module, alongside the results from a control group which did not complete the module. Comparisons with published norms, further highlighted the beneficial impact of the module.

The team say its research is significant for several key reasons:

• students are at high risk of developing mental health difficulties;

• improvements in wellbeing have been shown to reduce future healthcare costs; and

• the findings demonstrate that wellbeing can be improved despite great hardship and suffering.

Professor Kemp explained the timing of the study was particularly relevant: "Our study was conducted during the Covid pandemic and demonstrates capacity of strategically designed modules to improve student wellbeing during challenging times.

"These findings have important implications for thinking about how the education sector might support wellbeing alongside other major societal stressors such as the climate catastrophe."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220805103722.htm

Children who lack sleep may experience detrimental impact on brain and cognitive development that persists over time

Research finds getting less than nine hours of sleep nightly associated with cognitive difficulties, mental problems, and less gray matter in certain brain regions

July 30, 2022

Science Daily/University of Maryland School of Medicine

Elementary school-age children who get less than nine hours of sleep per night have significant differences in certain brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who get the recommended nine to 12 hours of sleep per night, according to a new study led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. Such differences correlated with greater mental health problems, like depression, anxiety, and impulsive behaviors, in those who lacked sleep. Inadequate sleep was also linked to cognitive difficulties with memory, problem solving and decision making. The findings were published today in the journal Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that children aged 6 to 12 years of age sleep 9 to 12 hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health. Up until now, no studies have examined the long-lasting impact of insufficient sleep on the neurocognitive development of pre-teens.

To conduct the study, the researchers examined data that were collected from more than 8,300 children aged 9 to 10 years who were enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. They examined MRI images, medical records, and surveys completed by the participants and their parents at the time of enrollment and at a two-year follow-up visit at 11 to 12 years of age. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the ABCD study is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the US.

"We found that children who had insufficient sleep, less than nine hours per night, at the beginning of the study had less grey matter or smaller volume in certain areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory and inhibition control compared to those with healthy sleep habits," said study corresponding author Ze Wang, PhD, Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at UMSOM. "These differences persisted after two years, a concerning finding that suggests long term harm for those who do not get enough sleep."

This is one of the first findings to demonstrate the potential long-term impact of lack of sleep on neurocognitive development in children. It also provides substantial support for the current sleep recommendations in children, according to Dr. Wang and his colleagues.

In follow-up assessments, the research team found that participants in the sufficient sleep group tended to gradually sleep less over two years, which is normal as children move into their teen years, whereas sleep patterns of participants in the insufficient sleep group did not change much. The researchers controlled for socioeconomic status, gender, puberty status and other factors that could impact how much a child sleeps and affect brain and cognition.

"We tried to match the two groups as closely as possible to help us more fully understand the long-term impact on too little sleep on the pre-adolescent brain," Dr. Wang said. "Additional studies are needed to confirm our finding and to see whether any interventions can improve sleep habits and reverse the neurological deficits."

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to promote good sleep habits in their children. Their tips include making sufficient sleep a family priority, sticking with a regular sleep routine, encouraging physical activity during the day, limiting screen time and eliminating screens completely an hour before bed.

The study was funded by NIH. Fan Nils Yang, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Wang's laboratory is a study co-author. Weizhen Xie, PhD, a researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is also a study co-author. UMSOM faculty members Thomas Ernst, PhD, and Linda Chang, MD, MS, are co-principal investigators of the ABCD study at the Baltimore site but were not involved in the data analysis of this new study.

"This is a crucial study finding that points to the importance of doing long-term studies on the developing child's brain," said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Sleep can often be overlooked during busy childhood days filled with homework and extracurricular activities. Now we see how detrimental that can be to a child's development."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220730125455.htm

Our social interactions begin at a young age

July 27, 2022

Science Daily/NCCR Evolving Language (National Centre of Competence in Research)

Children demonstrate early in life social skills and a strong desire to interact with their peers. They engage in social interactions more often than our closest relatives, the great apes, a new study finds. This social and natural predisposition of humans for interaction appears to be a key element in understanding the evolution of language.

What do building pyramids, going to the moon, paddling a two-person canoe or dancing a waltz have in common? All these actions are the result of a common goal between multiple partners and leads to a mutual sense of obligation, known as "joint commitment." This ability to cooperate is universal in humans and to certain species of animals, like the great apes.

However, humans seem to have a unique predisposition and strong desire for social interaction that may be one of the components of the emergence of language, according to the authors of the study. How do our social interactions differ from other species? And why? To answer these questions, an international team analysed the interactions of 31 children between the ages of 2 and 4 in four preschools in the United States (10 hours per child). "There have been only a few quantitative analyses of the spontaneous social interactions of 2 and 4 year olds while interacting with peers, although it is a critical age for the development of children's socio-cognitive abilities. And the ones that exist are either not based on extensive video recordings following individual children for several days or simply do not allow an easy comparison with great apes' social interactions," adds Federico Rossano, first author of the study and Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego. They then compared their results with similar interactions in adults and great apes

Multiplication of social partners

The researchers analysed the environmental factors (number of partners, types of activities, etc.) surrounding the children. They found that children have more frequent (an average of 13 distinct social interactions per hour) and shorter (an average of 28 seconds) social interactions with their peers than great apes in comparable studies. Adrian Bangerter, co-author of the study and professor at the University of Neuchâtel explains why: "By being exposed to many partners, children learn quickly about the need to coordinate with each other's behaviour." The numbers support this quick learning: 4-year-olds already participate in cooperative social interactions more often than 2-year-olds and fight less than 2-year-olds. "Learning how to coordinate with others and how to communicate towards engaging in joint activities goes hand-in-hand with learning how to minimise conflict" adds Rossano.

Social interactions are usually marked by an entry and an exit phase (when one starts a conversation with eye contact and a "hello" and then signalling that it is ending by repeating "okay, fine" or with a "goodbye"). These signals are also present in 90% of social engagements in bonobos and 69% in chimpanzees. It appears that young children use these signals only 66-69% of the time, less frequently than bonobos and adults. "On one hand this might be due to the appreciation that they will interact again with the same children throughout the day, like two passengers sitting next to each other on a plane starting and stopping quick conversations throughout a flight without using greetings each time they resume talking. On the other hand, it might reflect the fact that not every social interaction is based on joint commitment to each other, i.e. at times young children might be bulldozing their way in and assume other children will just adapt to them rather than coordinating," Rossano explains. More empirical research will be needed to confirm these behaviours, however this study is a first step in the understanding of the role of joint commitment for human social interaction and how it impacted the evolution of language.

Cooperation in Swiss children

A similar study is currently conducted within the framework of The NCCR Evolving Language, a Swiss research centre that aims at unravelling the biological foundations of language, its evolutionary past and the challenges imposed by new technologies. A team including the co-authors of the University of Neuchâtel is working with the after-school care facilities of Neuchâtel and aims to understand the development of joint action in children by observing how their use of so-called back-channel words (uh-huh, okay) changes over time when they play a LEGO® cooperative game. Adrian Bangerter explains why those terms are important to analyse: "We use "small" words like okay, uh-huh, yeah, or right all the time to synchronise our behaviour with our partners. Yet so little is known about how young children acquire the use of them."

Social interactions facilitated language evolution

The paper was published in the context of a special issue (https://evolvinglanguage.ch/special-issue-on-social-interaction/) that focuses on the "Interaction Engine" Hypothesis. This hypothesis postulates that social abilities and motivations in humans were determining factors in the evolution of human language, whose origins remain unknown. In a series of 14 papers edited by Raphaela Heesen of Durham University and Marlen Fröhlich of the University of Tübingen, researchers investigate the social-cognitive capacities that paved the way for the emergence of language by proposing a multidisciplinary and comparative approach. The NCCR Evolving Language is part of this special issue with seven of its researchers co-authoring 4 papers.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220727110250.htm

Sports help kids develop important trait linked to adult success

July 27, 2022

Science Daily/Ohio State University

Here's another good reason for kids to participate in organized sports: They can develop the "grit" that helps them overcome challenges as adults, a new study suggests.

Grit is defined as the combination of passion and perseverance that helps people achieve their long-term goals. This new research found that adults who played sports as a kid scored higher on a measurement of grit than adults who didn't play at all or said they quit.

The results suggest that the lessons children learn in sports can have a positive impact on their lives long after they grow up, said Emily Nothnagle, lead author of the study and recent graduate of The Ohio State University.

"Kids who participate in sports learn what it is like to struggle as they learn new skills, overcome challenges and bounce back from failure to try again," Nothnagle said.

"The grit they develop playing sports can help them the rest of their lives."

But all is not lost for adults who didn't play as children -- the study also found that adults who said they participated in sports during the past year showed more grit than those who didn't, said study co-author Chris Knoester, associate professor of sociology at Ohio State.

The study was published recently in the journal Leisure Sciences.

Survey data came from the National Sports and Society Survey (NSASS), sponsored by Ohio State's Sports and Society Initiative.

The survey was completed by 3,993 adults who volunteered to participate through the American Population Panel, run by Ohio State's Center for Human Resource Research.

Participants, who live in all 50 states, answered the survey online between the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. Because NSASS participants are disproportionately female, white and Midwestern, the researchers weighted the survey results to reflect the U.S. population more accurately.

Grit was measured by asking participants to rate themselves on a scale of 1-5 on eight statements, including "I am diligent. I never give up" and "I am a hard worker." None of the statements was directly related to sports.

Initial results showed that 34% of those who played sports as a youth scored high on the grit scale, compared to only 23% of those who didn't play sports.

And 25% of those who never played sports scored low on the grit scale, compared to just 17% of those who did play sports.

More sophisticated statistical analyses that accounted for respondents' demographic characteristics supported these findings, too.

But to get the benefit of sports participation, kids have to keep at it and play continually, results suggested.

"Adults who played youth sports but dropped out did not show higher levels of grit. They actually demonstrated lower levels of grit after we included a proxy measure of how sports mattered for the development of grit while growing up," Knoester said.

The proxy measure was based on respondents' perceptions of how their athletic experience affected their work ethic.

"Quitting could reflect a lack of perseverance, which is a crucial component of grit. It could also make quitting an activity, and not persevering, easier the next time."

Adults who played sports as kids generally perceived that the experience helped improve their work ethic. And that perception was linked to their grit scores as adults.

But even after taking this finding into account, sports participation boosted grit scores, findings showed.

"Sport participation seems to have improved people's development of grit even more than they realized," Nothnagle said.

But could some people just be born with the grit to help them succeed at sports as a young person and then continue to benefit from that trait as an adult? Knoester said this study can't definitively prove the answer to that question, but the results suggest that people can gain or lose grit throughout life.

Adults who said they participated in sports regularly within the last year exhibited higher levels of grit, regardless of whether they played sports early in life and the extent to which they felt that their athletic experiences affected their work ethic while growing up.

"This additional finding about sports participation in adulthood suggests that you can build and perhaps lose grit during different points in your life," Knoester said. "It is not a static quality."

Participants in the study weren't asked how they participated in sports as an adult. It may be that many challenged themselves through personal training or workouts, rather than in organized sports as they did as kids, the researchers said.

The results shouldn't be interpreted as meaning that grit doesn't have a downside, though, Nothnagle noted.

"There can be issues if you use grit without some limits. An overemphasis on applying grit in sports activities can lead some people to overtrain and injure themselves, for example," she said.

But overall, the results suggest that along with the health and other benefits of sports, the development of grit could be another positive impact.

"Sports offer this valuable place in society where you can work hard and practice and take it seriously, but it is also not real life to some extent- typically, sports are thought of as a separate sphere of life and the stakes in sports are not as far-reaching and extreme," Knoester said.

"But you can take those lessons you learn and practice in sports, such as building grit, and apply them in your life outside of sports in very useful ways."

Feeling addicted to food? Your parents' drinking habits may impact your risk

July 26, 2022

Science Daily/University of Michigan

People with a parent with a history of alcohol problems are at greater risk for showing signs of addiction to highly processed foods, a new University of Michigan study found.

These foods, such as ice cream, chocolate, pizza and fries, contain unnaturally high amounts of refined carbohydrates and fats that may trigger an addictive response in some people.

U-M researchers wanted to know if a major risk factor for addiction -- a parent with alcohol problems -- predicted an increased risk of addiction to highly processed foods.

As many as 1 in 5 people seem to show this clinically significant addiction to highly processed foods, marked by a loss of control over intake, intense cravings and an inability to cut down despite negative consequences.

"People who have a family history of addiction may be at greater risk for developing a problematic relationship with highly processed foods, which is really challenging in a food environment where these foods are cheap, accessible and heavily marketed," said Lindzey Hoover, U-M psychology graduate student and the study's lead author.

But addictive responses didn't end with food, as people with food addiction were also more likely to exhibit personal problems with alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping, the research showed.

Diets dominated by highly processed food and excessive intake of addictive substances are leading causes of preventable death in the modern world. This study suggests that interventions are needed to simultaneously reduce addictive eating and substance use.

"Public health approaches that have reduced the harm of other addictive substances, like restricting marketing to kids, may be important to consider to reduce the negative impact of highly processed foods," Hoover said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220726132538.htm

Financial and sleeping difficulties are key mental health risk indicators in university students

July 26, 2022

Science Daily/University of Warwick

A new study of student wellbeing during the pandemic by the University of Warwick has identified worsened financial situation and sleep difficulties as key indicators of individuals at higher risk of developing mental health issues.

The findings will be valuable to higher education institutions in identifying those students at higher risk of developing mental health issues, and will help to inform policies and interventions aimed at preventing these issues.

The study, published today (26 July) in the journal BJPsychOpen, is based on a survey of 895 university students and 547 young adults who were not in higher education taken between July and September 2020, with 201 of those university students also followed-up after 6 months. The research was funded by the University of Warwick's Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) COVID Research Programme Award and supported by the Warwick Health Global Research Priorities.

Analysis of their responses showed several consistent factors linked to high levels of poor mental health at the end of the first lockdown in the UK: age, previous mental health conditions, carer status, worse-off financial status and increased sleep irregularity and difficulty.

When they compared the responses of university students to those from non-students of a similar age, there were no significant differences between the two groups in mental health symptoms, except for a higher substance misuse risk found in non-students.

When recontacting a subset of students who responded between January -- March 2021, the researchers found that increased financial difficulties and difficulty sleeping would consistently predict poorer mental health. They also found that there was a reduction in mental health symptoms over time, with the percentage of students reporting symptoms of anxiety reduced from 72.1% to 59.3% over six months, and for depression it was reduced from 69.8% to 61.4%. The researchers suggest that this could be due to students adapting to some symptoms as the pandemic evolved, though some symptoms were more ingrained.

The demographic profile of the study participants is comparable to the profile of the student population in the UK, suggesting that the findings would be of use to universities across the country.

Intervention and prevention measures available for each group may be applied to both populations for greater generalisability.

Lead author Professor Nicole Tang, from the University's Department of Psychology and Co-Lead of the University Health GRP Mental Health theme, said: "There is a wealth of information generated by this study that universities can utilise to inform policies, prevention and intervention strategies. Whilst there are markers of mental health issues that we cannot change, for example, age, a history of mental health conditions, and being a carer, we can use them to identify individuals at risk and provide enhanced support.

"Some of the indicators of future mental health issues are things that we can act on, for example, a worsened financial situation, reduced physical activity and increased sleep difficulties. Within the university system, there are established bursary programmes and infrastructure for promoting sports and activities. There are also proven-effective treatments on acute and chronic insomnia that can be applied to help students better regulate their sleep, in the midst of overwhelming stress and a loss of normal routine.

"What is also interesting is that the study shows mental health is a multidimensional concept, and can be seen as a profile of different symptoms, which appear to respond to the pandemic experience differently."

Dr Hannah Friend, Director of Wellbeing and Safeguarding at the University of Warwick, said: "Research is a critical component of Warwick's Wellbeing Strategy. This study reinforces the importance of utilising our research expertise to better inform what we do, and specifically to further define our priorities and objectives on Prevention and Early Intervention. I'm delighted that we are successfully joining up research and practice in a whole organisation approach to wellbeing."

Dr Elaine Lockhart, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said: "While this research highlights the current pressures facing students' wellbeing and mental health, it also highlights the need for continued support to mental health services in and outside university settings. However, those who develop more acute mental health problems must be able to access specialist services for diagnosis and evidence-based treatment. With life returning to some degree of normality, students still face the worry of the pandemic and its economic consequences."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220725203609.htm

Children compensate lack of focused concentration through creativity

Study shows that children find their own solutions thanks to broad focus

July 25, 2022

Science Daily/Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Many children have a hard time with tasks requiring concentration, but are often good at discovering hidden 'tricks' to make the task easier. Spontaneous strategy changes help them to achieve this.

Children have a hard time with tasks requiring concentration, but are often good at discovering hidden "tricks" to make the task easier. Spontaneous strategy changes help them to achieve this. The study on learning behavior in children by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin was published in the journal PloS ONE.

Compared to adults, children cannot concentrate as well yet, remember less and have a relatively short attention span. This can be ascribed to the stage of cognitive development. As a result -- as had been assumed so far -- they have a disadvantage when solving tasks. However, a study by the Max Planck Research Group "NeuroCode -- Neural and Computational Basis of Learning, Memory and Decision Making" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development now shows that this broader attentional focus can also prove to be an advantage: children are good at processing less relevant information and using it to spontaneously find new and creative strategies when solving tasks.

Adults, too, show spontaneous strategy changes when solving tasks, similar to so-called "aha-moments" that make solving a task easier. The journal article shows that while children perform significantly worse when solving tasks using traditional strategies, such as focused attention, they are just as likely as adults to master tasks using spontaneous strategy shifts.

"Our results show that while children are often less focused and more easily distracted than adults, they are surprisingly flexible in discovering entirely new solutions," says psychologist and neuroscientist Nicolas Schuck, group leader of the Max Planck Research Group "NeuroCode" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. "Especially considering their not fully developed ability to concentrate, these are important results for researching learning behavior in children," Schuck added.

The study, which has been ongoing since 2013, used the following method to conduct research: 47 children between the ages of 8 and 10 and 39 young adults between the ages of 20 and 35 were asked to perform the same decision-making task. In this task, they were asked to determine the position of a pattern using two possible answers. The color of the pattern was not initially relevant for the correct answer, but began to correlate with the correct answer as the task progressed. If participants noticed this, they were able to solve the task much more efficiently and easily. Participants were not informed that there would be other factors influencing the possible solution strategies and could only identify them independently. The NeuroCode team at MPIB, in collaboration with researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, FernUniversität Hagen, Humbold University Berlin, UNSW Sydney, and PFH Göttingen, found the following results: Compared to the young adults, children generally performed significantly worse in solving the task. They committed more incorrect and premature answers. However, the proportion of children (27.5%) who discovered and used the helpful color strategy was very similar to that of the young adults (28.2%).

As long as children only used the initial strategies and rules available, which required concentration and persistence, they performed worse. However, a similar proportion of children and young adults discovered and used the color rule. Thus, although children performed worse in all areas of cognitive control, an almost equal proportion of them compared to the young adults were able to improve through an "aha moment," and thus gained a similar performance advantage as the adult group.

The newfound knowledge around the "aha moment" is an important finding of the study. "Our findings provide evidence that educators, parents, and teachers should be less insistent on rigid rules by only teaching one concrete way to solve problems, but also value and encourage children's broader attentional focus. Our findings show: We can have more confidence in children's creative problem-solving strategies," says Anika Löwe of the NeuroCode team and co-author of the study.

In the future, she says, in the field of cognitive developmental psychology there should be more research on creative processes rather than on the lack of concentration in children.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220725105704.htm

Healthy sleep habits before kindergarten help children adjust to school

July 21, 2022

Science Daily/Penn State

The transition to kindergarten is a notable milestone for children and families, who typically prepare by gathering school supplies and meeting the teacher. New research suggests that one important way to prepare for the transition to first-time schooling is to develop a bedtime routine in which children consistently get at least 10 hours of sleep at night, which will help them adjust during the transition.

In a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, a team of researchers led by Doug Teti, distinguished professor of human development and family studies, professor of psychology and pediatrics, and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, found that in addition to an easier adjustment to kindergarten, children who sleep at least 10 hours during the night on a regular basis demonstrated more success in emotional development, learning engagement, and academic performance across the kindergarten year. This was found after statistically controlling for families' income-to-needs ratios, child health status, and number of missed days of school.

The researchers used a movement-tracking watch to record 220 children's sleep habits for four, week-long periods across the course of their kindergarten year, starting in July-August before the academic year began. They then measured sleep habits of these children again in September, November, and April. Alongside these tracking periods, teachers and staff evaluated the students' adjustments to kindergarten.

"We found that children who had 10 or more hours of sleep per night on a regular basis, particularly before the kindergarten year began, tended to maintain that more optimal sleep pattern across their full kindergarten year," said Teti. "This has significant implications for anyone interested in promoting healthier sleep patterns in children making the transition to first-time schooling; parents should do what they can to help their children regularly get most -- if not all -- of their sleep during night hours before the school year even begins."

With these data, researchers also looked at the regularity with which the children got at least 10 hours of sleep over 24 hours, instead of sleeping only at night. Getting 10 or more hours of sleep over the course of 24 hours did not have any influence on the child's transition to kindergarten. The finding suggests that "making up" for less sleep at night by taking naps during the day does not have great value in helping children make the adjustment to school.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends that kindergarten-aged children should get 10-13 hours of sleep across a 24-hour time period. However, the outcome of this study indicates that, for those children about to start formal schooling, those hours should be concentrated at nighttime to have the most impact on a child's transition to and success in kindergarten.

For families anticipating their child starting kindergarten, Teti suggests setting routines and expectations for healthy sleep hygiene even before school starts.

"Sleep hygiene is the habits we adopt that influence how we sleep," said Teti. "Good sleep hygiene for children should include organized and consistent bedtime routines, limited screen access, and a bedtime at or before 9 p.m."

Teti recommends avoiding screen time, including TVs, video games, and tablets, at least 30 minutes before bedtime. He also recommends being involved and present during children's bedtimes, implementing a consistent calming bedtime routine that helps prepare children for sleep. That routine could include bath time, reading a book, and talking in a quiet environment.

"Good sleep hygiene appears to be just as beneficial for young children as it is for adults. Establishing habits that lead to a good night's sleep before the kindergarten year begins seems to give kids a leg up when making that transition to formal schooling. These are promising results, and we hope to test them further in a future family intervention study."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220721152238.htm