Psychology News and Research

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Psychology is the study of human mental functions, behavior and processes.

Women with cancer have worse health behaviors after mammography

A recent study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has found that female cancer survivors receiving screening mammography have "worse health behaviors" than women receiving mammography screening and who had never had cancer.

16 Feb 2012

Controversy over psychiatric diagnosis reaches a fever pitch

As the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is revised for the first time since 1994, controversy about psychiatric diagnosis is reaching a fever pitch.

16 Feb 2012

Traumatic brain injury linked to PTSD: UCLA study

UCLA life scientists and their colleagues have provided the first evidence of a causal link between traumatic brain injury and an increased susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder.

16 Feb 2012

Thrombocytosis linked to severity of ovarian cancer

Highly elevated platelet levels fuel tumor growth and reduce the survival of ovarian cancer patients, an international team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center reports in the New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Feb 2012

Ability of the brain to rehearse is critical to make newly acquired memory more permanent

Edmonton-University of Alberta researchers have established that the ability of the brain to rehearse or repeat electrical impulses may be absolutely critical in order to make a newly acquired memory more permanent.

15 Feb 2012

Study to examine relationship between oral and silent reading in children

When a beginning reader reads aloud, her progress is apparent: Hunched over a book, little index finger blazing the way, she moves intently from sound to sound, word to word. I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am! But when that same child reads silently, it's much harder to measure how much she is reading -- or understanding. Yet as she advances through school, teachers will expect her to learn increasingly through silent rather than oral reading.

15 Feb 2012

People with rich fantasy lives may be susceptible to dissociative identity disorder

Scientific research has shed new light on dissociative symptoms and dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. This condition seems to arise most often when a vulnerable person meets a therapist with a suggestive line of questioning or encounters sensationalized media portrayals of dissociation. Research shows that people with rich fantasy lives may be especially susceptible to such influences.

15 Feb 2012

Top four reasons why many dieters fail to lose weight

It's been more than one month since the new year and swimsuit season is lurking on the horizon - how are those weight-loss resolutions working out? "Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance," says Jessica Bartfield,MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at Loyola University Health System's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital.

15 Feb 2012

First study to look at suicide ideation and self-harm in LGBT youths

What protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youths from considering suicide and, conversely, what makes them most vulnerable to it? The question is of paramount concern because these youths are at least twice as likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youths, prompting the national "It Gets Better Project" with encouraging video messages from such public figures as Lady Gaga and President Barack Obama.

15 Feb 2012

Penn State researchers develop new app for caffeine drinkers

Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and soda are the pick-me-ups of choice for many people, but too much caffeine can cause nervousness and sleep problems.

14 Feb 2012

Study examines how motivation to exercise is linked to behavior

For many people, the motivation to exercise fluctuates from week to week, and these fluctuations predict whether they will be physically active, according to researchers at Penn State. In an effort to understand how the motivation to exercise is linked to behavior, the researchers examined college students' intentions to be physically active as well as their actual activity levels.

14 Feb 2012

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Teen victims of dating violence are overwhelmingly more likely to have been victims of other forms of violence, such as sexual violence and child abuse, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center.

14 Feb 2012

Oral blood samples from patients with periodontal disease can measure hemoglobin A1c

Oral blood samples drawn from deep pockets of periodontal inflammation can be used to measure hemoglobin A1c, an important gauge of a patient's diabetes status, an NYU nursing-dental research team has found.

14 Feb 2012

Changes in sense of control may actively affect cognitive abilities

Everyone has moments when they feel more in control of their lives than at other times. New research from North Carolina State University shows that this sense of control fluctuates more often, and more quickly, than previously thought - and that this sense of control may actively affect cognitive abilities.

14 Feb 2012

Internet addiction, shyness, defiance and grief on bereavement could be mental disorders – Debate on proposed DSM-5

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has attracted a lot of debate on its proposed amendments to its newest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) the outlines psychiatric symptoms in the mental-health industry.

13 Feb 2012

USC Occupational Science Symposium to be held on March 9, 2012

USC faculty and community experts are slated to convene on March 9 at the USC Occupational Science Symposium to share research and perspectives on autism and autism spectrum disorders with an audience of university colleagues and students, health professionals and public advocates.

13 Feb 2012

Most young Spaniards do not consume alcohol or illegal drugs

Despite the clich-s surrounding the habits of adolescents, the results of a study by the University of Seville show that most young people do not fit the risk profile of taking substances. Some 60% of Spaniards aged 13 to 18 say they do not take drugs and rarely drink alcohol - only in moderation - and at the same time, less than 10% admit to have taken some form of illegal drug.

10 Feb 2012

Farmers markets at medical centers may improve public health

Farmers markets at medical centers may contribute to greater wellness in surrounding communities while adding public health value to a market's mission, say Penn State College of Medicine researchers who have developed and evaluated a market created at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

10 Feb 2012

After-school program can help young adolescents avoid alcohol

A voluntary substance prevention program held after school and presented by trained facilitators can help reduce alcohol use among young adolescents, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

9 Feb 2012

Partnership aims to reduce cancer health disparities in Hispanics in Tampa, Ponce

A description of the projects and studies resulting from a research partnership initiated in 2005 between Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and the Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico, has been published in a recent issue of Health Promotion Practice.

9 Feb 2012