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How personality and social media support together relate to anxiety levels

Emotional support perceived through social media was statistically associated with lower anxiety among U.S. young adults, particularly females, in a large cross-sectional survey study. Personality traits, including openness, extraversion, agreeableness, and lower conscientiousness, predicted greater perceived online emotional support, although causal direction remains unclear.

5 Feb 2026

Maternal perinatal depression linked to autistic traits in toddlers

A research team from the Department of Psychiatry at Tohoku University, led by Dr. Zhiqian Yu and Professor Hiroaki Tomita, has uncovered compelling evidence that maternal perinatal depression - psychological distress occurring during pregnancy or postpartum - elevates the risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers, with a particularly strong impact on girls.

5 Feb 2026

Poison at play: Unsafe levels of lead found in half of New Orleans playgrounds

Sarah Hess started taking her toddler, Josie, to Mickey Markey Playground in 2010 because she thought it would offer a refuge from lead.

5 Feb 2026

Next-generation sequencing expands possibilities for newborn screening

Every year, millions of newborns undergo routine screening as a preventive strategy to detect inherited disorders before symptoms emerge.

4 Feb 2026

New card deck helps children manage stress and build resilience

A Case Western Reserve University professor has developed an innovative card deck designed to help children manage stress and build emotional resilience in today's challenging world.

4 Feb 2026

Specialized palliative care shows potential to enhance well-being in pediatric cancer patients

How to reduce suffering in children with advanced cancer remains an ongoing but urgent question. A Mass General Brigham-led study examined whether systematically surveying children with advanced cancer and their parents about their symptoms and quality of life, providing feedback to children, families, and clinicians-and acting on that information by implementing personalized palliative care-could improve patients' experiences.

4 Feb 2026

Study finds ADHD symptoms linked to higher internet addiction risk in college students

A cross-sectional study of Chinese college students found ADHD symptoms were associated with internet addiction, with insomnia and executive dysfunction acting as mediating factors. Moderate and high physical activity levels were also linked with lower internet addiction symptoms, although causality cannot be inferred.

4 Feb 2026

Lack of pediatric data restricts use of life-saving antibiotics

Life-saving antibiotics that could treat severe infections in babies and children aren't accessible due to a lack of data around safety and dosage, new research shows.

3 Feb 2026

Targeted PICU rounds reduce the rate of healthcare-associated conditions

Rounds focused on critically ill pediatric patients at the greatest risk for developing healthcare-associated conditions (HACs) reduced the rate of specific HACs by nearly 50% at a Colorado hospital, according to a study published in Critical Care Nurse (CCN).

3 Feb 2026

MRI scans reveal human brain growth from pregnancy through birth

Analyzing brain growth across pregnancy and early life, this study offers new insights into sex-specific development and its implications for neurodevelopment.

3 Feb 2026

Study aims to explore how noise in nurseries affects early language development

Nearly two million children in the UK are affected by early language delays. New research will examine whether noise in nurseries is a hidden factor.

3 Feb 2026

One-third of adolescents report aggression toward parents

Physical aggression by young people toward their parents occurs quite frequently – yet the subject remains taboo.

2 Feb 2026

Playing pink noise during sleep could be harmful for children

Pink noise-often used to promote sleep-may reduce restorative REM sleep and interfere with sleep recovery.

2 Feb 2026

Two-thirds of adolescent IBS sufferers outgrow the condition by adulthood

Two out of three adolescents with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) start adulthood without the disease, according to a long-term study that followed more than 2,500 individuals.

2 Feb 2026

Updated newborn screening guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis detection

An updated report on cystic fibrosis (CF) from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), highlights the new national guidelines on CF newborn screening that aim to detect affected babies earlier, more accurately and more fairly.

1 Feb 2026

Study offers hope for preventing hydrocephalus in children

Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition that occurs in about 1 in 1,000 newborns and is often treated with invasive surgery. Now, a new study offers hope of preventing hydrocephalus before it even occurs.

30 Jan 2026

Why education expanded but opportunity remained unequal

A study shows genetic factors increasingly influence education, but socioeconomic background remains a stronger predictor of educational success across cohorts.

30 Jan 2026

Young adults with complex childhood conditions experience longer hospital stays, higher readmissions

Young adults with complex chronic childhood-onset conditions such as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis experience longer hospital stays, higher readmission rates and greater use of resources in adult hospitals, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.

29 Jan 2026

Umbilical cord blood markers may predict future type 1 diabetes

One day, there could be a new test to screen for type 1 diabetes, now that scientists have found markers in the blood of the umbilical cords of children who were later diagnosed with the disease.

29 Jan 2026

Air pollution, not diet, shows the strongest link to poorer concentration in schoolgirls

This cross-sectional study of 300 school-aged girls in Tehran found that higher air pollution exposure was consistently associated with poorer concentration, while dietary antioxidant capacity showed weaker, model-dependent links to attention. No significant associations or interactions were observed for short-term memory, highlighting pollution exposure as the dominant factor influencing attentional performance.

28 Jan 2026