Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

New public database tracks state laws regulating youth social media

As of March 2026, every U.S. state had introduced at least one bill seeking to regulate social media or other digital platforms for people younger than 18.

4 Aug 2026

Comedy videos help people recognize subtle positive facial expressions

In everyday life, the ability to read facial expressions plays a vital role in social communication, as it reveals a speaker's underlying emotions, intentions, and psychological state.

4 Aug 2026

Daily social connections may improve long-term health and cognition

Calling a friend after a long day. Showing up to a neighbor's dinner when you'd rather stay home. Lingering a little longer in a conversation that didn't need to last.

3 Aug 2026

Two British birth cohorts find no added health burden from a coastal childhood

Researchers analyzing two British birth cohorts found no association between coastal residence in adolescence and midlife multimorbidity, while an unadjusted association in the 1958 cohort weakened after accounting for neighborhood deprivation.

3 Aug 2026

Sensitive parenting buffers against child ADHD risks from pregnancy

Research from Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Mental Health Innovation provides new evidence that the way caregivers interact with children when they're very young can protect against the negative effects of inflammation during pregnancy, including increased attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, symptoms in children.

3 Aug 2026

Five large corporations dominate Medicaid mental health care for adolescents

The United States is in the middle of a well-documented adolescent mental health crisis. Because Medicaid provides medical coverage for roughly half of all children in the country, the program has an essential role in responding to that crisis.

3 Aug 2026

A 10-country survey finds an unexpected air pollution awareness gap

Researchers surveyed 10,618 adults across 1,372 localities in the world’s 10 most populous countries and matched their responses with average 2019-2021 PM2.5 concentrations. Higher PM2.5 exposure was associated with lower air-quality knowledge but greater concern and more frequent protective behaviors, with patterns differing across demographic groups.

2 Aug 2026

Digital marketing threatens breastfeeding rates in the Americas

Ahead of World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is calling on countries across the Americas to strengthen protections for families against the growing digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes and other products that may undermine breastfeeding.

31 Jul 2026

Generational shifts drive growing clinical workforce shortages in healthcare

If it feels harder to keep the same doctor, you're not imagining it. Healthcare leaders say retirements, burnout and changing workforce expectations are making it complicated to keep experienced clinicians in place.

31 Jul 2026

Linguistic style in children predicts future mental health problems

Linguistic models that analyzed the words children used when talking about stressful events proved better at predicting future mental health problems than a panel of human experts.

31 Jul 2026

University of Exeter launches ADHD toolkit for UK primary schools

A new ADHD toolkit from the University of Exeter is the first of its kind designed specifically to be used in UK primary schools.

30 Jul 2026

Psilocybin trial shows striking remission rates for veterans with PTSD

The first U.S. clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy in veterans with PTSD who got no relief from conventional treatments has established that the protocol is safe, causing no serious adverse events or increases in suicidal thinking or behavior.

30 Jul 2026

Study questions antihistamine use for managing eczema symptoms

Adding oral antihistamines to existing eczema treatments is unlikely to lead to clinically important reductions in eczema and itch severity, and may not reduce sleep disturbance or flare-ups, finds a review of the latest trial evidence published by The BMJ today.

29 Jul 2026

UH psychologist receives NIH grant to evaluate remote parenting program for premature infants

A University of Houston psychologist has received a $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to lead the first randomized clinical trial testing whether a remotely delivered parenting program can improve healthy infant brain development to support long-term mental health outcomes for babies born prematurely.

29 Jul 2026

Wildfire evacuation triggered long-term mental health impacts for LA residents

Los Angeles County residents living in evacuation warning or order zones during the 2025 wildfires experienced heightened levels of anxiety and depression almost a year later, according to new USC research.

29 Jul 2026

ACLM launches Project Remission to shift the goal of chronic disease care

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced the launch of Project Remission, a call to action to shift the goal of chronic disease care from symptom management to the possibility of achieving remission and health restoration.

29 Jul 2026

Oral semaglutide reduces heavy drinking in adults with alcohol use disorder

A clinical trial led by researchers at CU Anschutz has found that oral semaglutide, a medication widely used for diabetes and weight loss, reduces heavy drinking in adults with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

29 Jul 2026

The everyday habits linked to better grades in teenagers

Researchers found that regular meals, Mediterranean diet adherence, sufficient sleep, and limited television viewing were independently associated with better grades among 974 adolescents. Meeting more healthy lifestyle recommendations was consistently associated with stronger performance across first, second, and third languages.

29 Jul 2026

New report urges stronger intimate partner violence screening for veterans

When Congress passed the Deborah Sampson Act of 2020 - named for a woman who served in the Revolutionary War disguised as a man - the goal was to broaden access to government-provided medical care for female military veterans.

28 Jul 2026

Heatwave exposure associated with accelerated biological aging in middle-aged and older adults

As global climate change intensifies, heatwaves are becoming more frequent, longer, and more severe, emerging as an important environmental stressor for human health.

28 Jul 2026