Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Anxiety and depression in children increased steadily from 2016 to 2022

The percentage of children under 18 years old with anxiety and depression increased steadily from 2016 to 2022, according to publicly available data from the National Survey of Children's Health that were analyzed by researchers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

21 Apr 2025

Timely and targeted psychiatric care can be lifesaving for adolescents with depression

There has been a troubling rise in adolescent mental health struggles and suicide rates over the past decade, with a dramatic increase following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

21 Apr 2025

Feelings of pride and awe toward children can enhance parental well-being

New research from the University of Rochester suggests that experiencing feelings of pride and awe toward one's children can significantly enhance parental well-being.

21 Apr 2025

California halts medical parole, sends several critically ill patients back to prison

California has halted a court-ordered medical parole program, opting instead to send its most incapacitated prisoners back to state lockups or release them early.

21 Apr 2025

The lasting impact of paternal depression on children

In popular culture, dads are stoic, sensitive and strong. So powerful is the mystique of the happy dad that celebrities, joke books – even hard seltzers – carry the label.

20 Apr 2025

VR and AR simulations help people practice stress relief in realistic scenarios

Everyday situations can sometimes feel like big stressors, whether it's delivering an important work presentation, attending a party full of strangers or confronting a partner. Talking to a friend or a therapist can help. But so can practice.

18 Apr 2025

Medical debt linked to increased likelihood of forgoing mental health care

People with medical debt in 2023 were about five times more likely to forgo mental health care treatment in the following year due to cost, compared to those without medical debt, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

18 Apr 2025

Neural fingerprints reveal how teamwork and deep focus interact

A collaborative study by researchers from Toyohashi University of Technology and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) introduces a groundbreaking algorithm that maps individual brain activity in a multi-dimensional space.

18 Apr 2025

Covid worsened shortages of doctors and nurses. Five years on, rural hospitals still struggle.

Even by rural hospital standards, Keokuk County Hospital and Clinics in southeastern Iowa is small.

18 Apr 2025

New CDC report highlights changing autism trends across the U.S.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health contributed to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report examining autism among children who turned 4 and 8 years old in 2022.

17 Apr 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On autism, it’s the secretary’s word vs. CDC’S

The secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., contradicted his agency's researchers this week with unsubstantiated or outright false claims about autism spectrum disorder and those with the condition.

17 Apr 2025

2025 Best Practices Update released for managing MS in a changing landscape

Keeping up with scientific advances and practice changes can be one the biggest challenges in managing a complex disease like multiple sclerosis (MS).

17 Apr 2025

Researchers use algorithm to pinpoint disease risk mutations in noncoding DNA

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) have successfully employed an algorithm to identify potential mutations which increase disease risk in the noncoding regions our DNA, which make up the vast majority of the human genome.

17 Apr 2025

Affectionate mothering linked to positive personality development

Affectionate mothering in childhood may have a lasting impact on important personality traits, potentially influencing life outcomes such as educational achievement, economic success, and health and well-being, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

17 Apr 2025

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH slashed science funding across states that backed Trump

The National Institutes of Health's sweeping cuts of grants that fund scientific research are inflicting pain almost universally across the U.S., including in most states that backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

17 Apr 2025

Dr. Hayre warns of mental health crisis for children after COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic deepened existing health disparities and thrust children into a mental health epidemic, altering the landscape of health and wellbeing for a generation.

16 Apr 2025

Researchers simulate protein structures behind learning and memory

Our brain's remarkable ability to form and store memories has long fascinated scientists, yet most of the microscopic mechanisms behind memory and learning processes remain a mystery.

16 Apr 2025

Listening to favorite music activates the brain’s opioid system

A new imaging study by the Turku PET Centre in Finland showed that listening to favorite music affects the function of the brain's opioid system.

16 Apr 2025

Art as a tool for well-being in everyday life

Simply looking at visual art, visiting a museum, or having art in your hospital room can enhance well-being, particularly repeated engagement, which can increase the meaning we feel in life, according to a new international study led by researchers from the University of Vienna.

16 Apr 2025

Nature based activities improve mental health in just twelve weeks

Researchers evaluating a nature-based programme of activities for patients with mild to moderate mental health conditions have shown that improvements in mood and anxiety levels can be seen in as little as 12 weeks.

16 Apr 2025