News
A parent's mental health is linked to their teenager's screen time and exercise habits
11+ hour, 59+ min ago (517+ words) A study of over 5000 parent-adolescent pairs in Finland found that better parental mental well-being was associated with higher physical activity and lower digital media use in their 11-year-old children. These associations were present at 14 years of age as well. The…...
Children with attention disorders struggle to process whole faces during social interactions
1+ week, 1+ day ago (1003+ words) During everyday conversations, people naturally follow the gaze of others. This behavior helps individuals seamlessly understand what is catching a friend or teacher's interest. Psychologists divide the human attention system into two separate categories. The first is endogenous attention, which…...
The extreme male brain theory of autism applies more strongly to females
1+ week, 3+ day ago (718+ words) Empathizing involves the ability to recognize and respond to the feelings of others. Systemizing is the drive to understand non-social systems, such as mathematics, computer code, or mechanical devices. According to the extreme male brain theory, elevated exposure to testosterone…...
Study links parents' perceived financial strain to delayed brain development in infants
1+ week, 6+ day ago (535+ words) A study of infants during their first year of life found that those coming from households where parents felt their income was inadequate to support the family's needs tended to show delayed brain development. More specifically, on EEG, these children…...
Cognitive deficits underlying ADHD do not explain the link with problematic social media use
2+ week, 2+ day ago (502+ words) A study by researchers in the Netherlands found that individuals with higher levels of ADHD symptoms are more prone to problematic social media use and problematic gaming. However, this link is not mediated by the cognitive deficits underlying ADHD, such…...
Multiple childhood traumas linked to highly interconnected addictive behaviors in adulthood
3+ week, 19+ hour ago (584+ words) Scientists know that difficult childhood events can increase the likelihood of someone developing an addiction. Historically, many studies have focused on how a single type of trauma affects a specific addiction, such as alcohol dependence or compulsive gambling. Yet, in…...
People with high openness to experience tend to have fewer children
3+ week, 3+ day ago (938+ words) Aleksandra Mili, a graduate student at the University of Pavia, and Janko Me'edovi, a professor at the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade, conducted this research. The scientists wanted to understand human behavior through an evolutionary perspective. Specifically,…...
Scientists trace a neurodevelopmental link between infant screen time and teenage anxiety
3+ week, 6+ day ago (425+ words) An analysis of the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) data found that higher infant screen time was associated with higher deliberation time needed in a neuropsychological task at 8.5 years of age. Individuals with higher deliberation time in…...
Parental math anxiety linked to lower quantitative skills in young children
1+ mon, 3+ day ago (1276+ words) Scientists sought to determine if the timing of this conceptual insight matters for future academic success. They investigated whether acquiring this knowledge early in preschool provides an advantage over acquiring it just prior to kindergarten. The researchers also aimed to…...
Childhood trauma changes how the brain processes caregiver cues
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (1362+ words) Scientists have spent decades trying to understand how difficult childhoods influence biological development. One prevailing theory is the Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology. This framework suggests that different types of bad experiences affect the brain in specific ways. The…...