Stress & Coping Archives

Genetic Variation Makes Some More Susceptible to PTSD - March 19, 2008

Not everyone who experiences trauma develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to new research, this may be due to genetic differences which make some people more likely to develop the disorder. Studying 900 adult survivors of childhood abuse, researchers found...
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PsychBriefs: February 10-16, 2008 - February 15, 2008

Our weekly wrap-up of news, interesting research, and noteworthy happenings in the worlds of psychiatry, psychology, and social work. People Ignore New Opinions When They Feel Powerful A series of experiments published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology...
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PTSD Means Long-Term Risk For Physical Disease - February 13, 2008

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked to a wide range of health problems including diabetes, fibromyalgia and heart disease. Now, research on Vietnam veterans shows that a PTSD diagnosis is as bad as elevated white blood cell counts, which...
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9/11 Continues to Impact America's Mental Health - February 11, 2008

Fear of terrorism following the September 11th attacks continues to impact the mental health of American citizens on a micro-level, shows a new study focusing not on New Yorkers, but rather, Midwesterners. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago...
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Low-Quality Day Care Means High Stress Levels For Children - February 7, 2008

Leaving home for daycare is often an upsetting experience for young children. However, the quality of child care can make a huge difference as to whether children stay upset or gain new social and linguistic skills while away from home....
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PsychBriefs: January 27-February 2, 2008 - February 1, 2008

Army Suicides Reach New High Suicides among soldiers serving in Iraq reached a new high in 2007, despite increased mental health outreach efforts. Thirty self-inflicted deaths have been confirmed, while an additional six remain under investigation. While this marks an...
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Brain Damage Study Supports Role of Amygdala in PTSD - January 14, 2008

A psychiatric study of Vietnam veterans shows neurological evidence for the theory that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is related to an increase in activity in the amygdala caused by decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Researchers interviewed 193 combat...
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PsychBriefs: December 30, 2007-January 5, 2008 - January 4, 2008

Our weekly wrap-up of news, interesting research, and noteworthy happenings in the worlds of psychiatry, psychology, and social work. Stress Hormones Drop Fast in Happy Marriages A study of 60 couples living in Los Angeles shows that levels of stress...
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Exercise Lowers Anxiety and Stress in Menopausal Women - January 3, 2008

Women entering and progressing through menopause have one more piece of information to add to their arsenal. According to a nine-year study conducted by Deborah Nelson, PhD, and her colleagues at Temple University, walking an hour and a half a...
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Weight Control Determined by Emotional Drivers - November 8, 2007

In the October 2007 issue of Obesity, a study by researchers at The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center found, when dieting, emotional eaters lost less weight and regained more than those eating in response to external factors,...
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Review of PTSD Therapies Finds Current Research Inadequate - October 18, 2007

The Institute of Medicine has urged Congress to provide funding for adequate, unbiased research on post-traumatic stress disorder after finding inadequate evidence to confirm the effectiveness of most treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prompted by a request from the...
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New Meditation Technique Provides Quick Results - October 15, 2007

Years of meditation training may not be the only road to a Zen state, shows new research on integrative body-mind training (IBMT), a form of meditation developed in the 1990s which aims at producing the effects of traditional Chinese meditation...
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PsychBriefs: October 6-12, 2007 - October 12, 2007

Medication May Treat Alcoholism Topiramate, an anticonvulsant used to control seizures, has been shown to perform better than a placebo in treating alcoholism. Researchers tested 371 alcohol-dependent men and women in a randomized 14-week trial and found that 8.44 percent...
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When Giving Up is Good for You - September 27, 2007

We admire those who never give up and teach our children to "try, try again." And with good reason: Reaching one's goals is a key to mental health. However, when it comes to physical health, new biological evidence suggests that...
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PsychBriefs: September 16-22, 2007 - September 21, 2007

Stressed Women More Likely to Birth Girls A study of 6000 infants and mothers shows that pregnant women with high stress levels are five percent more likely to have girls than relaxed mothers. Researchers suggest that high levels of stress...
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PsychBriefs: September 9-15, 2007 - September 14, 2007

Preschoolers Who Sleep Less Suffer Learning Problems Preschoolers who sleep less than ten hours per night are at risk for learning problems when they enter school, shows a six-year study of 1500 Canadian children. Children who regularly underslept before the...
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Work-Family Conflict May Trigger PTSD in Female Soldiers - August 21, 2007

While combat exposure is a recognized trigger for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), new research shows work-family conflicts are also a significant predictor of PTSD in female military personnel. Researchers at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research screened 2344...
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Child Maltreatment Rates Soar During Military Deployment - August 16, 2007

War deployments place stress on both soldier parents and civilian spouses left behind. However, it is the children who may suffer the most as they both miss and worry about the deployed parent and are affected by the additional stress...
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More Teens Engaging in Self-Injury - August 13, 2007

Research published in the August 2007 issue of Psychological Medicine indicates that Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI), the deliberate, direct destruction of body tissue without conscious suicidal intent, has increased among high school students. Led by researchers at The Miriam Hospital and...
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War Study Sheds Light On Stress and Gender - April 6, 2007

A study on citizens who lived through the Croation war may shed light on differences on how men and women respond to stress and uncertainty. University of Michigan researchers analyzed data on Croatian male and female civilians collected between 1998...
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Study Focuses On Our Lack Of Focus - March 28, 2007

Does your mind trail from its focus often? Perhaps five, ten percent of the time? More? If you're anything like the students at the University of North Carolina, that number is probably around 30 percent, shows a new study to...
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Do Angry Women Have Genetics to Blame? - March 9, 2007

Why are some women angrier than others? It may all be in the genes, says a new study by University of Pittsburgh researchers. Prior studies have shown increased serotonin production to be associated with aggression and anger in humans and...
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For Many, Grieving Process Defies Traditional Model - February 21, 2007

It's taught in medical schools and psychology classrooms around the world: the stage theory of grief which says the grieving process follows five clear stages, beginning with a sense of disbelief or numbness and moving on through anger, bargaining and...
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Article: Parents' Jobs Stress Children Too - January 26, 2007

The average American work week has increased ten hours in the last 30 years and with this jump has come more stress at home--for parent and child alike, scientists reported this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychoanalytic...
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Article: Why We Stress-Eat - January 23, 2007

Hunger should be the last thing on our minds as we struggle to meet a deadline or argue with loved ones. Mentally taxing situations don't use enough energy to require eating more either. So why then do many of us--particularly...
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Half of Social Workers Experience Secondary PTSD - January 5, 2007

Social workers experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at twice the rate of the general population, shows a new study by University of Georgia assistant professor Brian Bride. Like family members of war veterans and Holocaust survivors, they may experience secondary...
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Holding Hands Eases Stress - December 28, 2006

A University of Virginia study of 16 married women who scored high on a marriage-satisfaction inventory showed that simply holding their husband's hand eased both physical sign of stress and their brains' responses to pain. Researchers took magnetic resonance imaging...
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Video Game Fun Rooted in Basic Psychological Needs - December 27, 2006

New video games and cutting-edge consoles freshly unwrapped, millions of gamers are now sitting down with for what most perceive as a bit of post-holiday fun. However, researchers at the University of Rochester in New York report that the motivation...
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Bonuses--Not Raises--Boost Employee Performance - December 15, 2006

Bosses hoping to motivate employees to work harder may want to trade merit-based raises for performance-based bonuses, suggests a Cornell University study. The four-year study which tracked more than 700 workers found that a 1 percent increase in pay generally...
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Chronic Stress Alters Neuron Growth - December 4, 2006

New research shows that long-term daily stress actually changes the shape of neurons in the brain, helping to explain the association of prolonged stress with mental illness. Using rats exposed to stressful conditions, scientists found that stressed rats performed just...
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Yoga for Juvenile Inmates? - November 30, 2006

The young inmates at Alameda County, California's Juvenile Justice Center have been receiving age-old lessons in self-control and relaxation thanks to a novel program that brings yoga to them five times per week for a year. Within just three months,...
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Well-Being Therapy Eases Distress in Schools - November 29, 2006

A study by Italian researchers shows that Well-Being Therapy (WBT), an approach focusing on helping patients' sense of well-being by increasing awareness of positive moments and changing thoughts that disrupt well-being, may have success in schools. One hundred eleven middle...
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Article: Dealing with 'Desk-Rage' - November 28, 2006

"Desk-rage," or outbursts of anger at work, are on the rise. In a 2001 survey of workers, 42 percent reported yelling or verbal abuse in their office while 10 percent reported physical violence. Corporate consultants report a growing acceptance of...
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PTSD Rates Higher in Women - November 20, 2006

An review of 290 studies on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) published in the American Psychological Associations Psychological Bulletin shows that women are about twice as likely than men to meet diagnostic criteria for the disorder. Women were not found to...
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'Biomarkers' in Blood May Help Army Screen Stressed Recruits - November 16, 2006

With attrition rates of new recruits at 15 percent and the need for soldiers ever-growing, scientists are looking toward stress research to screen U.S. Army recruits for potential problems before they occur. One technique that shows promise is testing for...
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Survey: Caregiving Takes Toll on Middle-Aged Women - November 15, 2006

An independent poll has found that women age 35 to 54 are less happy than the rest of the population. Only 20 percent described themselves as "very happy" in contrast to 34 percent of other people surveyed. Many of these...
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Why Dog Owners Are Happier - November 10, 2006

A British study has found that dogs may keep people happier simply by obliging their owners to get outside and walk them even during bad weather and moods. This act further brings owners into contact with other dog walkers, giving...
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Happy People Get Sick Less Often - November 7, 2006

Carnegie Mellon psychologist Sheldon Cohen has shown that people who report an abundance of positive emotions in their lives are less likely to develop a cold when exposed to the virus--and report fewer symptoms if they do. Cohen had published...
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Report: Strains on Mental Health May Undermine Knowledge Economies - November 6, 2006

A report by researcher Rifka Weehuizen of the United Nations University - MERIT suggests that knowledge-based economies may be damaging the so-called mental capital that supports them by placing high demands on workers' abilities to be highly adaptable, self-directed and...
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Group Therapy Alleviates Cancer Stress - November 2, 2006

A trial reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows that group therapy including cognitive restructuring, relaxation training and coping skills can help reduce overall stress and cancer-related anxiety in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. One hundred ninety-nine women...
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Effects of Tsunami Trauma on Adults and Children - October 31, 2006

Researchers studying the mental health of Thai people affected by the 2004 tsunami have found interesting differences between the mental health of children and adults affected by the tragedy. Children were found to be at a key risk for Post-Traumatic...
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Money Can In Fact Buy Happiness, Love - October 11, 2006

A study of jackpot lottery winners by researchers at Britain's University of Nottingham shows that contrary to the old adage, money can in fact buy you happiness. Ninety-seven percent of the winners surveyed reported feeling as happy or happier than...
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What's Everyone So Stressed Out About? Financial Concerns, Obligations Top the List - October 11, 2006

Results of a survey of more than 2700 adults show that 74 percent of people experience stress related to rising prices, 53 percent over not having money for emergencies and 36 percent over paying for basic necessities. Outside of the...
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Study: Mixed Emotions Mean More Creative Workers - October 6, 2006

A study by University of Washington psychologists shows that people who experience emotional ambivalence, the ability to feel both positive and negative emotions at the same time, are more creative workers than those who only feel sad, happy or neutral.That's...
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National Survey: Hispanics Manage Stress Best - October 5, 2006

A national survey released today shows that Hispanic-Americans are most likely to spend time with friends and family or to exercise to relieve stress while engaging in fewer unhealthy coping behaviors such as smoking. The study also found that Hispanic...
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Study: Black Tea Eases Stress - October 4, 2006

A study by University College London researchers published in Psychopharmacology shows that tea-drinkers are able to de-stress more quickly than people drinking a tea substitute and carry less of the stress hormone cortisol in their bloodstreams. Seventy-five young men were...
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Racing Thoughts Lead to Brighter, More Energetic Moods - September 28, 2006

Think fast! ...and you just might end up feeling happier, more energetic and more powerful, according to a study published in the September 2006 issue of Psychological Science. In an experiment by researchers at Princeton University, half of the participants...
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