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Lockdowns and lack of support networks left youth more vulnerable to the negative effects of social media How does time spent online, and especially social media, affect the brains and behaviours of children and youth? Social media platforms are seemingly designed to capture the attention of users and produce habitual checking of apps and notifications.

Researchers from Western say it's rare for someone to go on a first date and experience intimate partner violence immediately. It takes time and during that time, people become more committed to their partner. As the relationship progresses, tangible and intangible elements of a relationship like moving in together, getting married or falling in love can make it more difficult to leave.

There is an urgent need for mental health supports and interventions for youth in British Columbia, according to the results of a new report led by Simon Fraser University. The recently released report , which surveyed nearly 15,000 youth in the province, found half of 15- to 17-year-olds indicated that their mental health was fair or poor and nearly 40 per cent screened positive for depression (38 per cent) and generalized anxiety (39 per cent).

McGill researchers explore the power of imagination, showing how a shift in thinking can make humans more caring In a world grappling with deep-seated division and social upheaval, empathy has become more critical than ever. But science suggests when it comes to evoking empathy, our imagination is more powerful than we previously thought.

Researcher from the School of Accounting and Finance explores how nonmonetary factors impact contestant behavior and effort levels By Kelsey Stoddart School of Accounting and Finance In today's data-driven world, holding data science competitions is a popular way to address real-world problems. Companies leverage these competitions to crowdsource solutions and strategically attract potential employees.

Do adults with a history of childhood trauma have altered brain responses to psychological challenges? Previous studies indicated that this can occur in laboratory animals, but it has been unclear whether it occurs in humans. Now a team of scientists, led by researchers from McGill University, have found evidence that exposure to childhood adversity is associated with an altered ability to process stressful challenges and other emotional material.

Study has implications when planning the transition from pediatric to adult health services Faculty of Health The combination of physical and mental illness had a negative impact on self-perception among older adolescents, but not for younger ones, shows a new University of Waterloo study. Researchers found that compared to adolescents with a physical illness only, their self-concept - the image we have of ourselves - was lower, but that was not the case for younger adolescents.

Family members felt sadness, grief at seeing decline in health of older adults due to social distancing Restrictions on social access had a direct impact not only on the well-being of older adults in long-term care (LTC) but also their family members during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by Western researchers.

Unexpected research findings shed a new light on the connection between fathers' mental health and children's behavioural and cognitive development Many parents experience stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms throughout their lives, particularly during times of transition, such as pregnancy and children's entry into school.

Dr. Mahmood Gohari discusses upward trends in depression and anxiety among youth Mental health issues had been a concern before the pandemic, but they came into focus even more during this time. In a  recent study , Dr. Mahmood Gohari from the University of Waterloo's  School of Public Health Sciences  used survey data from almost 5,400 Canadian adolescents to examine changes in depression and anxiety from 2018 until 2021.

Psychotherapeutic approaches show modest to moderate effectiveness in treating substance abuse, according to a review of studies by UdeM professor Alexandre Dumais. Psychotherapeutic approaches are, at best, moderately effective in helping people with substance abuse or addiction problems reduce their dependence.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk New research from the University of British Columbia is painting a clearer picture of the early signs of multiple sclerosis (MS), showing that people are nearly twice as likely to experience mental illness in the years leading up to the onset of the diseases.

Despite growing awareness about the high rates of suicide among men, research is still needed to examine men's mental health challenges. Existential psychology, with its focus on questions of meaning and value, may bring new insights that can aid in this examination. To better understand men's psychological well-being, a recent study by researchers at McGill University and the University of British Columbia investigated the prospective connection between the presence of meaning in life and psychological distress among men.

Some children with autism may develop language skills independently of the joint attention skills usually associated with language learning. You're looking at a truck. You're with a young child and he follows your gaze. He's interested in the object you're looking at without you pointing at it. This is called joint attention and it is one of the primary ways children learn to connect words with objects and acquire language.

Physical, behavioural, psychological and social - the factors that make athletes ready (or not) to get back in the game are more complex than you might think. Nearly 20 per cent of people who play contact sports like hockey or rugby will suffer a concussion in the course of a season. Concussions account for up to 44 per cent of all injuries in these sports.

Tests carried out on children aged 3 to 5 predict many of the differences in later school performance. Some 84,000 children are entering Grade 1 this week in Quebec, and the same question is on all their parents' minds: will my child do well in school? There may be a way to get a good idea of the answer to this question long before students receive their first report card, suggests a study conducted by an inter-university research team.

Victims- agency and needs, independent of their desire to exit trafficking, should be the focus of healthcare services for individuals who have been sexually exploited, concludes a new study by researchers with McGill University's Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN). -Unfortunately, we found a lack of awareness on the part of healthcare professionals and the inability to recognize the signs and symptoms of sex trafficking.

People tend to memorize symbols better than words with the same meaning. Everyday symbols like &'!#@$ are highly memorable, according to new research. The new study led by the University of Waterloo aimed to investigate how well symbols are remembered compared to words with the same meaning. "Our work is ground-breaking as it highlights how humans remember graphic symbols and logos," said Myra Fernandes, co-author and professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Waterloo.

Pierrich Plusquellec and his team at UdeM's School of Psychoeducation publish the results of a facial-expression study measuring 'emotional contagion' and the risk of depression. Repeatedly exposed to negative emotions, relationship professionals such as social workers, psychologists and psychoeducators are at high risk of experiencing "emotional contagion," an unconscious, automatic transmission of an emotion from one individual to another.

Part of what makes depression so hard to overcome is that people with depression tend to behave in ways that lead to more stress in their lives-and stress in turn fuels mental illness. This feedback loop was initially thought to be unique to depression, but UBC psychology researchers recently revealed in Psychological Bulletin that it is a more widespread problem.