#psychiatry — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #psychiatry, aggregated by home.social.

Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 12:02 UTC

DATE: October 2, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Gut bacteria and digestive metabolites are linked to psychopathic traits
URL: https://www.psypost.org/gut-bacteria-and-digestive-metabolites-are-linked-to-psychopathic-traits/
Specific bacteria in the gut and mouth, along with the chemical byproducts of digestion, are associated with traits like emotional detachment and impulsivity. These findings suggest that the microscopic organisms living inside the human body might play a role in shaping complex personality characteristics. The research was published in Translational Psychiatry.
The human body is home to trillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome. These bacteria, viruses, and fungi do a lot more than digest food and fight off infections. They communicate directly with the central nervous system through a network of chemical signals, hormones, and immune responses called the gut-brain axis.
Previous research links this biological pathway to mood disorders like depression and anxiety. More recently, researchers have started looking at how the microbiome relates to everyday personality traits and social behavior.
Psychopathy is a personality construct defined by emotional detachment, a lack of empathy, manipulative behavior, and a tendency toward impulsivity. In a clinical setting, it affects roughly one percent of the population. The exact biological mechanisms behind these traits remain poorly understood.
Carolina F.F.A. Costa, a researcher at the University of Porto and the University of Oxford, led a team to investigate this knowledge gap. The researchers wanted to see if the bacteria in the gut and mouth could be tied to subclinical psychopathic traits in the general public.
The researchers recruited 200 adult volunteers from the community in Portugal. The participants were screened to remove individuals who had taken antibiotics in the prior three months, as those medications drastically alter intestinal bacteria. The volunteers completed extensive self-report questionnaires designed to measure their levels of psychopathy, empathy, and anxiety.
These psychological assessments measured several distinct components of personality. The psychopathy survey looked at interpersonal manipulation, affective callousness, an erratic lifestyle, and antisocial behavior. Empathy was measured by testing how well participants could understand the perspectives of others and share their emotional states.
Alongside the psychological assessments, participants provided stool, saliva, and blood samples. The research team used a laboratory technique called DNA sequencing to identify the specific types of bacteria present in the gut and oral microbiomes. They also analyzed the samples for metabolites, which are the small molecules left behind when the body or bacteria break down food.
The researchers first grouped the participants based on their psychological survey scores. A computer algorithm separated the volunteers into four distinct groups characterized by varying levels of psychopathy and anxiety. As expected, participants who scored high in psychopathic traits tended to score lower in overall empathy.
Next, the team examined the bacterial makeup of the participants. They found that the overall richness of the microbiome, meaning the total number of different species present, did not vary among the four psychological groups. Any initial correlations between total diversity and psychopathy were not statistically significant after adjusting for the ages of the participants.
While overall diversity did not differ, the abundance of specific bacterial families did show a relationship with personality traits. In the gut, bacteria from the groups Allisonella and Prevotella, as well as a species called Cloacibacillus evryensis, were positively associated with higher psychopathy scores.
Participants with elevated levels of traits like an erratic lifestyle and emotional callousness had higher amounts of these specific intestinal bacteria. In the mouth, a bacterial species called Treponema vincentii showed a negative association, meaning it was less abundant in individuals with higher psychopathy scores.
Many of these specific bacteria have known biological roles that could influence the brain. Allisonella is known to produce histamine, a chemical that triggers immune responses and inflammation. Chronic inflammation in the body can send stress signals directly to the brain, which often influences mood and behavior.
Cloacibacillus evryensis has the genetic potential to produce gamma-aminobutyric acid in the gut. This specific chemical acts as an inhibitory signal in the central nervous system, helping to regulate impulsivity and self-control. Prevotella has been previously associated with differences in how the brain processes emotional and sensory stimuli.
After identifying the bacteria, the researchers looked at the metabolites in the stool and blood samples. Out of over 200 molecules analyzed, two stood out in the stool samples: glucose and taurine. Both molecules were found at elevated levels in the group of participants who scored high in both psychopathy and anxiety.
When looking at the scores on a sliding scale, higher levels of fecal glucose and taurine correlated positively with traits like antisociality and interpersonal manipulation. Glucose serves as the primary energy source for the body. The digestive tract contains specialized sensors that detect glucose and send metabolic updates to the brain.
Finding elevated glucose in feces suggests a disruption in how energy is extracted from food and absorbed into the bloodstream. Previous studies have noted abnormal glucose metabolism in the brains of individuals with high psychopathic traits, suggesting a potential link between energy use and behavior.
Taurine is an amino acid primarily produced by the liver, and it is involved in brain development and anxiety regulation. It normally binds to bile acids to help digest fats, and gut bacteria eventually separate the taurine from the bile. Finding excess free taurine in stool can indicate that the gut is struggling to absorb nutrients properly, or that specific bacterial populations are overgrown.
Finally, the team cross-referenced the bacterial data with the metabolite data. They found that higher levels of Allisonella in the gut predicted higher amounts of both glucose and taurine. This suggests that specific gut bacteria might be altering energy metabolism in ways that ultimately relate to personality expression.
The researchers note several caveats to their findings. The study relies on observations at a single point in time, meaning it cannot prove that gut bacteria cause psychopathic traits. It is equally possible that the behaviors associated with psychopathy, such as dietary choices or physiological stress responses, alter the microbiome.
The participants were volunteers from the general community rather than individuals with clinical diagnoses. The findings relate to subclinical personality traits, which may not fully represent the severe psychopathy seen in forensic settings.
The psychological data came from self-reported surveys. While these are standard tools in psychology, they are subject to personal bias, as individuals may lack self-awareness or alter their answers to appear more socially acceptable. Future research using animal models could help determine if altering gut bacteria directly changes behavior.
The study, “Gut and oral microbiota composition is associated with psychopathic personality: a cross-sectional study,” was authored by Carolina F.F.A. Costa, Daniel Radford-Smith, Alexandre R.T. Figueiredo, Rita C.M. Ribeiro, Sofia Pinto, Fay Probert, Renata Barros, Paula Serrão, Luisa Barreiros, Marcela A. Segundo, Daniel C. Anthony, Fernando Barbosa, Philip W.J. Burnet, and Benedita Sampaio-Maia.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/gut-bacteria-and-digestive-metabolites-are-linked-to-psychopathic-traits/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #GutBrainAxis #Microbiome #PsychopathicTraits #GutBacteria #Prevotella #Allisonella #CloacibacillusEvryensis #Taurine #Glucose #TranslationalPsychiatry

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 12:02 UTC

DATE: October 2, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Gut bacteria and digestive metabolites are linked to psychopathic traits
URL: https://www.psypost.org/gut-bacteria-and-digestive-metabolites-are-linked-to-psychopathic-traits/
Specific bacteria in the gut and mouth, along with the chemical byproducts of digestion, are associated with traits like emotional detachment and impulsivity. These findings suggest that the microscopic organisms living inside the human body might play a role in shaping complex personality characteristics. The research was published in Translational Psychiatry.
The human body is home to trillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome. These bacteria, viruses, and fungi do a lot more than digest food and fight off infections. They communicate directly with the central nervous system through a network of chemical signals, hormones, and immune responses called the gut-brain axis.
Previous research links this biological pathway to mood disorders like depression and anxiety. More recently, researchers have started looking at how the microbiome relates to everyday personality traits and social behavior.
Psychopathy is a personality construct defined by emotional detachment, a lack of empathy, manipulative behavior, and a tendency toward impulsivity. In a clinical setting, it affects roughly one percent of the population. The exact biological mechanisms behind these traits remain poorly understood.
Carolina F.F.A. Costa, a researcher at the University of Porto and the University of Oxford, led a team to investigate this knowledge gap. The researchers wanted to see if the bacteria in the gut and mouth could be tied to subclinical psychopathic traits in the general public.
The researchers recruited 200 adult volunteers from the community in Portugal. The participants were screened to remove individuals who had taken antibiotics in the prior three months, as those medications drastically alter intestinal bacteria. The volunteers completed extensive self-report questionnaires designed to measure their levels of psychopathy, empathy, and anxiety.
These psychological assessments measured several distinct components of personality. The psychopathy survey looked at interpersonal manipulation, affective callousness, an erratic lifestyle, and antisocial behavior. Empathy was measured by testing how well participants could understand the perspectives of others and share their emotional states.
Alongside the psychological assessments, participants provided stool, saliva, and blood samples. The research team used a laboratory technique called DNA sequencing to identify the specific types of bacteria present in the gut and oral microbiomes. They also analyzed the samples for metabolites, which are the small molecules left behind when the body or bacteria break down food.
The researchers first grouped the participants based on their psychological survey scores. A computer algorithm separated the volunteers into four distinct groups characterized by varying levels of psychopathy and anxiety. As expected, participants who scored high in psychopathic traits tended to score lower in overall empathy.
Next, the team examined the bacterial makeup of the participants. They found that the overall richness of the microbiome, meaning the total number of different species present, did not vary among the four psychological groups. Any initial correlations between total diversity and psychopathy were not statistically significant after adjusting for the ages of the participants.
While overall diversity did not differ, the abundance of specific bacterial families did show a relationship with personality traits. In the gut, bacteria from the groups Allisonella and Prevotella, as well as a species called Cloacibacillus evryensis, were positively associated with higher psychopathy scores.
Participants with elevated levels of traits like an erratic lifestyle and emotional callousness had higher amounts of these specific intestinal bacteria. In the mouth, a bacterial species called Treponema vincentii showed a negative association, meaning it was less abundant in individuals with higher psychopathy scores.
Many of these specific bacteria have known biological roles that could influence the brain. Allisonella is known to produce histamine, a chemical that triggers immune responses and inflammation. Chronic inflammation in the body can send stress signals directly to the brain, which often influences mood and behavior.
Cloacibacillus evryensis has the genetic potential to produce gamma-aminobutyric acid in the gut. This specific chemical acts as an inhibitory signal in the central nervous system, helping to regulate impulsivity and self-control. Prevotella has been previously associated with differences in how the brain processes emotional and sensory stimuli.
After identifying the bacteria, the researchers looked at the metabolites in the stool and blood samples. Out of over 200 molecules analyzed, two stood out in the stool samples: glucose and taurine. Both molecules were found at elevated levels in the group of participants who scored high in both psychopathy and anxiety.
When looking at the scores on a sliding scale, higher levels of fecal glucose and taurine correlated positively with traits like antisociality and interpersonal manipulation. Glucose serves as the primary energy source for the body. The digestive tract contains specialized sensors that detect glucose and send metabolic updates to the brain.
Finding elevated glucose in feces suggests a disruption in how energy is extracted from food and absorbed into the bloodstream. Previous studies have noted abnormal glucose metabolism in the brains of individuals with high psychopathic traits, suggesting a potential link between energy use and behavior.
Taurine is an amino acid primarily produced by the liver, and it is involved in brain development and anxiety regulation. It normally binds to bile acids to help digest fats, and gut bacteria eventually separate the taurine from the bile. Finding excess free taurine in stool can indicate that the gut is struggling to absorb nutrients properly, or that specific bacterial populations are overgrown.
Finally, the team cross-referenced the bacterial data with the metabolite data. They found that higher levels of Allisonella in the gut predicted higher amounts of both glucose and taurine. This suggests that specific gut bacteria might be altering energy metabolism in ways that ultimately relate to personality expression.
The researchers note several caveats to their findings. The study relies on observations at a single point in time, meaning it cannot prove that gut bacteria cause psychopathic traits. It is equally possible that the behaviors associated with psychopathy, such as dietary choices or physiological stress responses, alter the microbiome.
The participants were volunteers from the general community rather than individuals with clinical diagnoses. The findings relate to subclinical personality traits, which may not fully represent the severe psychopathy seen in forensic settings.
The psychological data came from self-reported surveys. While these are standard tools in psychology, they are subject to personal bias, as individuals may lack self-awareness or alter their answers to appear more socially acceptable. Future research using animal models could help determine if altering gut bacteria directly changes behavior.
The study, “Gut and oral microbiota composition is associated with psychopathic personality: a cross-sectional study,” was authored by Carolina F.F.A. Costa, Daniel Radford-Smith, Alexandre R.T. Figueiredo, Rita C.M. Ribeiro, Sofia Pinto, Fay Probert, Renata Barros, Paula Serrão, Luisa Barreiros, Marcela A. Segundo, Daniel C. Anthony, Fernando Barbosa, Philip W.J. Burnet, and Benedita Sampaio-Maia.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/gut-bacteria-and-digestive-metabolites-are-linked-to-psychopathic-traits/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #GutBrainAxis #Microbiome #PsychopathicTraits #GutBacteria #Prevotella #Allisonella #CloacibacillusEvryensis #Taurine #Glucose #TranslationalPsychiatry

#translationalpsychiatry #glucose #taurine #cloacibacillusevryensis #allisonella #prevotella
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 12:02 UTC

DATE: October 2, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Gut bacteria and digestive metabolites are linked to psychopathic traits
URL: https://www.psypost.org/gut-bacteria-and-digestive-metabolites-are-linked-to-psychopathic-traits/
Specific bacteria in the gut and mouth, along with the chemical byproducts of digestion, are associated with traits like emotional detachment and impulsivity. These findings suggest that the microscopic organisms living inside the human body might play a role in shaping complex personality characteristics. The research was published in Translational Psychiatry.
The human body is home to trillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome. These bacteria, viruses, and fungi do a lot more than digest food and fight off infections. They communicate directly with the central nervous system through a network of chemical signals, hormones, and immune responses called the gut-brain axis.
Previous research links this biological pathway to mood disorders like depression and anxiety. More recently, researchers have started looking at how the microbiome relates to everyday personality traits and social behavior.
Psychopathy is a personality construct defined by emotional detachment, a lack of empathy, manipulative behavior, and a tendency toward impulsivity. In a clinical setting, it affects roughly one percent of the population. The exact biological mechanisms behind these traits remain poorly understood.
Carolina F.F.A. Costa, a researcher at the University of Porto and the University of Oxford, led a team to investigate this knowledge gap. The researchers wanted to see if the bacteria in the gut and mouth could be tied to subclinical psychopathic traits in the general public.
The researchers recruited 200 adult volunteers from the community in Portugal. The participants were screened to remove individuals who had taken antibiotics in the prior three months, as those medications drastically alter intestinal bacteria. The volunteers completed extensive self-report questionnaires designed to measure their levels of psychopathy, empathy, and anxiety.
These psychological assessments measured several distinct components of personality. The psychopathy survey looked at interpersonal manipulation, affective callousness, an erratic lifestyle, and antisocial behavior. Empathy was measured by testing how well participants could understand the perspectives of others and share their emotional states.
Alongside the psychological assessments, participants provided stool, saliva, and blood samples. The research team used a laboratory technique called DNA sequencing to identify the specific types of bacteria present in the gut and oral microbiomes. They also analyzed the samples for metabolites, which are the small molecules left behind when the body or bacteria break down food.
The researchers first grouped the participants based on their psychological survey scores. A computer algorithm separated the volunteers into four distinct groups characterized by varying levels of psychopathy and anxiety. As expected, participants who scored high in psychopathic traits tended to score lower in overall empathy.
Next, the team examined the bacterial makeup of the participants. They found that the overall richness of the microbiome, meaning the total number of different species present, did not vary among the four psychological groups. Any initial correlations between total diversity and psychopathy were not statistically significant after adjusting for the ages of the participants.
While overall diversity did not differ, the abundance of specific bacterial families did show a relationship with personality traits. In the gut, bacteria from the groups Allisonella and Prevotella, as well as a species called Cloacibacillus evryensis, were positively associated with higher psychopathy scores.
Participants with elevated levels of traits like an erratic lifestyle and emotional callousness had higher amounts of these specific intestinal bacteria. In the mouth, a bacterial species called Treponema vincentii showed a negative association, meaning it was less abundant in individuals with higher psychopathy scores.
Many of these specific bacteria have known biological roles that could influence the brain. Allisonella is known to produce histamine, a chemical that triggers immune responses and inflammation. Chronic inflammation in the body can send stress signals directly to the brain, which often influences mood and behavior.
Cloacibacillus evryensis has the genetic potential to produce gamma-aminobutyric acid in the gut. This specific chemical acts as an inhibitory signal in the central nervous system, helping to regulate impulsivity and self-control. Prevotella has been previously associated with differences in how the brain processes emotional and sensory stimuli.
After identifying the bacteria, the researchers looked at the metabolites in the stool and blood samples. Out of over 200 molecules analyzed, two stood out in the stool samples: glucose and taurine. Both molecules were found at elevated levels in the group of participants who scored high in both psychopathy and anxiety.
When looking at the scores on a sliding scale, higher levels of fecal glucose and taurine correlated positively with traits like antisociality and interpersonal manipulation. Glucose serves as the primary energy source for the body. The digestive tract contains specialized sensors that detect glucose and send metabolic updates to the brain.
Finding elevated glucose in feces suggests a disruption in how energy is extracted from food and absorbed into the bloodstream. Previous studies have noted abnormal glucose metabolism in the brains of individuals with high psychopathic traits, suggesting a potential link between energy use and behavior.
Taurine is an amino acid primarily produced by the liver, and it is involved in brain development and anxiety regulation. It normally binds to bile acids to help digest fats, and gut bacteria eventually separate the taurine from the bile. Finding excess free taurine in stool can indicate that the gut is struggling to absorb nutrients properly, or that specific bacterial populations are overgrown.
Finally, the team cross-referenced the bacterial data with the metabolite data. They found that higher levels of Allisonella in the gut predicted higher amounts of both glucose and taurine. This suggests that specific gut bacteria might be altering energy metabolism in ways that ultimately relate to personality expression.
The researchers note several caveats to their findings. The study relies on observations at a single point in time, meaning it cannot prove that gut bacteria cause psychopathic traits. It is equally possible that the behaviors associated with psychopathy, such as dietary choices or physiological stress responses, alter the microbiome.
The participants were volunteers from the general community rather than individuals with clinical diagnoses. The findings relate to subclinical personality traits, which may not fully represent the severe psychopathy seen in forensic settings.
The psychological data came from self-reported surveys. While these are standard tools in psychology, they are subject to personal bias, as individuals may lack self-awareness or alter their answers to appear more socially acceptable. Future research using animal models could help determine if altering gut bacteria directly changes behavior.
The study, “Gut and oral microbiota composition is associated with psychopathic personality: a cross-sectional study,” was authored by Carolina F.F.A. Costa, Daniel Radford-Smith, Alexandre R.T. Figueiredo, Rita C.M. Ribeiro, Sofia Pinto, Fay Probert, Renata Barros, Paula Serrão, Luisa Barreiros, Marcela A. Segundo, Daniel C. Anthony, Fernando Barbosa, Philip W.J. Burnet, and Benedita Sampaio-Maia.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/gut-bacteria-and-digestive-metabolites-are-linked-to-psychopathic-traits/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #GutBrainAxis #Microbiome #PsychopathicTraits #GutBacteria #Prevotella #Allisonella #CloacibacillusEvryensis #Taurine #Glucose #TranslationalPsychiatry

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 10:12 UTC

DATE: October 2, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: “Mate-value backlash” may help explain anti-feminist attitudes among some Trump-era men, researchers say
URL: https://www.psypost.org/mate-value-backlash-may-help-explain-anti-feminist-attitudes-among-some-trump-era-men-researchers-say/
New research suggests that never-married men without a college degree have recently shown more anti-feminist attitudes than their college-educated peers, a trend that is associated with support for the Republican Party and Donald Trump. The authors argue this reflects a reaction rooted in romantic and economic insecurity, which they call “mate-value backlash,” rather than simply a desire to return to traditional gender roles. The study was published in Political Research Quarterly.
In recent years, political scientists have documented a global rise in right-wing populist movements, which tend to emphasize strong central power and anti-establishment rhetoric. A 2019 book outlined an influential theory that this political shift is largely a cultural backlash, where voters are reacting against progressive changes in social values. Along these lines, a study covered by PsyPost in 2019 indicated that supporters of Donald Trump scored higher on measures of modern sexism after the 2016 election.
At the same time, separate research has looked at the changing demographics of dating and marriage. A 2019 study found that when manufacturing jobs were lost to foreign competition, young men’s earnings fell relative to young women’s, and marriage rates declined. This decline in relationship prospects can have real-world consequences, as a 2021 study in Germany found that men who worried refugees would make it harder to find a female partner were more supportive of hate crimes against refugees.
The research, led by Stan Oklobdzija of the University of California, Riverside, and Christopher Witko of the University of California, Davis, aimed to connect these two lines of inquiry. The authors proposed that the political right is currently benefiting from a specific phenomenon they call “mate-value backlash.”
Mate-value refers to a person’s overall desirability as a romantic partner. According to the researchers, as women have gained economic independence and surpassed men in college attendance, women are less reliant on men for financial security. Men who lack a college degree now face steeper competition in both the job market and the dating pool. This perceived loss of status and romantic insecurity, the authors suggest, generates resentment toward feminism and women’s equality.
To test their hypothesis, the scientists analyzed data from the American National Election Studies, a long-running survey that tracks the political attitudes and behaviors of voters in the United States. They focused specifically on male respondents. The data was split into two timeframes: the period from 1970 to 2012, before Donald Trump entered presidential politics, and the period from 2016 to 2024, during which Trump was the Republican nominee.
The main measure used to gauge anti-feminist attitudes was a “feeling thermometer,” a survey tool where respondents rate their feelings toward a group on a scale from 0 to 100. In this case, respondents were asked to rate their warmth toward feminists. A lower score indicated greater antipathy or coldness, and the statistical models accounted for factors such as the respondent’s age, whether they identified as White, and their political party affiliation.
When looking at the historical data from 1970 to 2012, the researchers found that negative feelings toward feminists consistently predicted voting for Republican presidential candidates. However, during this 42-year stretch, never-married men without a college education did not generally show higher levels of anti-feminist hostility than other men. The only exception was in 1992, often called the “Year of the Woman,” a period marked by prominent debates about women’s place in politics.
In 2016, never-married men without a degree did not differ from their college-educated counterparts. But in the 2020 and 2024 surveys, never-married men without a bachelor’s degree reported substantially higher hostility toward feminists compared to never-married men with a college degree. Specifically, these men rated feminists about 10 points lower on the 100-point scale. The authors see this as consistent with mate-value backlash and suggest that Trump’s emergence may have activated these attitudes.
Additionally, this hostility toward feminists strongly predicted voting for Donald Trump among men overall in 2016, 2020, and 2024, even after controlling for party identification. The authors note that their estimates are likely underestimates, because these attitudes also shape party identity itself. The predictive power of these attitudes was even stronger in 2020 than it was in 2016.
These results are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2017, which found that higher endorsement of hostile attitudes toward women was linked to a greater likelihood of voting for Trump, though that previous research focused on a smaller sample of college undergraduates rather than a nationally representative survey. The findings also align with a study covered by PsyPost in 2026, which indicated that sexist attitudes strongly predict support for right-wing candidates.
“The findings from this research replicate a well established link between anti-feminist attitudes and conservative voting behavior,” Rachael Robnett, a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and director of the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, told PsyPost. Robnett, who was not involved in the study, noted that the results “extend existing work by demonstrating a rise in anti-feminist attitudes among unmarried men without college degrees, with this rise appearing to coincide with Donald Trump’s presidential terms.”
“The authors speculate that contemporary conservative rhetoric may have activated anti-feminist sentiment among unmarried [men] with lower levels of education,” Robnett added. “This speculation aligns with research that has focused on the manosphere, which is an eclectic group of online communities that often espouse ideals that are inconsistent with gender equality. Some of these communities also express overt antipathy toward women.”
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. Because the data is correlational, it cannot prove cause and effect. Additionally, the study measures negative feelings toward “feminists,” which is a broad and highly politicized term. Survey respondents might interpret the word differently, meaning the measurement might capture a general cultural grievance rather than specific opposition to gender equality policies.
The wording of the survey question also changed over the decades: it asked about “the women’s liberation movement” until 1986, then alternated between “the women’s movement” and “feminists” before settling on “feminists” in 2000, which matters when comparing modern results to historical data.
“An important caveat to the findings and their interpretation is that this research focuses exclusively on men,” Robnett explained. “It is entirely possible that anti-feminist sentiment has also increased among unmarried women without college degrees, but this competing explanation cannot be examined when the research only focuses on men.”
“The reason this matters is because the authors interpret their findings to mean that unmarried men without a college education are threatened by women’s progress and thus engaging in ‘mate-value backlash.’ This possibility is theoretically tenable, but should be directly tested through a study that includes both women and men before we can draw strong conclusions.”
Looking ahead, future research could explore exactly how political rhetoric might activate these latent insecurities. The authors speculate that Donald Trump’s specific style of politics tapped into existing anxieties among certain men, bringing those frustrations into the voting booth. Exploring the role of online communities and social media in amplifying these feelings could provide a fuller picture of how relationship dynamics shape national politics.
The study, “Backlashes to Gender Equality and Authoritarian Populism in the U.S.,” was authored by Stan Oklobdzija and Christopher Witko.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/mate-value-backlash-may-help-explain-anti-feminist-attitudes-among-some-trump-era-men-researchers-say/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #MateValueBacklash #AntiFeminism #TrumpEraPolitics #NeverMarriedMen #EconomicInsecurity #GenderEqualityBacklash #RightWingPopulism #DatingMarkets #PoliticalResearchQuarterly #MachismoAndPolitics

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 10:12 UTC

DATE: October 2, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: “Mate-value backlash” may help explain anti-feminist attitudes among some Trump-era men, researchers say
URL: https://www.psypost.org/mate-value-backlash-may-help-explain-anti-feminist-attitudes-among-some-trump-era-men-researchers-say/
New research suggests that never-married men without a college degree have recently shown more anti-feminist attitudes than their college-educated peers, a trend that is associated with support for the Republican Party and Donald Trump. The authors argue this reflects a reaction rooted in romantic and economic insecurity, which they call “mate-value backlash,” rather than simply a desire to return to traditional gender roles. The study was published in Political Research Quarterly.
In recent years, political scientists have documented a global rise in right-wing populist movements, which tend to emphasize strong central power and anti-establishment rhetoric. A 2019 book outlined an influential theory that this political shift is largely a cultural backlash, where voters are reacting against progressive changes in social values. Along these lines, a study covered by PsyPost in 2019 indicated that supporters of Donald Trump scored higher on measures of modern sexism after the 2016 election.
At the same time, separate research has looked at the changing demographics of dating and marriage. A 2019 study found that when manufacturing jobs were lost to foreign competition, young men’s earnings fell relative to young women’s, and marriage rates declined. This decline in relationship prospects can have real-world consequences, as a 2021 study in Germany found that men who worried refugees would make it harder to find a female partner were more supportive of hate crimes against refugees.
The research, led by Stan Oklobdzija of the University of California, Riverside, and Christopher Witko of the University of California, Davis, aimed to connect these two lines of inquiry. The authors proposed that the political right is currently benefiting from a specific phenomenon they call “mate-value backlash.”
Mate-value refers to a person’s overall desirability as a romantic partner. According to the researchers, as women have gained economic independence and surpassed men in college attendance, women are less reliant on men for financial security. Men who lack a college degree now face steeper competition in both the job market and the dating pool. This perceived loss of status and romantic insecurity, the authors suggest, generates resentment toward feminism and women’s equality.
To test their hypothesis, the scientists analyzed data from the American National Election Studies, a long-running survey that tracks the political attitudes and behaviors of voters in the United States. They focused specifically on male respondents. The data was split into two timeframes: the period from 1970 to 2012, before Donald Trump entered presidential politics, and the period from 2016 to 2024, during which Trump was the Republican nominee.
The main measure used to gauge anti-feminist attitudes was a “feeling thermometer,” a survey tool where respondents rate their feelings toward a group on a scale from 0 to 100. In this case, respondents were asked to rate their warmth toward feminists. A lower score indicated greater antipathy or coldness, and the statistical models accounted for factors such as the respondent’s age, whether they identified as White, and their political party affiliation.
When looking at the historical data from 1970 to 2012, the researchers found that negative feelings toward feminists consistently predicted voting for Republican presidential candidates. However, during this 42-year stretch, never-married men without a college education did not generally show higher levels of anti-feminist hostility than other men. The only exception was in 1992, often called the “Year of the Woman,” a period marked by prominent debates about women’s place in politics.
In 2016, never-married men without a degree did not differ from their college-educated counterparts. But in the 2020 and 2024 surveys, never-married men without a bachelor’s degree reported substantially higher hostility toward feminists compared to never-married men with a college degree. Specifically, these men rated feminists about 10 points lower on the 100-point scale. The authors see this as consistent with mate-value backlash and suggest that Trump’s emergence may have activated these attitudes.
Additionally, this hostility toward feminists strongly predicted voting for Donald Trump among men overall in 2016, 2020, and 2024, even after controlling for party identification. The authors note that their estimates are likely underestimates, because these attitudes also shape party identity itself. The predictive power of these attitudes was even stronger in 2020 than it was in 2016.
These results are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2017, which found that higher endorsement of hostile attitudes toward women was linked to a greater likelihood of voting for Trump, though that previous research focused on a smaller sample of college undergraduates rather than a nationally representative survey. The findings also align with a study covered by PsyPost in 2026, which indicated that sexist attitudes strongly predict support for right-wing candidates.
“The findings from this research replicate a well established link between anti-feminist attitudes and conservative voting behavior,” Rachael Robnett, a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and director of the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, told PsyPost. Robnett, who was not involved in the study, noted that the results “extend existing work by demonstrating a rise in anti-feminist attitudes among unmarried men without college degrees, with this rise appearing to coincide with Donald Trump’s presidential terms.”
“The authors speculate that contemporary conservative rhetoric may have activated anti-feminist sentiment among unmarried [men] with lower levels of education,” Robnett added. “This speculation aligns with research that has focused on the manosphere, which is an eclectic group of online communities that often espouse ideals that are inconsistent with gender equality. Some of these communities also express overt antipathy toward women.”
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. Because the data is correlational, it cannot prove cause and effect. Additionally, the study measures negative feelings toward “feminists,” which is a broad and highly politicized term. Survey respondents might interpret the word differently, meaning the measurement might capture a general cultural grievance rather than specific opposition to gender equality policies.
The wording of the survey question also changed over the decades: it asked about “the women’s liberation movement” until 1986, then alternated between “the women’s movement” and “feminists” before settling on “feminists” in 2000, which matters when comparing modern results to historical data.
“An important caveat to the findings and their interpretation is that this research focuses exclusively on men,” Robnett explained. “It is entirely possible that anti-feminist sentiment has also increased among unmarried women without college degrees, but this competing explanation cannot be examined when the research only focuses on men.”
“The reason this matters is because the authors interpret their findings to mean that unmarried men without a college education are threatened by women’s progress and thus engaging in ‘mate-value backlash.’ This possibility is theoretically tenable, but should be directly tested through a study that includes both women and men before we can draw strong conclusions.”
Looking ahead, future research could explore exactly how political rhetoric might activate these latent insecurities. The authors speculate that Donald Trump’s specific style of politics tapped into existing anxieties among certain men, bringing those frustrations into the voting booth. Exploring the role of online communities and social media in amplifying these feelings could provide a fuller picture of how relationship dynamics shape national politics.
The study, “Backlashes to Gender Equality and Authoritarian Populism in the U.S.,” was authored by Stan Oklobdzija and Christopher Witko.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/mate-value-backlash-may-help-explain-anti-feminist-attitudes-among-some-trump-era-men-researchers-say/
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-------------------------------------------------
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#machismoandpolitics #politicalresearchquarterly #datingmarkets #rightwingpopulism #genderequalitybacklash #economicinsecurity
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 10:12 UTC

DATE: October 2, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: “Mate-value backlash” may help explain anti-feminist attitudes among some Trump-era men, researchers say
URL: https://www.psypost.org/mate-value-backlash-may-help-explain-anti-feminist-attitudes-among-some-trump-era-men-researchers-say/
New research suggests that never-married men without a college degree have recently shown more anti-feminist attitudes than their college-educated peers, a trend that is associated with support for the Republican Party and Donald Trump. The authors argue this reflects a reaction rooted in romantic and economic insecurity, which they call “mate-value backlash,” rather than simply a desire to return to traditional gender roles. The study was published in Political Research Quarterly.
In recent years, political scientists have documented a global rise in right-wing populist movements, which tend to emphasize strong central power and anti-establishment rhetoric. A 2019 book outlined an influential theory that this political shift is largely a cultural backlash, where voters are reacting against progressive changes in social values. Along these lines, a study covered by PsyPost in 2019 indicated that supporters of Donald Trump scored higher on measures of modern sexism after the 2016 election.
At the same time, separate research has looked at the changing demographics of dating and marriage. A 2019 study found that when manufacturing jobs were lost to foreign competition, young men’s earnings fell relative to young women’s, and marriage rates declined. This decline in relationship prospects can have real-world consequences, as a 2021 study in Germany found that men who worried refugees would make it harder to find a female partner were more supportive of hate crimes against refugees.
The research, led by Stan Oklobdzija of the University of California, Riverside, and Christopher Witko of the University of California, Davis, aimed to connect these two lines of inquiry. The authors proposed that the political right is currently benefiting from a specific phenomenon they call “mate-value backlash.”
Mate-value refers to a person’s overall desirability as a romantic partner. According to the researchers, as women have gained economic independence and surpassed men in college attendance, women are less reliant on men for financial security. Men who lack a college degree now face steeper competition in both the job market and the dating pool. This perceived loss of status and romantic insecurity, the authors suggest, generates resentment toward feminism and women’s equality.
To test their hypothesis, the scientists analyzed data from the American National Election Studies, a long-running survey that tracks the political attitudes and behaviors of voters in the United States. They focused specifically on male respondents. The data was split into two timeframes: the period from 1970 to 2012, before Donald Trump entered presidential politics, and the period from 2016 to 2024, during which Trump was the Republican nominee.
The main measure used to gauge anti-feminist attitudes was a “feeling thermometer,” a survey tool where respondents rate their feelings toward a group on a scale from 0 to 100. In this case, respondents were asked to rate their warmth toward feminists. A lower score indicated greater antipathy or coldness, and the statistical models accounted for factors such as the respondent’s age, whether they identified as White, and their political party affiliation.
When looking at the historical data from 1970 to 2012, the researchers found that negative feelings toward feminists consistently predicted voting for Republican presidential candidates. However, during this 42-year stretch, never-married men without a college education did not generally show higher levels of anti-feminist hostility than other men. The only exception was in 1992, often called the “Year of the Woman,” a period marked by prominent debates about women’s place in politics.
In 2016, never-married men without a degree did not differ from their college-educated counterparts. But in the 2020 and 2024 surveys, never-married men without a bachelor’s degree reported substantially higher hostility toward feminists compared to never-married men with a college degree. Specifically, these men rated feminists about 10 points lower on the 100-point scale. The authors see this as consistent with mate-value backlash and suggest that Trump’s emergence may have activated these attitudes.
Additionally, this hostility toward feminists strongly predicted voting for Donald Trump among men overall in 2016, 2020, and 2024, even after controlling for party identification. The authors note that their estimates are likely underestimates, because these attitudes also shape party identity itself. The predictive power of these attitudes was even stronger in 2020 than it was in 2016.
These results are in line with a study covered by PsyPost in 2017, which found that higher endorsement of hostile attitudes toward women was linked to a greater likelihood of voting for Trump, though that previous research focused on a smaller sample of college undergraduates rather than a nationally representative survey. The findings also align with a study covered by PsyPost in 2026, which indicated that sexist attitudes strongly predict support for right-wing candidates.
“The findings from this research replicate a well established link between anti-feminist attitudes and conservative voting behavior,” Rachael Robnett, a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and director of the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, told PsyPost. Robnett, who was not involved in the study, noted that the results “extend existing work by demonstrating a rise in anti-feminist attitudes among unmarried men without college degrees, with this rise appearing to coincide with Donald Trump’s presidential terms.”
“The authors speculate that contemporary conservative rhetoric may have activated anti-feminist sentiment among unmarried [men] with lower levels of education,” Robnett added. “This speculation aligns with research that has focused on the manosphere, which is an eclectic group of online communities that often espouse ideals that are inconsistent with gender equality. Some of these communities also express overt antipathy toward women.”
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. Because the data is correlational, it cannot prove cause and effect. Additionally, the study measures negative feelings toward “feminists,” which is a broad and highly politicized term. Survey respondents might interpret the word differently, meaning the measurement might capture a general cultural grievance rather than specific opposition to gender equality policies.
The wording of the survey question also changed over the decades: it asked about “the women’s liberation movement” until 1986, then alternated between “the women’s movement” and “feminists” before settling on “feminists” in 2000, which matters when comparing modern results to historical data.
“An important caveat to the findings and their interpretation is that this research focuses exclusively on men,” Robnett explained. “It is entirely possible that anti-feminist sentiment has also increased among unmarried women without college degrees, but this competing explanation cannot be examined when the research only focuses on men.”
“The reason this matters is because the authors interpret their findings to mean that unmarried men without a college education are threatened by women’s progress and thus engaging in ‘mate-value backlash.’ This possibility is theoretically tenable, but should be directly tested through a study that includes both women and men before we can draw strong conclusions.”
Looking ahead, future research could explore exactly how political rhetoric might activate these latent insecurities. The authors speculate that Donald Trump’s specific style of politics tapped into existing anxieties among certain men, bringing those frustrations into the voting booth. Exploring the role of online communities and social media in amplifying these feelings could provide a fuller picture of how relationship dynamics shape national politics.
The study, “Backlashes to Gender Equality and Authoritarian Populism in the U.S.,” was authored by Stan Oklobdzija and Christopher Witko.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/mate-value-backlash-may-help-explain-anti-feminist-attitudes-among-some-trump-era-men-researchers-say/
-------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #MateValueBacklash #AntiFeminism #TrumpEraPolitics #NeverMarriedMen #EconomicInsecurity #GenderEqualityBacklash #RightWingPopulism #DatingMarkets #PoliticalResearchQuarterly #MachismoAndPolitics

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Australia News Beep @[email protected] · 2026-10-02 · 00:20 UTC

Higher daily step counts linked to better teenage mental health
Every extra walk to school, kickabout in the park or trip to the shops could be doing more…
#NewsBeep #News #Health #Adolescents #AU #Australia #Brain #Mentalhealth #Neuroscience #physicalactivity #psychiatry #Psychology #research #walking
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/912743/

#walking #research #psychology #psychiatry #physicalactivity #neuroscience
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 22:07 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Childhood trauma is linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts in adults with depression and anxiety
URL: https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-is-linked-to-suicidal-thoughts-and-attempts-in-adults-with-depression-and-anxiety/
An analysis of data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety found that among adults with depressive or anxiety disorders, those who experienced more childhood trauma were more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts and past suicide attempts. Personality traits, insomnia, and low social support statistically accounted for part of this link. The paper was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Suicide is a major global health problem, and people living with depression or anxiety are among those at the greatest risk. Experiencing abuse or other serious trauma during childhood can increase this risk further, sometimes many years after the original events. One explanation (called the diathesis-stress model) is that childhood trauma creates a lasting vulnerability that can interact with later stresses, such as mental illness, difficult life events, or lack of social support.
Childhood trauma may shape personality in ways that increase vulnerability, for example by contributing to hopelessness, aggression, neuroticism, or a reduced sense of control over one’s life. It may also affect a person’s social world, increasing the likelihood of loneliness, poor support, and repeated negative life experiences. Additionally, childhood trauma is associated with problems such as disturbed sleep, alcohol use, smoking, physical inactivity, and higher body weight. It may also alter biological stress systems, including inflammatory processes and the hormonal system, further affecting how the body responds to stress.
Study author Jasper X.M. Wiebenga and his colleagues set out to examine the association between childhood trauma and suicidal outcomes (suicidal ideation and suicide attempts), as well as various factors that might mediate this association. In other words, they were interested in identifying factors that may be affected by childhood trauma and that may, in turn, affect the risk that a person will start thinking about suicide or attempt suicide.
The researchers analyzed data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), a large, ongoing study designed to investigate depressive and anxiety disorders. They hypothesized that more severe childhood trauma would be associated both with a higher likelihood of having suicidal thoughts without having attempted suicide and with a higher likelihood of having attempted suicide.
The analysis used data collected between 2004 and 2007 from 1,572 individuals between 18 and 65 years of age who had been diagnosed with a depressive or anxiety disorder in the 12 months before enrolling in the study. Participants were recruited from across the Netherlands. Of these individuals, 24% had a depressive disorder without an anxiety disorder, 30% had an anxiety disorder without a depressive disorder, and 46% had both. Just over half (55%) reported experiencing childhood trauma. Participants’ average age was 41 years, and 67% were women.
To assess childhood trauma, the researchers used the Childhood Trauma Index, a structured interview about emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse before age 16, scored from 0 to 8 based on the number of trauma types and how often they occurred. Suicidal ideation in the past week was assessed with a shortened version of the Scale for Suicide Ideation, and lifetime suicide attempts were assessed with the question “Have you ever made a serious attempt to end your life, for instance by harming or poisoning yourself or by getting into an accident?”
Based on their answers, participants were divided into three groups: those with neither recent suicidal thoughts nor a past attempt (1,248 people), those with recent suicidal thoughts but no past attempt (231 people), and those with recent suicidal thoughts and a past attempt (93 people). People who had attempted suicide in the past but had no recent suicidal thoughts were left out of the analysis.
The researchers also used data on participants’ personality traits (the Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity-Revised, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and the Pearlin Mastery Scale), negative life events (the Recent Life Events Questionnaire), social support, loneliness, lifestyle (alcohol consumption, smoking, sleep quality, physical activity, and body mass index), markers of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, measured from blood samples), and levels of the stress hormone cortisol (from saliva samples).
After controlling for age and sex, each one-point increase in childhood trauma score was associated with 51% higher odds of having recent suicidal thoughts without a past attempt, and 2.68 times higher odds of having recent suicidal thoughts along with a past suicide attempt. When the researchers compared participants with severe childhood trauma (a score of 4 or more) to those with no childhood trauma, the odds of recent suicidal thoughts without an attempt were 2.63 times higher. The odds of having recent suicidal thoughts and a past attempt were almost 10 times higher.
Further analyses tested each potential mediator separately. For both suicide outcomes, a number of factors showed significant indirect associations consistent with mediation: aggression, insomnia, lower social support, loneliness, neuroticism, lower extraversion, hopelessness, and a weaker sense of control over one’s life (people who feel that events in their life are outside their control were more likely to report suicidal thoughts).
Interestingly, higher levels of interleukin-6, a marker of systemic inflammation, also emerged as a potential mediator of the link between childhood trauma and suicide attempts, although it accounted for only about 3% of the association and was no longer significant once other factors were considered together. Other biological markers, including C-reactive protein and cortisol, were not significant mediators. Among lifestyle factors, only insomnia played a role; alcohol use, smoking, physical activity, and body weight were not significant mediators.
The researchers then entered the significant mediators into combined models, which test how much each factor contributes after accounting for the overlap among them. For recent suicidal thoughts without an attempt, neuroticism, lower extraversion, aggression, hopelessness, insomnia, and social support together accounted for about 66% of the association with childhood trauma. For suicidal thoughts with a past attempt, a weaker sense of control, aggression, insomnia, and social support accounted for about 39% of the association. In both cases, childhood trauma remained significantly linked to the suicide outcomes even after accounting for these factors.
“Altogether, CT [childhood trauma] was associated with both suicide outcomes, but SI+SA+ in particular. These associations were substantially attenuated in multiple-mediator models in which multiple personality traits, insomnia, and perceived social support showed significant indirect associations consistent with mediation after accounting for shared variance among variables,” the study authors concluded.
“Aggression, insomnia and social support statistically accounted for the link between CT and the outcomes SI+SA- and SI+SA+. Neuroticism, introversion, and hopelessness linked CT to SI+SA- in particular, whilst locus of control showed a significant indirect association consistent with mediation of the association between CT and SI+SA+. The findings point to potentially modifiable factors relevant for suicide prevention, especially aggression, insomnia and social support, that require further investigation in longitudinal studies.” (In the authors’ shorthand, SI+SA- refers to suicidal ideation without a suicide attempt, and SI+SA+ refers to suicidal ideation with a suicide attempt.)
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of factors associated with suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. However, it should be noted that the design of this study does not allow any causal inferences to be drawn from the results. The potential mediators were measured at the same time as suicidal thoughts, so the study cannot show whether they came before or after them. Additionally, childhood trauma was reported by participants as adults, leaving room for recall bias, although the authors note that research suggests such retrospective reports are generally reliable.
Many of the potential mediators were also correlated with one another, so the combined models capture each factor’s unique contribution rather than its full role. Finally, all participants had depressive or anxiety disorders, and the sample was predominantly Dutch and female, so the findings may not apply to the general population, to men, or to other cultures.
The paper, “Childhood trauma and suicide ideation and attempts: Examining the mediating role of psychosocial, personality, lifestyle and biological factors,” was authored by Jasper X.M. Wiebenga, Lili Lokhorst, Adriaan W. Hoogendoorn, Henriette D. Heering, Merijn Eikelenboom, Erik J. Giltay, Patricia van Oppen, and Brenda W.J.H. Penninx.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-is-linked-to-suicidal-thoughts-and-attempts-in-adults-with-depression-and-anxiety/
-------------------------------------------------
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Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ChildhoodTrauma #SuicidalIdeation #SuicideAttempts #DepressionAnxiety #MentalHealthAwareness #Prevention #Insomnia #SocialSupport #Neuroticism #Inflammation

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 22:07 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Childhood trauma is linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts in adults with depression and anxiety
URL: https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-is-linked-to-suicidal-thoughts-and-attempts-in-adults-with-depression-and-anxiety/
An analysis of data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety found that among adults with depressive or anxiety disorders, those who experienced more childhood trauma were more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts and past suicide attempts. Personality traits, insomnia, and low social support statistically accounted for part of this link. The paper was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Suicide is a major global health problem, and people living with depression or anxiety are among those at the greatest risk. Experiencing abuse or other serious trauma during childhood can increase this risk further, sometimes many years after the original events. One explanation (called the diathesis-stress model) is that childhood trauma creates a lasting vulnerability that can interact with later stresses, such as mental illness, difficult life events, or lack of social support.
Childhood trauma may shape personality in ways that increase vulnerability, for example by contributing to hopelessness, aggression, neuroticism, or a reduced sense of control over one’s life. It may also affect a person’s social world, increasing the likelihood of loneliness, poor support, and repeated negative life experiences. Additionally, childhood trauma is associated with problems such as disturbed sleep, alcohol use, smoking, physical inactivity, and higher body weight. It may also alter biological stress systems, including inflammatory processes and the hormonal system, further affecting how the body responds to stress.
Study author Jasper X.M. Wiebenga and his colleagues set out to examine the association between childhood trauma and suicidal outcomes (suicidal ideation and suicide attempts), as well as various factors that might mediate this association. In other words, they were interested in identifying factors that may be affected by childhood trauma and that may, in turn, affect the risk that a person will start thinking about suicide or attempt suicide.
The researchers analyzed data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), a large, ongoing study designed to investigate depressive and anxiety disorders. They hypothesized that more severe childhood trauma would be associated both with a higher likelihood of having suicidal thoughts without having attempted suicide and with a higher likelihood of having attempted suicide.
The analysis used data collected between 2004 and 2007 from 1,572 individuals between 18 and 65 years of age who had been diagnosed with a depressive or anxiety disorder in the 12 months before enrolling in the study. Participants were recruited from across the Netherlands. Of these individuals, 24% had a depressive disorder without an anxiety disorder, 30% had an anxiety disorder without a depressive disorder, and 46% had both. Just over half (55%) reported experiencing childhood trauma. Participants’ average age was 41 years, and 67% were women.
To assess childhood trauma, the researchers used the Childhood Trauma Index, a structured interview about emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse before age 16, scored from 0 to 8 based on the number of trauma types and how often they occurred. Suicidal ideation in the past week was assessed with a shortened version of the Scale for Suicide Ideation, and lifetime suicide attempts were assessed with the question “Have you ever made a serious attempt to end your life, for instance by harming or poisoning yourself or by getting into an accident?”
Based on their answers, participants were divided into three groups: those with neither recent suicidal thoughts nor a past attempt (1,248 people), those with recent suicidal thoughts but no past attempt (231 people), and those with recent suicidal thoughts and a past attempt (93 people). People who had attempted suicide in the past but had no recent suicidal thoughts were left out of the analysis.
The researchers also used data on participants’ personality traits (the Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity-Revised, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and the Pearlin Mastery Scale), negative life events (the Recent Life Events Questionnaire), social support, loneliness, lifestyle (alcohol consumption, smoking, sleep quality, physical activity, and body mass index), markers of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, measured from blood samples), and levels of the stress hormone cortisol (from saliva samples).
After controlling for age and sex, each one-point increase in childhood trauma score was associated with 51% higher odds of having recent suicidal thoughts without a past attempt, and 2.68 times higher odds of having recent suicidal thoughts along with a past suicide attempt. When the researchers compared participants with severe childhood trauma (a score of 4 or more) to those with no childhood trauma, the odds of recent suicidal thoughts without an attempt were 2.63 times higher. The odds of having recent suicidal thoughts and a past attempt were almost 10 times higher.
Further analyses tested each potential mediator separately. For both suicide outcomes, a number of factors showed significant indirect associations consistent with mediation: aggression, insomnia, lower social support, loneliness, neuroticism, lower extraversion, hopelessness, and a weaker sense of control over one’s life (people who feel that events in their life are outside their control were more likely to report suicidal thoughts).
Interestingly, higher levels of interleukin-6, a marker of systemic inflammation, also emerged as a potential mediator of the link between childhood trauma and suicide attempts, although it accounted for only about 3% of the association and was no longer significant once other factors were considered together. Other biological markers, including C-reactive protein and cortisol, were not significant mediators. Among lifestyle factors, only insomnia played a role; alcohol use, smoking, physical activity, and body weight were not significant mediators.
The researchers then entered the significant mediators into combined models, which test how much each factor contributes after accounting for the overlap among them. For recent suicidal thoughts without an attempt, neuroticism, lower extraversion, aggression, hopelessness, insomnia, and social support together accounted for about 66% of the association with childhood trauma. For suicidal thoughts with a past attempt, a weaker sense of control, aggression, insomnia, and social support accounted for about 39% of the association. In both cases, childhood trauma remained significantly linked to the suicide outcomes even after accounting for these factors.
“Altogether, CT [childhood trauma] was associated with both suicide outcomes, but SI+SA+ in particular. These associations were substantially attenuated in multiple-mediator models in which multiple personality traits, insomnia, and perceived social support showed significant indirect associations consistent with mediation after accounting for shared variance among variables,” the study authors concluded.
“Aggression, insomnia and social support statistically accounted for the link between CT and the outcomes SI+SA- and SI+SA+. Neuroticism, introversion, and hopelessness linked CT to SI+SA- in particular, whilst locus of control showed a significant indirect association consistent with mediation of the association between CT and SI+SA+. The findings point to potentially modifiable factors relevant for suicide prevention, especially aggression, insomnia and social support, that require further investigation in longitudinal studies.” (In the authors’ shorthand, SI+SA- refers to suicidal ideation without a suicide attempt, and SI+SA+ refers to suicidal ideation with a suicide attempt.)
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of factors associated with suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. However, it should be noted that the design of this study does not allow any causal inferences to be drawn from the results. The potential mediators were measured at the same time as suicidal thoughts, so the study cannot show whether they came before or after them. Additionally, childhood trauma was reported by participants as adults, leaving room for recall bias, although the authors note that research suggests such retrospective reports are generally reliable.
Many of the potential mediators were also correlated with one another, so the combined models capture each factor’s unique contribution rather than its full role. Finally, all participants had depressive or anxiety disorders, and the sample was predominantly Dutch and female, so the findings may not apply to the general population, to men, or to other cultures.
The paper, “Childhood trauma and suicide ideation and attempts: Examining the mediating role of psychosocial, personality, lifestyle and biological factors,” was authored by Jasper X.M. Wiebenga, Lili Lokhorst, Adriaan W. Hoogendoorn, Henriette D. Heering, Merijn Eikelenboom, Erik J. Giltay, Patricia van Oppen, and Brenda W.J.H. Penninx.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-is-linked-to-suicidal-thoughts-and-attempts-in-adults-with-depression-and-anxiety/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ChildhoodTrauma #SuicidalIdeation #SuicideAttempts #DepressionAnxiety #MentalHealthAwareness #Prevention #Insomnia #SocialSupport #Neuroticism #Inflammation

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Healthcare IT Security Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 21:50 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 05:46PM
SOURCE: HEALTHCARE INFO SECURITY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Federal Researchers Ramp Up AI for Faster #ClinicalTrials: @HHSGov Research Arm Backs Using #AI, Predictive Models and Automation to Speed Research https://t.co/rGHufbfs5n @ARPA_H
Here are any URLs found in the article text:
https://t.co/rGHufbfs5n
Articles can be found by scrolling down the page at https://www.healthcareinfosecurity.com/ under the title "Latest"
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Healthcare security & privacy posts not related to IT or infosec are at @HIPAABot . Even so, they mix in some infosec with the legal & regulatory information.
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#security #healthcare #doctors #itsecurity #hacking #doxxing #psychotherapy #securitynews #psychotherapist #mentalhealth #psychiatry #hospital #socialwork #datasecurity #webbeacons #cookies #HIPAA #privacy #datanalytics #healthcaresecurity #healthitsecurity #patientrecords @infosec #telehealth #netneutrality #socialengineering

#clinicaltrials #ai #security #healthcare #doctors #itsecurity
Healthcare IT Security Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 21:50 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 05:46PM
SOURCE: HEALTHCARE INFO SECURITY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Federal Researchers Ramp Up AI for Faster #ClinicalTrials: @HHSGov Research Arm Backs Using #AI, Predictive Models and Automation to Speed Research https://t.co/rGHufbfs5n @ARPA_H
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Military Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 16:12 UTC

TRIGGER WARNING: Military Psychology
DATE: October 1, 2026 at 12:06PM
SOURCE: CONSORTIUM FOR DEFENSE PSYCHOLOGY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Funded by the VA Office of Suicide Prevention, Safeguard Veterans is a one-year pilot research program designed to unite community partners to strengthen the existing web of care surrounding our veterans. Read the full blog, "Safeguard Project Update..." https://t.co/EmMt14URjL
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Military Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 16:12 UTC

TRIGGER WARNING: Military Psychology
DATE: October 1, 2026 at 12:06PM
SOURCE: CONSORTIUM FOR DEFENSE PSYCHOLOGY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Funded by the VA Office of Suicide Prevention, Safeguard Veterans is a one-year pilot research program designed to unite community partners to strengthen the existing web of care surrounding our veterans. Read the full blog, "Safeguard Project Update..." https://t.co/EmMt14URjL
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:15 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:15 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:15 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHOLOGY FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:13 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHIATIRY FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:13 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHIATIRY FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:13 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY PSYCHIATIRY FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:01 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Q3 2026 has come to an end. What were the highlights from the psychopharmacology pipeline and FDA this quarter? Find out here: https://t.co/4dGOy9Vavh
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:01 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Q3 2026 has come to an end. What were the highlights from the psychopharmacology pipeline and FDA this quarter? Find out here: https://t.co/4dGOy9Vavh
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:01 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
Direct article link at end of text block below.
Q3 2026 has come to an end. What were the highlights from the psychopharmacology pipeline and FDA this quarter? Find out here: https://t.co/4dGOy9Vavh
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:00 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:00 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-10-01 · 14:00 UTC

DATE: October 1, 2026 at 02:34AM
SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY MIND-BRAIN FEED
TITLE: Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
URL: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260930225448.htm
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Healthcare IT Security Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 21:20 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: HEALTHCARE INFO SECURITY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
#Poland Probes Hack of Second #Healthcare Software Vendor: Latest Incident Involving #Qbusoft - Maker of #Medyc - Comes Weeks After #MyDr Hack Affected 19 Million Poles https://t.co/oeg5ocQhhc
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Healthcare IT Security Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 21:20 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: HEALTHCARE INFO SECURITY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
#Poland Probes Hack of Second #Healthcare Software Vendor: Latest Incident Involving #Qbusoft - Maker of #Medyc - Comes Weeks After #MyDr Hack Affected 19 Million Poles https://t.co/oeg5ocQhhc
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Healthcare IT Security Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 21:20 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 05:15PM
SOURCE: HEALTHCARE INFO SECURITY
Direct article link at end of text block below.
#Poland Probes Hack of Second #Healthcare Software Vendor: Latest Incident Involving #Qbusoft - Maker of #Medyc - Comes Weeks After #MyDr Hack Affected 19 Million Poles https://t.co/oeg5ocQhhc
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 20:17 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: The surprising link between resilience and challenging ayahuasca experiences
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-surprising-link-between-resilience-and-challenging-ayahuasca-experiences/
A longitudinal study of people attending ayahuasca retreats found that those with higher levels of resilience before the retreat tended to report somewhat more intense challenging experiences during their ayahuasca ceremonies. More resilient participants also showed a stronger link between these difficult experiences and searching for meaning in life a month later. The paper was published in Psychedelic Medicine.
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew traditionally used by Indigenous communities in the Amazon for religious, spiritual, and therapeutic purposes. Its acute effects can include mystical experiences and psychological insights, but also difficult physical symptoms such as nausea and vomiting and emotional reactions such as fear, paranoia, or distressing hallucinations. These adverse experiences are referred to as challenges or challenging experiences.
People vary considerably in how they interpret these challenging experiences. Some describe them as harmful “bad trips,” while others view them as meaningful parts of healing or spiritual transformation. Individual characteristics such as age, previous psychedelic experience, motivation, mindset, and psychological state can influence both the immediate experience and its longer-term effects. The social and environmental settings in which ayahuasca is consumed can also shape its psychological impact.
In this context, resilience, a person’s capacity to adapt positively and recover when confronted with stressful or difficult experiences, might be particularly important. People with greater resilience might be better able to engage constructively with difficult emotions and experiences during ayahuasca use, potentially influencing whether challenging psychedelic effects ultimately contribute to positive psychospiritual outcomes.
Study author Yitong Xin and colleagues explored whether the acute effects of ayahuasca, and particularly its challenging effects, depend on a person’s resilience. More specifically, they examined the associations between resilience measured at the start of an ayahuasca retreat and acute challenging experiences reported at the end of the retreat, as well as whether resilience moderates the relationship between these experiences and psychospiritual outcomes reported 1 month after the retreat.
Data were collected between August 2022 and August 2023 at two Soltara Healing Center retreat locations, in Costa Rica and Peru. A representative of the Soltara Healing Center helped the researchers recruit participants. Of the 291 retreat guests who met the study criteria, 267 enrolled and completed a survey at the start of the retreat. Of these, 247 also completed the survey at the end of the retreat, and 233 completed it 1 month after the retreat. Participants’ average age was 41 years, and 56% were women. Most were White (83%), lived in North America (87%), and had a college education (95%).
In the surveys, study participants reported their demographic data and completed assessments of resilience (the Resilience Scale for Adults), challenging ayahuasca experiences (the Challenging Experience Questionnaire, the Ayahuasca Experience Inventory-Discomfort Subscale, and the Ayahuasca Purging Experience), meaning in life (the Meaning in Life Questionnaire), and personality (the Big Five Inventory-10). Study participants also reported on their previous use of psychedelic compounds and completed a questionnaire assessing the effects of the setting on them during the ayahuasca experience.
Results showed that 79% of participants had past experience with psychedelics, while 22% had used ayahuasca before. More than half of the participants reported at least moderately intense challenging experiences such as feelings that led to crying, body shaking or trembling, emotional or physical suffering, feelings of grief, and heart palpitations. In contrast, fewer than 5% of participants reported feeling that people were plotting against them. Nearly three-quarters of participants reported at least moderate exhaustion after taking ayahuasca.
Individuals with higher neuroticism (i.e., lower emotional stability) tended to report somewhat stronger acute challenging experiences. More resilient individuals also tended to report somewhat more intense acute challenging experiences.
Additionally, resilience measured at the start of the retreat moderated the link between challenging ayahuasca experiences and searching for meaning in life. More specifically, the more resilient a person was, the stronger the association between having an intense challenging experience and searching for meaning 1 month after the retreat. The same was true for uncomfortable ayahuasca-related experiences: their association with searching for meaning in life was stronger in more resilient participants. However, resilience did not moderate the links between these experiences and the presence of meaning in life, that is, the sense that one’s life already feels meaningful.
“Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of ayahuasca effects and resilience, highlighting ayahuasca’s therapeutic potential from a resilience standpoint. Evidence from this study could be used by mental health providers in support of preparation or integration therapy practices for individuals who seek out help following their ayahuasca retreat experience or those who are interested in attending retreats,” the study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of ayahuasca experiences. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be drawn from the results. In addition, participants were predominantly White, college-educated, North American, and relatively affluent, and all attended retreats run by a single provider, so the findings may not generalize to other populations or settings.
The paper, “Baseline Resilience as a Predictor of Ayahuasca Acute Effects and Moderator of the Relationship between Acute Effects and Psychospiritual Outcomes,” was authored by Yitong Xin, Alan K. Davis, Susan Yoon, and Mo Yee Lee.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-surprising-link-between-resilience-and-challenging-ayahuasca-experiences/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 20:17 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: The surprising link between resilience and challenging ayahuasca experiences
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-surprising-link-between-resilience-and-challenging-ayahuasca-experiences/
A longitudinal study of people attending ayahuasca retreats found that those with higher levels of resilience before the retreat tended to report somewhat more intense challenging experiences during their ayahuasca ceremonies. More resilient participants also showed a stronger link between these difficult experiences and searching for meaning in life a month later. The paper was published in Psychedelic Medicine.
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew traditionally used by Indigenous communities in the Amazon for religious, spiritual, and therapeutic purposes. Its acute effects can include mystical experiences and psychological insights, but also difficult physical symptoms such as nausea and vomiting and emotional reactions such as fear, paranoia, or distressing hallucinations. These adverse experiences are referred to as challenges or challenging experiences.
People vary considerably in how they interpret these challenging experiences. Some describe them as harmful “bad trips,” while others view them as meaningful parts of healing or spiritual transformation. Individual characteristics such as age, previous psychedelic experience, motivation, mindset, and psychological state can influence both the immediate experience and its longer-term effects. The social and environmental settings in which ayahuasca is consumed can also shape its psychological impact.
In this context, resilience, a person’s capacity to adapt positively and recover when confronted with stressful or difficult experiences, might be particularly important. People with greater resilience might be better able to engage constructively with difficult emotions and experiences during ayahuasca use, potentially influencing whether challenging psychedelic effects ultimately contribute to positive psychospiritual outcomes.
Study author Yitong Xin and colleagues explored whether the acute effects of ayahuasca, and particularly its challenging effects, depend on a person’s resilience. More specifically, they examined the associations between resilience measured at the start of an ayahuasca retreat and acute challenging experiences reported at the end of the retreat, as well as whether resilience moderates the relationship between these experiences and psychospiritual outcomes reported 1 month after the retreat.
Data were collected between August 2022 and August 2023 at two Soltara Healing Center retreat locations, in Costa Rica and Peru. A representative of the Soltara Healing Center helped the researchers recruit participants. Of the 291 retreat guests who met the study criteria, 267 enrolled and completed a survey at the start of the retreat. Of these, 247 also completed the survey at the end of the retreat, and 233 completed it 1 month after the retreat. Participants’ average age was 41 years, and 56% were women. Most were White (83%), lived in North America (87%), and had a college education (95%).
In the surveys, study participants reported their demographic data and completed assessments of resilience (the Resilience Scale for Adults), challenging ayahuasca experiences (the Challenging Experience Questionnaire, the Ayahuasca Experience Inventory-Discomfort Subscale, and the Ayahuasca Purging Experience), meaning in life (the Meaning in Life Questionnaire), and personality (the Big Five Inventory-10). Study participants also reported on their previous use of psychedelic compounds and completed a questionnaire assessing the effects of the setting on them during the ayahuasca experience.
Results showed that 79% of participants had past experience with psychedelics, while 22% had used ayahuasca before. More than half of the participants reported at least moderately intense challenging experiences such as feelings that led to crying, body shaking or trembling, emotional or physical suffering, feelings of grief, and heart palpitations. In contrast, fewer than 5% of participants reported feeling that people were plotting against them. Nearly three-quarters of participants reported at least moderate exhaustion after taking ayahuasca.
Individuals with higher neuroticism (i.e., lower emotional stability) tended to report somewhat stronger acute challenging experiences. More resilient individuals also tended to report somewhat more intense acute challenging experiences.
Additionally, resilience measured at the start of the retreat moderated the link between challenging ayahuasca experiences and searching for meaning in life. More specifically, the more resilient a person was, the stronger the association between having an intense challenging experience and searching for meaning 1 month after the retreat. The same was true for uncomfortable ayahuasca-related experiences: their association with searching for meaning in life was stronger in more resilient participants. However, resilience did not moderate the links between these experiences and the presence of meaning in life, that is, the sense that one’s life already feels meaningful.
“Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of ayahuasca effects and resilience, highlighting ayahuasca’s therapeutic potential from a resilience standpoint. Evidence from this study could be used by mental health providers in support of preparation or integration therapy practices for individuals who seek out help following their ayahuasca retreat experience or those who are interested in attending retreats,” the study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of ayahuasca experiences. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be drawn from the results. In addition, participants were predominantly White, college-educated, North American, and relatively affluent, and all attended retreats run by a single provider, so the findings may not generalize to other populations or settings.
The paper, “Baseline Resilience as a Predictor of Ayahuasca Acute Effects and Moderator of the Relationship between Acute Effects and Psychospiritual Outcomes,” was authored by Yitong Xin, Alan K. Davis, Susan Yoon, and Mo Yee Lee.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-surprising-link-between-resilience-and-challenging-ayahuasca-experiences/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 20:17 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: The surprising link between resilience and challenging ayahuasca experiences
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-surprising-link-between-resilience-and-challenging-ayahuasca-experiences/
A longitudinal study of people attending ayahuasca retreats found that those with higher levels of resilience before the retreat tended to report somewhat more intense challenging experiences during their ayahuasca ceremonies. More resilient participants also showed a stronger link between these difficult experiences and searching for meaning in life a month later. The paper was published in Psychedelic Medicine.
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew traditionally used by Indigenous communities in the Amazon for religious, spiritual, and therapeutic purposes. Its acute effects can include mystical experiences and psychological insights, but also difficult physical symptoms such as nausea and vomiting and emotional reactions such as fear, paranoia, or distressing hallucinations. These adverse experiences are referred to as challenges or challenging experiences.
People vary considerably in how they interpret these challenging experiences. Some describe them as harmful “bad trips,” while others view them as meaningful parts of healing or spiritual transformation. Individual characteristics such as age, previous psychedelic experience, motivation, mindset, and psychological state can influence both the immediate experience and its longer-term effects. The social and environmental settings in which ayahuasca is consumed can also shape its psychological impact.
In this context, resilience, a person’s capacity to adapt positively and recover when confronted with stressful or difficult experiences, might be particularly important. People with greater resilience might be better able to engage constructively with difficult emotions and experiences during ayahuasca use, potentially influencing whether challenging psychedelic effects ultimately contribute to positive psychospiritual outcomes.
Study author Yitong Xin and colleagues explored whether the acute effects of ayahuasca, and particularly its challenging effects, depend on a person’s resilience. More specifically, they examined the associations between resilience measured at the start of an ayahuasca retreat and acute challenging experiences reported at the end of the retreat, as well as whether resilience moderates the relationship between these experiences and psychospiritual outcomes reported 1 month after the retreat.
Data were collected between August 2022 and August 2023 at two Soltara Healing Center retreat locations, in Costa Rica and Peru. A representative of the Soltara Healing Center helped the researchers recruit participants. Of the 291 retreat guests who met the study criteria, 267 enrolled and completed a survey at the start of the retreat. Of these, 247 also completed the survey at the end of the retreat, and 233 completed it 1 month after the retreat. Participants’ average age was 41 years, and 56% were women. Most were White (83%), lived in North America (87%), and had a college education (95%).
In the surveys, study participants reported their demographic data and completed assessments of resilience (the Resilience Scale for Adults), challenging ayahuasca experiences (the Challenging Experience Questionnaire, the Ayahuasca Experience Inventory-Discomfort Subscale, and the Ayahuasca Purging Experience), meaning in life (the Meaning in Life Questionnaire), and personality (the Big Five Inventory-10). Study participants also reported on their previous use of psychedelic compounds and completed a questionnaire assessing the effects of the setting on them during the ayahuasca experience.
Results showed that 79% of participants had past experience with psychedelics, while 22% had used ayahuasca before. More than half of the participants reported at least moderately intense challenging experiences such as feelings that led to crying, body shaking or trembling, emotional or physical suffering, feelings of grief, and heart palpitations. In contrast, fewer than 5% of participants reported feeling that people were plotting against them. Nearly three-quarters of participants reported at least moderate exhaustion after taking ayahuasca.
Individuals with higher neuroticism (i.e., lower emotional stability) tended to report somewhat stronger acute challenging experiences. More resilient individuals also tended to report somewhat more intense acute challenging experiences.
Additionally, resilience measured at the start of the retreat moderated the link between challenging ayahuasca experiences and searching for meaning in life. More specifically, the more resilient a person was, the stronger the association between having an intense challenging experience and searching for meaning 1 month after the retreat. The same was true for uncomfortable ayahuasca-related experiences: their association with searching for meaning in life was stronger in more resilient participants. However, resilience did not moderate the links between these experiences and the presence of meaning in life, that is, the sense that one’s life already feels meaningful.
“Findings from this study contribute to our understanding of ayahuasca effects and resilience, highlighting ayahuasca’s therapeutic potential from a resilience standpoint. Evidence from this study could be used by mental health providers in support of preparation or integration therapy practices for individuals who seek out help following their ayahuasca retreat experience or those who are interested in attending retreats,” the study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of ayahuasca experiences. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be drawn from the results. In addition, participants were predominantly White, college-educated, North American, and relatively affluent, and all attended retreats run by a single provider, so the findings may not generalize to other populations or settings.
The paper, “Baseline Resilience as a Predictor of Ayahuasca Acute Effects and Moderator of the Relationship between Acute Effects and Psychospiritual Outcomes,” was authored by Yitong Xin, Alan K. Davis, Susan Yoon, and Mo Yee Lee.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-surprising-link-between-resilience-and-challenging-ayahuasca-experiences/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #AyahuascaResilience #ChallengingExperiences #PsychedelicMedicine #MeaningInLife #MentalHealthSupport #ResilienceResearch #AyahuascaTherapy #IntegrationTherapy #SpiritualTransformation #PsychedelicStudy

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 19:03 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 05:01AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED
TITLE: Book Review: ‘Artificial Intimacy,’ by Sherry Turkle
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/books/review/artificial-intimacy-sherry-turkle.html
In “Artificial Intimacy,” Sherry Turkle warns that we seek comfort from A.I. devices at the peril of our well-being and even our democracy.
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/books/review/artificial-intimacy-sherry-turkle.html
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 19:03 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 05:01AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED
TITLE: Book Review: ‘Artificial Intimacy,’ by Sherry Turkle
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/books/review/artificial-intimacy-sherry-turkle.html
In “Artificial Intimacy,” Sherry Turkle warns that we seek comfort from A.I. devices at the peril of our well-being and even our democracy.
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/books/review/artificial-intimacy-sherry-turkle.html
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ArtificialIntimacy #SherryTurkle #AIethics #TechnologyAndSociety #AIandWellbeing #DemocracyAndTech #DigitalRelationships #TechCritique #AIInfluence #BookReview

#bookreview #aiinfluence #techcritique #digitalrelationships #democracyandtech #aiandwellbeing
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 19:03 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 05:01AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED
TITLE: Book Review: ‘Artificial Intimacy,’ by Sherry Turkle
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/books/review/artificial-intimacy-sherry-turkle.html
In “Artificial Intimacy,” Sherry Turkle warns that we seek comfort from A.I. devices at the peril of our well-being and even our democracy.
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/books/review/artificial-intimacy-sherry-turkle.html
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ArtificialIntimacy #SherryTurkle #AIethics #TechnologyAndSociety #AIandWellbeing #DemocracyAndTech #DigitalRelationships #TechCritique #AIInfluence #BookReview

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 18:17 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: The color of your hair may change how even your skin looks to others
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-color-of-your-hair-may-change-how-even-your-skin-looks-to-others/
New research published in Perception indicates that the color of a person’s hair and the background behind them can change how other people perceive their skin. By altering the visual contrast around a face, scientists found that darker hair and black backgrounds tend to make facial skin appear more even. The findings suggest that everyday styling choices have visual effects that may influence how healthy and attractive a person appears to others.
The central focus of this research is perceived skin evenness, which refers to how uniform a person’s skin color and surface texture appear to an observer. When skin has a steady distribution of color and lacks bumps, spots, or wrinkles, observers tend to judge the face as younger, healthier, and more attractive. Beyond physical attractiveness, observers often link smooth skin to abstract social traits like trustworthiness and competence. Because these social judgments carry heavy weight in daily life, understanding exactly what makes skin look even is an active area of study.
Researchers already know that the biological condition of the skin plays a primary role in how it looks. But human visual perception is complex, and the appearance of skin is also swayed by the features directly next to it. Past work demonstrates that increasing the visual contrast between the skin and facial features like the eyes, lips, and eyebrows actually makes the skin itself look more even. This visual illusion happens even when dark makeup is applied only to the eyes and lips, leaving the skin entirely untouched.
“Previous research has found that increased contrast between skin and adjacent surfaces increases perceived skin evenness,” lead researcher Carlota Batres, an associate professor of psychology at Franklin & Marshall College and the director of the Preferences Lab, told PsyPost. “Our study aimed to examine whether this effect can be extended to situations where the entire face is left untouched and contrast is modified by increasing or decreasing the luminance of surfaces surrounding the face.”
This visual effect is thought to stem from a basic processing mechanism in the brain known as contrast gain control. In simple terms, this means the human visual system evaluates the brightness and texture of a specific region relative to its immediate surroundings. The research team, which also included Richard Russell at Gettysburg College, wanted to know if this visual mechanism operates over larger spatial distances. They set out to test whether modifying the contrast entirely outside the face, by changing hair lightness or background color, would still trick the eye into seeing more even skin.
The neurological reach of this mechanism was previously unclear. “The effects of contrast gain control are believed to operate within but not across cortical hypercolumns, meaning I was not sure this effect would be present across greater spatial expanses such as the contrast surrounding the face,” Batres explained. “In other words, previous studies have addressed contrast within the face, and here we aimed to address contrast outside the face.”
To explore this, the researchers set up two separate experiments. In the first experiment, they gathered photographs of 45 white women ranging in age from 19 to 79. All the women were photographed facing forward with neutral expressions. The scientists selected images where the hair could be entirely masked by an oval border, leaving only the facial skin and features visible.
For each face, the researchers created two versions. One version placed the face against a high-contrast black oval background. The other version placed the face against a low-contrast, skin-colored background, which was created by averaging the actual skin colors from the cheeks of the photographed faces. A group of 61 participants recruited online viewed these 90 images one by one in a random order.
For each image, participants rated the evenness of the person’s skin on a scale from one to seven, where one meant very uneven and seven meant very even. The participants were instructed to look for similar coloration throughout the face and a lack of blemishes, spots, and blotchiness.
The results of the first experiment showed that the background color shifted how observers rated the skin. When faces were presented against the high-contrast black background, their skin was rated as more even, scoring an average of 4.18 out of 7. In comparison, the exact same faces received an average evenness score of 3.95 when presented against the low-contrast skin-colored background. This effect appeared whether the face being judged belonged to a younger woman under 30 or an older woman over 30.
The second experiment aimed to test this visual effect using a more natural, everyday adjustment. The researchers selected a new set of photographs featuring 41 white women, again spanning ages 19 to 79. This time, they specifically chose images with a sharp visual boundary between the person’s hair and their skin.
Using photo editing software, the scientists slightly altered the lightness of each woman’s hair. They created two versions of each face: one where the hair was lightened by a small set amount, and one where the hair was darkened by the same amount. A new group of 80 online participants rated the skin evenness of these 82 images using the same one to seven scale from the first experiment.
Just like the background colors, the hair lightness shifted the participants’ perception of the skin. Faces with artificially darkened hair were rated as having more even skin, with an average score of 4.06. When the exact same faces were shown with lightened hair, the average skin evenness score dropped slightly to 4.01, representing a small difference of just 0.05 points on the seven-point scale.
When the researchers separated the faces by age, they noticed a difference in how hair lightness affected perception. The visual trick was not statistically significant for the younger faces, whose skin was generally already quite uniform. However, for the older faces, the darkened hair made the skin appear more even. The researchers suspect this is because the hair manipulation was a very mild adjustment compared to the stark black background used in the first study, making its subtle effect only detectable on faces that started with more uneven skin.
“Many practices of grooming and personal decoration involve surfaces adjacent to the skin, such as hair, clothing, or other backgrounds, and the results of this study show that these social practices have perceptual consequences related to skin appearance,” Batres noted. The results confirm “that the contrast between the facial skin and the surfaces surrounding the face, whether background color or hair color, influence perceived skin evenness.”
These modest visual effects offer a potential scientific explanation for certain fashion and grooming preferences. Past research shows that women are often rated as more attractive when wearing black clothing. The new findings suggest this boost in attractiveness might happen partly because dark clothing provides high contrast against the skin, making the face look more even and healthier. Similarly, women are often rated as more attractive when wearing their hair down rather than pulled back. Hair framing the face increases the visual contrast directly next to the skin, which might naturally boost perceived skin evenness.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The study relied exclusively on photographs of lightly pigmented white women, meaning the results might not automatically apply to faces of other races or genders. It remains unknown if this contrast trick works in the exact same way for people with darker skin tones, or if different hair and background combinations might be needed to achieve the highest contrast.
Another point to consider is the subtle nature of the hair edits in the second experiment. The researchers only adjusted how light or dark the hair was, keeping the original color family intact. “Our hair manipulation was slight, and it would be interesting for future studies to further examine this effect,” Batres said.
Future studies could test more dramatic hair changes, such as shifting entirely from blonde to black, to see if more extreme contrast creates a stronger illusion of even skin. This could be done “by changing the hair color altogether to one that is high contrast relative to each face’s skin tone versus one that is low contrast relative to each face’s skin tone,” Batres added. The researchers also hope to test other common facial accessories, like glasses, hijabs, or jewelry, to see how they interact with skin perception.
The study, “Perceived skin evenness is influenced by background color and hair color,” was authored by Carlota Batres and Richard Russell.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-color-of-your-hair-may-change-how-even-your-skin-looks-to-others/
-------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 18:17 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: The color of your hair may change how even your skin looks to others
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-color-of-your-hair-may-change-how-even-your-skin-looks-to-others/
New research published in Perception indicates that the color of a person’s hair and the background behind them can change how other people perceive their skin. By altering the visual contrast around a face, scientists found that darker hair and black backgrounds tend to make facial skin appear more even. The findings suggest that everyday styling choices have visual effects that may influence how healthy and attractive a person appears to others.
The central focus of this research is perceived skin evenness, which refers to how uniform a person’s skin color and surface texture appear to an observer. When skin has a steady distribution of color and lacks bumps, spots, or wrinkles, observers tend to judge the face as younger, healthier, and more attractive. Beyond physical attractiveness, observers often link smooth skin to abstract social traits like trustworthiness and competence. Because these social judgments carry heavy weight in daily life, understanding exactly what makes skin look even is an active area of study.
Researchers already know that the biological condition of the skin plays a primary role in how it looks. But human visual perception is complex, and the appearance of skin is also swayed by the features directly next to it. Past work demonstrates that increasing the visual contrast between the skin and facial features like the eyes, lips, and eyebrows actually makes the skin itself look more even. This visual illusion happens even when dark makeup is applied only to the eyes and lips, leaving the skin entirely untouched.
“Previous research has found that increased contrast between skin and adjacent surfaces increases perceived skin evenness,” lead researcher Carlota Batres, an associate professor of psychology at Franklin & Marshall College and the director of the Preferences Lab, told PsyPost. “Our study aimed to examine whether this effect can be extended to situations where the entire face is left untouched and contrast is modified by increasing or decreasing the luminance of surfaces surrounding the face.”
This visual effect is thought to stem from a basic processing mechanism in the brain known as contrast gain control. In simple terms, this means the human visual system evaluates the brightness and texture of a specific region relative to its immediate surroundings. The research team, which also included Richard Russell at Gettysburg College, wanted to know if this visual mechanism operates over larger spatial distances. They set out to test whether modifying the contrast entirely outside the face, by changing hair lightness or background color, would still trick the eye into seeing more even skin.
The neurological reach of this mechanism was previously unclear. “The effects of contrast gain control are believed to operate within but not across cortical hypercolumns, meaning I was not sure this effect would be present across greater spatial expanses such as the contrast surrounding the face,” Batres explained. “In other words, previous studies have addressed contrast within the face, and here we aimed to address contrast outside the face.”
To explore this, the researchers set up two separate experiments. In the first experiment, they gathered photographs of 45 white women ranging in age from 19 to 79. All the women were photographed facing forward with neutral expressions. The scientists selected images where the hair could be entirely masked by an oval border, leaving only the facial skin and features visible.
For each face, the researchers created two versions. One version placed the face against a high-contrast black oval background. The other version placed the face against a low-contrast, skin-colored background, which was created by averaging the actual skin colors from the cheeks of the photographed faces. A group of 61 participants recruited online viewed these 90 images one by one in a random order.
For each image, participants rated the evenness of the person’s skin on a scale from one to seven, where one meant very uneven and seven meant very even. The participants were instructed to look for similar coloration throughout the face and a lack of blemishes, spots, and blotchiness.
The results of the first experiment showed that the background color shifted how observers rated the skin. When faces were presented against the high-contrast black background, their skin was rated as more even, scoring an average of 4.18 out of 7. In comparison, the exact same faces received an average evenness score of 3.95 when presented against the low-contrast skin-colored background. This effect appeared whether the face being judged belonged to a younger woman under 30 or an older woman over 30.
The second experiment aimed to test this visual effect using a more natural, everyday adjustment. The researchers selected a new set of photographs featuring 41 white women, again spanning ages 19 to 79. This time, they specifically chose images with a sharp visual boundary between the person’s hair and their skin.
Using photo editing software, the scientists slightly altered the lightness of each woman’s hair. They created two versions of each face: one where the hair was lightened by a small set amount, and one where the hair was darkened by the same amount. A new group of 80 online participants rated the skin evenness of these 82 images using the same one to seven scale from the first experiment.
Just like the background colors, the hair lightness shifted the participants’ perception of the skin. Faces with artificially darkened hair were rated as having more even skin, with an average score of 4.06. When the exact same faces were shown with lightened hair, the average skin evenness score dropped slightly to 4.01, representing a small difference of just 0.05 points on the seven-point scale.
When the researchers separated the faces by age, they noticed a difference in how hair lightness affected perception. The visual trick was not statistically significant for the younger faces, whose skin was generally already quite uniform. However, for the older faces, the darkened hair made the skin appear more even. The researchers suspect this is because the hair manipulation was a very mild adjustment compared to the stark black background used in the first study, making its subtle effect only detectable on faces that started with more uneven skin.
“Many practices of grooming and personal decoration involve surfaces adjacent to the skin, such as hair, clothing, or other backgrounds, and the results of this study show that these social practices have perceptual consequences related to skin appearance,” Batres noted. The results confirm “that the contrast between the facial skin and the surfaces surrounding the face, whether background color or hair color, influence perceived skin evenness.”
These modest visual effects offer a potential scientific explanation for certain fashion and grooming preferences. Past research shows that women are often rated as more attractive when wearing black clothing. The new findings suggest this boost in attractiveness might happen partly because dark clothing provides high contrast against the skin, making the face look more even and healthier. Similarly, women are often rated as more attractive when wearing their hair down rather than pulled back. Hair framing the face increases the visual contrast directly next to the skin, which might naturally boost perceived skin evenness.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The study relied exclusively on photographs of lightly pigmented white women, meaning the results might not automatically apply to faces of other races or genders. It remains unknown if this contrast trick works in the exact same way for people with darker skin tones, or if different hair and background combinations might be needed to achieve the highest contrast.
Another point to consider is the subtle nature of the hair edits in the second experiment. The researchers only adjusted how light or dark the hair was, keeping the original color family intact. “Our hair manipulation was slight, and it would be interesting for future studies to further examine this effect,” Batres said.
Future studies could test more dramatic hair changes, such as shifting entirely from blonde to black, to see if more extreme contrast creates a stronger illusion of even skin. This could be done “by changing the hair color altogether to one that is high contrast relative to each face’s skin tone versus one that is low contrast relative to each face’s skin tone,” Batres added. The researchers also hope to test other common facial accessories, like glasses, hijabs, or jewelry, to see how they interact with skin perception.
The study, “Perceived skin evenness is influenced by background color and hair color,” was authored by Carlota Batres and Richard Russell.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-color-of-your-hair-may-change-how-even-your-skin-looks-to-others/
-------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #PerceivedSkinEvenness #HairColorInfluence #VisualContrast #SkinAppearance #FacePerception #ContrastGainControl #GroomingInfluences #HairBackgroundContrast #FashionAndPerception #HealthyLookingSkin

#healthylookingskin #fashionandperception #hairbackgroundcontrast #groominginfluences #contrastgaincontrol #faceperception
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 18:17 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: The color of your hair may change how even your skin looks to others
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-color-of-your-hair-may-change-how-even-your-skin-looks-to-others/
New research published in Perception indicates that the color of a person’s hair and the background behind them can change how other people perceive their skin. By altering the visual contrast around a face, scientists found that darker hair and black backgrounds tend to make facial skin appear more even. The findings suggest that everyday styling choices have visual effects that may influence how healthy and attractive a person appears to others.
The central focus of this research is perceived skin evenness, which refers to how uniform a person’s skin color and surface texture appear to an observer. When skin has a steady distribution of color and lacks bumps, spots, or wrinkles, observers tend to judge the face as younger, healthier, and more attractive. Beyond physical attractiveness, observers often link smooth skin to abstract social traits like trustworthiness and competence. Because these social judgments carry heavy weight in daily life, understanding exactly what makes skin look even is an active area of study.
Researchers already know that the biological condition of the skin plays a primary role in how it looks. But human visual perception is complex, and the appearance of skin is also swayed by the features directly next to it. Past work demonstrates that increasing the visual contrast between the skin and facial features like the eyes, lips, and eyebrows actually makes the skin itself look more even. This visual illusion happens even when dark makeup is applied only to the eyes and lips, leaving the skin entirely untouched.
“Previous research has found that increased contrast between skin and adjacent surfaces increases perceived skin evenness,” lead researcher Carlota Batres, an associate professor of psychology at Franklin & Marshall College and the director of the Preferences Lab, told PsyPost. “Our study aimed to examine whether this effect can be extended to situations where the entire face is left untouched and contrast is modified by increasing or decreasing the luminance of surfaces surrounding the face.”
This visual effect is thought to stem from a basic processing mechanism in the brain known as contrast gain control. In simple terms, this means the human visual system evaluates the brightness and texture of a specific region relative to its immediate surroundings. The research team, which also included Richard Russell at Gettysburg College, wanted to know if this visual mechanism operates over larger spatial distances. They set out to test whether modifying the contrast entirely outside the face, by changing hair lightness or background color, would still trick the eye into seeing more even skin.
The neurological reach of this mechanism was previously unclear. “The effects of contrast gain control are believed to operate within but not across cortical hypercolumns, meaning I was not sure this effect would be present across greater spatial expanses such as the contrast surrounding the face,” Batres explained. “In other words, previous studies have addressed contrast within the face, and here we aimed to address contrast outside the face.”
To explore this, the researchers set up two separate experiments. In the first experiment, they gathered photographs of 45 white women ranging in age from 19 to 79. All the women were photographed facing forward with neutral expressions. The scientists selected images where the hair could be entirely masked by an oval border, leaving only the facial skin and features visible.
For each face, the researchers created two versions. One version placed the face against a high-contrast black oval background. The other version placed the face against a low-contrast, skin-colored background, which was created by averaging the actual skin colors from the cheeks of the photographed faces. A group of 61 participants recruited online viewed these 90 images one by one in a random order.
For each image, participants rated the evenness of the person’s skin on a scale from one to seven, where one meant very uneven and seven meant very even. The participants were instructed to look for similar coloration throughout the face and a lack of blemishes, spots, and blotchiness.
The results of the first experiment showed that the background color shifted how observers rated the skin. When faces were presented against the high-contrast black background, their skin was rated as more even, scoring an average of 4.18 out of 7. In comparison, the exact same faces received an average evenness score of 3.95 when presented against the low-contrast skin-colored background. This effect appeared whether the face being judged belonged to a younger woman under 30 or an older woman over 30.
The second experiment aimed to test this visual effect using a more natural, everyday adjustment. The researchers selected a new set of photographs featuring 41 white women, again spanning ages 19 to 79. This time, they specifically chose images with a sharp visual boundary between the person’s hair and their skin.
Using photo editing software, the scientists slightly altered the lightness of each woman’s hair. They created two versions of each face: one where the hair was lightened by a small set amount, and one where the hair was darkened by the same amount. A new group of 80 online participants rated the skin evenness of these 82 images using the same one to seven scale from the first experiment.
Just like the background colors, the hair lightness shifted the participants’ perception of the skin. Faces with artificially darkened hair were rated as having more even skin, with an average score of 4.06. When the exact same faces were shown with lightened hair, the average skin evenness score dropped slightly to 4.01, representing a small difference of just 0.05 points on the seven-point scale.
When the researchers separated the faces by age, they noticed a difference in how hair lightness affected perception. The visual trick was not statistically significant for the younger faces, whose skin was generally already quite uniform. However, for the older faces, the darkened hair made the skin appear more even. The researchers suspect this is because the hair manipulation was a very mild adjustment compared to the stark black background used in the first study, making its subtle effect only detectable on faces that started with more uneven skin.
“Many practices of grooming and personal decoration involve surfaces adjacent to the skin, such as hair, clothing, or other backgrounds, and the results of this study show that these social practices have perceptual consequences related to skin appearance,” Batres noted. The results confirm “that the contrast between the facial skin and the surfaces surrounding the face, whether background color or hair color, influence perceived skin evenness.”
These modest visual effects offer a potential scientific explanation for certain fashion and grooming preferences. Past research shows that women are often rated as more attractive when wearing black clothing. The new findings suggest this boost in attractiveness might happen partly because dark clothing provides high contrast against the skin, making the face look more even and healthier. Similarly, women are often rated as more attractive when wearing their hair down rather than pulled back. Hair framing the face increases the visual contrast directly next to the skin, which might naturally boost perceived skin evenness.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The study relied exclusively on photographs of lightly pigmented white women, meaning the results might not automatically apply to faces of other races or genders. It remains unknown if this contrast trick works in the exact same way for people with darker skin tones, or if different hair and background combinations might be needed to achieve the highest contrast.
Another point to consider is the subtle nature of the hair edits in the second experiment. The researchers only adjusted how light or dark the hair was, keeping the original color family intact. “Our hair manipulation was slight, and it would be interesting for future studies to further examine this effect,” Batres said.
Future studies could test more dramatic hair changes, such as shifting entirely from blonde to black, to see if more extreme contrast creates a stronger illusion of even skin. This could be done “by changing the hair color altogether to one that is high contrast relative to each face’s skin tone versus one that is low contrast relative to each face’s skin tone,” Batres added. The researchers also hope to test other common facial accessories, like glasses, hijabs, or jewelry, to see how they interact with skin perception.
The study, “Perceived skin evenness is influenced by background color and hair color,” was authored by Carlota Batres and Richard Russell.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/the-color-of-your-hair-may-change-how-even-your-skin-looks-to-others/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 16:12 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: A father’s scent helps babies synchronize their brains with new adults
URL: https://www.psypost.org/a-father-s-scent-helps-babies-synchronize-their-brains-with-new-adults/
The scent of a father can help babies synchronize their brain activity with unfamiliar adults and encourage more energetic social play. By simply smelling their father’s body odor, infants essentially invoke his presence, allowing them to form stronger neural connections with strangers. These findings were published in the journal Science Advances.
When two people interact socially, their brain waves often align or pulse in harmony. This mechanism, known as interbrain synchrony, helps infants tune their developing brains to their social environment. It allows caregivers to provide sensory inputs that guide the maturation of the child’s social brain.
Past research has shown that maternal body odors can calm infants and increase their neural synchrony with unfamiliar adults. Maternal scents act as an evolutionary signal of safety, helping infants orient toward faces and reducing their neural responses to fearful faces.
However, the impact of a father’s scent on infant brain development has remained largely unexplored. Paternal interactions typically involve different behavioral rhythms than maternal care. Fathers often engage in more high-energy play, which stimulates positive arousal and encourages infants to explore their surroundings. These interactions help children acquire attentive and cognitive skills, opening them up to the broader social world.
Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, a researcher at Reichman University in Israel and the University of Washington, along with Linoy Schwartz and Ruth Feldman, wanted to investigate how infants respond to their father’s smell. They aimed to determine if paternal body odors act as a sensory signal that helps infants build neural connections with people outside their immediate family.
The researchers conducted a small study involving 40 infants, aged five to twelve months, and their biological fathers. To collect the scent, fathers wore a 100 percent cotton t-shirt for two consecutive nights. They were instructed to avoid scented soaps, shampoos, and deodorants, and to refrain from eating foods that heavily alter body odor.
During the laboratory experiment, the researchers used dual-electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the brain waves of both the infants and the adults simultaneously. EEG is a non-invasive method that uses small sensors placed on the scalp to detect electrical activity in the brain. Connecting both participants to the same amplifier guaranteed that the neural recordings were synchronized down to the millisecond.
First, the researchers compared the infants interacting with their own fathers against interactions with an unfamiliar male experimenter. No toys or physical contact were allowed during these three-minute sessions.
The infants displayed higher interbrain synchrony with their own fathers than with the stranger. This synchronization occurred specifically in the alpha frequency band, a type of brain wave that develops during the second half of the first year of life. In infants, alpha oscillations are associated with attention regulation, working memory, and visual processing.
The neural connection linked the father’s left central brain region, which handles sensorimotor processing and skill execution, with the infant’s right temporal region. The right temporal cortex is a core area for processing social information, including biological motion detection and attention.
Next, the researchers tested how the father’s scent altered the infant’s interaction with the unfamiliar male. The infants engaged in two sequential interactions with the stranger. In one session, the t-shirt carrying the father’s body odor was placed near the infant. In the other session, a blank, unworn t-shirt was used as a control.
When the father’s scent was present, the neural synchrony between the infant and the stranger increased. The alignment in the alpha frequency band matched the pattern observed when the infants interacted with their actual fathers. When comparing the neural coupling during the odor condition to the synchrony shared between the infant and their real father, the differences were not statistically significant.
The researchers also analyzed video recordings of the interactions to look for behavioral changes. During the sessions with the stranger, the presence of the father’s scent elevated the infant’s positive arousal. This was measured by instances of smiling, laughing, cooing, and changes in posture such as leaning forward or backward.
While overall visual attention and feelings of safety did not increase universally among the infants, the researchers noticed a correlational trend. Infants who looked more at the stranger’s face and displayed more engagement behaviors experienced a larger boost in neural synchrony.
The researchers also surveyed the fathers about their routine involvement in childcare at home. Infants of fathers who reported higher levels of daily involvement showed a more pronounced increase in neural synchrony when exposed to the paternal odor.
Caregiving behaviors are highly variable and do not strictly align with biological sex. Differences observed between this study on fathers and previous research on mothers might reflect individual parenting styles, parental mental states, or varying levels of childcare involvement.
The infants’ ages spanned a period when alpha brain waves are still maturing. This age-related developmental variation could influence the observed neural patterns. Future studies focusing on a narrower age range could clarify how this specific brain rhythm matures over the first year of life.
The experimental design compared the father’s scent to a blank shirt. This leaves open the possibility that infants were reacting to a general human scent rather than their specific father’s odor, though the stranger’s own scent was present during both conditions.
Additionally, the continuous presence of the scent could lead to olfactory habituation, where the infant stops noticing the smell over time. While the researchers found no neural or behavioral differences between the first and second minutes of the interaction, they acknowledge that capturing dynamic changes in brain activity might require more precise odor delivery methods in the future.
Future research could measure the emotional state of the fathers during the odor collection period, as stress or mood might alter the chemical composition of the scent. Investigating populations with developmental differences, such as infants with a higher likelihood of autism, could reveal whether socially relevant scents might assist in building interpersonal neural connections.
The study, “Scent of a father: Paternal body odors boost interbrain synchrony,” was authored by Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, Linoy Schwartz, and Ruth Feldman.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/a-father-s-scent-helps-babies-synchronize-their-brains-with-new-adults/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 16:12 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: A father’s scent helps babies synchronize their brains with new adults
URL: https://www.psypost.org/a-father-s-scent-helps-babies-synchronize-their-brains-with-new-adults/
The scent of a father can help babies synchronize their brain activity with unfamiliar adults and encourage more energetic social play. By simply smelling their father’s body odor, infants essentially invoke his presence, allowing them to form stronger neural connections with strangers. These findings were published in the journal Science Advances.
When two people interact socially, their brain waves often align or pulse in harmony. This mechanism, known as interbrain synchrony, helps infants tune their developing brains to their social environment. It allows caregivers to provide sensory inputs that guide the maturation of the child’s social brain.
Past research has shown that maternal body odors can calm infants and increase their neural synchrony with unfamiliar adults. Maternal scents act as an evolutionary signal of safety, helping infants orient toward faces and reducing their neural responses to fearful faces.
However, the impact of a father’s scent on infant brain development has remained largely unexplored. Paternal interactions typically involve different behavioral rhythms than maternal care. Fathers often engage in more high-energy play, which stimulates positive arousal and encourages infants to explore their surroundings. These interactions help children acquire attentive and cognitive skills, opening them up to the broader social world.
Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, a researcher at Reichman University in Israel and the University of Washington, along with Linoy Schwartz and Ruth Feldman, wanted to investigate how infants respond to their father’s smell. They aimed to determine if paternal body odors act as a sensory signal that helps infants build neural connections with people outside their immediate family.
The researchers conducted a small study involving 40 infants, aged five to twelve months, and their biological fathers. To collect the scent, fathers wore a 100 percent cotton t-shirt for two consecutive nights. They were instructed to avoid scented soaps, shampoos, and deodorants, and to refrain from eating foods that heavily alter body odor.
During the laboratory experiment, the researchers used dual-electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the brain waves of both the infants and the adults simultaneously. EEG is a non-invasive method that uses small sensors placed on the scalp to detect electrical activity in the brain. Connecting both participants to the same amplifier guaranteed that the neural recordings were synchronized down to the millisecond.
First, the researchers compared the infants interacting with their own fathers against interactions with an unfamiliar male experimenter. No toys or physical contact were allowed during these three-minute sessions.
The infants displayed higher interbrain synchrony with their own fathers than with the stranger. This synchronization occurred specifically in the alpha frequency band, a type of brain wave that develops during the second half of the first year of life. In infants, alpha oscillations are associated with attention regulation, working memory, and visual processing.
The neural connection linked the father’s left central brain region, which handles sensorimotor processing and skill execution, with the infant’s right temporal region. The right temporal cortex is a core area for processing social information, including biological motion detection and attention.
Next, the researchers tested how the father’s scent altered the infant’s interaction with the unfamiliar male. The infants engaged in two sequential interactions with the stranger. In one session, the t-shirt carrying the father’s body odor was placed near the infant. In the other session, a blank, unworn t-shirt was used as a control.
When the father’s scent was present, the neural synchrony between the infant and the stranger increased. The alignment in the alpha frequency band matched the pattern observed when the infants interacted with their actual fathers. When comparing the neural coupling during the odor condition to the synchrony shared between the infant and their real father, the differences were not statistically significant.
The researchers also analyzed video recordings of the interactions to look for behavioral changes. During the sessions with the stranger, the presence of the father’s scent elevated the infant’s positive arousal. This was measured by instances of smiling, laughing, cooing, and changes in posture such as leaning forward or backward.
While overall visual attention and feelings of safety did not increase universally among the infants, the researchers noticed a correlational trend. Infants who looked more at the stranger’s face and displayed more engagement behaviors experienced a larger boost in neural synchrony.
The researchers also surveyed the fathers about their routine involvement in childcare at home. Infants of fathers who reported higher levels of daily involvement showed a more pronounced increase in neural synchrony when exposed to the paternal odor.
Caregiving behaviors are highly variable and do not strictly align with biological sex. Differences observed between this study on fathers and previous research on mothers might reflect individual parenting styles, parental mental states, or varying levels of childcare involvement.
The infants’ ages spanned a period when alpha brain waves are still maturing. This age-related developmental variation could influence the observed neural patterns. Future studies focusing on a narrower age range could clarify how this specific brain rhythm matures over the first year of life.
The experimental design compared the father’s scent to a blank shirt. This leaves open the possibility that infants were reacting to a general human scent rather than their specific father’s odor, though the stranger’s own scent was present during both conditions.
Additionally, the continuous presence of the scent could lead to olfactory habituation, where the infant stops noticing the smell over time. While the researchers found no neural or behavioral differences between the first and second minutes of the interaction, they acknowledge that capturing dynamic changes in brain activity might require more precise odor delivery methods in the future.
Future research could measure the emotional state of the fathers during the odor collection period, as stress or mood might alter the chemical composition of the scent. Investigating populations with developmental differences, such as infants with a higher likelihood of autism, could reveal whether socially relevant scents might assist in building interpersonal neural connections.
The study, “Scent of a father: Paternal body odors boost interbrain synchrony,” was authored by Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, Linoy Schwartz, and Ruth Feldman.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/a-father-s-scent-helps-babies-synchronize-their-brains-with-new-adults/
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#maternalvspaternalcues #infantattention #alphawaves #socialdevelopment #neuroscienceofparenting #olfactorycues
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 16:12 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: A father’s scent helps babies synchronize their brains with new adults
URL: https://www.psypost.org/a-father-s-scent-helps-babies-synchronize-their-brains-with-new-adults/
The scent of a father can help babies synchronize their brain activity with unfamiliar adults and encourage more energetic social play. By simply smelling their father’s body odor, infants essentially invoke his presence, allowing them to form stronger neural connections with strangers. These findings were published in the journal Science Advances.
When two people interact socially, their brain waves often align or pulse in harmony. This mechanism, known as interbrain synchrony, helps infants tune their developing brains to their social environment. It allows caregivers to provide sensory inputs that guide the maturation of the child’s social brain.
Past research has shown that maternal body odors can calm infants and increase their neural synchrony with unfamiliar adults. Maternal scents act as an evolutionary signal of safety, helping infants orient toward faces and reducing their neural responses to fearful faces.
However, the impact of a father’s scent on infant brain development has remained largely unexplored. Paternal interactions typically involve different behavioral rhythms than maternal care. Fathers often engage in more high-energy play, which stimulates positive arousal and encourages infants to explore their surroundings. These interactions help children acquire attentive and cognitive skills, opening them up to the broader social world.
Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, a researcher at Reichman University in Israel and the University of Washington, along with Linoy Schwartz and Ruth Feldman, wanted to investigate how infants respond to their father’s smell. They aimed to determine if paternal body odors act as a sensory signal that helps infants build neural connections with people outside their immediate family.
The researchers conducted a small study involving 40 infants, aged five to twelve months, and their biological fathers. To collect the scent, fathers wore a 100 percent cotton t-shirt for two consecutive nights. They were instructed to avoid scented soaps, shampoos, and deodorants, and to refrain from eating foods that heavily alter body odor.
During the laboratory experiment, the researchers used dual-electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the brain waves of both the infants and the adults simultaneously. EEG is a non-invasive method that uses small sensors placed on the scalp to detect electrical activity in the brain. Connecting both participants to the same amplifier guaranteed that the neural recordings were synchronized down to the millisecond.
First, the researchers compared the infants interacting with their own fathers against interactions with an unfamiliar male experimenter. No toys or physical contact were allowed during these three-minute sessions.
The infants displayed higher interbrain synchrony with their own fathers than with the stranger. This synchronization occurred specifically in the alpha frequency band, a type of brain wave that develops during the second half of the first year of life. In infants, alpha oscillations are associated with attention regulation, working memory, and visual processing.
The neural connection linked the father’s left central brain region, which handles sensorimotor processing and skill execution, with the infant’s right temporal region. The right temporal cortex is a core area for processing social information, including biological motion detection and attention.
Next, the researchers tested how the father’s scent altered the infant’s interaction with the unfamiliar male. The infants engaged in two sequential interactions with the stranger. In one session, the t-shirt carrying the father’s body odor was placed near the infant. In the other session, a blank, unworn t-shirt was used as a control.
When the father’s scent was present, the neural synchrony between the infant and the stranger increased. The alignment in the alpha frequency band matched the pattern observed when the infants interacted with their actual fathers. When comparing the neural coupling during the odor condition to the synchrony shared between the infant and their real father, the differences were not statistically significant.
The researchers also analyzed video recordings of the interactions to look for behavioral changes. During the sessions with the stranger, the presence of the father’s scent elevated the infant’s positive arousal. This was measured by instances of smiling, laughing, cooing, and changes in posture such as leaning forward or backward.
While overall visual attention and feelings of safety did not increase universally among the infants, the researchers noticed a correlational trend. Infants who looked more at the stranger’s face and displayed more engagement behaviors experienced a larger boost in neural synchrony.
The researchers also surveyed the fathers about their routine involvement in childcare at home. Infants of fathers who reported higher levels of daily involvement showed a more pronounced increase in neural synchrony when exposed to the paternal odor.
Caregiving behaviors are highly variable and do not strictly align with biological sex. Differences observed between this study on fathers and previous research on mothers might reflect individual parenting styles, parental mental states, or varying levels of childcare involvement.
The infants’ ages spanned a period when alpha brain waves are still maturing. This age-related developmental variation could influence the observed neural patterns. Future studies focusing on a narrower age range could clarify how this specific brain rhythm matures over the first year of life.
The experimental design compared the father’s scent to a blank shirt. This leaves open the possibility that infants were reacting to a general human scent rather than their specific father’s odor, though the stranger’s own scent was present during both conditions.
Additionally, the continuous presence of the scent could lead to olfactory habituation, where the infant stops noticing the smell over time. While the researchers found no neural or behavioral differences between the first and second minutes of the interaction, they acknowledge that capturing dynamic changes in brain activity might require more precise odor delivery methods in the future.
Future research could measure the emotional state of the fathers during the odor collection period, as stress or mood might alter the chemical composition of the scent. Investigating populations with developmental differences, such as infants with a higher likelihood of autism, could reveal whether socially relevant scents might assist in building interpersonal neural connections.
The study, “Scent of a father: Paternal body odors boost interbrain synchrony,” was authored by Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, Linoy Schwartz, and Ruth Feldman.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/a-father-s-scent-helps-babies-synchronize-their-brains-with-new-adults/
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 15:48 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 11:04AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED
TITLE: The Scientific Case for Being Less in Touch With Your Friends
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/opinion/friendship-frequency-interaction.html
Prioritize the contact that really makes a difference.
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/opinion/friendship-frequency-interaction.html
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 15:48 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 11:04AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED
TITLE: The Scientific Case for Being Less in Touch With Your Friends
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/opinion/friendship-frequency-interaction.html
Prioritize the contact that really makes a difference.
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/opinion/friendship-frequency-interaction.html
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#consciousrelationships #mindfulsocializing #boundarysetting #selfcareinfriendship #intentionalinteracting #meaningfulconnections
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 15:48 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 11:04AM
SOURCE:
NEW YORK TIMES PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS FEED
TITLE: The Scientific Case for Being Less in Touch With Your Friends
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/opinion/friendship-frequency-interaction.html
Prioritize the contact that really makes a difference.
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/opinion/friendship-frequency-interaction.html
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #mentalhealth #psychiatry
Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:40 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026
SOURCE: SOCIALWORKER.COM
TITLE: The Missing Piece in Treating First Responders
URL: https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/missing-piece-treating-first-responders/
Understanding realities of emergency service professions does not replace trauma-informed care; it strengthens it. It helps clinicians see not only what happened to the client, but also how the profession influenced the meaning of the experiences.
URL: https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/missing-piece-treating-first-responders/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:40 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026
SOURCE: SOCIALWORKER.COM
TITLE: The Missing Piece in Treating First Responders
URL: https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/missing-piece-treating-first-responders/
Understanding realities of emergency service professions does not replace trauma-informed care; it strengthens it. It helps clinicians see not only what happened to the client, but also how the profession influenced the meaning of the experiences.
URL: https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/missing-piece-treating-first-responders/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:40 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026
SOURCE: SOCIALWORKER.COM
TITLE: The Missing Piece in Treating First Responders
URL: https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/missing-piece-treating-first-responders/
Understanding realities of emergency service professions does not replace trauma-informed care; it strengthens it. It helps clinicians see not only what happened to the client, but also how the profession influenced the meaning of the experiences.
URL: https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/missing-piece-treating-first-responders/
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:15 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 10:10AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:15 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 10:10AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:15 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 10:10AM
SOURCE: PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
Direct article link at end of text block below.
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Psychology News Robot @[email protected] · 2026-09-30 · 14:12 UTC

DATE: September 30, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
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TITLE: Removing Confederate monuments did not measurably change racial bias, study finds
URL: https://www.psypost.org/removing-confederate-monuments-did-not-measurably-change-racial-bias-study-finds/
A recent investigation into whether the presence or removal of Confederate monuments affects racial prejudice found no evidence that these statues cause changes in people’s biases. The findings suggest that while these monuments are deeply tied to historical inequalities, simply being exposed to them does not directly alter subconscious or conscious racial attitudes, and there is no evidence that removing them from public squares does either. The research was published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Confederate monuments are statues and memorials erected to honor the pro-slavery Southern states that seceded during the American Civil War. In recent years, many communities have debated whether to remove these statues, viewing them as symbols of white supremacy that continue to harm marginalized groups. Psychologists often distinguish between two types of prejudice that such environments might influence. Explicit bias involves conscious beliefs and feelings about a racial group, while implicit bias involves subconscious, automatic associations that people might not even realize they hold.
Previous research suggested that implicit bias is driven by local environments and historical oppression. For instance, a 2019 study found that white residents in Southern counties with historically higher rates of slavery still display stronger implicit racial bias today. The idea that changes in community environments can shift people’s biases is supported by other research. For example, a separate 2019 study found that antigay bias declined roughly twice as fast after states legalized same-sex marriage, suggesting that changes in public institutions can shift community attitudes.
The new research, led by Maximilian A. Primbs of Radboud University, was designed to test whether this idea applies to Confederate symbols to see if their physical presence or removal actually changes residents’ racial biases. Primbs told PsyPost that his motivation stemmed from the cultural climate a few years ago. “I had previously done research on the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement and discussions about Confederate monuments and what to do with them were widespread in 2020/2021,” he explained.
“These discussions eventually reached Europe, which had its own subsequent reckoning with colonial monuments,” Primbs continued. “Monuments were being graffitied, removed, or in one case even thrown in a river. I want to contribute to these debates by investigating some of the effects of these monuments.”
His 2024 study, covered by PsyPost, indicated that the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests led to a rapid, immediate decrease in implicit racial bias among white Americans, though this reduction was temporary. These patterns are consistent with the Bias of Crowds model, proposed in 2017, which holds that physical and social cues in an area constantly activate stereotypes, shaping the prejudices of the people living there.
To investigate the impact of Confederate monuments, the researchers conducted four distinct studies. The first study analyzed a massive dataset from the Project Implicit database, comparing it with records of Confederate monuments from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The sample included up to 1.75 million white participants across the United States. The scientists looked at geographic areas such as counties and commuting zones, tracking whether areas with monuments had higher aggregate levels of bias, adjusting for variables like population density and the proportion of Black residents.
The authors tracked changes in bias around the time specific monuments were taken down, looking for immediate or delayed drops in prejudice. The results did not show any reliable shifts in implicit or explicit racial bias following a monument’s removal. While there were some minor correlations between the number of monuments and bias levels, the results were inconsistent and sometimes even pointed in the opposite direction of what the theory predicted. The data provided no evidence that taking a statue down caused a change in the local community’s racial attitudes.
Notably, these results conflict with a 2019 study by two of the current paper’s co-authors, Heidi A. Vuletich and B. Keith Payne, which found that college campuses displaying Confederate monuments had higher average implicit bias among students. The researchers suggest three possible explanations for the discrepancy: the earlier result might have been a false positive, the correlation might have reflected an unmeasured third factor, or college campuses might simply operate differently than wider communities.
“We very strongly expected to find effects of Confederate monuments,” Primbs noted. “Many prior studies have found that historical inequalities like slavery, sundown towns, or the Ku Klux Klan shaped social and cultural norms and structures within geographical regions in ways that caused biased attitudes to persist over generations.”
“Confederate monuments are a physical manifestation of these White Supremacist beliefs, and therefore should have shown a similar link,” he added. “To me, this suggests that perhaps social and cultural environments are more important in determining racial biases than physical environments.”
Because observational data can be influenced by many outside factors, the scientists designed a second study to test the effect in a controlled laboratory setting. They recruited 1,161 white participants and 416 Black participants for an online experiment. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to read an educational text explaining the racist history and symbolism of the Confederacy.
After reading the text, this group took an Implicit Association Test with images of Confederate monuments displayed in the background. This test measures the speed at which a person associates positive or negative words with Black or White faces, serving as a standard metric for subconscious prejudice. The control group simply took a standard version of the test.
The researchers found no statistically significant differences in implicit or explicit bias between the group exposed to the monuments and the control group, for both white and Black participants. Further statistical analyses, known as equivalence tests, confirmed that any potential effect of the monuments was smaller than a conventionally small effect size, indicating that exposure does not meaningfully alter bias.
A third study utilized a different measure of subconscious prejudice called the Affect Misattribution Procedure. In this task, participants briefly see a photo of a Black or White face, followed immediately by an abstract painting that they must rate as pleasant or unpleasant. The idea is that feelings about the face subtly influence judgments about the painting. In a sample of 537 participants, those who viewed a slideshow of Confederate monuments and described their associations with them showed no statistically significant differences in bias compared to a control group.
To see if these laboratory findings held up in the real world, the researchers conducted a final field experiment in Tilburg, a city in the Netherlands. Instead of Confederate monuments, they used a local colonial monument, a 1926 statue showing the Catholic missionary Peerke Donders standing over a kneeling Black man from colonial Suriname, which critics say reflects colonial racial hierarchies. The scientists approached 174 white Dutch pedestrians passing by either the colonial monument or a visually similar control monument and asked them to fill out a survey measuring their conscious racial biases and policy preferences.
Half of the participants were given an informational text explaining the colonial monument’s historical meaning before answering the questions. Similar to the previous experiments, neither the physical presence of the monument nor the provided historical context altered the participants’ explicit racial attitudes. Whether people were standing in front of the colonial statue or a statue of the Virgin Mary, their self-reported feelings about minority groups remained similar.
There are a few things to keep in mind regarding these findings. The lack of an effect on psychological bias does not mean that monuments are harmless or lack historical importance. “I’d like to make clear that Confederate monuments not affecting racial bias does not mean that Confederate monuments do not have negative effects,” Primbs said, noting that prior research indicates these statues are often perceived as markers of inequality by Black Americans and have been linked to anti-Black hate crimes.
The authors suggest that the transmission of bias might rely more on interpersonal interactions, community norms, and social behaviors than on isolated physical structures. People might absorb prejudice by observing how others act and speak rather than by walking past a monument.
“Confederate monuments are a physical reminder of historical inequality, a built structure commemorating past evil committed,” Primbs said. “Yet, simply removing the monuments had no effects on racial bias. The key takeaway for a lay person might be that undoing past wrongs is not as simple as removing a monument.”
“Discrimination has become deeply entrenched in societal systems, and to tackle it successfully we need to make changes to the system,” he continued.
Future research might explore other environmental cues that are more socially active or frequently discussed to see what actually sustains regional biases. “This research is part of a research line that highlights the historical origins of present-day racial attitudes,” Primbs noted.
“We’re currently pursuing further research that examines how these historical inequalities shape present-day behaviors, for example by affecting how Black and White people interact and share space,” he concluded.
The study, “On Confederate Monuments, Their Removal and Racial Bias,” was authored by Maximilian A. Primbs, Nicolas Sommet, Gijsbert Bijlstra, B. Keith Payne, Ruddy Faure, Tessa A. M. Lansu, Rob W. Holland, Amanda B. Diekman, and Heidi A. Vuletich.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/removing-confederate-monuments-did-not-measurably-change-racial-bias-study-finds/
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