Psychology & Psychiatry

For over 100 years, psychologists have known that most people prefer curviness over angularity in practically everything—from lines and shapes to faces, paintings and interior spaces. Moreover, the phenomenon has been observed across cultures, in infants and even in great apes. Yet, it remains unclear what it is about our perception of curvature that translates into this widespread preference.

New research identifies differing trends in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses among adolescents and adults, including an increase among adults from 2020 to 2023. The study, published in the journal Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, found a significant downward trends in ADHD incidence among adults from 2016 to 2020 and adolescents from 2016 to 2018. The ADHD incidence rate remained stable for adolescents in subsequent years.

Having depression is known to increase a person’s risk of developing dementia, but depression is also an early indicator of dementia—particularly in older people—according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London and published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

Around 20% of eight to 16 year olds in the UK had a probable mental health disorder in 2023, according to NHS statistics. This is up from 12.5% in 2017. At the same time, a 2024 report from the Children’s Commissioner for England found that more than a quarter of a million children were not able to access the mental health support they need.

Normandie University researchers have identified critical links between the brain’s inhibitory memory control mechanisms and resilience to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They examined how the hippocampus and prefrontal memory control processes adapt over time in individuals exposed to trauma, with findings suggesting that the plasticity of these systems supports recovery from PTSD and protects against further neurological damage.

When we think of a mental health crisis, we often imagine an unpredictable and intense manifestation of a negative mental state.

“Kids are resilient” is a refrain often repeated as a source of comfort after an incident in childhood. But what if it just isn’t aways true?

More than half of 23-year-olds in a European study show restrictive, emotional or uncontrolled eating behaviors, according to new research led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London. Structural brain differences appear to play a role in the development of these eating habits.

U.S. Army veteran suicides can be predicted with “moderate to good accuracy” by applying artificial intelligence (AI) to data available before veterans leave service, according to a new study led by Chris J. Kennedy at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-authored by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Psychology faculty member.

While physical neglect is understudied compared to physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect is just as damaging to children’s social development, a recent study indicates.