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Behavioral Health
Does more money correlate with greater happiness?
Reconciling previously contradictory results, researchers from Penn and Princeton find a steady association between larger incomes and greater happiness for most people but a rise and plateau for an unhappy minority.
Why COVID misinformation continues to spread
Penn Medicine’s Anish Agarwal discusses why false claims about the virus and vaccines arise and persist, plus what he hopes will come from NIH-funded research he and Penn Engineering’s Sharath Chandra Guntuku have recently begun.
Restricted abortion access linked to increased suicide risk in young women
Research from the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia determined that this association exists for women of reproductive age, findings that hold potential clinical, policy, and ethical implications.
Gay men and trauma
At Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health, gay men struggling with trauma and its effects have access to care that is inclusive and accepting of all patients.
Abandoned house repairs reduced nearby gun violence
Installing working windows and doors, cleaning trash, and weeding at abandoned houses led to safety improvements and should be considered in efforts to create healthy communities, according to researchers from University of Pennsylvania and Columbia.
A link between social environment and healthy brains in wild rhesus macaques
Research from Penn, Arizona State University, the National Institute of Mental Health, and elsewhere finds that on the island of Cayo Santiago, female monkeys with a higher social status had younger, more resilient molecular profiles.
Unpacking barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in Latino communities
A study from Penn Nursing and others finds that for Latino or Hispanic populations in the U.S. four main barriers come into play: access to health care services, money, immigration concerns, and misinformation.
Despite lower crime rates in 2020, risk of victimization grew
Research out of Penn and the Naval Postgraduate School found that early in the pandemic the possibility of getting robbed or assaulted in a public place in the U.S. jumped by 15% to 30%, a rate that has stayed elevated since.
The language of loneliness and depression, revealed in social media
By analyzing Facebook posts, Penn researchers found that words associated with depression are often tied to emotions, whereas those associated with loneliness are linked to cognition.
Where political views and fundamental beliefs intersect
Research from The Penn Primals Project debunks the idea that conservatives think the world is more dangerous than liberals, findings with implications for future research and productive political debate.
In the News
California marks three years since COVID stay-at-home orders
Marissa King of the Wharton School says that social connection brings lots of joy and is critical for mental well-being.
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Here’s how to boost your daily happiness in only three minutes
A 2005 study by Martin Seligman of the School of Arts & Sciences found that writing down three good things that happened at the end of each day led to long-term increases in happiness and decreases in depression.
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How just 39 minutes of sleep can make or break your child’s health, happiness and school day
Ariel Williamson of the Perelman School of Medicine says that quality of life outcomes in sleep studies for children can resonate with families, teachers, and public health officials.
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Depression can get better. These four Philadelphians are living proof
David Mandell of the Perelman School of Medicine says that with good treatment people can go for years without experiencing the major symptoms of depression.
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As Lower Merion tries (again) to start high school later, most Philly-area districts can’t seem to budge to get teens more sleep
Indira Gurubhagavatul of the Perelman School of Medicine says that school districts have adopted multitiered systems of start times to reduce busing costs.
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Everything you know about self-care isn’t wrong … but it’s not quite right
Barbara Riegel of the School of Nursing says that ignoring self-care can set people up for major health issues down the line, from burnout to true chronic illnesses.
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