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Behavioral Health

What is a ‘mass shooting’ and how do we talk about gun violence?
A person standing at the foot of a set of outdoor stairs, with a brick wall behind and fencing atop the stairs.

Richard Berk, professor of criminology and statistics. (Image: Eric Sucar)

What is a ‘mass shooting’ and how do we talk about gun violence?

In a Q&A, criminologist Richard Berk discusses why definitions matter and what role social media and mental illness play in this context.

Michele W. Berger

Uncovering the roots of discrimination toward immigrants
A group of people waiting on a platform of a train station with sunlit windows and a train on the tracks.

Sambanis and his co-authors ran the experiment more than 1,600 times in train stations in 30 cities in both western and eastern Germany, with more than 7,000 bystanders unwittingly participating.

Uncovering the roots of discrimination toward immigrants

New research from political scientist Nicholas Sambanis finds that religion may matter more than ethnicity in how immigrants are treated, even if they comply with local social norms.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Early and ongoing weight stigma linked to internal weight shaming
small child stands on scale with error message with adult's feet alongside the scale, symbolizing early weight stigma

Early and ongoing weight stigma linked to internal weight shaming

Self stigma surrounding weight is associated with poor mental and physical health, and a new study identifies key characteristics of people who are most prone to this internalization. 

Penn Today Staff

Social media vs. video games: Not all screen time is equal

Social media vs. video games: Not all screen time is equal

Melissa Hunt of the School of Arts and Sciences commented on a study that found a difference in the way social media impacts mental health, as compared to video games. “The vast majority of kids play the games socially, either physically side by side with friends or joining friends via headset. Skills (both technical and social) are rewarded, just like on a playing field or a Science Olympiad team. It only becomes problematic if that’s the only thing a kid is doing,” she said.

Advice-giving benefits the person sharing guidance
Three students engaged in conversation sitting at a desk covered with papers, notebooks, and a computer.

Advice-giving benefits the person sharing guidance

In a Q&A, Wharton postdoc Lauren Eskreis-Winkler discusses new findings that signal it may be time to shift how we think about motivation and achievement.

Michele W. Berger

How doctors can help cancer patients quit tobacco
crushed cigarette butt vertical on the ground

How doctors can help cancer patients quit tobacco

A simple set of decision-support tools combined with institutional buy-in can help increase the number of cancer patients who engage in treatment to help them quit tobacco.

Penn Today Staff