Researchers have found that self control, or lack of it, is down to peer pressure and is contagious. Five studies involving hundreds of volunteers were conducted over a two year period at the University of Georgia. The results are published online, ahead of print in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
A Californian study has linked autism to highly educated areas. Although is unclear why the link occurs, the research published in the journal Autism Research found that children of older parents who were highly educated were more likely to be autistic. Data of 2.5 million births during a five year period was analysed resulting in 10 clusters of autism.
The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) says that there is still not enough access to alternatives to antidepressants after it has emerged that three quarters of GP's who prescribed them would have prefered to be able to offer alternatives. MHF says that an eight week course of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (a combination of yoga, meditation and cognitive therapy) (MBCT) halves the risk of becoming depressed again. However the Department of Health has said that access to alternatives to drug therapy has improved in the past year.
Research has shown that teenagers who have fewer hours of sleep each night are more likely to suffer from depression and they are also more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study in the journal Sleep studied 15,500 12 - 18 year-olds and concluded that lack of sleep could effect emotional brain responses.
