According to papers filed by federal defender Andrea George last week, Timothy Carson, the Minneapolis police officer who went on a robbery spree last winter, was led to his crimes by anxiety. Carson is a decorated Marine veteran who witnessed serious combat injuries and deaths while serving in Iraq in 2004. Carson has been diagnosed…
Baby boomers–roughly, the generation of Americans currently over 50–have sharply increased their rate of substance abuse. This is according to a report issued last week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to Pamela S. Hyde, administration of SAMHSA, “The…
Social stigma is still attached to people who achieve success in jobs normally held by members of the other sex. The specific social penalties differ for men and women, according to a new study by researchers from New York University and Columbia University. The researchers, Madeline Heilman and Aaron Wallen, found that men who are…
After listening to a love song, a young woman is almost 30% more likely to say yes when asked out on a date by a new acquaintance. Researchers in France (where else?) investigated the effect of romantic music on a young woman’s receptiveness to a request for a date by having a young man rated…
Adults with Tourette’s syndrome suffer from vocal and physical tics that are uncontrollable and may be embarrassing. Tourette’s itself, however, is not necessarily disabling. A new study of adults with Tourette’s syndrome has identified anxiety and panic disorders as the most frequent cause of disability among people who suffer from the syndrome. The results of…
Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders can be worsened by “encouragement” offered on pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia web sites, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Stanford University School of Medicine. The researchers have analyzed how these eating disorder web sites allow young people, mostly but not exclusively female, to encourage…
Fans of soccer, hip-hop, Glenn Beck, Lady Gaga, and knitting all share one thing in common. People who are active, enthusiastic fans experience benefits to their happiness and sociability. Psychologists from the University of Kansas conducted a series of studies that compared the effects of fandom among sports fans with the effects on fans of music,…
Warning: Driving and using a cell phone may be dangerous–to your relationships. We all know by now that chatting on a cell phone is a distraction that may impair your ability to drive. Yet, have you ever thought that driving is a distraction that can impair your ability to communicate? This is the theory put…
Children whose mothers are abused by their husbands or boyfriends are more likely to be obese by the time they reach school age, according to researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Renée Boynton-Jarrett led the study, which followed over 1500 children born between 1998 and 2000. The study involved four interviews with…
A recent article in Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin warns doctors that it is unwise to give men testosterone for “male menopause.” Doing so may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Talk show hosts have long blamed declining testosterone levels for the diminished sex drive and fatigue they call the “male menopause.” While a woman’s level of estrogen…