Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
12 papers
This research found that writing about important personal experiences in an emotional way for as little as 15 minutes on three separate days was linked to better mental and physical health. The results were seen across ages, genders, cultures, social classes, and personality types. Computer text analysis showed that people…
Pennebaker reviews more than ten years of research on how telling or writing stories about traumatic or difficult experiences relates to health. He highlights studies done by him and other teams around the world. The essay focuses mainly on reported physical health benefits of writing about these experiences and summarizes…
This review summarizes research on promoting mental wellbeing and preventing mental illness. It says many prevention and promotion programs work, including newer digital and community-based approaches, but most strong evidence comes from high-income countries. The review notes big gaps in real-world use, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and calls…
This review brings together reports from 38 papers (published 1994–2019) describing experiences of 322 practitioners and 163 clients who did talking therapy in outdoor natural spaces. The authors used a mixed-method thematic synthesis to build a framework of themes about how outdoor work is done, what practical steps are needed,…
This systematic review looked at mental health in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) children and adolescents by examining 33 studies found in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science using PRISMA guidelines. It found that TGD youth often have higher levels of anxiety, depression, and other emotional or behavioral problems (such…
This paper is a systematic review that looks across many studies to see how parts of the office affect work-related mental health. It maps seven workspace design elements to ten mental health indicators. The review found that daylight, office layout/design, and temperature/thermal comfort were linked to many mental health measures,…
Gender minorities are at high risk for eating disorders. Future studies should assess what is the most appropriate treatment for transgender and gender diverse people with eating disorders.
The authors reviewed research to see if adding mental health care into primary care reduces mental health stigma. They found only seven studies that directly tested this and also looked at related research that might show stigma changes. The available evidence suggests integrated primary care could lower stigma’s effect on…
This study surveyed 607 caregivers of people with mental disorders in Changsha, China, using short stories (vignettes) about schizophrenia, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Caregivers usually expected positive outcomes, but many still held stigmatizing views and wanted social distance, especially for schizophrenia. The authors say more work is needed…
This editorial reviews a collection of 10 articles about emotional intelligence (EI). It says EI research has grown a lot over the last two decades, but many different models and tests have created confusion. The editors note links between EI and mental health, stress, and school outcomes in several studies,…
This study surveyed 1,913 university students in Dhaka using the CES-D depression scale and a new 18-item hygiene questionnaire. It found a high level of depression risk and that students who were at risk of depression tended to report worse personal hygiene. Female students reported better hygiene than males. The…
Researchers created a short survey that people who were helped could use to report what their friend or family member did. They tested it with 1,116 adults who had a recent mental health problem and were helped by someone close. The survey grouped actions into two types (recommended and not…
