A diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) usually indicates a number of challenges, but a new study suggests there may be benefits as well. As reported in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, psychologists discovered adults with ADHD enjoyed more creative achievement than those who didn’t have the disorder. “For the same reason that ADHD might create problems, like distraction, it can also allow an openness to new ideas,” said Dr. Holly White, assistant professor of cognitive psychology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida and co-author of the paper. “Not being completely focused on a task lets the mind make associations that might not have happened otherwise.” White and Dr. Priti Shah at the University of Michigan gave 60 college students – half of them w

A new study puts the reins on excessive work outside high school by teenagers. The research by investigators at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, and Temple University is published in the journal, Child Development. In a reanalysis of longitudinal data collected in the late 1980s, researchers examined the impact of getting a job or leaving work among middle-class teens in 10th and 11th grades. Drawing from the full sample of about 1,800 individuals, the researchers compared adolescents who got jobs to similar teens who didn’t work, and adolescents who left jobs to similar teens who kept working. Using advances in statistical methods, the researchers matched the teens on a long list of background and personality characteristics that are known to influence whether or not a young perso

Experts say that workers who believe they are free to make choices in the workplace — and be accountable for their decisions — are happier and more productive. Although the desire for freedom from micromanagement may be universal, there is no cross-cultural definition of autonomy. What people from one culture perceive as workplace freedom, those from another may view as simple disorganization. This is one of the conclusions of a chapter in a new book on workplace autonomy, Human Autonomy in Cross-Cultural Context: Perspectives on the Psychology of Agency, Freedom, and Well-Being (Springer). The chapter is coauthored by professors Marylène Gagné and Devasheesh Bhave from Concordia’s John Molson School of Business. “Autonomy is important in every culture,” Gagné said. “The perception of autonomy ha

Teens with HIV have a greater risk of becoming pregnant and experience a higher rate of complications during pregnancy, according to research by Johns Hopkins.  The study is based on a record analysis of 181 HIV patients, ages 13 to 24, who were treated at four hospitals during a 12-year period. “Our analysis revealed a problem. Now we need to figure out why that is and how we, as providers, can give appropriate counseling and care to these girls and women,” said lead investigator Allison Agwu, M.D., Sc.M., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. The researchers believe the findings are disturbing for at least two reasons:  First, all teen pregnancies already run a higher risk for complications. Second, the results suggest that HIV-infected teens and young women continue with unsafe sexual behaviors and

Elderly people who have low blood levels of beta-amyloid 42 (the protein believed to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease) were more prone to significant mental decline within nine years, according to a study headed by Dr. Kristine Yaffe, chief of geriatric psychiatry at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. The study included 997 older adults (average age of 74) from Memphis, Tenn., and Pittsburgh who were enrolled in the Health ABC Study, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and coordinated by the San Francisco Coordinating Center at UCSF. Interestingly, among the participants found to have low beta-amyloid 42, cognitive decline was less prominent in those with higher literacy levels, more education, or who lacked a specific gene, called  APOE e4, which is linked to a greater risk of dementia.  The researchers call this group of factors &

Know what it’s like to have a controlling boyfriend? You know the type — the kind who dictates everything you do, who you go out with, how late you can stay out, and just about every other aspect of your life. Most young women do, according to new research that found nearly 7 out of 10 women have experienced controlling behavior in their relationship. Furthermore, the new study found that nearly 1 in 3 women report being in not only a controlling relationship, but also an abusive one — one where they are subjected to physical violence, sexual violence, or both in their relationship. The study looked at the connection between relationship and sexual violence, and controlling behaviors by using an anonymous, self-administered computer-based interview at a reproductive health center. Out of 603 women (

Depressed patients who take two medications fare no better than those who only taken one, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “Clinicians should not rush to prescribe combinations of antidepressant medications as first-line treatment for patients with major depressive disorder,” said lead study investigator Dr. Madhukar H. Trivedi, professor of psychiatry and chief of the division of mood disorders at UT Southwestern. “The clinical implications are very clear – the extra cost and burden of two medications is not worthwhile as a first treatment step,” he said. In the nationwide study, called Combining Medication to Enhance Depression Outcomes (CO-MED), researchers at 15 sites across the country observed 665 patients ages 18 to 75 with major depressive disorder. Three groups were formed ac

Computer-mediated social networking has revolutionized the way people connect and re-connect with friends, colleagues and family from across the world. A new paper by University of Minnesota computer scientists gives insights into how the analysis of our social networking interactions may change the way we view the world. Specifically, the experts say the new media could facilitate the emergence or decline of leadership, changes in trust over time, and migration and mobility within particular communities online. The paper, “Computational Modeling of Spatio-temporal Social Networks: A Time-Aggregated Graph Approach,” was co-authored by computer science and engineering professor Shashi Shekhar, Ph.D., and research assistant Dev Oliver and was presented at a national workshop hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The number of stressful events a mother experiences during pregnancy appears to be linked to an increased risk of childhood behavior problems. Australian researchers believe the findings call for increased attention to providing community support for pregnant women experiencing stressful events. Stressful events can include financial and relationship difficulties, a complex pregnancy, job loss and issues with other children. Major life stressors could also include a death in the family or other catastrophic events. Lead author Monique Robinson, Ph.D., said this study is unique as the timing, amount and kinds of events that lead to poorer outcomes were analyzed. “What we have found is that it is the overall number of stresses that is most related to child behavior outcomes,” she said.