Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
Did you know recent research suggests taking care of your grandchildren at least once a week benefits grandparents’ overall mental health? How? You strengthen your brain by doing more mental activities that require using your memory, analyzing and managing a task in a fast pace
This year, Thanksgiving is arriving on the heels of an extraordinarily controversial presidential election. Rarely have we seen this level of anxiety and stress during an election cycle. The country became more polarized than ever. Friendships and romantic relationships were taxed and some even severed. And now, these same friends and families are wondering how they are ever going to have civil conversations again let alone sit down and share Thanksgiving together.
Protesters being marked with numbers, put in dog kennels and shot with rubber bullets. These do not sound like events that should occur in modern day America. Unfortunately, according to media reports, these are some of the first-hand accounts of what is happening in North Dakota as protests escalate over the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Violence prevention, especially in relation to our youth, begins with introducing the idea of acceptance across various levels of diversity, including race, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, and more. Through tolerance, we can teach youth to respect each other and reduce feelings of indifference towards groups of different backgrounds.
If you are responsible for the wellbeing of others – whether you’re a parent of a child with special needs, or caring for an aging parent, spouse or other loved one – you know that caring for someone else is hard work. Approximately 44 million Americans are caregivers, and the average caregiver devotes more than 20 unpaid hours per week to supporting the health and wellbeing of their loved one. That is on top of their other duties and obligations, including full time jobs in many cases.
This September, I met with staff members in the Office of Civil Rights, at the U.S. Department of Education (DOEd) in Washington, D.C. to talk about the risks posed to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) students by disaffirming religious universities/colleges (DRUs).
If you had a cold, with a stuffy nose, sore throat, and headache, would you want a medicine that treated all the symptoms or just the stuffy nose? Most people would want the medicine that treated all the symptoms. Yet, when it comes to mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, standard mental health treatments do not necessarily address all the issues involved, particularly cultural issues.
I teach about issues of economic justice in many of my classes, but this is the first year that I will formally observe what is also known as World Poverty Day. As I was brainstorming different ways to teach about poverty across the globe, I realized it would be beneficial to enlist the assistance of two undergraduate students. Together we developed this list of resources and activities.
October 15th is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day, and this year’s theme is “We’ll Defeat AIDS con Ganas!” But why is it important to talk about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Latino community? Latinxs are disproportionally affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—the virus that causes AIDS. Our community represents 17% of the total U.S. population, but accounts for 21% of all new HIV infections and 21% of people living with HIV. In addition, research shows that Latinxs are more likely to receive late diagnosis and HIV care compared to other races and ethnicities.
It is an unfortunate reality that many women and children who are able to escape their abuser end up homeless. A recent survey found that 17 percent of cities cited domestic violence as the primary cause of family homelessness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2014). This prevalent issue is something that many people do not realize is happening.
Psychology Benefits Society 