http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a long-term study, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Margraf, Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the RUB, investigated the psychological effects of plastic surgery on approximately 550 patients in cooperation with colleagues from the University of Basel. Patients demonstrated more enjoyment of life, satisfaction and self-esteem after their physical appearance had been surgically altered. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-people-knife-psychologists-long-term-positive.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:40:02 EST news282215051 Canadian girls report higher levels of emotional problems and lower levels of emotional well-being and life satisfaction, while boys tend to experience more behavioural problems and demonstrate less prosocial behavior, a new Queen's University-led national study of youth health behavior shows. The study also emphasizes the importance of home, school, peers and local neighbourhood in the lives of young people. The varying interpersonal relationships that arise in these four different contexts may be critical for adolescent mental health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-mental-health-primary-canada-youth.html Health Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:47:51 EST news248626054 Psychologists have found that buying life experiences makes people happier than buying possessions, but who spends more of their spare cash on experiences? New findings published this week in the Journal of Positive Psychology reveal extraverts and people who are open to new experiences tend to spend more of their disposable income on experiences, such as concert tickets or a weekend away, rather than hitting the mall for material items. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-happy-shopper-website.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:56:58 EST news246812203 (Medical Xpress) -- Despite the fact that middle-aged parents are no longer responsible for their grown children, the parents' emotional well-being and life satisfaction remain linked to those children's successes and problems — particularly their least-happy offspring, research from The University of Texas at Austin shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-middle-aged-mothers-fathers-happy-grown.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:18:26 EST news233392685 We all know one, or think we do: the person whose self-regard seems out of proportion to his or her actual merits. Popular culture labels these folks "narcissists," almost always a derogatory term. But a new study suggests that some forms of narcissism are – at least in the short term – beneficial, helping children navigate the difficult transition to adulthood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-narcissism-benefit-young-older-adults.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:57:18 EST news232192627 While depression and anxiety have long been recognised as risk factors for heart disease, there is less certainty over the beneficial effects of a 'positive' psychological state, Now, following a study of almost 8000 British civil servants, researchers say that a satisfying life is indeed good for the heart. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-satisfaction-components-everyday-life-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:13:57 EST news229054410 In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that all humans seek to fulfill a hierarchy of needs, which he represented with a pyramid. The pyramid's base, which he believed must come first, signified basic needs (for food, sleep and sex, for example). Safety and security came next, in Maslow's view, then love and belonging, then esteem and, finally, at the pyramid's peak, a quality he called "self-actualization." Maslow wrote that people who have these needs fulfilled should be happier than those who don't. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-ingredients-happiness-world.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:26:59 EST news228569011 Brigid Waldron-Perrine, Ph.D., a recent graduate from Wayne State University, and her mentor, Lisa J. Rapport, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, found that if traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims feel close to a higher power, it can help them rehabilitate. The study was recently published in Rehabilitation Psychology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-religion-benefits-traumatic-brain-injury.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:16:52 EST news228449766 (Medical Xpress) -- People who look at the past through rose-tinted glasses are happier than those who focus on regrets about the past, according to new research conducted by Assistant Professor of Psychology Ryan Howell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-happiness-good.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:19:33 EST news227971137 Freedom and personal autonomy are more important to people's well-being than money, according to a meta-analysis of data from 63 countries published by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-money-happiness.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:53:49 EST news227264009 Bad news for muggle parents! A new study by psychologists at the University at Buffalo finds that we more or less "become" vampires or wizards just by reading about them. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-happy-vampires-contented-wizards.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 09 May 2011 16:11:52 EST news224176288 People who look at the past through rose-tinted glasses are happier than those who focus on negative past experiences and regrets, according to a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. The study helps explain why personality has such a strong influence on a person's happiness. The findings suggest that persons with certain personality traits are happier than others because of the way they think about their past, present and future. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-happiness-good.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 02 May 2011 14:53:54 EST news223566821