http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Scientists from Royal Holloway University have found that when white Caucasians are under the illusion that they have a dark skin, their racial bias changes in a positive way. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-darker-skin-positively-impact-racial.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 May 2013 19:10:01 EST news287773954 In a small study of 39 primary care doctors and 208 of their patients, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that physicians built much less of an emotional rapport with their overweight and obese patients than with their patients of normal weight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-physicians-bond-overweight-patients.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:05:05 EST news285869099 News stories about mass shootings involving a shooter with mental illness heighten readers' negative attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness, according to a new report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers also examined how such news stories impact support for policies to reduce gun violence. Compared to study respondents who did not read a story about a mass shooting, reading a news article describing a mass shooting raised readers' support for both gun restrictions for persons with serious mental illness, and for a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines. The results, are published in the April issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry and have important implications for advocates and policy makers who promote gun safety policy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-media-coverage-mass-contributes-negative.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:59:09 EST news283013943 Many people know what it's like to feel sad or down from time to time. We can experience negative emotions due to many things – a bad day at work, a relationship break-up, a sad film, or just getting out of bed on the "wrong side". Sometimes we even say that we're feeling a bit "depressed". But what does that mean, and how can we tell when it's more than just a feeling? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-isdepression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:42:59 EST news282213764 Because confronting fear won't always make it go away, researchers suggest that people with phobias must alter memory-driven negative attitudes about feared objects or events to achieve a more lasting recovery from what scares them the most. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-persistent-negative-attitude-undo-effectiveness.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:36:28 EST news281104581 Homophobia exists in many areas of life. It also seems to be particularly entrenched in sport, exercise and physical education (PE) settings of all kinds. But why is this the case? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-homophobia-sport-sporting-identity-authoritarian.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:50:01 EST news272622637 The Biggest Loser might be a TV ratings winner, but its extreme depiction of exercise is more likely to turn people off than get them off the couch, according to new research from the University of Alberta. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-biggest-loser-big-turnoff.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:02:09 EST news270388847 Gender roles and norms play a key role in sexual behavior between men and women. It is often assumed that men should dominate women sexually. This assumption may lead to loss of both power and the ability to control sexual behavior among women and men, as well as lead to increased sexual risk-taking, such as not using a female condom. The new study, by Dr. Lisa Rosenthal from Yale University in the US, and her colleagues, is published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-sexual-power-disempowering.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:43:36 EST news268310610 Most older adults prefer to maintain their independence and remain in their own homes as they age, and robotic technology can help make this a reality. Robots can assist with a variety of everyday living tasks, but limited research exists on seniors' attitudes toward and acceptance of robots as caregivers and aides. Human factors/ergonomics researchers investigated older adults' willingness to receive robot assistance that allows them to age in place, and will present their findings at the upcoming HFES 56th Annual Meeting in Boston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-older-adults-willingness-robots.html Other Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:42:48 EST news266679755 Seeking ways to change cancer patients' perceptions and negative attitudes towards clinical trials participation, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center conducted a study offering two different kinds of intervention to two groups of adults with cancer who had not previously been asked to participate in clinical trials. They found a multimedia psychoeducational intervention to be more effective in changing patients' perceptions and negative attitudes toward clinical trials than standard educational literature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-psychoeducational-intervention-patient-attitudes-clinical.html Cancer Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:29:39 EST news258802172 Photographs of children with Down syndrome elicit less positive attitudes than photographs of typically developing children do, reports new research published Apr. 4 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. This effect was strongest for photographs of children with features that are "strongly typical" of Down syndrome, and somewhat weaker for images that were more "weakly typical." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-children-syndrome-implicit-stereotyping-based.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:00:04 EST news252775415 Researchers from Canterbury Christ Church University have found that smokers are more likely to stop because of anti-social attitudes towards them than from fear of ill-health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-social-smokers.html Health Thu, 15 Mar 2012 06:20:26 EST news251011214 (Medical Xpress) -- Presenting obese individuals in a positive, non-stereotypical manner in the media could help reduce weight-biased attitudes held by the public, finds a study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale. The study, published online in Health Psychology, investigates the impact on public attitudes and preferences of both stigmatizing and positive portrayals of obese individuals in the media. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-positive-media-portrayals-obese-individuals.html Health Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:50:01 EST news249032183 Research published today in the British Journal of Anaesthesia suggests that organ donation rates in the UK could be increased if the current issues affecting declined consent are improved. At present, only 30% of the UK population are registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). From 2003 to 2005, the overall consent rate for donation after brain death (DBD) was 59%. This figure remains largely unchanged with a consent rate of 63% for DBD in 2007-2009. The low consent rate for organ donation in the UK is the largest factor limiting actual organ donor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-family-consent-donation.html Other Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:31:05 EST news243750650 Men with a preference for "one-night stands" and negative sexist attitudes towards women are more likely to use aggressive courtship strategies. They compete with other men who are also interested in the woman, tease the woman, and isolate her away from her friends. In response, women with a preference for 'no strings attached' sex and negative attitudes towards other women are more likely to respond to men's aggressive strategies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-sexist-men-women-.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:39:26 EST news233314748 Parents of nut-allergy sufferers face hostility and scepticism in trying to find safe environments for their children, a new study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-nut-allergy-prejudice-.html Health Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:20:01 EST news232685829 A new study led by a Northern Illinois University sociologist shows that while family members often provide critical support, they also can sometimes be the source of stigmatizing attitudes that impede the recovery of mentally ill relatives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-mom-mental-illness.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:47:32 EST news226658705 When teens start experiencing changes in moods or emotions, they tend to fear sharing their blue days with their families and adults who can help them. As a consequence, they often suffer in silence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-ways-teens-stigmas-mental-illness.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:04:08 EST news226573437 Emergency department physicians are frustrated and burned out from treating patients who frequent the ED for their care, according to a Henry Ford Hospital survey of physicians from across the country. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-emergency-department-physicians-weary-frequent.html Health Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:50:01 EST news226319976