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“There are lots of people at the place where I work, but there is one person who is really special. This person is really, really smart,” said Lin Bian . “This person figures out how to do things quickly and comes up with answers much faster and better than anyone else. This person is really, really smart.” Bian, a psychologist at the University of Illinois, read this story out to 240 children, aged 5 to 7. She then showed them pictures of four adults—two men and two women—and asked them to...

When states raise the number of math classes they require students to take in high school, black students complete more math coursework—and boost their earnings as a result. That’s the topline takeaway from new research by Joshua Goodman, an associate professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. [For more of this story, written by Emily Deruy, go to https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/01/the-simple-reform-that-improved-black-students-earnings/514586/]

African Americans die at a much higher rate than whites , a fact that leaves an unfortunate but largely overlooked effect on the community as a whole: According to new research , African Americans are also much more likely to suffer a death in the family, the effects of which could reverberate across generations. “If blacks die at higher rates and earlier in the life course than whites, then blacks lose more loved ones from childhood through adulthood,” University of Texas–Austin professor...

We may have reached peak polarization. The researchers Brian Schaffner, of the University of Massachusetts and Samantha Luks, managing director of scientific research at YouGov, showed people the two photos below, of President Donald Trump’s inauguration on the left and former President Barack Obama’s on the right: Schaffner and Luks , Trump voters were overwhelmingly more likely than Clinton voters to say Obama’s photo was actually Trump’s. What’s more, 15 percent of Trump voters told the...

President Donald Trump's new immigration orders are harmful and will worsen the plight of children fleeing for their lives, pediatricians said Wednesday. And they will scare the children of immigrants already living in the country, causing toxic stress, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a strongly worded statement. "The Executive Orders signed today are harmful to immigrant children and families throughout our country," AAP President Fernando Stein said. "Many of the children who...

Earlier this week, Republican Senators Susan Collins (of Maine) and Bill Cassidy (of Louisiana) proposed a replacement plan of sorts for the Affordable Care Act that’s since generated some buzz. Broadly speaking, their plan , the Patient Freedom Act of 2017, would grant states the ability to continue operating under the ACA, while also offering states the choice to opt out. “California and New York, you like Obamacare, you should keep it,” Cassidy told reporters. “It’s not for us to...

Interdisciplinary Research Leaders is a leadership development opportunity for teams of researchers and community partners, including community organizers and advocates. These teams use the power of applied research—informing and supporting critical work being done in communities—to accelerate that work and advance health and equity. Their innovation helps build a Culture of Health , one that enables everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives. For this second IRL cohort (beginning...

For Provost Susan R. Wente, the meaning of mental health and wellness from the university’s standpoint means encouraging a culture of openness and honest discussion about mental health and wellbeing. “Mental health and wellbeing to us means really having a healthier community that’s very transparent and willing to share with one another what our challenges are and how to help one another, and that mental health and wellbeing does not at all infer that we think everyone has to be, and will...

Some of the most passionate mental health advocates work in women's shelters. Women on the front-lines for addressing mental health needs. Women supporting other women to find safety, stability, and empowerment in their lives -- in a way, sisterhood embodied. We need to hear their voices as Canada embarks on necessary (and overdue) conversations on the state of mental health care. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Mental health stigma is real and online campaigns like Bell Let's Talk...

While one could argue that every action that the Texas legislature takes is important and should be evaluated, the sheer volume of bills they pass makes that impractical. It is our duty as citizens and as students to look at the policies that affect us personally. For many students here at the University of Houston, one of those issues is higher education and/or mental health resources. In November 2015, Speaker Joe Straus formed the Select Committee to look at the behavioral health system...

We all know your mind will eventually forget some of the details of the abuse or trauma you’ve survived. But your body never forgets. Like I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, trapped trauma must be released. It’s nothing more than emotional pain. If allowed to fester in the body for weeks, years, or decades it will eventually manifest as physical pain in the form of illness, allergies, chronic pain, etc. TRE (tension & trauma release exercises) created a major shift in my healing from...

New York City is often romanticized as a mecca of multicultural urban living. But as diverse as it is, residents from very different backgrounds don’t often live in the same neighborhoods . In fact, New York is in second place after Milwaukee as far as black-white segregation goes. Today, historical color lines are being redrawn through a concentration of wealth and the displacement of communities of color . In New York, that phenomenon may be spurred in part by the city’s well-intentioned...