Posts

Our developing understanding of child development: A new video on the effects of toxic stress

Written by Justin Preston In a new animated short from the Atlantic, we learn a bit about the progress we’ve made in gaining a better understanding of child development. More specifically, we learn about the impacts of toxic stress on the developing brain and, subsequently, the developing child (for more on toxic stress, see our […]

Coping with stress? Start with a smile: How smiling promotes stress recovery

From the Association for Psychological Science   Just grin and bear it! At some point, we have all probably heard or thought something like this when facing a tough situation. But is there any truth to this piece of advice? Feeling good usually makes us smile, but does it work the other way around? Can […]

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Giving support can improve mentors’ brain functioning

Giving support to others has unique positive effects on brain health, a new study finds. It changes key brain areas related to stress and reward, scientists have found. Those who regularly give support to others may have a reduced response to stress and be more sensitive to rewards. People in the study were asked about […]

How support helps buffer the harmful effects of stress on children

Submitted by Amy Glaspie on Thu, 11/05/2015 – 09:32 (from SRA) Camelia E. Hostinar, Ph.D. (Northwestern University and University of California, Davis) Research is me-search, psychologists often say, referring to the fact that their research ideas are often inspired by personal experiences or shaped by their own worldview and existential questions. For me, the life […]

What is toxic stress and why does it matter for youth mentoring programs

  By Venessa Marks and Julie Novak This blog is part of a three-post series on toxic stress. The first post explains what toxic stress is and why it matters for youth mentoring programs, the second highlights what professional staff need to know about toxic stress, and the third discusses recent programmatic innovations related to toxic […]