Research Hot Reads — September 29
Screen Time Tied to Poorer Grades, More Distress in Kids
An umbrella review of 23 meta-analyses covering more than 2.8 million children and adolescents across 64 countries found that more daily screen time was linked to lower academic achievement and weaker language development, along with small associations with depression, anxiety, aggression, and hyperactivity. The data are correlational, so they cannot prove screens cause these outcomes. The study was led by researchers at the University of Calgary and published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Source: Medscape — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/screen-time-linked-poorer-academic-performance-more-2026a10010co
Mental Health Problems More Likely to Persist Among Adults Now Than a Decade Ago
Researchers compared two large, nationally representative Dutch surveys — one from 2007–2009 (6,646 adults) and one from 2019–2022 (6,194 adults) — and found the share of people still living with a common mental disorder three years later rose from about 43% to about 58%. Anxiety disorders in particular became more long-lasting, with three-year persistence rising from roughly 24% to 40%. Published in Psychological Medicine, the findings suggest mental health services may need to plan for longer-term care, not just initial treatment.
Source: Medical Xpress — https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-mental-health-problems-persist-adults.html
The Novel on Your Nightstand May Be Doing More for Your Empathy and Cognitive Health Than You Think
A review of the evidence on narrative fiction, published in Current Opinion in Psychology, found that reading fiction is a stronger predictor of verbal and language skills than reading nonfiction. Fiction reading builds empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to see things from another person's perspective; children and teenagers who read more fiction tended to behave more kindly and have fewer problems with peers. In one remarkable study that followed people for five decades, teenagers who spent more free time reading grew into adults who stayed more socially connected.
Source: Phys.org — https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nightstand-empathy-cognitive-health.html