Echo / Getty Images
+Child Development | April 24, 2012

How Bullying and Abuse May Age Children Prematurely

By Alice Park

A hard life can age you, literally, researchers say. In fact, children who are exposed to violence at a young age show changes in their DNA equivalent to several years of premature aging.

+Behavior | December 2, 2011

How Playing Violent Video Games May Change the Brain

By Alice Park
Getty Images

Research finds that children who play violent video games or watch violent TV can become violent themselves, but what drives this change? Are they kids simply mimicking what they see on the screen, or could gaming have a more profound effect on their brains, affecting behavior?

+Public Health | November 16, 2011

Study: Another Reason to Keep the Drinking Age at 21

By Meredith Melnick
Getty Images

Young women who came of age in the late 1960s and ’70s, when many states had lowered their legal drinking ages to under 21, remained at higher risk of suicide and homicide into adulthood, a new study finds.

+Adolescence | October 17, 2011

Children Who Hear Swear Words on TV Are More Aggressive

By Alice Park
Jim Doberman

When children are exposed to violence on TV and in video games, studies show they tend to become more aggressive themselves. But a new study reveals that even just exposure to swear words in media may lead children to become more physically aggressive as well.

+'Mind Reading' | October 10, 2011

Q&A: Steven Pinker’s Case for Why the World Is Heading Toward Peace

By Maia Szalavitz
pinker book

Amidst the headlines tallying the damage wrought by persistent economic decline, cataclysmic climate change and unbending political stalemate — among other things — Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker brings good news.

+Culture | August 25, 2011

The Interrupters: Stopping the Contagion of Violence

By Maia Szalavitz
Courtesy Kartemquin Films

Is violence a virus? The literal answer is no, but the metaphor offers important insight into stopping the epidemic.

+Brain | June 10, 2011

The Criminal Mind: How Drugs and Violence May Affect the Brain

By Maia Szalavitz
Colin Anderson

Brain imaging studies of violent criminals are difficult to interpret because the most persistent among them — those who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of all crime — are not only violent but also overwhelmingly addicted to alcohol and other drugs. That makes it hard to work out which brain changes are associated with [...]

+Body & Mind | January 7, 2011

Top Ten Legal Drugs Linked to Violence

By Maia Szalavitz
103197912

When people consider the connections between drugs and violence, what typically comes to mind are illegal drugs like crack cocaine. However, certain medications — most notably, some antidepressants like Prozac — have also been linked to increase risk for violent, even homicidal behavior.

+Trauma | September 17, 2010

How Do You Wreck the Mind of a Child? One Word: War

By Jeffrey Kluger
103818569

As yet another round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks crank up, here’s something that the intractable parties on both sides might consider: Neither country is going to have much of a future if they persist in driving their kids crazy.

+Parenting | June 14, 2010

Parental controls: getting children to watch less TV

By Sora Song

To get your kids to watch less television, a study suggests a simple solution for parents: set firm rules and stick with them. In a study of the screen-gazing habits of 7,415 9-to-15-year-olds — which included watching TV and playing video and computer games — researchers found that children who strongly agreed with the statement [...]