news 2026

Pressure to achieve at school at age 15 is linked to depressive symptoms and risk of self-harm, and the association appears to persist into adulthood, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the new study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health , say their findings suggest that reducing academic pressure in schools could reduce depression and self-harm among young people.

How does language impact moral dilemmas? Dr Irini Mavrou and Professor Andrea Revesz (both UCL Ioe), along with a colleague, explore the cognitive and emotional processes behind moral judgement by bilingual speakers. If you're bilingual, moral choices can often feel more urgent and emotionally charged in one language yet distant and rational in another.

In an article for the Institute of Alcohol Studies, Dr Sharon Cox (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) reports on new analysis finding that one in eight people who drink at increasing or higher-risk levels felt guilt or remorse after drinking in the past six months. Many people recognise the feeling.

Women and people with anxiety are both prone to low confidence in their own abilities, but a new study by UCL researchers has found that the two groups are prone to two distinct types of underconfidence. When they took more time to reflect on their answers in a simple experimental task, people with anxiety grew less confident in their answers, while women who were underconfident gained confidence.

A major new study from The University of Manchester has found little evidence that social media use or video gaming are causing mental health problems in young teenagers, challenging one of the most widespread concerns among parents and teachers today. The research - published in the Journal of Public Health - is based on the experiences of more than 25,000 pupils across Greater Manchester, and is one of the largest and most detailed studies of its kind.

A real world study led by University of Manchester neuroscientists has shown that higher daytime light exposure positively influences different aspects of cognition. The first study of its kind, published in the journal Communications Psychology and funded by Wellcome Trust, also showed that stable light exposure across a week and uninterrupted exposure during a day had similar effects.