5 studies that will help improve mental health

Every day, Buckeyes across our university community are working hard to learn what makes people tick. From projects with a statewide scale to those led by students researching their own questions, the range of mental health research at Ohio State is astounding — and all of it is aimed at helping people see genuine improvements day by day. 

One prominent new undertaking: the State of Ohio Adversity and Resilience (SOAR) study — led by Ohio State researchers and described as the largest mental health study ever undertaken — which will dig deeply into the hows and whys of mental illness. By identifying root causes and risk factors, the effort aims to inform new strategies for recovery, resilience and prevention.  

Here’s a look at five more studies led by Buckeyes, each with the promise of improving future mental health. 

Turning down the heat  

According to a new Ohio State review of over 150 studies, “blowing off steam” through hitting or kicking a punching bag or venting via other means isn’t as effective as more sedate approaches to decrease anger. It’s more helpful, in the long run, to practice calming techniques such as yoga, meditation or even controlled breathing. 

The review, which Sophie Kjærvik ’23 PhD conducted for her dissertation, appeared in the journal Clinical Psychology Review in March. She analyzed studies involving more than 10,000 participants to arrive at the conclusions.  

“I wanted to debunk the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it,” she says. “We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and actually the physiological aspect of it, is really important.”  

Added senior author and Professor of Communication Brad Bushman: “Certain physical activities that increase arousal, such as jogging, may be good for your heart, but they’re definitely not the best way to reduce anger. It’s really a battle because angry people want to vent, but our research shows that any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression.” 

Learn more in this Ohio State News story by Emily Caldwell. 

Capitalizing on creativity  

Showing children paths to creativity can equip them to solve problems in new and practical ways, suggests a 2023 study led by English Professor Angus Fletcher. 

Fletcher and his colleagues did the two-part study involving students attending a Columbus summer camp. The youngsters were presented with different types of problems and encouraged to solve them by looking at the situations through the eyes of another, considering some “what ifs” and thinking about why the problem arose. Using these creative tools, nearly all of the children arrived at solutions. 

“There are concerns about the resiliency of American children in the wake of COVID-19 and this sense that many kids are having a hard time in school and in life,” Fletcher says. “Creativity training can help kids come up with a second plan when things aren’t working out for them.” 

The results showed how creativity training could boost children’s belief that they had some control and power in their own lives, Fletcher says. 

“The ability to use this type of thinking can’t be assessed via standardized tests,” he says. “But it is still very important and can help children use and grow their creativity to solve real-world challenges.” 

Jeff Grabmeier summed up the study in this Ohio State News story. 

Supporting survivors 

While physical care is vital to trauma survivors’ recovery, a new study emphasizes that also consistently caring for their mental health needs helps reduce hospital visits during and after recovery. The study was led by Assistant Professor of Public Health Laura Prater ’09 MPH, ’10 MHA, ’18 PhD and involved traumatic incidents such as motor vehicle crashes, firearm injuries (including self-inflicted ones) and domestic violence. 

The five-year study took place at a University of Washington trauma center, where a three-pronged intervention approach encouraged survivors to describe their personal recovery concerns, provided enhanced mental health care and offered 24/7 treatment access and support after discharge. 

With the enhanced intervention, only 16% of patients found themselves back in the hospital three to six months after their initial trauma, compared with 27% who received standard care. The trend continued to be seen 12 to 15 months after the traumatic incident.  

“Being able to manage PTSD and other mental health concerns early on and receive regular follow-up support can prevent adverse long-term health problems and increase a survivor’s ability to live a productive, meaningful life,” Prater says.  

Learn more in this Ohio State News story by Misti Crane. 

Finding keys to resilience  

“Yes, people are living longer, and that’s great in terms of chronological age, but then there is the question: How are they doing?” says Associate Professor of Health Sciences Jessica Krok-Schoen. 

To delve into that question, she led colleagues in researching which characteristics can contribute to a high level of resiliency in women 80 years or older. The results were published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B in September. 

Nearly 30,000 women had been surveyed previously about their ability to make it through stressful events and return from setbacks. Their cumulative answers were scored, and though many associations were identified between life experiences and self-identified resilience, there were some standouts — such as having a four-year college degree and reporting lower stress.  

By understanding more about what this population thinks of their own resilience, we can reduce depressive symptoms and foster social support, Krok-Schoen says.  

Learn more in an Ohio State News story by Emily Caldwell. 

Screening most effectively  

About half of people who die by suicide see a primary care doctor within a month before their death, so knowing how to best screen for those at risk can be life-saving. 

To evaluate different types of screening commonly used at doctor offices, Principal Investigator Craig Bryan — a clinical psychologist, professor and director of the Division of Recovery and Resilience in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health — and researchers from Ohio State and Wesleyan University worked with patients seen at six military primary care clinics. At those visits, the patients participated in multiple screenings, then the researchers followed up with them for a year.  

In a surprise, they found a depression screening outperformed suicide risk screenings in predicting who might attempt suicide. “Our findings may generate a lot of discussion within the suicide prevention community, as it contradicts long-held assumptions,” Bryan says. 

The Trott Gebhardt Philips Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Bryan is a senior researcher in STRIVE (the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative) at Ohio State. The program is one of the nation’s leading sites for learning how to improve suicide prevention and intervention and care for those at risk. 

Read more about this study in Eileen Scahill’s piece on this webpage, and listen to Bryan discuss his work to on this Now at Ohio State podcast.