In 2021, the Government of Canada legalized single-game sports betting. This change unearthed an underground industry, reshaping how people participate in sports betting. In 2022, Ontario became the first province to open a private market for sports-betting operators. Since then, the market has grown rapidly, with more than 80 gaming websites now available across the […]
Romantic attraction to criminals is not a new craze. Films have used the ‘bad boy’ trope to describe love interests for generations. While these fictional crushes remain fairly harmless, some individuals are attracted to real criminal offenders, a phenomenon known as hybristophilia. A famous example of this is the Ted Bundy groupies, who sent love […]
The past six years have been marked by multiple active global conflicts, many of which have evolved into expansive crises that significantly worsen mental health outcomes. In fact, Michael Liebrenz, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of Bern states, “The current state of crises we are witnessing right now are at the most active point […]
The impact of natural disasters is felt globally, even in terms of mental health. A recent study found 78% of young adults’ mental health was affected by climate change, with 56% reporting feeling fearful, anxious, and powerlessness. Over 70% of respondents reported being pessimistic about the future, and 76% believed people have failed in taking […]
Between 50-80% of individuals in prisons and jails are estimated to have a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Behind these statistics are people unjustly punished for injuries that went unseen. This prevalence is five times higher than in the general population. Yet, there is a consistent issue of lack of diagnosis, treatment, and aid provided to […]
According to the 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, the rate of adolescents with poor mental health had more than doubled between 2019 and 2023. The survey assessed mental well-being in 2019, and checked in with those same participants four years later. Initially, only 12% of youth aged 12 to 17 had rated […]
Dissociation and its associated disorders: derealization, depersonalization, and dissociative identity disorder (DID), exist alongside a spectrum of both psychiatric disorders and mundane experiences. It is a transdiagnostic phenomenon, with studies suggesting that 2-10% of people will experience dissociative symptoms at some point. For those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the numbers are even higher with […]
During the 20th century, the green revolution transformed agriculture, ushering in new technologies that dramatically boosted food production. Among these advancements, pesticides became a staple in modern farming. While they helped create a surplus of food, there are concerns that pesticides have corroded the environment, contaminating the food supply, and harming the neurological health of […]
In January 2025, Norway published the largest cohort study to date exploring the relationship between gambling disorder (GD) and suicide mortality. Led by researcher Joakim Kristensen and colleagues, the study included approximately 7,000 individuals diagnosed with GD who were then compared to a group of around 400,000 individuals with other mental or physical health conditions. […]
In this episode, Trauma and Mental Health Report writer Adrian Parham interviews Dr. Jeffrey Wardell, associate professor at York University and director of the Behavioural Alcohol and Cannabis Lab. His lab uses clinical, social, cognitive and personality psychology to better understand the behavioural processes of substance use and misuse. The goal of the lab is […]