Research Wednesday: Spatial Skills & Internet Signs of Depression

I get lots of news releases about research, but I hardly ever use it. So, I thought I'd take Wednesdays as a day to blurb any interesting research on kids, parents, health, er, anything that looks useful to folks with kids.

So, today I've got two interesting things.

1. Spatial games will help your kids with math. New research from the University of Chicago finds that kids who are good at fitting shapes together to make recognizable objects are also better at the number line and math problem solving. “These results suggest that improving children’s spatial thinking at a young age may not only help foster skills specific to spatial reasoning but also improve symbolic numerical representations,” said Susan Levine, co-author of the paper, "The Relation Between Spatial Skill and Early Number Knowledge: The Role of the Linear Number Line," published in Development Psychology. "This is important since spatial learning is malleable and can be positively influenced by early spatial experiences." For more information on the study, check out the university's news release on the research: http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2012/06/13/learning-about-spatial-relationships-boosts-understanding-numbers.

2. Doing 9 things online means you may be depressed. Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology recently found that college students who are depressed use the Internet differently than others. The researchers used real-time network data to suss out 9 things college Internet users who were depressed were more likely to do. Among the culprits are using more file-sharing services, chatting online more often, and frequently switching Internet applications. The last attribute may be caused by trouble concentrating, which is a sign of depression. The study is unique in that it did not rely on self reporting. Instead, it tested its 216 participants for depression, then gave each participant a random id number to use on the network and tracked their usage. The users who had tested positive for depression had the usage patterns mentioned above. More information on the study is available here: http://news.mst.edu/2012/05/internet_usage_patterns_may_si.html.

Have a good one.

-Hyattsville Mom

Happening Today: New Carrollton library's drop in craft series. Stop by the library, 7414 Riverdale Rd., from 2-4 pm today to make a craft. For kids of all ages.