A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Oulu has found that communal leisure activities have positive effects on the mental health of young individuals. For the study, the experts in health sciences and psychiatry analyzed the link between psychiatric morbidity later in life and leisure activities of young individuals aged 15 and 16.
The researchers found that socially active leisure time in young people was linked to a lower incidence of psychiatric disorders. This was especially evident in the case of substance abuse, anxiety disorders and mood disorders. In addition to this, the experts discovered that leisure time that was socially passive was linked to a higher incidence of psychiatric disorders, particularly behavioral and anxiety disorders.
The study population was made up of roughly 7,000 individuals who belonged to the cohort born in 1986 in northern Finland. The subjects were followed until they reached 33 years old, with each of them taking part in a survey that focused on their recreational activities between the ages of 15 and 16. The survey gathered information on how much social interaction was involved in the hobbies each participant engaged in and the number of hobbies each of them had. Diagnoses and data associated with the incidence of psychological deterioration caused by mental conditions was also gathered from the national registers.
The principal researcher of the study, Johanna Timonen, stated that prior studies had demonstrated that social leisure activities had a positive impact on the mental health of young individuals. This, she continued, had been confirmed by this study. Timonen added that while studies had usually been based on self-assessment and surveys, this study had utilized comprehensive information on each participant’s mental health diagnosis from adolescence to adulthood.
In addition to this, Timonen explained that the positive effects of communal leisure activities on the mental health of young individuals carried over into adulthood, noting that this particular issue became relevant when the leisure activities of young individuals and children were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Timonen also noted that, with this in mind, it was important to support leisure activities, even in unprecedented times. She asserted that according to their findings, the Finnish model for such activities whose objective was to offer a purposeful hobby for every young person and child during school days, was a step in the right direction.
Other researchers involved in the study include Sami Räsänen, Anni Alakokkare, Helinä Hakko and Mika Niemelä.
While communal recreational activities can do a lot to boost the mental health of young people, this type of activity may not entirely prevent psychiatric disorders from developing, and more of those disorders are being diagnosed in the wake of the current pandemic. This is where the work of companies such as Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (NYSE American: CYBN) comes in. These companies are heavily investing in developing novel remedies that will mark a paradigm shift in the way mental health issues are treated.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (NYSE American: CYBN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CYBN
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