Smoking is not social and leads to increased loneliness, according to a large Europe-wide study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

School-based prevention programs are designed to help protect adolescents from gaming disorder and problematic online habits. But how effective are these interventions when it comes to promoting responsible use of video games and the Internet? A research team led by Prof. Dr. Katajun Lindenberg of the Institute of Psychology at Heidelberg University investigated this question as part of a statewide study in which a total of approximately 1,800 adolescents from 44 secondary schools in Baden-Württemberg participated. The results show that, in the long run, a four-week behavioral therapy-based program achieved greater effects among participants at high risk of addiction than a media education program did.