Bruce Compas

Media Appearances

• 8 expert-backed tips for relieving your kid's back to school stress.

  "The good news is the brain is malleable," said Bruce Compas, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University who completed a major review of childhood coping strategies. Good coping skills can be taught and, once learned, can benefit a child for the rest of their lives, Compas said in a press release.

  September 6th, 2023

• Gratitude Is Having a Moment—Here's Why That Matters (And How You Can Incorporate It Into Your Own Daily Routine)

  Gratitude can also help you feel like you’re doing something at a time when many feel helpless. “So many of us need to stay on the sidelines because we need to honor social distancing to prevent the spread of the disease,” says Bruce Compas, Ph.D., Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University. “When we can't step up to the front lines, but we see health care workers, truck drivers, delivery drivers, and grocery clerks who are on the front lines, we are moved to show our deep appreciation and gratitude for literally what they are doing for our sake.”

  April 29th, 2020

• Kids, are you overworked at school? Here’s how you can cope with the stress

  Between homework, schoolwork, exams and test anxiety, post-school activities and bullying, kids can be super stressed out, but now, a team of researchers has outlined which coping strategies work best. The study’s lead author Bruce Compas said that learning effective ways to manage stress is especially important for children.

  July 23rd, 2017

• When a Teenager’s Coping Mechanism Is SpongeBob

  Bruce Compas, a professor of psychology and pediatrics at Vanderbilt University and the author of a research review on teenage coping notes that adolescents may “just need to take a break from something that is stressful, particularly if they can’t change it or control it.” Dr. Compas’s research demonstrates that teenagers facing chronic or unavoidable stress feel better when they find positive distractions that can help “lift their spirits and get them out of a down or depressed mood.”

  February 8th, 2017

• Stress causes brain shrinkage

  Bruce Compas, professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, said that anything that leads to a reduction in the number of connections between neurons, such as a decrease in gray matter, hurts the brain’s ability to store information and respond quickly to the environment. He also commended both the design and measurements of the study.

  January 17th, 2012