News by Subject Social & Behavior

Students who receive sexuality education, including refusal skills training, before college matriculation are at lower risk of experiencing sexual assault during college. New research from Columbia University's Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) project suggests that sexuality education during high school may have a lasting and protective effect for adolescents.

A new study finds that bias-based bullying does more harm to students than generalized bullying, particularly for students who are targeted because of multiple identities, such as race and gender. What's more, the study finds that efforts to mitigate these harms are less effective against bias-based bullying.

A recent study finds young people with good family relationships are more likely to intervene when they witness bullying or other aggressive behavior at school -- and to step in if they see victims planning to retaliate. The study found that kids who were already excluded, or discriminated against by peers or teachers, were less likely to stand up for victims of bullying.

A University of Kent study into post partum depression found the odds of developing this condition increased by 79 percent when mothers had baby boys compared to baby girls. Overall the researchers identified that women who give birth to males are 71-79 percent more likely to develop post partum. Furthermore, women whose births had complications were 174 percent more likely to experience post partum compared to those women who had no complications.

Millions of families live in poverty in the United States. Associated stressors can often lead to adverse life experiences for children in those families, and negative socioemotional outcomes later in life.

A new UC Riverside study finds children are sensitive to and suffer the impacts of discrimination as young as seven years old. Previous studies have shown children can identify racism at that age, but the study is the first to study the impacts on children under 10 years old. The study also suggests that a strong sense of ethnic-racial identity is a significant buffer against these negative effects.

According to a Rutgers study, programs designed to provide social support may impact hospitalization rates and decrease spending. Expert says that investing in affordable housing that offers supportive social services to senior citizens on Medicare has the potential to reduce hospital admissions and the amount of time needing inpatient hospital care.

The study found that interventions for youth with the highest rates of absenteeism were more successful than those for youth with fewer absences.

A multi-disciplinary research team is bridging the gap between psychology and gamification that could significantly impact learning efforts in user experience design, healthcare, and government.