News by Subject Social & Behavior

With the help of a multidisciplinary register and questionnaire study, Finnish researchers showed that both the educational level and its occupational orientation predict the mother's smoking during early pregnancy.

A significant number of Danes experience being so hard-pressed with their household budgets that they cannot afford enough food. This is particularly the case among single parents and people receiving social assistance, who concurrently experience unhealthier diets, poorer mental well-being and a lower quality of life than the rest of the population. These findings are from a large study, the first of its kind in Denmark, conducted by the University of Copenhagen.

An analysis from Indiana University researchers has found that half the people pursuing scientific careers at institutions of higher education will depart the field after five years -- a sharp contrast compared to 50 years ago.

Faces that are seen as competent are also perceived as more masculine, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Flexible working often leads to negative views from other employees, with 1/3 of all UK workers believing those who work flexibly create more work for others, while a similar proportion believe their career will suffer if they use flexible working arrangements, according to new research.

A new study from a Portland State University researcher calls the transition to manager a 'double-edged sword' and found that a manager's ability to mentally detach from work during non-work hours can help reduce the increased exhaustion and work-family conflict that come with the new role.

While most large corporations take responsibility for occupational risks, many partake in transferring these risks to smaller companies and the informal sector, where health risks are unrecognized and under-reported. More than half of the workers in many developing economies work in the informal sector where there are few, or no, workplace health protections.

The alignment of state pension ages for women and men -- while in some senses a milestone for gender equality -- has created very real difficulties for those whose who will now not receive their State Pension when they had originally expected to.

Economic conditions can shape the decisions that adults make about their families, such as whether and when to have children. A recent Journal of Marriage & Family analysis of US women aged 20 to 44 years found that higher unemployment rates were associated with a lower likelihood of unintended pregnancy.