Sexuality

Psychological Abuse During Pregnancy Linked to Postnatal Depression
Postnatal depression is strongly linked to psychological abuse by an intimate partner during pregnancy, independent of any physical or sexual violence, according to the research of Dr. Ana Bernarda Ludermir of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil and colleagues at the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol. These findings [...]
Parental Depression After Childbirth
A study of UK parents suggests a significant number of parents develop depression during the first twelve months of a child’s life. Researchers discovered more than 30 percent of mothers and about 20 percent of fathers experience an episode of depression — with the risk of depression greatest during the first year after [...]
Coping with Divorce: Words Tell the Story
University of Arizona researchers say that people in the midst of divorce reveal how they are handling things – not so much by what they say but how they say it. Apparently the truth is fairly easy to determine; even complete strangers were able to figure out how people were coping with their emotions using relatively [...]
Best and Worst Life Experiences from Social Connections
New research finds that social events are the most meaningful times in an individual’s life. Although social connections bring us the most pleasure, they also deliver the most pain. In the first study of its kind, researchers have found compelling evidence that our best and worst experiences in life are likely to involve not individual accomplishments, [...]
Marriage Does Not Foster Similarity
Contrary to popular opinion, couples do not become more similar over the course of a marriage. The similarities actually begin upfront as people typically select a spouse based on shared personality traits. Michigan State University researchers share their research in the latest issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences. “Existing research shows that spouses are more similar [...]
Abuse Has Prolonged Effect on Mothers
Leaving a violent or controlling relationship does not provide immediate refuge for a mother’s mental health. In fact, a woman’s mental health may actually get worse before it gets better, a new study suggests. Researchers found that in the two years after the end of an abusive relationship, mothers showed poorer mental health, became more depressed and [...]
Teens Bond with Online Communities
A new international study finds teenagers identify with an online community in a manner almost as powerful as their family relationships. Researchers studied users of teenage online community Habbo and learned that users identify more strongly with the online community than with their neighborhood or offline hobby group. The study is based on a survey with 4,299 [...]
Unselfish Do-Gooders Lack Friends
Surprise! You are not the only one who resents the person in the office who volunteers for every task and appears to thrive on the annoying details nobody else wants to tackle. Four separate studies led by a Washington State University social psychologist have found that unselfish workers who are the first to throw their hat [...]
Updated Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs
A team of psychologists have updated a cornerstone of modern psychology — Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs. Maslow’s pyramid describes human motivations from the most basic to the most advanced. According to experts, Maslow’s time-tested pyramid, first proposed in the 1940s, needed to be updated to reflect the last 50 years of research. A team of psychologists, [...]
Male Menopause Often Unrecognized
Age-related hormonal changes can affect men as well as women. Experts estimate that more than five million men are affected, yet worry the number may be considerably higher since symptoms are frequently ignored. Symptoms include fatigue, mood swings, decreased desire for sex, hair loss, lack of concentration and weight gain. Male hypogonadism, as it’s referred to in [...]
24/7 Work Schedule Challenges Marriage
As our world grows in complexity and pace, taking care of business requires around the clock staffing. David Maume, a University of Cincinnati professor of sociology, says working the late shift places new demands on men and women, affecting the family as well as the marriage. “Although much research has examined the marital effects of women’s work, [...]
Workplace Relationships Important Even After Retirement
For many, the pace of our 21st-century lifestyle renders it difficult to form meaningful relationships – at least in the same manner as used by parents and grandparents. For the last half-century neighborhood camaraderie and participation in local organizations have declined. As such, the workplace has become the “new neighborhood” and has become increasingly important for [...]
Marriage Lowers Stress Hormones
Researchers have long asserted that marriage helps to improve an individual’s health. Now, a new study explains how a long-term relationship can foster health benefits. University of Chicago professor and lead author Dario Maestripieri discovered unmarried people in a committed, romantic relationship show the same reduced responses to stress as do married people. “These results suggest [...]
Was Mom Right About Finding Happiness?
Stumbling on happiness is neither easy nor predictable, and bestselling author-psychologist Daniel Gilbert set out to prove that in his keynote address Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Diego. His book of the same name was a long-time best-seller. In a lively, 30-minute address, Gilbert opened by showing a slide of [...]
Personality Types in Domestic Violence Cases
Given the serious nature of partner violence, researchers are investigating the roles played by gender, personality and mental illness. “Intimate partner violence is a major public health concern,” says Zach Walsh, assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the lead author of a study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. “Examining [...]