After interviewing women who identify as bisexual, lesbian and heterosexual, a study from UK researchers is contributing to the understanding of how desire is influenced by issues such as sexism, religion, sexual orientation discrimination and more.
A new American Sociological Review study has found that experiencing violence as an adolescent leads to early romantic relationships and cohabitating. On average, they found that victimized youth entered romantic relationships nine months earlier than non-victimized youth.
In just the past six years, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, the Tinder app accelerated casual dating, Fifty Shades of Grey was an overnight sensation, and Bruce Jenner became a woman.
A new study looks at how college students initiate conversations about abstaining from or delaying sex. At a time of greater awareness about sexual assault, ISU's Tina Coffelt says it is important to help students navigate these conversations.
As you report on the ongoing allegations and reports of high-profile workplace sexual harassment and assaults, resources are available for companies that are evaluating their own sexual harassment prevention policies and training programs. Psychologists with expertise in organizational behaviors and sexual harassment are available to be interviewed on issues such as the ineffectiveness of many workplace sexual harassment training programs and what companies can do to eliminate negative behaviors within their own organizations.
Men have unwanted sex with women in order to conform to gender expectations and to avoid uncomfortable interactions finds new research by a New York University sociologist.
Some men tend to confuse sexual interest with consent, regardless of the situation, according to a new paper co-written by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
What men would like to see now is a shift from infertility being seen as a ‘women’s issue’ within society and vastly improved support for men, in particular online.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a pervasive, chronic problem that can cause enduring psychological harm, according to the president of the American Psychological Association.
Worried whether your heart health is strong enough for sex? A new study may lay your fears to rest: The risk that sex would trigger a sudden cardiac arrest is exceedingly small.
New research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology finds that women who were reminded of a time that their dad was absent from their lives — or who actually experienced poor quality fathering while growing up — perceived greater mating intent in the described behaviors of a hypothetical male dating partner and when talking with a man. These women also “saw” more sexual arousal when viewing images of men’s faces.
Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.
The research team compared samples of vaginal microbiota of both women who were involved in sex work and those who were not sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya.
UCLA is co-sponsoring a major conference spotlighting the impact of HIV/AIDS on black women at the local, state and national levels. “A Paradigm Shift: The Impact of HIV/AIDS on African American Women and Families”, runs Nov. 2-3 at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.
A microscope lens implanted deep inside a mouse’s brain shows different patterns of neural activity when the mouse interacts with males, females, or other stimuli. Now, researchers have discovered that sexual experience can trigger long-term changes in these brain patterns.
More than one-third of the world’s countries do not have any laws prohibiting sexual harassment at work―leaving nearly 235 million working women without this important protection.
A study led by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found that preference for preserving sexual function was not strongly reflected in the treatment choices of men with low-risk prostate cancer.
Northwestern Medicine has launched a first of its kind center dedicated to providing comprehensive care to women for two often unmet areas of women’s healthcare – sexual health and menopause. The Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause at Northwestern Memorial Hospital brings together a multidisciplinary team of physicians, advanced practice nurses (APN), certified sex therapists and pelvic floor physical therapists to provide highly specialized and personalized care for each patient. In addition to unique clinical offerings, the center will also feature educational and research components.
A University of Rhode Island psychology professor internationally renowned for his pioneering work in behavior change, along with his wife and research partner, will receive the Institute of Coaching’s Vision of Scientific Excellence in Coaching award.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $2.5 million grant to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) to develop a standard protocol for anal cancer screenings for men who have sex with men.
A novel psychological therapy that encourages addressing emotional experiences related to trauma, conflict and relationship problems has been found helpful for people with the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia. A research team led by Mark A. Lumley, Ph.D., professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, in collaboration with a team from the University of Michigan Medical Center led by David A. Williams, Ph.D., professor of anesthesiology, has released the results of its research in the prestigious journal, PAIN.
The U.S. birth rate hasn’t changed for two generations of teenage girls, but other aspects of young parenthood are shifting, especially regarding young fathers, according to new Indiana University research.
What does a modern marriage look like? And how can today’s couples seek personal fulfillment in their marriages while remaining committed to it for the long run? This September, Northwestern University professor and relationship expert Eli Finkel reports on his latest discovery — that although the average marriage today is struggling, the best marriages are flourishing like never before.
African-American men who have sex with men (MSM) remain at heightened risk for HIV infection and account for the largest number of African-Americans living with HIV/AIDS. It has long been understood that there is a clear and persistent association between poverty, transactional sex behavior, and HIV risk. A new University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) study has investigated how educational status relates to HIV risk in this population.
British women living with a partner are more than twice as likely to lack interest in sex compared to men living with a partner, according to a new study published in the BMJ Open.
While recent research has shown that loneliness can play a role in early death, psychologists are also concerned with the mechanisms by which social relationships and close personal ties affect health. A special issue of American Psychologist, the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association, offers an overview of the science and makes the case for psychological scientists to work together to make close relationships a public health priority.
As the number of highly educated women has increased in recent decades, the chances of "marrying up" have increased significantly for men and decreased for women, according to a new study led by a University of Kansas sociologist.
Dating websites often claim attraction between two people can be predicted from the right combination of traits and preferences, but a new study casts doubt on that assertion.
The study, which used speed dating data, found a computer could predict who is desirable and how much someone would desire others — who’s hot and who’s not — but it could not unravel the mystery of unique desire for a specific person.
The fact that spouses often become caregivers for their ailing partners is quite common in American life – and few roles are more stressful. But Michael Poulin, a UB psychologist, is part of a research team that has published a study suggesting that spending time attempting to provide help can be beneficial for a caregiver's well-being, but only under certain circumstances.
When couples are dissatisfied in their relationship, couple therapy, in which both members of the couple participate in the treatment, has become one of the most widely practiced interventions. The effectiveness of couple therapy in improving couple relationships has been demonstrated by several studies (Shadish & Baldwin, 2003). For example, in their systematic review, Lebow, Chambers, Christensen, and Johnson (2012) summarized research findings indicating that couple therapy improves relationship satisfaction for 71% of participating couples at the end of treatment, while distressed couples who received no treatment made no improvement (Shadish & Baldwin, 2003, 2005; Baucom, Hahlweg, & Kuschel, 2003).
A new study offers insights into what people are deliberating about and what makes decisions about staying in or leaving a romantic relationship so difficult, which could help therapists working with couples and stimulate further research into the decision-making process.
Faculty members and graduate students from Indiana University Bloomington presented research findings this week at the 112th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, a four-day meeting in Montreal.
Intoxicated, heavy drinkers have a tendency to act rashly in response to negative emotions, which can intensify the risk for intimate partner aggression, according to a study by Georgia State University and Purdue University.
Amanda Miller of the University of Indianapolis studies how the experience of cohabitation is changing in America. Her latest research and new co-authored book reveal how the process of moving in and living together today often differs greatly by social class, and for men and women.
Many straight men on college campuses still aren’t doing well in gaining the explicit consent of their female sexual partners. Absent a clear and spoken, “No!” or demand to stop, young men are using non-verbal cues and presumed behaviors to assure themselves that their partner is willfully participating.
Heavy drinking can have a number of negative consequences, including sex that is later regretted. Low sensitivity (LS) to alcohol’s effects – which characterizes the person who can “drink everyone under the table” – is a known risk factor for heavy drinking and its consequences. This study investigated LS and regretted sex from an unusual perspective, asking whether LS could be protective in some contexts, given that LS drinkers are generally less impaired from drinking at a given level. More specifically, the investigators tested whether LS was associated with differences in reports by men and women of alcohol-related regretted sex.
Researchers are investigating mobile DNA segments, known as L1 insertions, in sperm cells with the long-term goal of preventing birth defects by treating at-risk individuals, prior to conceiving a child.
If you or a loved one is having difficulty conceiving, you may have researched in vitro fertilization options. A key member of an IVF patient’s clinical team is her embryologist.
The first few weeks after sperm meets egg still hold many mysteries. Among them: what causes the process to fail, leading to many cases of infertility. But scientists haven’t had a good way to explore the biology behind this phenomenon. Now, a new achievement using human stem cells could give researchers a chance to see what they couldn’t before, while avoiding ethical issues associated with studying actual embryos.
Unlike other mosquito-borne outbreaks, Zika doubles as a sexually transmitted infection, with men retaining the virus 10 times longer in their semen than women do in their vaginal fluids. According to research initiated at the Santa Fe Institute, populations least likely to get tested for Zika could create a silent, sustained outbreak.