Feature Channels: Sex and Relationships

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Sexism is alive and well, but this time men are the target. A new study debunks a long-standing theory that sexual assault isn’t as emotionally traumatizing for men as it is for women and that it doesn’t result in similar emotional impacts, especially depression. Men make up about 38 percent of sexual assault and rape incidents reported, and those in the military are particularly vulnerable and more unlikely to report an assault.

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Johns Hopkins scientists report that data collected over five years by volunteers who tested pills free of charge at music festivals and raves across the United States suggest that at least some recreational users of illegal drugs may choose not to take them if tests show the pills are adulterated or fake.

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Older Americans are cheating on their spouses more than their younger counterparts, with 20 percent of married Americans over age 55 reporting they’ve engaged in extramarital sex. Just 14 percent of those under age 55 say they’ve cheated

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A gel aimed at preventing HIV, which is being trialled in Africa, is only used by women with their male partner’s approval.

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Military sexual trauma (MST) is defined as sexual harassment and/or sexual trauma experienced during the course of military service. It includes uninvited or unwanted verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature, such as attention, verbal remarks, touching, sexual coercion, sexual assault, and rape. It happens to both men and women, and can have not only mental and physical but also behavioral health consequences such as substance use/abuse. Recent findings will be shared at the 40th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in Denver June 24-28.

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A lack of sleep doesn’t just leave you cranky and spoiling for a fight. Researchers at The Ohio State University Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research say it also puts you at risk for stress-related inflammation.

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The NCAA should enact rules aimed at reducing sexual assaults by athletes while more equitably punishing the perpetrators and their universities, according to a newly published article by an Indiana University expert.

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The majority of college-aged male aggressors of physical, sexual and emotional violence also reported being victims of violence themselves, both in childhood and as young adults

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In a recent study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Florida State University graduate student Ashley Cooper explores how high levels of fluctuation in how secure an individual feels in his or her relationship may actually doom its success.

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Youth cyberbullying is dramatically more likely to occur between current or former friends and dating partners than between students who were never friends or in a romantic relationship.

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Understanding and responding to behavioral trends in groups that are at high risk for HIV infection is critical to the development of effective strategies that decrease HIV incidence and improve access to care. New research based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system are presented in a special supplement to JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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People who are phone snubbed – or “phubbed” – by others are, themselves, often turning to their smartphones and social media to find acceptance, according to new research from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business.

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Researchers have long shown links between father involvement and daughters’ sexual behavior, with the standard explanation attributing that influence to shared genes that impact both a father’s behavior and relationships and his child’s problem behavior, including engaging in risky sex and affiliating with delinquent peers. But a new study led by a University of Utah researcher and published in Developmental Psychology suggests that even though genes likely play a part, they may not be the whole story.

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Sex-changing fish exhibit differences in androgen receptor (AR) expression in muscles that are highly sensitive to androgens (male sex hormones) and essential for male courtship behavior, according to a Georgia State University study.

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Researchers at Leeds Beckett University, together with national charity, Fertility Network UK, are seeking men’s experiences of infertility as part of a new study.

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Children with differences of sex development (DSD) are born with reproductive organs that are not typically male or female. They may face infertility from abnormal development of testes or ovaries, and in some patients these organs are surgically removed to prevent an increased risk of germ cell cancer. With advancing techniques, however, children with DSD may be able to preserve their fertility for the future. This potential also presents important ethical issues, which are examined in an article published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

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In some states, patients who test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea leave the clinic with not only a prescription for themselves, but also one for their sexual partner — who was not seen by a doctor.

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Researchers from UCLA have developed a laboratory test that helps physicians determine which people with gonorrhea may be more treatable with an antibiotic that has not been recommended since 2007 because of concerns that the resistance to the drug was growing.

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A recent analysis of research into how so-called “sexting” may affect sexual behavior finds that it has little impact on sexual activity – but highlights significant shortcomings in the research itself.

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Sleep is important, but if there is something more important or interesting to do—for example, taking care of a baby, finishing a grant proposal before a deadline, or reading a fascinating book—we may stay up late. Sleep in fruit flies is a lot like human sleep, and like humans, flies can keep themselves awake if there is something important to do. In research published on May 16th in eLife, researchers report discovery of neurons that allow male fruit flies to suppress sleep so they can court female flies.

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All is not lost according to the first study to look at and measure communication outcomes in both the caregiver spouse and the patient with dementia. In fact, researchers have found that “practice makes perfect” with the right intervention and a tool that can accurately measure couples’ communication.

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For people going through a divorce, a technique called narrative expressive writing—not just writing about their emotions, but creating a meaningful narrative of their experience—may reduce the harmful cardiovascular effects of stress related to marital separation, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Upcoming International Conference "Crossroads of Couple and Family Psychology: A Foundation for Real World Practice on June 22-24, 2107 in Evanston, IL

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Women who have episiotomies after childbirth reported having poorer body image and less satisfying sex lives than women who tear and heal naturally.

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More than 1 million married women ages 15-44 across the United States are infertile. Janet McLaren Bouknight, M.D., offers insight on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of infertile couples trying to conceive.

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When things are up in the air, marriage and family therapists help you spot what is about to fall. UNLV's Katherine Hertlein on being an agent for social change.

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The study, ”The Committed Inmate Relationships During Incarceration and STI/HIV Prevention,” aimed to characterize the relationships of incarcerated African-Americans and the influence of those characteristics in protection against STI/HIV risk when in the community, when STI/HIV transmission risk is greatest.

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Nearly one-fourth of transgender individuals in Toronto, Canada, regard their own fertility as important, but most lack knowledge regarding and access to reproductive options, a new survey finds. Results of the survey will be presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

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According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2014 occurred among young people ages 13 to 24, 80 percent of whom were gay and bisexual males.

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The images and roles of female characters in video games send a powerful message that can influence the underlying attitudes of gamers. Iowa State and French researchers found a link between video game exposure and sexism in a new study of more than 13,000 adolescents.

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Being ‘lovesick’ takes on a whole new meaning in a new theory which answers the unsolved fundamental question: why do we have sex?

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Could unique psychological factors that hamper emotional regulation help explain differences in HIV/STI risk-related sexual behaviors among heterosexually active black youth with mental illnesses?

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People who lose a partner to suicide are at increased risk for a number of mental and physical disorders, including cancer, depression, herniated discs and mood disorders than those in the general population, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

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A $1 increase in the minimum wage would likely reduce the U.S. adolescent birth rate by about 2 percent, according to new Indiana University research. That would mean about 5,000 fewer births annually.

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Led by researchers at the University of Kentucky, the study is the largest and longest randomized controlled trial of bystander intervention programs focusing on sexual violence prevention in high schools. Published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study reveals the implementation of "Green Dot" in Kentucky high schools decreased not only sexual violence perpetration, but related forms of violence including sexual harassment, stalking and dating violence.

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Across the board, Americans are less sexually active than ever with the sharpest decline among people in their 50s, people with a college degree, people with school-aged children, people in the South, and those who do not watch pornography.

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The last thing you want is a series of "achoos" to interrupt your "I do's," or worse, send someone to the hospital. With these 10 tips from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, you can limit allergy concerns on your wedding day.

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There is new hope for the hundreds of millions of women worldwide who have been subjected to genital mutilation. A surgeon in Penn Medicine’s Center for Human Appearance has developed a reconstructive procedure that can increase sexual function and, patients’ early experiences suggest, help heal the emotional and psychological wounds associated with the mutilation.

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The need to belong and experience social connections is a fundamental human characteristic. Prior research has shown that social rejection is linked to increases in negative emotions, distress, and hostility. This study examined the impact of social rejection on alcohol use, and whether the impact differed when the social rejection was by close others, such as friends, spouses or family members, or by strangers or acquaintances.

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Power imbalances in heterosexual relationships are common, but having less power takes a greater toll on young women than young men, according to a recently published University at Buffalo study.

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Even the most blissful of couples in long-running, exclusive relationships may be fairly clueless when it comes to spotting the ploys their partner uses to avoid dealing with emotional issues, suggests new research from psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis.“Happier couples see their partners in a more positive light than do less happy couples,” said Lameese Eldesouky, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in Psychological and Brain Sciences at Washington University.

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A person’s sex and running ability play a role in the decline of their performance in marathons as they get older, according to a Georgia State University study.

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Based in Puerto Rico, The Cuídalos project proved the usefulness of a web-based educational module, which aimed to promote communication between parents and their adolescent children on topics related to their sexuality so that they can make good decisions.

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The implementation of state laws legalizing same-sex marriage was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of suicide attempts among high school students – and an even greater reduction among gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

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But a new study by Arizona State University shows the opposite may be true – that one psychological effect of population density is for those people to adopt a “slow life strategy.” This strategy focuses more on planning for the long-term future and includes tactics like preferring long-term romantic relationships, having fewer children and investing more in education.

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Here, in celebration of Valentine's Day, we present another of the paradoxes, sometimes called the Picky Suitor problem: Can you guess the odds that you will find your one and only among the 9 billion people on the planet?

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Despite the explosion of red and pink merchandise currently promoted in stores, the National Retail Federation reports U.S. consumer spending will be down 10 percent this year compared to Valentine’s Day 2016.

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Feb. 14 was coming up quickly, and the two young lovers’ emotions were heating up the hundreds of miles between them. Their Civil War letters tell of their secret engagement during a tumultuous time in history.