Feature Channels: Sex and Relationships

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The organs in our body may have a sexual identity of their own, new research suggests.

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In one of the first reproductive studies to focus on young men and fatherhood, researchers at Northwestern Medicine found that an adolescent male’s attitude toward risky sex, pregnancy and birth control can predict whether or not he will end up living with his future offspring.

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Study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology shows fecal incontinence risk from anal intercourse is heightened for both women and men, with men almost three times as likely to experience incontinence.

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Thinking about buying an engagement ring for Valentine's Day?

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Texting can make the heart grow fonder. That is just one of the findings of the latest research from Catalina Toma, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Results show that even couples who live close to one another rely heavily on mobile media to manage their dating relationships. And that can be a good thing, Toma says.

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New research by Union College professor suggests that a man’s attachment style - a personality trait reflecting his romantic relationship tendencies - may actually influence his perceptions of whether a woman is interested in him sexually

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Just as people are more likely to give more to close friends than to strangers, people may be more likely to give less to close friends than to strangers if there is a mutual overall benefit for doing so. Call it altruistic selfishness. The gift-giver may see himself and a close friend as a unit—and choose the best total gift for the unit rather than for either individual. The total gift could end up including the gift purchased, a free gift, and any money saved.

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Modern men increasingly value brains over beauty when choosing long-term mates.

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Everyone marches to the beat of their own drum: From walking to talking to producing music, different people’s movements occur at different speeds. But do these differences influence coordination of group actions? The answer is yes, according to McGill University researchers. The finding has the potential to help us predict for each person how successful they will be in a group task, depending on how similar their partners are to them in their internal rhythms.

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Once you learn to take care of and nurture yourself, only then can you be in a healthy, positive relationship. And it is perfectly fine to be by yourself on Valentine’s Day – or any day of the year.

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The incidence of childhood and adult obesity has increased significantly over the past three decades. New research shows that there is an association between obesity development during adulthood and childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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Award-winning researcher focuses on mental health challenges facing sexual and gender minority groups.

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A smartphone app containing motivational videos developed to help married rural women in India better understand contraceptive choices led to a dramatic increase in the number of women using modern family planning methods in just a few months, new Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) research suggests.

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Spouses ideally could play a key role in helping patients lose pounds and keep them off after weight-loss surgery, but being married might actually work against patients, researchers from The Ohio State University have found. The researchers, led by Megan Ferriby, a graduate student in human sciences, concluded that the impact of weight-loss surgery extends to his or her romantic relationships and likely to the entire family.

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Married couples in low- and middle-income countries around the world that use contraception are having more frequent sexual intercourse than those that do not, new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests.

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Teens’ experiences with violence — either through fear of violence, observing violent events, or being victims of violence themselves — are associated with how likely they are to have sex and use condoms, new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests.

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Florida State University researchers have discovered the more selfies an individual posts on the social media site Instagram, the greater the likelihood he or she might experience romantic relationship conflict and dissolution.

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Christina Diaz and Jeremy E. Fiel found that socioeconomic disadvantage may reduce the effect young motherhood has on how successful a person is academically, and also what wages can be expected in the future.

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Tips for those who want to impress their Valentine with thoughtfulness and caring, but prefer not to break the bank by overspending.

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A person's quality of life at the time of their death continues to influence his or her spouse's quality of life in the years following the person's passing, according to new research by UA psychologists.

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From horny goat weed to ginseng and maca, over-the-counter dietary supplements sold to improve male sexual health contain a wide variety of “natural” ingredients. A review of the scientific evidence for the most common ingredients to determine if they are effective – and most importantly – safe. The results are published online ahead of print in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

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For all those who resolve to spend less time on social media in 2016, here is what that means, say experts from Purdue University.

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In one of the most tightly controlled trials ever conducted of drugs used to treat sexually transmitted infections, researchers at UAB have confirmed that azithromycin remains effective in the treatment of urogenital chlamydia.

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Sex-changing snails switch sooner when together.

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Researchers with Kansas State University's College of Human Ecology share tips on making the new year a healthy and happy one.

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With education, employment and income levels all rising for women in sub-Saharan Africa, many observers have speculated that divorce rates would follow suit – as they have in much of the developed world. But a new study by McGill University researchers finds that divorce rates across 20 African countries over the past 20 years have remained stable or declined.

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Dogs and Cats are increasingly seen as being a crucial member of a traditional family, but aside from the companionship and love you receive from your pet… can they also make you appear sexier?

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As the drug touted as “the female Viagra” comes to market, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are learning more about how the drug, called flibanserin, affects the brain.

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A University of Illinois study suggests a significant link between instability in the lives of college-age young adults and the likelihood that they will engage in risky sex.

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Young men’s interest in babies is specifically associated with their physiological reactivity to sexually explicit material, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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When it comes to emotional health, young couples – especially women -- do just as well moving in together as they do getting married, according to a new national study.

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New research from of the Sexuality and Gender Laboratory at Queen's University shows that heterosexual women have more diverse patterns of sexual response than previously reported.

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Researchers at FAU and colleagues put to test the hypothesis that adolescents become less similar to their friends and more similar to romantic partners after they start a new romantic relationship.

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More research is needed to better understand polycystic ovary syndrome – one of the leading causes of infertility, according to the Scientific Statement issued by the Endocrine Society.

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According to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis climbed considerably in the U.S. in 2014. The center called the increases "alarming." The new data also show that among the more than 3,000 counties in the nation, Los Angeles County had the most cases of all three diseases in 2014.

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Mariana Falconier, associate professor and clinical director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Family Services at the Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church, has won a grant totaling $7.2 million for a five-year project to promote healthy relationships and economic stability among low-income couples.

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A new study strengthens growing evidence that Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The findings are recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

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Two University of Notre Dame anthropologists looked beyond the nuclear family for effects on testosterone levels in men and found that not only spouses, but also other relatives, good friends, colleagues, neighbors and fellow church members can play a role.

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What people believe they want and what they prefer are not always the same thing. When outperformed as an element of romantic attraction, the difference between affinity and desirability becomes clearer as the distance between people gets smaller.

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Patients who are divorced, separated or widowed had an approximately 40 percent greater chance of dying or developing a new functional disability in the first two years following cardiac surgery than their married peers, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published in this week’s JAMA Surgery.

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A key ingredient to improving couples’ marriages might just be gratitude, according to new University of Georgia research. The study was recently published in the journal Personal Relationships.

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If a young woman’s first sexual experience involves alcohol, she is more likely to be at risk for problems such as sexual assault, and this risk may persist in her future, new research finds.

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Research from Indiana University has found that sexual activity triggers physiological changes in the body that increase a woman's chances of getting pregnant, even outside the window of ovulation.