Feature Channels: Sex and Relationships

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A global program that addresses the reproductive health needs of people living in poor urban communities—The Challenge Initiative—has been awarded a $20.5-million supplemental grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The award will allow the Initiative to focus more on adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health issues. The grant from the Gates Foundation includes funds from Gates Philanthropy Partners.

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Research shows having a partner whom you feel understands you, and cares about and appreciates you is linked to better health and well-being. A Cornell human development expert and his colleagues have just discovered it also can lead to a longer life.

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Electrodes aren’t the first thing most people think of when it comes to achieving sexual arousal. But if the results of a pilot study are any indication, that may soon change. Michigan Medicine researchers find that a common treatment for bladder dysfunction also helps some women with female sexual dysfunction.

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In this podcast episode, Neil Venketramen, staff therapist at The Family Institute, interviews Cheryl Rampage, our senior academic and clinical advisor and clinical associate professor who has more than three decades of experience treating individuals, couples and families.

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Married people who fight nastily are more likely to suffer from leaky guts – a problem that unleashes bacteria into the blood and can drive up disease-causing inflammation, new research suggests.

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Virtually all functions in our bodies require precise interactions between radically different types of molecules. Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas are pursuing what differentiates a fruitful encounter from a dud.

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Some women may like it when a man opens the door on a first date or offers to pay the bill at dinner, while others may find the gestures insulting. New research provides an alternative explanation as to why some women respond positively.

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It's a widespread complaint of women: men don't know how to listen without rushing in to give advice and offer a solution. "I'm not looking for advice," many women say, "I just want to be heard, to get something off my chest."

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Violence that occurs between intimate partners does not end with the relationship’s conclusion, yet few resources exist to help survivors move beyond the betrayal of abusive relationships in order to begin new, healthy relationships. The effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) are profound, painfully enduring and should command as much attention as providing victims with the help necessary to leave violent relationships, according to a new study by a University at Buffalo social work researcher.

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One of the first studies to examine the health impacts of legal marriage for LGBT individuals has found gay men were more likely to receive routine medical care following marriage legalization.

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While it’s estimated that more than a third of women have had nonconsensual sexual experiences in their lifetime, the way they define those experiences may influence their sexual wellbeing, according to psychology researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

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Nearly half of all men in a new study about intimate partner violence in male couples report being victims of abuse.

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Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS illness and death in the U.S., accounting for 70 percent of new HIV infections. Furthermore, among men who have sex with men (MSM), black MSM are disproportionately at risk of HIV infection. Alcohol consumption may play a role in HIV transmission because it can lead individuals to have sex without using a condom. This study examined the links between condom use and drinking, before and during sex, and alcohol-use problems.

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What matters is whether moments of hate are truly fleeting moments versus ongoing states.

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Partners were found to have lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, on days when they enjoyed higher levels of physical touch like hand holding or hugging.

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A study of couples conducted at the University of Utah found that both partners enjoyed emotional benefits when they asked and answered the question, How was your day?

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In an analysis of data collected from more than 2,800 women after menopause, Johns Hopkins researchers report new evidence that a higher proportion of male to female sex hormones was associated with a significant increased relative cardiovascular disease risk.

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The latest research and features on sex in the Sex and Relationships News Source

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The latest research, features, and experts on HIV and AIDS.

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Couples who eat more seafood tend to have sexual intercourse more often and get pregnant faster than other couples trying to conceive, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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CHICAGO - Although hookup apps require users to be 18 or older, a new Northwestern Medicine study found that more than 50 percent of sexually active gay and bisexual boys ages 14 to 17 met male sexual partners on apps such as Grindr and Scruff. It also was common for these teens to use the apps to connect with friends and find new gay, bisexual and queer friends and boyfriends, which sheds new light on who uses adult male hookup apps and why.

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Researcher finds adult women use the same techniques as adolescent girls

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A new poll busts stereotypes about the sex lives of older Americans – and reveals gender and health-related divides on key aspects of sexual health, while highlighting the need for more people to talk with their health providers about sexual issues.

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The Latest News On Marijuana Research

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Scientists have for the first time found direct causal links between the neurotransmitter dopamine and avoidance – behavior related to pain and fear. Researchers have long known that dopamine plays a key role in driving behavior related to pleasurable goals, such as food, sex and social interaction. In general, increasing dopamine boosts the drive toward these stimuli. But dopamine’s role in allowing organisms to avoid negative events has remained mysterious.

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Sexual promiscuity is uncommon in America, but a subtle shift has occurred over the past three decades: Men are engaging in such behavior less frequently while more women are sexually adventurous.

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According to a new report by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, approximately 78,400 children in the U.S. are or have been married.

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Recent work by Patrick Ishizuka, a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University’s Cornell Population Center, is the first to offer empirical evidence that cohabitating couples are likely to get married only when they earn as much as their married peers.

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It has been suggested that sexually objectified women or men are visually processed in the same fashion of an object. Far from being unanimously accepted, this claim has been criticized by a lack of scientific rigor. A team led by Giorgia Silani, in collaboration with Helmut Leder, of the University of Vienna, and scientists of the University of Trieste and SISSA have explored the conditions under which this phenomenon persists. The results of the study were recently published in the renowned scientific journal "PlosOne".

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A UAB pediatrician offers her advice for handling tricky conversations with your children about appropriate digital device use and sexting.

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It’s hard enough for parents to have “the talk” about sexual health with their kids, but parents of LGBTQ children feel especially uncomfortable and unequipped when they try to educate them about sex and dating, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.The study examined parents’ attitudes toward talking about sexual health with their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer teens (LGBTQ).

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Michigan State University research says that a blended mix of married and unmarried group members improves creativity, innovation and collaborative thinking.

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Couples in Mali who spoke to one another about family planning were significantly more likely not only to use modern contraception, but to adopt a series of healthy behaviors ranging from being tested for HIV during pre-natal care visits to seeking treatment for a child’s cough, new research suggests.

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Narcissists aren’t necessarily on the hunt for partners who are already in a relationship – but that doesn’t appear to stand in their way, either, new research suggests.

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Requests for the procedure rise in March — when many men schedule downtime to watch basketball. A Michigan Medicine expert explains key facts.

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Husbands, are you helping your spouse with chores around the house? If your wife doesn’t think so that may result in a less satisfying sex life, according to new research by Florida State University. FSU Sociology Professor Anne Barrett and her former student Alexandra Raphael found that when wives reported an unfair arrangement in the amount of housework they were doing, they were also significantly more likely to report lower sexual satisfaction.

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Reach for the hand of a loved one in pain and not only will your breathing and heart rate synchronize with theirs, your brain wave patterns will couple up.

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In his long career, the evangelical preacher Billy Graham — who died Feb. 21 at age 99 — offered one piece of advice that may be especially relevant to men in the current age of #MeToo sexual harassment scandals — never dine, drink or spend time alone with women other than your wife.Known as the “Billy Graham Rule,” the advice was in line with cultural and sexual norms of the 1950s and later decades, when many of Graham’s contemporary evangelical preachers fell from grace after widely publicized extramarital affairs, said R.

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A novel microarray patch for HIV PrEP is in preparation for future clinical trials. The consortium of Queen’s University Belfast, along with their collaborators, PATH, ViiV Healthcare, the Population Council and LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme AG have been granted over $10 million by USAID for their research.

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Studies have shown that talking with teens about sex-related topics is a positive parenting practice that facilitates important sexual health outcomes with heterosexual adolescents. But for LGBTQ youth, the topic of sexuality and sexual health is often ineffectively addressed at home.

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New research finds young women who value their own desires as much as their partner's, are less likely to engage in unwanted sexual activity.

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Lesbian and gay youth showed significantly less psychological distress and were buffered against the negative effects of bullying and victimization when they were in a relationship than when they were not, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study conducted in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati.The finding is particularly important because prior research has not found a protective effect like this for support from parents and friends.

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More than 20 years later, platforms for pairing up – and the attitudes toward those who use them – have changed considerably. But is the proliferation of dating sites and mobile apps altering our courtship experiences and long-term relationships? Rutgers relationship experts weigh in.

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New research from Florida State University highlights ways to keep love and also identifies clear predictors for failed relationships.

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Mobile health units bring important medical services to communities across the country. A new study indicates that mobile health units may provide a new approach for offering sexual health education and services to adolescents.

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Binge or heavy episodic drinking (HED) – defined as four or more drinks in a two-hour period – among U.S. university women has increased by 40 percent during the past 30 years. This dramatic development suggests that women are “closing the gender gap” by drinking at rates similar to those of men. Feminine norms – beliefs and expectations about what it means to be a woman – may play a role in altering drinking patterns among this group. This study examined trajectories of HED among young adult women and the gender-relevant factors that may predict these trajectories.

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In “Love Demystified” Palmer offers tips and techniques that she says can be applied during any stage of a loving relationship, from finding new love or fixing a current relationship, to falling in love again after a loss.