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- Youth in foster care often experience family instability, which can disrupt the continuity of their relationships and social connections. Therefore, the strength and stability of their social support networks can play a critical role in shaping their lives.
- Chosen families are evolving but remain a cherished—and vital—lifeline for many. Mention "communal living" and the image that may spring to mind is the free-love, back-to-the-earth hippy communes of the 1960s, complete with bandannas and fringed suede vests. But communal living is once again very much part of the zeitgeist—albeit with a very different look.
- More and more people are turning to AI chatbots as if they were close friends—venting about personal struggles, asking for advice, and even sharing their deepest secrets. These conversations can feel strikingly real, with some users saying they're indistinguishable from chatting with a human. However, while exchanges with AI can offer a quick emotional boost, it's still unclear whether they genuinely ease loneliness over time. In a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers set out to ask a bigger question: can AI chatbots truly provide the kind of long-term emotional support we get from real […]
- Computer simulations can help people gain a better understanding of the situation faced by migrants. This is shown by a new study in which 148 teenagers were assigned random migration pathways, with different start and end points. Along the way, they encountered unforeseen events that affected their journey. Experiences from the game led to a partial shift in attitudes toward migration.
- In recent decades, income and wealth disparities have widened significantly in many European countries. At the same time, support for populist parties has grown. Previous studies have already pointed out that rising inequality may be contributing to the growth of populist movements. But how can this correlation be explained? Why are more and more people turning to populist parties?
- As interest in structured mountain adventure continues to surge across Europe and North America, a new study led by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland and Lakehead University provides the first comprehensive scoping review and research agenda dedicated specifically to Via Ferrata tourism and recreation.
- You check your credit score before applying for an apartment. Your fitness watch tells you whether you slept well enough. A workplace dashboard measures your productivity. Parents can buy devices that track their baby's breathing and heart rate while they sleep.
- Inequality in wealth between men and women has not always received the same attention as similar disparities in employment and earnings. This is perhaps because wealth—things like property, savings and investments—is seen as a private matter. This issue has become known as the "gender wealth gap" and it is a damaging and persistent feature of the economy.
- With 76% of adults now reporting stress levels that impede daily function, a new Cornell study points to a low-cost intervention hiding in plain sight: nature. The study, published in March 2026 in ScienceDirect, found that changes or improvements in workplace policy, culture and outdoor amenities could facilitate more time outdoors to aid well-being for staff at large organizations like universities.
- According to research published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media, if you want to attract more interest on dating apps, don't just list your best qualities in your profile—instead, tell a story about your life. Dating profiles that tell a story create empathy and connection and attract more interest from potential dates,
- Medieval manuscripts, paintings and chess sets reveal that the so-called "game of kings" defied social structures and racial attitudes by celebrating the intellectual prowess of winners irrespective of their skin color.
- Jurors grappling with complex legal jargon are more likely to vote guilty while coming away less confident in their own performance and the judicial system, according to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research.
- Heavy social media use contributes to a stark decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday.
- Panic buying doesn't just respond to shortages—it creates them. And according to a University of the Sunshine Coast behavioral scientist, the lessons learned during COVID-19 remain critical for preventing future buying frenzies.
- Research by Cardiff University has found that playing with Barbie dolls can help reach key milestones in developing empathy and social understanding during childhood. Doll play was found to be beneficial for both boys and girls, and is particularly valuable for those experiencing problems with their peers. The work appears in PLOS One.
- If you've watched popular movies or television shows in the last decade, there's a good chance you've found an Easter egg or two: not an actual brightly colored egg but a subtle reference to another movie or story in the form of a character in the background or object that also appears in other stories. While fan discussions abound online about what such clues might represent, little research has examined which types of fans are most likely to find them and whether they influence enjoyment.
- Whether you're striding with purpose, swaggering with confidence, or trudging slowly along the street, the way you walk can reveal how you're feeling, according to new research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. We already know that some features of our gait can reflect our emotional state, such as heavy steps conveying anger and slumped shoulders indicating sadness. However, researchers led by Mina Wakabayashi at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Japan and her colleagues sought to determine whether there is a specific, coordinated movement pattern that reliably signals these emotional states.
- Young people around the world are increasingly suffering from anxiety disorders. A team from the Mental Health Research and Treatment Center (FBZ) at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has investigated how this development correlates to changes in societal expectations and values in education. The researchers were able to show that religious belief plays a key role in protecting the mental health of children and adolescents. Countries where religiosity has lost significance exhibit a relatively high increase in the incidence of anxiety disorders, as the researchers report in the journal Developmental Science from February 11, 2026.
- Each March, many of the country's most selective colleges and universities release their admissions decisions, reviving debates over the roles of race, wealth and privilege—and putting Americans' cultural obsession with rankings back in the spotlight.
- It's called the infinite scroll—a design feature on social media, shopping, video and many other apps that continuously loads content as you reach the bottom of the page. Handy? Yes. Clever? Also yes. Devious? Very much so. The infinite scroll is likely the main reason you find it so hard to stop scrolling once you begin.
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