EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-Aug-2025 14:11 ET (5-Aug-2025 18:11 GMT/UTC)

No one to play with? UCLA’s PEERS for Preschoolers program is changing that

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Business Announcement

The PEERS for Preschoolers program, developed at UCLA by Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, is now one of the only evidence-based solutions designed to help young children (ages 4–6) on the autism spectrum to learn the fundamental skills needed to form lasting friendships. And the world is taking notice.

Global study finds political left more trusting of climate scientists than right

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A sweeping 26-country study reveals a consistent gap in trust toward climate scientists based on political ideology, with right-leaning individuals reporting lower trust than their left-leaning counterparts. The divide is especially stark in wealthier democracies and English-speaking nations, according to the research, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. The findings expand on past studies focused primarily on Western, English-speaking contexts.

Journal: Journal of Environmental Psychology

New study reveals striking differences in life expectancy across U.S. states

Yale University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New Haven, Conn. — A sweeping new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) reveals stark disparities in life expectancy across U.S. states and Washington, D.C. over the past century – offering new insights into how a region’s public health policies, social conditions, and environmental factors can shape people’s lifespans.

Analyzing more than 179 million deaths between 1969 and 2020, the multi-institutional research team traced life expectancy trends by birth cohort — a more precise measure for following the life experiences of a population than traditional year-by-year summaries of mortality, which represent a mix of many generations.

The study, which appears in JAMA Network Open, found that some states saw dramatic gains in life expectancy, while others, particularly in the U.S. South, experienced little or no improvement over an entire century.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Eating disorders: The hidden health crisis on college campuses

Washington University in St. Louis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis led a study of nearly 30,000 students that shatters misconceptions about eating disorders, a common and misunderstood condition.

Journal: International Journal of Eating Disorders

First-of-its-kind MSU study links problematic social media use to belief in fake news

Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A first-of-its-kind study from researchers at Michigan State University reveals that individuals who experience the most distress and impairment in daily functioning from social media use are more likely to believe fake news.

Journal: PLOS One

After global catastrophe, urban and near-urban farming could be sufficient to sustain mid-size cities

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study suggests that, in the case of global catastrophe, urban agriculture alone could sustain only about one fifth of the population of a temperate, median-sized city, but the whole city could be fed by also farming land within a short distance of the urban area. Matt Boyd of Adapt Research Ltd, New Zealand, and Nick Wilson of the University of Otago, New Zealand, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on May 7, 2025.

Journal: PLOS One

Dementia rates in China are rising disproportionately

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The burden of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in China is higher than in most countries and increasing at a faster rate than the global average, according to a new study published May 7, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Siyu Liu and Daoying Geng of Fudan University, China.

Journal: PLOS One