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

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Jul-2025 12:10 ET (26-Jul-2025 16:10 GMT/UTC)

6-Apr-2025

Young females more likely to experience higher social anxiety due to excessive smartphone use than other genders

European Psychiatric Association
Reports and Proceedings

A new study presented today at the European Psychiatric Association Congress 2025 reveals that gender plays a significant role in excessive and problematic (psychological or behavioural dependence)1 smartphone use, with young females more likely to experience higher social anxiety than other genders. In the study, it was also found that gender was significantly linked to the amount of time spent using smartphones and the fear of being judged negatively by others online.

4-Apr-2025

Study assesses U.S. image amid weakening of democracy

Dartmouth College
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of researchers from Dartmouth, the Australian National University, and Florida State University set out to examine how democratic backsliding in the U.S. may affect people's views toward the U.S. Through a series of survey experiments conducted in 2023 and 2024—all before Donald Trump won a second term in office—they obtained data from more than 11,800 participants in 12 other democracies throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The findings are published in PNAS Nexus.

Journal: PNAS Nexus

4-Apr-2025

Political beliefs affect patients’ trust in doctors, study finds

University of Oregon
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Democrats are more likely to trust their personal doctors and follow their doctors’ advice than Republicans, new research from the University of Oregon finds.

Journal: British Journal of Political Science

4-Apr-2025

Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Wildfire smoke exposure was associated with significantly increased odds of subsequent emergency department visits for mental health conditions in this cross-sectional study, with varying lag times for different subconditions and demographic groups. Health care professionals and systems should prepare for a possible increase in demand for mental health–related emergency services during wildfire events.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

4-Apr-2025

A research team from the UJI tests how the brain uses context boundaries to guide decision-making in both spatial and abstract environaments

Universitat Jaume I
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The DAM-Decision and Memory group at Universitat Jaume I in Castelló, led by Raphael Kaplan and composed of researchers from Spain, Italy and the United States, has recently published the results of two studies that provide new insights into human brain behaviour in everyday activities such as decision-making and social interaction.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Generalitat Valenciana, Universitat Jaume I, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain)

4-Apr-2025

Fear of rejection influences how children conform to peers

University of Georgia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This fear of rejection — familiar to many children and adults — can significantly impact how kids behave in their peer groups, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

Journal: The Journal of Early Adolescence

3-Apr-2025

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Grant and Award Announcement

The American Society for Nutrition, or ASN, and the ASN Foundation announced the distinguished recipients of the 2025 National Scientific Achievement Awards today. Recognizing outstanding contributions and pioneering advancements in the field of nutrition, these awards serve as a testament to excellence and innovation.

Among the honorees is Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Dr. Leanne Redman, who received the E. V. McCollum Award – given to a clinical investigator who is perceived as a major creative force, actively generating new concepts in nutrition and personally seeing to the execution of studies testing the validity of these concepts.