Sociology News and Research

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Can't help being the life of the party?

Maybe you were just born that way. Researchers from Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego have found that our place in a social network is influenced in part by our genes, according to new findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jan 2009

A child's perspective on divorce

New evidence on how children are encouraged to discuss their own experiences of divorce will be presented at an inaugural lecture at the University of Leicester.

27 Jan 2009

Study examines how women's magazines portray cosmetic surgery

While the emotional health implications of cosmetic surgery are still up for scientific debate, articles in women's magazines such as The Oprah Magazine and Cosmopolitan portray cosmetic surgery as a physically risky, but overall worthwhile option for enhancing physical appearance and emotional health, a UBC study has found.

12 Dec 2008

Study looks at amount of time single mothers are able to give their children

"Time poor" single mothers come surprisingly close in the number of hours they spend caring for their children compared to married mothers, and the difference is explained almost entirely by socio-economic factors and the kind of jobs they hold, say University of Maryland sociologists in a new study.

25 Nov 2008

Pollution comes home and gets personal: Women's experience of household chemical exposure

Although Americans are becoming increasingly aware of toxic chemical exposure from everyday household products like bisphenol A in some baby bottles and lead in some toys, women do not readily connect typical household products with personal chemical exposure and related adverse health effects, according to research from the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

21 Nov 2008

Women experience more harassment in work groups with male-female balance

Despite common assumptions, new research suggests that women are not more likely to be sexually harassed when they are the minority or majority in a work group.

12 Nov 2008

Racial convergence in cigarette use from adolescence to the mid-thirties

African-Americans are much less likely to smoke than whites are during their teens.

10 Nov 2008

Number of custodial grandparents in U.S. has nearly doubled since 1970

Precautionary health measures such as mammograms and cholesterol tests that identify the risk of heart disease are critical for the well-being of women over 50.

7 Nov 2008

Mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight

A mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight in low income households with sufficient food, according to a new Iowa State University study published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the professional journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

9 Sep 2008

International experts to address the issues of ageing

The key challenges facing our ageing world will be addressed by international experts in Bristol this week.

3 Sep 2008

Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale reports WHO's Commission

A child born in a Glasgow, Scotland suburb can expect a life 28 years shorter than another living only 13 kilometres away. A girl in Lesotho is likely to live 42 years less than another in Japan. In Sweden, the risk of a woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 17 400; in Afghanistan, the odds are 1 in 8. Biology does not explain any of this. Instead, the differences between - and within - countries result from the social environment where people are born, live, grow, work and age.

28 Aug 2008

Sexual dysfunction among older adults

Sexual dysfunction is not an inevitable part of aging, but it is strongly related a number of factors, such as mental and physical health, demographics and lifetime experiences, many of which are interrelated, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago.

13 Aug 2008

Encouraging marriage in order to promote health may be misguided

The health of people who never marry is improving, narrowing the gap with their wedded counterparts, according to new research that suggests the practice of encouraging marriage to promote health may be misguided.

11 Aug 2008

Energy drinks associated with risk-taking behaviors among college students

Over the last decade, energy drinks -- such as Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar -- have become nearly ubiquitous on college campuses. The global market for these types of drinks currently exceeds $3 billion a year and new products are introduced annually.

24 Jul 2008

Few employers addressing employees' obesity despite increasing costs

Obesity rates in the U.S. are driving up costs for employers that provide health insurance to workers, but few companies have introduced programs intended to curb the trend, the New York Times reports.

25 Jun 2008

School-based HIV/AIDS education program in Bali hampered by low participation, program organizer says

A school-based HIV/AIDS education program in Bali, Indonesia, is being hampered by low participation from schools on the island, Oka Negara, an organizer for the program, said Monday, the Jakarta Post reports. "Most schools are hampered by financial problems," Negara said, adding, "They can't finance the program."

8 Jun 2008

Sugar-sweetened beverages may be contributing to increasing obesity rates

A recent study published in Pediatrics and led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are an increasingly large part of children and teens' diets.

2 Jun 2008

Smoking is addictive, but quitting is contagious

Over the last 30 years, the number of smokers in the U.S. has steadily decreased-a tribute to the efforts of public-health workers everywhere. And while this fact is unarguable, less obvious are the social and cultural forces that lead an individual to kick the habit. In fact, when someone crumbles that last empty pack of their favorite unfiltered brand and vows to never buy another, he might not realize that he is less like the heroic individual grasping his own boot straps and more like a single bird whose sudden left turn is just one speck in the larger flock.

21 May 2008

Aging brings ease and contentment

Aging brings a sense of peace and calm, according to a new study from the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Starting at about age 60, participants reported more feelings of ease and contentment than their younger counterparts.

19 May 2008

Despondent nurse practitioners - disabling postmodern punishment

The essence of postmodernism theme is that of an epochal shift, discontinuity, or rupture with modernity, bringing new social conditions and sociological principles with it (Baudrillard, 1988). Postmodernism views that the authority and status of the medical professionals does not exist anymore in the area of health care consistent with the postmodern message about the deconstruction of traditional centers of postindustrial authority (Cockerham et.al, 1997).

19 May 2008