Author: dispatchtimes news

A new study from Villanova University finds that young adults high in neuroticism report sleeping less, even though a wrist-worn sleep monitor shows no corresponding drop in actual sleep. The research, published in Personality and Individual Differences, compared self-reported sleep with actigraphy in the same group of participants to explore this discrepancy. Neuroticism, a trait linked to a propensity for negative emotions such as worry and distress, has long been associated with shorter sleep in self-reports. By contrast, prior work using actigraphy—an objective sleep estimate based on movement—has often failed to reproduce the same link. The new study sought to…

A long-term secondary analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative dietary modification randomized clinical trial has found that a low-fat dietary pattern—higher in fruits, vegetables and whole grains—did not lower the risk of dementia-related death among postmenopausal women. The research, conducted in the United States and published in the journal Menopause, followed 48,835 participants aged 50 to 79 who joined the study between 1993 and 1998. Participants were randomised to either an intensive dietary intervention aimed at reducing fat intake to 20% of daily calories or to a comparison group receiving standard health information. Nutritionists guided the intervention for a median…

A six-month longitudinal study led by Helle B. Krogh at the Sexology Clinic of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark has found that mood symptoms in people newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder closely track changes in sexual desire and sexual distress. The 236 participants, aged 18 to 68, were assessed at baseline, three months and six months, with depressive and manic symptoms rated during clinic visits and daily mood logged via a smartphone app called Monsenso. Analysis showed depressive symptoms were linked to lower desire and higher distress, with these associations persisting after adjusting for age and sex. Women generally reported…

A new study suggests that individuals who score highly on antagonistic narcissism are more likely to endorse illegal and violent actions in the abortion debate on both sides of the U.S. divide, according to researchers Ann Krispenz and Alex Bertrams of the University of Bern. The work uses a framework they call the Dark-Ego-Vehicle Principle to explain why some people join movements as vehicles for aggression rather than out of conviction about the issue itself. The researchers describe the dark-ego-vehicle principle (DEVP) as positing that people with socially aversive traits participate in activism to satisfy ego-focused needs, such as aggression,…

A new study published in Evolution and Human Behavior argues that intelligence may raise a person’s standing within a group mainly by enabling them to provide useful mental services to others. In a laboratory experiment with university students, those with higher cognitive test scores devised better solutions to a group planning puzzle, and those who proposed superior solutions received more respect from a partner after a brief exchange. The researchers describe the findings as early support for the Coalitional Intelligence Hypothesis, which posits that human intelligence evolved partly as a way to earn status by helping one’s group achieve shared…

A new study published in Social Forces suggests that as traditional religious affiliations decline in the United States, belief in the supernatural is not disappearing but taking more personalised forms of magic. The researchers find that people who prioritise secular reasoning and science over religious authority can still hold magical or superstitious beliefs, so long as they retain some connection to a religious tradition. The work is led by Paul Froese of Baylor University, with Isaiah King of Carson-Newman University and Ruiqian Li of American University, and draws on data from the 2025 Baylor Religion Survey, a nationally representative poll…

A new qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with 31 heterosexual men has found that many of them experience sex primarily as a source of anxiety, vigilance and shame, rather than pleasure. The researchers, led by Jossy Forrest, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, say the findings hint at a generation navigating consent education and social scrutiny in a climate shaped by #MeToo, online dating and changing norms around intimacy. The project, published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, draws on interviews with men who grew up amid heightened attention to sexual consent. It suggests that…

A new academic study analysing six books written by figures who later held top roles in Donald Trump’s governing coalition finds a striking, shared rhetorical toolkit. The research argues that these authors lean heavily on war, decline, disease and betrayal as metaphors, with domestic enemies framed as the primary threat rather than foreign adversaries. Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the study examined full-length books written before their authors joined public office, including Hillbilly Elegy by Vice-President J. D. Vance; Decades of Decadence by Secretary of State Marco Rubio; For Love of Country by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; Battle…

A new analysis of more than 183,000 American adults over 11 years finds that higher daily social media use is consistently linked to a greater likelihood of self‑reported depression. Using machine learning to examine demographic and media habits from 2014 to 2024, researchers report that social media use sits among the strongest predictors of depression, with risk rising notably once daily use crosses about two and a half hours. The study, published in npj Mental Health Research, suggests the connection extends beyond teenagers and has persisted as digital habits have evolved. Social media refers to online platforms designed for interpersonal…