The Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR) archives materials older than three years that are no longer updated. This content is available for historical purposes, and the information and links may have changed over time.
The link between social relationships and health has long been established in the U.S. and other high-income countries. Much less is known, however, about this association in other parts of the world. In a recent study published in the Journals of Ge…
We have all experienced stress at some point in time. For brief periods of stress, we may figure out a temporary way to cope which would limit the impact of the stressor on our health. However, stress that is brought on by taxing life events that acc…
Despite being 900 million strong, rural residents in China remain an extremely understudied and underserved population in many aspects, including alcohol use and alcoholism prevention.
Although many people think of aggression as a negative or undesirable emotion, it is a normal part of many species’ repertoire of social behaviors. In fact, aggressive behaviors typically serve an adaptive function—these purposeful and controlled beh…
Most people are unaware that tooth decay is the most common global disease. Children with untreated tooth decay frequently have toothaches, miss school and perform poorly in class, and are even hospitalized to receive extensive dental treatment.
Social pensions are designed to provide the elderly population—especially those with low lifetime incomes—a basic protection against poverty in old age.
Given the epidemic of childhood obesity and the relationship between weight status and physical activity, understanding children’s physical activity behaviors is of particular public health interest. Also of interest is understanding the factors that…
Imagine you are standing in line and suddenly feel someone push you from behind. How would you react? You might turn around, focus on the person, assess their likely intent, and then choose from a set of potential responses based on your prior experi…
“We set out to do this study because we knew we had the only reliable information on both the spread of Zika and the rising number of requested abortions in Latin America,” explained Dr. James Trussell, faculty at Princeton University’s Office of Pop…
