Relationships and Sexual Health

Could mindfulness influence sexual behavior? For women with dramatic mood shifts, a lack of self-awareness is associated with a greater number of sexual partners, new research indicates.

Individuals who use playfulness in relationships tend to experience fewer attachment insecurities and less emotional jealousy. However, a penchant for unconventional playfulness is linked to increased cognitive and behavioral jealousy.

Are manipulative, narcissistic, and callous personalities truly attractive, or is their allure a myth? A recent study explores how Dark Triad traits influence mate selection, revealing whether these traits enhance short-term desirability.

New research challenges fears that antidepressants dull passion. In a large international survey, young adults on these medications experienced the same intensity, obsession, and commitment of love as their unmedicated peers.

Masculine-identifying lesbians have higher testosterone levels than feminine-identifying lesbians and heterosexual women, a new study finds. However, a commonly used marker of prenatal testosterone, finger length ratio, showed no differences between the groups, sparking further questions about hormones and sexuality.

Do warmth and closeness outweigh passion in open relationships? A new study explores the link between nurturance, eroticism, and relationship satisfaction, revealing intriguing differences between monogamous and consensually non-monogamous couples.

Researchers used eye-tracking to analyze how men and women view female buttocks. Both genders focused most on the intergluteal cleft, but significant differences emerged in their gaze patterns across other regions.

A vast, 90-country study reveals romantic love is globally vital for long-term relationships, especially for women, those with lower socioeconomic status, and people in developed nations. This supports the idea that love evolved as a commitment tool for relationships.

Unmarried individuals have a higher risk of depressive symptoms across countries, with greater risk in Western nations, males, and those with higher education. Alcohol consumption and smoking partially mediated this risk in certain populations.

Higher attachment avoidance in parents correlated with lower sexual satisfaction for themselves. Notably, fathers' attachment avoidance also reduced mothers' sexual satisfaction. However, increased parenting stress in fathers weakened this negative impact, suggesting stress might overshadow attachment issues in high-stress parenting.

Lonely individuals underestimate how much their loved ones care, leading to lower relationship satisfaction and reinforcing loneliness. This negative bias persists across relationships and time, fostering a cycle of loneliness despite actual partner support.

The female orgasm remains a complex and underexplored phenomenon, closely tied to well-being and relationship satisfaction. A new study investigates whether the way women perceive and connect with their own bodily sensations might hold the key to more fulfilling sexual...

Do people’s preferences for a partner’s age stay the same throughout life, or do they shift as they grow older? A new study analyzing data from 29 countries explores how age gaps in relationships evolve over time.

Childhood maltreatment alone showed no effect on hippocampal size, but individuals with maltreatment and a romantic breakup had smaller hippocampal volumes, highlighting how later-life stress can exacerbate early trauma's impact on brain structure.

Shared reality in romantic relationships reduces uncertainty and enhances meaning in life and work, providing clarity and purpose through a co-constructed understanding of the world, independent of general relationship satisfaction.