Social Studies

New research from the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program finds racial and ethnic differences in how extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) are perceived and used in California. The study, published in Preventive Medicine, found Black Californians perceived ERPOs as less appropriate and were less willing to ask a judge... Read more

Over the last few years, the pandemic has forced most of us to stay home in our own neighborhoods. New research from Michigan State University found that for some groups of people, spending time in their neighborhoods is no block party.... Read more

Even though it reaches deep into human history, hazing remains a puzzling behavior for social scientists. Why would people systematically abuse their own future allies by making them participate in extremely unpleasant group initiation practices?... Read more

A new, international analysis links belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories to a lower tendency to support and participate in public health efforts to mitigate spread; however, people's sense of morality appears to weaken this link. Theofilos Gkinopoulos of the University of Crete, Greece, and colleagues present these findings in the... Read more

The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School has released a new report finding that Harris County, Texas's targeted misdemeanor bail reforms are improving public safety and keeping low-level cases out of jail.... Read more

In the 1990s, changes in violent crime rates, social and political unrest directed at law enforcement, and technological innovations set the stage for major changes in administering criminal justice. Several innovative approaches to policing were tested, seeking to take tougher, smarter, more focused approaches to gun violence, gang crime, open... Read more

Pregnant women continue to be sacked, demoted and discriminated against in the workplace despite laws designed to protect them, Monash University research shows.... Read more

A 'network state' is ideologically aligned but geographically decentralized. The people are spread around the world in clusters of varying size, but their hearts are in one place.... Read more

Hundreds of young children in the United States are expelled or suspended daily from child care and preschool classrooms at a rate nearly three times that of kindergarten through 12th-grade students.... Read more

Early childhood is a critical period for language development. For children with complex communication needs, support and training during this period of life can be essential for the development of effective communication skills. Unfortunately, the services that children need may not be available to everyone equally. New research led by... Read more

For many young people, retirement is a blip on the radar, if not a total unknown. This is particularly true during our cost of living crisis, when investing and contributing more to your pension might fall down the priority list behind paying rent.... Read more

Almost everyone who's moved house has a story to tell—the truck was too small, the power got cut off too soon, the cat got lost on the day. Moving house can be stressful, but the better prepared you are, the higher the chances you'll enjoy the result.... Read more

When children develop the ability to understand language, as well as speak and communicate, this helps them interact with others and learn about their world. Research shows that children's early language skills have a long reach in affecting later life outcomes.... Read more

When people talk about poverty in the United States, most talk about income. But income is just half of the story, says Christina Gibson-Davis, a professor of public policy and sociology at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy and an affiliate of Center for Child and Family Policy.... Read more

A new study suggests that when deciding whether to believe in a conspiracy theory or not, the brain weighs up information from our own direct experience, what the media tells us, the expected cost or reward to us in believing the theory, and our prior views. The study is published... Read more