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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News Daily Digest (Unofficial)</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/antidepressant-effects-of-psychedelics-may-be-overstated-in-some-clinical-trials/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Antidepressant effects of psychedelics may be overstated in some clinical trials</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 16th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A meta-analysis of studies examining the antidepressant effects of psychedelics has found that the strength of these effects depends heavily on the design of the study. For example, studies that used active drugs as a placebo did not report antidepressant effects, while those comparing psychedelic treatments to waitlist control groups typically reported large effects. The study was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.10.016"><em>Journal of Affective Disorders</em></a>.</p>
<p>Psychedelics are a class of psychoactive substances known for producing profound changes in perception, mood, and cognition. These substances primarily act on serotonin receptors in the brain. Common psychedelics include LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms), DMT (dimethyltryptamine), and mescaline (a compound derived from peyote and other cacti).</p>
<p>Scientific interest in psychedelics peaked in the 1950s and 1960s, but legal restrictions imposed in the late 1960s halted most research. In recent years, however, interest has resurged, with studies investigating the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for mental health conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety—particularly anxiety related to terminal illness.</p>
<p>According to study author Jia-Ru Li and colleagues, research on the antidepressant effects of psychedelics has yielded mixed results. While some studies report strong antidepressant effects, others find no effect at all. The researchers hypothesized that this inconsistency might be explained by differences in study design, especially in how the psychedelic treatment was compared to control conditions. To test this hypothesis, they conducted a meta-analysis.</p>
<p>The researchers searched several clinical trial databases for studies that evaluated the antidepressant effects of psychedelic drugs in adults diagnosed with depression or with a life-threatening illness accompanied by depressive symptoms. Eligible studies had to use standardized, validated rating scales to measure depressive symptoms.</p>
<p>The analysis considered five types of study designs:</p>
<ul>
<li>Studies using a non-active drug as a placebo (a non-psychedelic substance with no antidepressant properties);</li>
<li>Studies using an active drug as a placebo (typically very low doses of psychedelics);</li>
<li>Pre-post studies without a control group, comparing participants’ depressive symptoms before and after treatment;</li>
<li>Studies using a waitlist control group, where control participants receive the treatment at a later time;</li>
<li>Fixed-order designs, in which participants first receive a placebo (without knowing it is a placebo) and then receive the psychedelic treatment in a subsequent phase.</li>
</ul>
<p>The final analysis included 21 studies: 11 tested the effects of psilocybin, 5 examined MDMA, 3 studied ayahuasca, and 2 assessed LSD.</p>
<p>The results showed that the apparent antidepressant effects of psychedelics varied depending on the type of study design. Studies that used a non-active placebo reported large or medium antidepressant effects for psilocybin and MDMA.</p>
<p>In contrast, studies that used an active placebo reported no antidepressant effects. Studies without control groups and those with waitlist controls also reported large effects for psilocybin. Studies on ayahuasca showed large antidepressant effects, while LSD showed notable effects only in the study using a non-active placebo.</p>
<p>“The antidepressant effects of psychedelics may be overestimated in studies with pre-post single-arm, non-active drugs as placebo, and waitlist-control designs. Restricted sample size, difficulty with establishing blinding for participants, and over expectancy limit the estimation of the antidepressant effect of psychedelic-assisted therapy,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study sheds light on possible factors producing the discrepancies in reported antidepressant effects of psychedelics. However, it should be noted that the number of studies included in this meta-analysis is relatively small given the number of psychedelics examined and the number of different study designs. This is especially the case for ayahuasca and LSD.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.10.016">The association between study design and antidepressant effects in psychedelic-assisted therapy: A meta-analysis,</a>” was authored by Jia-Ru Li, Kuo-Tung Chiang, Yu-Chen Kao, Chia-Ling Yu, Fu-Chi Yang, Chih-Sung Liang, and Tien-Wei Hsu.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/political-lies-have-a-pattern-and-radical-right-populist-parties-are-leading-the-charge/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Political lies have a pattern — and radical-right populist parties are leading the charge</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 16th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241311886" target="_blank">The International Journal of Press/Politics</a></em> suggests that political misinformation on social media is not a widespread product of all ideological camps or populist movements, but is instead disproportionately linked to radical-right populist parties. The researchers, based at the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, analyzed over 32 million tweets from parliamentarians in 26 countries over a six-year period and found that radical-right populists are significantly more likely to share misinformation than their mainstream or left-wing counterparts.</p>
<p>The study was motivated by a shift in the academic understanding of misinformation. While early work focused heavily on the viral spread of low-quality information on social media platforms, more recent attention has turned toward the role of political elites. Politicians, particularly those with large platforms and loyal followers, have the ability to influence public opinion and shape discourse—making their online behavior a critical area of study. Yet, until now, there was limited cross-national evidence connecting political ideology to the spread of misinformation by elected officials.</p>
<p>“Misinformation is one of the most widely researched societal phenomena of our era, and is often seen as a severe threat to societal and democratic institutions. Yet, the drivers of the rise in misinformation remain contested,” explained study author Petter Törnberg, an associate professor at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation and co-author of <a href="http://www.seeinglikeastate.com" target="_blank">Seeing like a Platform: An Inquiry into the Condition of Digital Modernity</a>. </p>
<p>“My coauthor and I realized we had something to contribute here. She is comparative political scientist, and I’m a computational social scientist. By combining our two approaches, we could study misinformation through a novel lens: as a political phenomenon and expression of party politics.”</p>
<p>Törnberg and his co-author Juliana Chueri assembled a massive database containing tweets from 8,198 parliamentarians across 26 democracies, including countries like Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The tweets, spanning from 2017 to 2022, included more than 18 million shared URLs. To identify misinformation, the team cross-referenced these links with two established databases: Media Bias/Fact Check and the Wikipedia Fake News list. These sources rate the factual reliability of media outlets on a scale from “very low” to “very high.”</p>
<p>From this, the researchers developed a “factuality score” for each political party, representing the average reliability of the sources their members shared. A low score indicated that a party’s members frequently shared links to unreliable or misleading sources. The team also gathered detailed information on each party’s ideological position using existing political science datasets, capturing whether a party leaned left or right, whether it embraced populist rhetoric, and whether it participated in government.</p>
<p>The central finding was that political ideology alone—or populism alone—did not predict whether a party would spread misinformation. Rather, it was the interaction of right-wing ideology and populist rhetoric that made a party more likely to share low-factuality content. Parties with high populism scores and a right-wing orientation were far more likely to disseminate misinformation than any other group. By contrast, left-wing populist parties and mainstream conservative or progressive parties did not show elevated levels of misinformation sharing.</p>
<p>While populism typically involves a distrust of elites and media, only its radical-right form was associated with low-factuality information sharing. Left-wing populists, who tend to focus on economic inequality and critique corporate power rather than cultural or national identity, did not engage in misinformation to the same extent.</p>
<p>“We were expecting misinformation to be linked to both left and right-wing populism. We however found that only radical right populism is predictive of misinformation spreading.”</p>
<p>This relationship held even after accounting for other factors like party cohesion, leadership style, and whether a party was in government or opposition. The study’s multilevel statistical models controlled for differences across countries, reinforcing the robustness of the findings.</p>
<p>One of the clearest illustrations came from the analysis of “party families” — political parties that share similar ideological foundations. Radical-right parties stood out with the lowest median factuality scores, significantly below those of socialist, green, liberal, and Christian democratic parties. Even when compared to other conservative parties, radical-right groups were far more likely to share links from sources known to publish misleading or false information.</p>
<p>The researchers argue that this pattern reflects the strategic use of misinformation as a political tool. Radical-right populists often seek to undermine trust in established institutions, including the media and the electoral system. By spreading misinformation, they can reinforce narratives of elite corruption, cultural threat, and institutional failure—ideas that are central to their political appeal. These tactics are especially effective in an attention-driven media environment, where provocative content is rewarded with engagement.</p>
<p>Importantly, the study emphasizes that this is not just a case of individual politicians behaving irresponsibly. Rather, it points to a structural alignment between radical-right populist ideology and the incentives of the digital media landscape. Misinformation becomes part of the broader political strategy, used to mobilize supporters, discredit opponents, and dominate media coverage.</p>
<p>“I think there’s a common understanding of misinformation as just an expression of our current media ecosystem: the quality of information is declining due to social media. Our study shows that this might not be the right way to think about misinformation. Instead, it appears to be a political phenomenon – linked to the rise of radical right populist politicians during the last decade, who are drawing on misinformation as a political strategy.”</p>
<p>Despite its scope and insights, the study is not without limitations. It only covers content shared on Twitter between 2017 and 2022, and future research will be needed to examine newer platforms and more recent trends. The analysis also focuses on shared URLs rather than the content of tweet texts themselves, potentially missing other forms of misinformation. Additionally, while the study included a diverse set of Western democracies, it does not provide insights into how misinformation operates in non-Western or authoritarian contexts.</p>
<p>Still, the findings open the door for a new approach to studying misinformation—not just as a media or technology problem, but as a phenomenon embedded in party politics. By making their data publicly available, the researchers hope to encourage future work that further explores the role of ideology, party strategy, and global political dynamics in the spread of false information.</p>
<p>Ultimately, this research reframes the conversation around misinformation. Rather than treating it as an unfortunate byproduct of social media, the findings suggest that misinformation is often a deliberate and calculated political tactic.</p>
<p>“We hope to establish a comparative approach to studying misinformation, in which we develop an understanding of misinformation as inextricably interlinked with political parties and movements. To address the caveats mentioned above, we are currently working on a larger-scale project, in which we study misinformation spread from virtually all the political parties in the world and use AI-techniques to identify misinformation and misleading information. We believe this will give us a much richer understanding of the global architecture of political misinformation.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241311886" target="_blank">When Do Parties Lie? Misinformation and Radical-Right Populism Across 26 Countries</a>,” was published January 13, 2025.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/neuroscientists-use-ai-to-uncover-distinct-brain-networks-linked-to-narcissism-and-machiavellianism/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Neuroscientists use AI to uncover distinct brain networks linked to narcissism and Machiavellianism</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 16th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in the <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16674" target="_blank">European Journal of Neuroscience</a></em> has found that certain personality traits associated with the so-called Dark Triad are linked to specific patterns in brain structure. Using a machine learning approach to analyze brain scans, the researchers discovered that these traits are associated with different brain networks involved in reward processing, social reasoning, and executive control. While narcissism was linked to reduced brain concentration in reward-related areas, Machiavellianism showed an opposite pattern in brain regions associated with strategic thinking.</p>
<p>The Dark Triad refers to a group of personality traits that share features like manipulation, a lack of empathy, and disregard for others, but each also has distinct features. Narcissism is characterized by inflated self-importance and a need for admiration. Machiavellianism reflects manipulative, strategic, and often cynical behavior. Psychopathy involves emotional coldness, impulsivity, and antisocial tendencies. These traits have been linked to social and interpersonal problems, but scientists have long debated how they relate to the brain. The new study sought to clarify whether structural patterns in the brain could offer insights into how these traits develop and manifest.</p>
<p>“In recent years, societal changes—particularly the rise of individualism, social media culture, and increased polarization—have coincided with what seems to be a growth in behaviors associated with the Dark Triad traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy),” said study author Richard Bakiaj, a psychologist and doctoral student working in the <a href="https://r.unitn.it/en/dipsco/clian" target="_blank">Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab</a> at the University of Trento.</p>
<p>“Given the significant social, economic, and psychological costs these traits impose, understanding their origins and neural underpinnings could provide crucial insights. By exploring the biological foundations alongside psychological and social factors, we aim not only to better grasp why these traits manifest, but also to inform more targeted prediction, prevention, and rehabilitation strategies, especially for individuals at risk of developing severe antisocial or pathological behaviors.”</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed brain scans from 201 adults, nearly evenly split by gender and averaging 32 years old. The participants completed a psychological questionnaire measuring each of the three Dark Triad traits. The team then used a machine learning technique called transposed independent vector analysis, or tIVA, to identify distinct networks in the brain’s grey and white matter—two types of tissue responsible for processing and transmitting information, respectively.</p>
<p>Rather than focusing on single brain regions, the tIVA algorithm identified 15 large-scale brain networks based on how different regions covary across individuals. Four of these networks were found to be associated with overall Dark Triad scores. One of these networks involved areas commonly linked to reward and motivation, such as the thalamus, caudate nucleus, prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex. </p>
<p>Another involved regions associated with executive control, such as parts of the prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex. A third network included areas in the default mode network, which plays a role in self-reflection and social reasoning. The fourth included regions in the visual system, primarily located in the occipital and temporal lobes.</p>
<p>“The involvement of areas typically linked to the visual cortex was particularly unexpected and intriguing,” Bakiaj told PsyPost. “Based on theoretical support from previous research—that individuals high in psychopathy might have an imbalance between posterior (visual) and anterior (frontal) brain areas, potentially favoring visual processing regions, we speculate that individuals high in psychopathic traits might effectively process social cues visually, yet fail to engage the emotional or cognitive processes needed for appropriate social behavior. This could partly explain why people high in psychopathy can often remain detached, engaging in antisocial or reckless behaviors without fully grasping their emotional impact on others.”</p>
<p>Upon closer examination, the researchers found distinct associations between two of these networks and specific traits. The network related to reward processing showed a negative association with narcissism. In other words, people with higher narcissism scores tended to show reduced grey and white matter concentration in this network. The default mode network showed a positive association with Machiavellianism, with higher levels of the trait linked to increased concentration in these areas.</p>
<p>These findings suggest that narcissism may be associated with diminished structure in brain regions that help regulate emotional rewards and self-esteem. Previous research has proposed that narcissistic individuals may seek external validation to compensate for internal deficiencies in reward processing. The observed reductions in prefrontal and reward-related brain areas align with this theory and support the idea that narcissistic traits may emerge in part from structural brain differences.</p>
<p>Machiavellianism, in contrast, was associated with increased brain concentration in regions involved in social reasoning and long-term planning. These areas, which include parts of the posterior cingulate cortex and angular gyrus, are known to be active when people think about others’ thoughts, weigh moral decisions, or simulate future outcomes. The enhanced brain structure in this network may support the strategic and manipulative tendencies seen in individuals high in Machiavellian traits.</p>
<p>Interestingly, psychopathy did not show a strong relationship with any single brain network identified in the analysis. The researchers noted two possible explanations for this. First, the sample may not have included enough individuals with high levels of psychopathy to detect meaningful patterns. Second, psychopathy may rely on a broader combination of brain circuits, including both the reward and executive networks. The absence of a specific correlation highlights the complexity of this trait and suggests that future studies may need to use different methods or larger samples to capture its neural basis.</p>
<p>This research provides a new perspective on how personality traits associated with antisocial and manipulative behavior are reflected in the brain. By showing that traits like narcissism and Machiavellianism are linked to differences in large-scale brain networks, the findings may eventually help inform psychological or even neurological interventions.</p>
<p>“Our study highlights that personality traits traditionally seen as purely psychological are also associated with distinct brain patterns, meaning that our biology plays a significant role in how we behave and interact with others,” Bakiaj explained. “Importantly, these brain differences do not necessarily mean individuals are born with them. Instead, they might emerge through complex interactions between biological predispositions, life experiences, upbringing, and social environments. Understanding that these traits are associated with both brain structure and function can help us approach these individuals with greater insight—recognizing the need for targeted psychological and possibly neurobiological interventions.”</p>
<p>The study also confirmed a consistent finding in personality research: men scored significantly higher than women on all three Dark Triad traits. While this does not necessarily imply biological determinism, the structural brain differences observed may help explain why some traits are more common in men than in women. Importantly, the study found no significant relationship between age and any of the three traits, suggesting that these personality characteristics may remain relatively stable across adulthood.</p>
<p>But the study does have some limitations. “Our study relies primarily on structural brain imaging data (gray and white matter), and while structural differences provide meaningful clues, they cannot directly tell us about real-time brain activity or causation,” Bakiaj noted. “Additionally, the traits were measured using self-report questionnaires, which, despite their utility, can introduce biases such as social desirability, exaggeration, or underreporting.” </p>
<p>“Finally, the population studied consisted of individuals largely within normal trait ranges; thus, the findings might differ when examining clinical populations or those with extreme manifestations of these traits. Future studies incorporating functional brain data, behavioral assessments, and clinical samples are needed to confirm and extend our results.”</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the research represents a significant step forward in understanding the biological basis of personality. It shows that traits like narcissism and Machiavellianism are not just psychological labels but are reflected in the brain’s architecture. The more scientists learn about these neural signatures, the better we may become at predicting, preventing, or managing behaviors that can damage relationships, communities, and even broader social systems.</p>
<p>“Currently, my research is moving toward a deeper exploration of psychopathy and its influence on group decision-making and social interactions,” Bakiaj said. “This direction has potential practical implications in various contexts, such as workplaces, correctional facilities, and rehabilitation programs. Understanding how individuals with pronounced psychopathic traits behave in group scenarios can guide interventions and inform decisions about group composition—potentially mitigating negative outcomes and enhancing group functioning. Additionally, my research aims to better conceptualize psychopathy from a neuropsychometric perspective, ultimately facilitating more accurate diagnosis and intervention strategies.”</p>
<p>“One crucial point to emphasize is the interplay between societal forces and individual vulnerabilities,” he added. “Societal trends—such as the rise of social media, increased individualism, reduced face-to-face interactions, and heightened competition—can shape psychological and even biological processes over time. However, individuals vary greatly in their resilience to these pressures.” </p>
<p>“Someone with a resilient personality structure and robust emotional processing (such as a well-functioning amygdala, crucial for emotional and social responses) may remain relatively unaffected by these social forces. Conversely, someone with inherent vulnerability, like pre-existing emotional or neural impairments, might be dramatically shaped or negatively impacted by these same societal trends. Understanding this interaction between social context, psychology, and individual biology can significantly inform our approach to personality development, mental health, and interventions aimed at improving social outcomes.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16674" target="_blank">Unmasking the Dark Triad: A Data Fusion Machine Learning Approach to Characterize the Neural Bases of Narcissistic, Machiavellian and Psychopathic Traits</a>,” was authored by Richard Bakiaj, Clara Isabel Pantoja Muñoz, Andrea Bizzego, and Alessandro Grecucci.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/youth-with-traumatic-brain-injuries-show-higher-levels-of-psychopathic-traits-new-study-finds/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Youth with traumatic brain injuries show higher levels of psychopathic traits, new study finds</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 15th 2025, 16:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10802-024-01212-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology</a></em> has found that adolescent males in juvenile detention who have experienced a traumatic brain injury tend to exhibit higher levels of psychopathic traits than those without such injuries. The research also highlights that brain injury severity and number of injuries are linked to lower cognitive functioning and higher substance use—factors that, in turn, are associated with more pronounced psychopathic traits.</p>
<p>Traumatic brain injury, often caused by a blow or jolt to the head, can disrupt brain function. While symptoms vary, even mild injuries have been linked to long-term difficulties with thinking, emotion regulation, and behavior. In justice-involved populations, especially among adolescents, traumatic brain injury is common and has been associated with outcomes like substance use, aggression, and poor mental health.</p>
<p>Psychopathic traits, which include behaviors such as impulsivity, callousness, and manipulation, are also more common in youth who are incarcerated. These traits are often grouped into two domains: interpersonal and affective traits, like lack of empathy and shallow emotions (Factor 1), and lifestyle and antisocial traits, like impulsivity and criminal behavior (Factor 2). Because the teenage brain is still developing, especially in areas responsible for emotional regulation and impulse control, researchers believe that understanding how head injuries interact with these traits during this critical period is important for both treatment and prevention efforts.</p>
<p>The current study set out to examine how psychopathic traits are related to different aspects of traumatic brain injury—such as how severe the injury was, how many injuries a person sustained, and how early they began. The researchers also looked at whether these brain injuries are linked to psychopathy through their effects on intelligence and substance use, two known consequences of brain trauma.</p>
<p>The research team recruited 263 male adolescents, aged 14 to 21, from a maximum-security juvenile detention facility in New Mexico. More than half of the participants (54%) reported having experienced at least one traumatic brain injury. Some had suffered multiple injuries, and a small portion had experienced moderate to severe injuries.</p>
<p>Each participant completed several assessments. These included a structured interview to measure psychopathic traits, tests to estimate intelligence, and evaluations for mood disorders and substance use. Traumatic brain injury history was assessed using a validated questionnaire that asked about symptoms, severity, and timing of injuries. The researchers used a statistical approach called structural equation modeling, which allowed them to examine both direct and indirect relationships among these variables, while accounting for measurement error.</p>
<p>Importantly, the study also tested whether the psychopathy measure worked equally well for participants with and without a history of brain injury. This step helped ensure that any differences observed between groups were not due to flaws or biases in how psychopathy was assessed.</p>
<p>The researchers confirmed that their measure of psychopathy was reliable and consistent across groups. This means that comparisons between youth with and without brain injuries were valid and not due to measurement issues.</p>
<p>Then, they looked at whether psychopathic traits differed between the groups. Adolescents with a history of traumatic brain injury scored higher on three of the four domains of psychopathy: affective traits (such as lack of remorse), lifestyle traits (such as impulsivity), and antisocial behavior (such as early conduct problems). There was no difference in interpersonal traits, such as superficial charm or manipulativeness.</p>
<p>Next, the researchers examined how specific characteristics of the injuries—like severity and number—were connected to intelligence, substance use, and psychopathic traits. They found that more severe injuries were linked to lower intelligence scores. In turn, lower intelligence was associated with higher levels of lifestyle and antisocial psychopathic traits. This suggests that brain injury may impair cognitive functioning, which then contributes to behavioral and emotional problems.</p>
<p>The number of brain injuries was also important. Youth with more head injuries were more likely to have used multiple substances. Higher levels of substance use were linked to both affective and behavioral psychopathic traits. This pattern indicates that repeated injuries may increase the risk of substance use, which may then relate to more severe psychopathic tendencies.</p>
<p>Altogether, the model used in the study accounted for a substantial portion of the variation in psychopathic traits, especially for those related to behavior and antisocial actions. The findings suggest that both intelligence and substance use may act as bridges linking traumatic brain injuries with psychopathic features in adolescents.</p>
<p>The researchers were cautious not to interpret their results as proving that brain injuries cause psychopathy. Because the data were collected at one point in time, the study cannot determine which came first. It’s possible that youth with higher levels of risk-taking or aggression are more likely to experience head injuries in the first place. Still, the findings align with past research showing that traumatic brain injury can negatively affect self-regulation and increase vulnerability to mental health problems.</p>
<p>The study suggests that when working with justice-involved youth, especially those with histories of head injury, it may be helpful to assess for cognitive deficits and substance use problems as part of routine care. Targeted interventions that support emotion regulation, improve cognitive skills, or address substance use may help reduce the expression of psychopathic traits. These findings also underscore the importance of early prevention strategies—such as head injury prevention and early mental health support—in helping at-risk youth avoid entering the justice system.</p>
<p>Future research would benefit from following youth over time to determine how brain injuries affect behavior and personality as they age. Including reports from parents or medical records could help confirm the timing and severity of brain injuries. And expanding this work to include girls and more diverse populations will offer a fuller picture of how these patterns might differ across groups.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01212-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Association Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychopathic Traits Among Justice‑Involved Adolescents</a>,” was authored by Michaela M. Milillo, Craig S. Neumann, J. Michael Maurer, Christine Jin, Ella Commerce, Brooke L. Reynolds, Carla L. Harenski, and Kent A. Kiehl.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-identifies-three-patterns-of-physical-behavior-linked-to-sexual-satisfaction-in-committed-couples/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Study identifies three patterns of physical behavior linked to sexual satisfaction in committed couples</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 15th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>A survey of predominantly LGBTQ+ adults in committed relationships identified three patterns of physical behavior toward romantic partners. These were labeled Infrequent Physical Behaviors, Affection-Focused Behaviors, and Comprehensive Physical Behaviors. Participants in the first group reported the lowest levels of sexual satisfaction, while those in the last group reported the highest. The paper was published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-03016-y"><em>Archives of Sexual Behavior</em></a>.</p>
<p class="" data-start="594" data-end="1029">Physical behaviors in romantic relationships encompass a wide range of actions that express affection, comfort, and intimacy. These behaviors can include simple gestures like holding hands and hugging, as well as more intimate contact such as kissing and cuddling. Such actions play a central role in building and maintaining emotional bonds between partners, serving as non-verbal expressions of love, reassurance, and mutual respect.</p>
<p class="" data-start="1031" data-end="1430">Importantly, physical intimacy extends beyond sexual activity. It also includes gentle touches, playful interactions, and the comforting presence of a partner nearby. These moments can significantly enhance feelings of security and belonging. Everyday behaviors such as sitting close together on a couch, sharing a blanket, or casual caresses help reinforce closeness and affection on a daily basis.</p>
<p class="" data-start="1432" data-end="1743">Study authors Alyssa N. Clark and Eva S. Lefkowitz aimed to explore patterns of sexual and affectionate behaviors in couples across different gender configurations. They were also interested in how patterns of physical, sexual, and affectionate behavior relate to levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction.</p>
<p class="" data-start="1745" data-end="2111">The study included 336 adults who completed an online Qualtrics survey in August and September 2022. Forty-five percent of participants identified as women, and 39% identified as gender-diverse. The average age was 29 years. On average, participants had been in their current romantic relationship for 6 to 7 years, though durations ranged from 6 months to 43 years.</p>
<p class="" data-start="2113" data-end="2472">Participants provided demographic information, reported their own gender and the gender of their partner, and completed measures assessing physical behaviors toward their partner (using the Physical Behavior Inventory), sexual satisfaction (using the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction), and relationship satisfaction (using the Couple Satisfaction Index).</p>
<p class="" data-start="2474" data-end="2783">In terms of sexual orientation, 33% of participants identified as bisexual, 15% as heterosexual, 12% as queer, 12% as gay, and 6% as lesbian. The remaining participants reported other sexual orientations. Thirty-two percent of participants were married, and 10% reported having more than one romantic partner.</p>
<p class="" data-start="2785" data-end="2989">Based on participants’ responses, the researchers identified three distinct patterns of physical behavior: Infrequent Physical Behaviors, Affection-Focused Behaviors, and Comprehensive Physical Behaviors.</p>
<p class="" data-start="2991" data-end="3305">The Infrequent Physical Behaviors group, which included 16% of participants, reported low engagement in both sexual and affectionate behaviors, with only moderate frequency of kissing and hugging. Individuals in this group reported lower levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction compared to the other groups.</p>
<p class="" data-start="3307" data-end="3503">The Affection-Focused Behaviors group, representing 36% of participants, frequently engaged in affectionate behaviors such as hugging and cuddling but reported low engagement in sexual behaviors.</p>
<p class="" data-start="3505" data-end="3760">The Comprehensive Physical Behaviors group included 48% of participants. These individuals reported frequent engagement in nearly all types of physical behaviors, both sexual and affectionate. This group reported the highest levels of sexual satisfaction.</p>
<p class="" data-start="3762" data-end="4131">The findings highlight associations between physical behavior patterns and sexual satisfaction in romantic relationships. However, the study’s design does not allow for conclusions about causality. It remains unclear whether sexual satisfaction leads to more physical behavior, whether physical behavior enhances satisfaction, or whether a third factor influences both.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-03016-y">Sexual and Afectionate Behaviors and Satisfaction for Adults in Romantic Relationships: A Latent Profile Analysis,</a>” was authored by Alyssa N. Clark and Eva S. Lefkowitz.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/surprising-connection-found-between-asexuality-and-family-structure/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Surprising connection found between asexuality and family structure</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Apr 15th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>A new study published in <em><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-024-03043-9" target="_blank">Archives of Sexual Behavior</a></em> has found that patterns in family structure, particularly the number and gender of siblings, may be associated with a person’s likelihood of identifying as asexual. Researchers observed that men with more siblings were more likely to be asexual, while women who had fewer older sisters or were only children were also more likely to report asexuality. These findings suggest that some biological or social family factors could play a role in the development of sexual orientation, including asexuality.</p>
<p>Asexuality refers to a sexual orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction to others. Although it is now widely recognized as a legitimate sexual orientation, it remains less studied than others such as heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. To better understand the development of asexuality, researchers have begun to explore whether biological or familial patterns—such as sibling order and family size—might be associated with asexual identity. These patterns have previously been linked to other sexual orientations, particularly same-sex attraction in men, which has been associated with the number of older brothers a person has, a pattern known as the fraternal birth order effect.</p>
<p>In the current study, the researchers aimed to explore whether similar sibling-related patterns also apply to asexuality. They recruited a large, international sample of 1,634 adults who identified as heterosexual, asexual, bisexual, or homosexual. The sample included 366 asexual participants, 276 who identified as gay or lesbian, 267 who identified as bisexual, and 725 who identified as heterosexual. Participants completed online questionnaires that assessed their sexual orientation, romantic and sexual history, and detailed information about their siblings—including the number of older and younger brothers and sisters.</p>
<p>To analyze the data, the researchers used two advanced statistical approaches designed to separate the effects of having more siblings from the specific effects of being later-born or having siblings of a particular sex. This distinction is important because having more siblings in general might have different implications than, for example, having more older brothers or sisters. These methods allowed the researchers to evaluate whether birth order and sibling gender were uniquely associated with different sexual orientations.</p>
<p>The study uncovered several notable findings related to asexuality. Among men, a higher total number of siblings was associated with an increased likelihood of identifying as asexual. This finding is consistent with what some researchers have described as the female fecundity effect, which refers to the idea that genetic traits linked to non-heterosexual orientations in men may also be linked to higher fertility in their female relatives. Although this theory has been debated and inconsistently supported in other research, the current findings raise the possibility that a similar pattern might apply to asexual men.</p>
<p>For women, a different pattern emerged. Asexual women were more likely to be only children compared to heterosexual women, and they were also more likely to have fewer older sisters. These patterns were statistically significant and remained consistent across different methods of analysis. The researchers speculated that these results might reflect some kind of biological mechanism affecting early development, although no specific explanation has yet been confirmed. Another possibility is that the absence of older sisters may reduce exposure to certain social experiences or role models that influence sexual development and identity, suggesting a social rather than biological explanation.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the study did not find strong support for the fraternal birth order effect among asexual men. This effect, which has been observed in many studies of gay men, refers to the tendency for men with more older brothers to be more likely to identify as gay. In the current study, this pattern did not appear among asexual participants, suggesting that the mechanisms behind same-sex attraction and asexuality might be different.</p>
<p>The study also tested whether these sibling effects applied to individuals who identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Among gay men, having more older sisters was associated with an increased likelihood of being gay—a finding known as the sororal birth order effect. The fraternal birth order effect was not significant using the primary analysis method but did reach significance using an alternative statistical approach on a smaller subsample. Among bisexual men, having more siblings in general was associated with an increased likelihood of identifying as bisexual, echoing the pattern found in asexual men. Among bisexual women, fewer older sisters were again associated with increased likelihood of bisexuality, similar to the pattern observed in asexual women.</p>
<p>The researchers noted several limitations to their study. The sample size for certain groups—such as asexual men and lesbians—was smaller than intended, which may have reduced the ability to detect some effects. The sample was also predominantly White and drawn from a wide range of countries and cultural backgrounds, which adds diversity but also increases variability that may obscure patterns. In addition, many participants with gender-diverse identities were excluded from the main analysis due to the study’s focus on biological sex and its hypothesized role in sibling-related effects. This decision may limit how broadly the findings apply to the asexual community, which includes many gender-diverse individuals.</p>
<p>Despite these limitations, the study provides one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of sibling composition in relation to asexuality. The findings suggest that asexuality, like other sexual orientations, may be shaped in part by early developmental or familial factors. However, the authors caution against drawing firm conclusions about causes. The associations observed in this study do not prove that sibling composition directly influences sexual orientation. Instead, these patterns offer clues that future research can investigate more deeply.</p>
<p>In particular, the researchers encourage further studies to replicate these findings and to explore possible biological or social mechanisms behind them. Including larger and more diverse samples, as well as participants with non-cisgender identities, will be important for building a fuller understanding of how asexuality develops.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-03043-9" target="_blank">Asexuality: Its Relationship to Sibling Sex Composition and Birth Order</a>,” was authored by Bozena Zdaniuk, Sonia Milani, Brett Makarenko, Nicola Marriott, Anthony F. Bogaert, and Lori A. Brotto.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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