Manchester City, Brentford, Fulham and Cardiff City are also in the quarter-final draw, but Premier League champions Liverpool were knocked out at Anfield tonight
A coalition of news organizations is suing Tennessee’s top prisons official and a warden, alleging that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit the media’s access to the entire process when inmates are put to death
The whole exchange in the Senate about SNAP shows nobody is serious about stopping people from going hungry. Eric Garcia writes that Democrats aren’t blameless, but Trump bears the most responsibility
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved energy company Enbridge's plan to encase a segment of an aging oil pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel
The United States will share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine, President Donald Trump said on social media Thursday after meeting with the country’s president
Eight months after the shocking Oval Office confrontation, Vice President said he had sensed ‘some rudeness’ from the embattled Ukrainian leader during the heated exchange
A pair of court rulings declaring some of Florida’s gun restrictions unconstitutional are creating some confusion in the notoriously firearm friendly state
The steep cuts to the news division included the entire race and culture unit, two streaming shows and the bureau in Johannesburg. Additionally, the network’s Saturday morning news show was gutted and its two hosts were let go.
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and others liable for defamation and other claims brought by a pipeline company in connections with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago
The United States is deploying several dozen disaster relief workers, including urban search and rescue teams, to Caribbean island nations as they deal with devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa
Meta’s stock slid in after-hours trading Wednesday after the tech giant posted strong third-quarter results but warned that its expenses will be significantly higher in 2026 than this year
The National Transportation Safety Board wants the owners of nearly 2,000 Learjets to urgently inspect their landing gear to make sure they won't collapse like they did in a fatal crash earlier this year involving a private jet owned by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil
A new study suggests that when mothers experience both depressive symptoms and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, their two-year-old children may face a heightened risk of developing their own depressive symptoms and attention difficulties. The combination of these maternal conditions appears to create a compounded challenge for early child development. The findings were published in the journal Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.
Researchers have long understood that a mother’s mental health can influence her child’s development. Conditions like depression and ADHD have been studied independently, with each showing links to certain challenges in parenting and child outcomes. However, these two conditions frequently occur together in individuals, creating a more complex set of difficulties. The combined impact of these co-occurring symptoms on very young children has not been well explored.
This gap in knowledge prompted the study led by Michal Levy and a team of researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. They wanted to understand how maternal depression and ADHD symptoms might jointly predict a child’s emotional and attentional development. The researchers focused on the period from pregnancy through the first two years of a child’s life. This early stage is a time of rapid brain growth and development, where a child is highly dependent on caregivers for emotional regulation and support, making it a particularly sensitive period.
To investigate this, the researchers conducted a longitudinal study, following a group of families over an extended period. The study began with 156 mothers and their children, who were recruited during the second trimester of pregnancy. Data was collected at three different times: during pregnancy, when the infants were three months old, and again when the children reached two years of age. This multi-wave approach allowed the researchers to track how symptoms and behaviors changed over time.
During the pregnancy assessment, mothers completed questionnaires to report on their symptoms of ADHD . They also reported on their own depressive symptoms at all three time points: during pregnancy, at three months postpartum, and at the two-year follow-up. When the children were two years old, their development was assessed in two ways. First, mothers filled out a standardized checklist to report on any depressive symptoms their child might be exhibiting, such as sadness, irritability, or loss of interest in play.
Second, the children’s ability to sustain attention was measured directly through a structured play session. Each two-year-old was brought into a lab setting and given a set of colorful blocks to play with independently for up to four minutes. An experimenter was present but did not interact with the child. These play sessions were video-recorded. Later, trained research assistants watched the recordings and coded the child’s level of focused attention in five-second intervals. High attention was marked by a steady gaze and active, engaged play with the blocks, while low attention was noted by off-task glances and passive handling of the toys.
The analysis of the data revealed a complex interplay between the two maternal conditions. The most significant developmental difficulties in children at age two were seen when mothers reported high levels of both ADHD symptoms and depressive symptoms. The findings showed that a mother’s depressive symptoms were associated with worse outcomes for her child, but primarily when her ADHD symptoms were also elevated.
Specifically, the researchers found that higher maternal depressive symptoms at three months after birth were associated with more depressive symptoms in their two-year-old children. However, this connection was only statistically significant for mothers who also had moderate to high levels of ADHD symptoms. For mothers with low levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, their level of depression did not show a significant link to their child’s depressive symptoms.
A similar pattern emerged when looking at the children’s focused attention. The study found that a mother’s depressive symptoms at three months were linked to lower focused attention in her two-year-old during the block-playing task. Again, this relationship was only present when the mother reported high levels of ADHD symptoms. The presence of both conditions in the mother appeared to create a dual risk factor that amplified the potential for challenges in the child.
The study also noted that depressive symptoms reported by mothers at three months postpartum were a stronger predictor of child outcomes than depressive symptoms reported during pregnancy. The authors suggest that this may point to the importance of the postnatal caregiving environment. After a child is born, disruptions in mother-child interactions caused by maternal mental health challenges may have a more direct effect on a child’s emerging emotional and attentional skills.
The researchers acknowledge some limitations in their work. The assessment of children’s depressive symptoms was based on reports from their mothers, which could be influenced by the mothers’ own mental state. Future research could benefit from including observations from other caregivers or clinicians to get a more comprehensive picture of the child’s emotional state.
Additionally, the study did not directly measure parenting behaviors. While it is likely that the combination of maternal depression and ADHD affects children through disruptions in parenting, such as inconsistent routines or reduced emotional availability, this study did not observe those mechanisms. Future studies could include observations of parent-child interactions to better understand how these maternal symptoms translate into behaviors that shape child development. Finally, maternal ADHD symptoms were only measured once, during pregnancy.
Despite these limitations, the research provides important insights into the compounded risks associated with co-occurring maternal mental health conditions. The findings suggest that the combination of maternal depression and ADHD symptoms may create a uniquely challenging environment for a young child. This highlights a need for more integrated approaches to maternal mental health screening and support, recognizing that addressing one condition without considering the other may not be enough to promote optimal child development.
Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace: Arne Slot’s side succumbed to their third defeat to Palace already this season as their Carabao Cup journey came to an end
Both Wolves and Chelsea were left reeling by last-gasp Premier League defeats at the weekend but a place in the Carabao Cup last eight would restore morale
Federal regulators are trying to make it easier to develop cheaper alternatives to powerful drugs that many Americans depend on to treat autoimmune diseases or cancers
Boeing on Wednesday reported mixed third-quarter results, with higher aircraft deliveries and a growing order backlog offset by certification delays for its 777X jet
This week, the prime minister’s official spokesperson suggested migrant hotels are ‘luxury’ places to live. But with rodent and slug infestations, substandard food and large families packed into single rooms, those living there have a very different story to tell. They talk to Shaheena Uddin about the reality of life for migrants in Britain
Two Russian mobsters have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison for agreeing to try to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad for $500,000
Spain has commemorated the anniversary of last year’s massive floods that killed over 230 people by holding a memorial ceremony for the victims on Wednesday
Morocco has charged more than 2,400 people over youth-led protests that turned violent earlier this month, a sweeping response to some of the country’s largest anti-government demonstrations in years
‘The guy pled guilty to a felony, ripping off little old ladies raising money for a wall that was never built. He's telling us Trump's gonna run for a third term,” Mark Levin fumed this week.
Authorities say a North Carolina man charged with killing four of his children and placing their remains in the trunk of a vehicle believe the slayings occurred over several months
Samantha Booth, 35, a woman the family had trusted for years, is now accused of using a screwdriver to murder David Ong, a man described as a ‘gentle giant’ and a ‘hero,’ before running naked in the street outside
The Times of London has apologized for running an article that falsely claimed ex-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had criticized current candidate Zohran Mamdani
Despite the president’s brag to the contrary, his overall favorability is down again in latest survey of public opinion about his performance as commander-in-chief
Whether you’re sharing your own recipes or want to capture the newest food fad in all it’s tasty, technicolour glory, food photographer Kimberly Espinel has the tips you need – and you can do it all on your phone
General Motors is laying off about 1,700 workers across manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio, as the auto giant adjusts to slowing demand for electric vehicles
A senior Border Patrol official is due in court for the second day in a row in the first of his daily court-mandated check-ins about the Chicago area immigration enforcement operation, which has produced more than 1,800 arrests and complaints of excessive force
Andrew Zimmern's new book, "The Blue Food Cookbook," will make your dinner more delicious and healthier, and will help preserve the planet at the same time. Dig in!
In today's decentralized landscape, true cybersecurity is no longer about walls and firewalls — it's about visibility, authentication and putting users at the center of trust.
A new study suggests that while a majority of young American adults worry about mass shootings, their shared fear does not unite them on the issue of gun control. Instead, for certain groups, higher levels of fear are linked to stronger opposition to firearm restrictions, a finding that complicates predictions about the nation’s future gun policy. The research was published in the journal Social Science Quarterly.
“This is a generation of people who live with significant fear and anxiety over mass violence,” said senior author Jillian Turanovic, associate professor of sociology. “But we found that those shared fears do not unite them in attitudes on gun policy. In fact, they polarize them.”
The researchers sought to investigate a common assumption about the generation of Americans aged 18 to 29. Often called the “massacre generation,” these emerging adults grew up in an era defined by high-profile school shootings and constant media coverage of mass violence. Given these formative experiences, many observers have predicted that as this generation gains political power, they will form a unified front in favor of stricter gun legislation. The research team wanted to examine if this belief held up to scrutiny, or if shared anxiety over mass violence might produce more complex and even contradictory outcomes.
To explore this question, the scientists conducted a survey of 1,674 emerging adults from all 50 states in May 2023. The survey was designed to measure participants’ attitudes toward gun control by asking their level of agreement with statements about firearm access, such as whether owning more guns enhances safety or if guns should be allowed on college campuses.
Separately, the survey assessed their fear of mass shootings by asking how much they worried about an attack occurring in different public settings, including schools, shopping malls, and large events. The researchers then used statistical analysis to determine the relationship between fear and gun policy sentiment, while also accounting for other factors like political affiliation, gender, race, education, and personal experiences with crime.
The study confirmed that fear of mass shootings is widespread among this age group, with more than 60 percent of respondents reporting that they worry a mass shooting will affect their lives. In general, the researchers found a modest connection between higher levels of fear and greater support for gun control policies. This overall trend, however, masked deep divisions within the generation.
When the researchers analyzed the data by political identity, a starkly different pattern emerged. For young adults who identified as Republicans or conservatives, experiencing greater fear of mass shootings was associated with less support for gun control. This finding suggests that for these individuals, the fear of violence may reinforce a belief in armed self-defense, often described as the “good guy with a gun” perspective, rather than a desire for more government regulation of firearms.
A similar polarizing effect was observed among young men. While men and women with low levels of fear had similar views on gun policy, the gap between them widened as fear increased. Among young men, higher levels of fear were connected to increased opposition to gun restrictions. This may reflect cultural ideas that link masculinity with the roles of protector and provider, where owning a firearm is seen as a tool for ensuring personal and family safety.
The researchers also looked at whether the relationship between fear and gun attitudes differed by region. They found an unexpected pattern in the Northeast. In contrast to other parts of the country where fear tended to increase support for gun control, in the Northeast, higher levels of fear were associated with a slight decrease in support for such policies. The authors speculate this could be because some of the nation’s strictest gun laws are already in place in the Northeast, and high-profile attacks in the region may lead some residents to question the effectiveness of these laws.
The study did not find that race, ethnicity, or educational attainment significantly altered the relationship between fear of mass shootings and views on gun control. This indicates that political ideology and gender may be more powerful drivers of gun policy attitudes within this generation, at least when it comes to responding to the threat of mass violence.
The authors note some limits to their work. The survey provides a snapshot in time and cannot establish whether fear directly causes a shift in policy attitudes or if pre-existing attitudes shape how individuals react to fear. Because the sample, while diverse, was not perfectly representative of all young adults in the U.S., the findings should be seen as exploratory.
Future research could track individuals over time to better understand how their views evolve, particularly after they experience a mass shooting event in their community. Additional studies could also examine a broader range of specific gun policies, such as waiting periods or red flag laws, to get a more detailed picture of young adults’ preferences.
Ultimately, the research indicates that the political future of gun legislation is not as straightforward as some might assume. The shared experience of growing up under the shadow of mass shootings does not automatically create a consensus on solutions. For policymakers and advocates, these findings suggest that addressing gun violence will require acknowledging the deep-seated ideological divides that persist even within America’s youngest generation of voters.
For years now, research studies across the world looking at happiness across our lifetimes have found a U-shape: happiness falls from a high point in youth, and then rises again after middle age. This has been mirrored in studies on unhappiness, which show a peak in middle age and a decline thereafter.
Our new research on ill-being, based on data from 44 countries including the US and UK, shows this established pattern has changed. We now see a peak of unhappiness among the young, which then declines with age. The change isn’t due to middle-aged and older people getting happier, but to a deterioration in young people’s mental health.
A closer look at data from the US shows this clearly. We used publicly available health data, which surveys more than 400,000 people each year, to identify the percentage of people in the US in despair between 1993 and 2024. Those we define as being in despair were the people who had answered that their mental health was not good every day in the 30 days preceding the survey.
Across most of the period, among both men and women, levels of despair were highest among the oldest age group (45-70) and higher for the middle-aged (25-44) than the young (18-24). However, the percentage of young people in despair has risen rapidly. It’s more than doubled for men, from 2.5% in 1993 to 6.6% in 2024, and almost trebled for women – from 3.2% to 9.3%.
Despair also rose markedly among the middle-aged, but less rapidly. It’s gone up from 4.2% to 8.5% for women and from 3.1% to 6.9% for men. The percentage of older men and women in despair rose only a little over the period.
As a result, by 2023-24 relative levels of despair across age groups were reversed for women. The youngest age group has the highest levels of despair, and the oldest age group the lowest. For men, the level of despair was similar for the youngest and middle-aged groups, and lowest for the oldest age group.
These trends have resulted in a very different relationship between age and ill-being over time in the US.
Between 2009 and 2018, despair is hump-shaped in age. However, the rapid rise in despair before the age of 45, and especially before the mid-20s, has fundamentally changed the lifecycle profile of despair. This means that the hump-shape is no longer apparent between 2019 and 2024.
Despair rose the most for the youngest group but also rose for those up to age 45; it remained unchanged for those aged over 45.
Our study found similar trends for Britain, based on analyses of despair in the UK Household Longitudinal Survey and anxiety in the Annual Population Survey. It also shows that the percentage in despair declines with age in another 42 countries between 2020 and 2025, based on analyses of data from the Global Minds Project.
Investigating causes
Research into the reasons for these changes is underway but remains inconclusive. The growth in despair predates the COVID pandemic by a number of years, although COVID may have contributed to an increasing rate of deterioration in young people’s mental health.
There is a growing body of evidence that identifies a link between the rise in ill-being of the young and heavy use of the internet and smartphones. Some research suggests that smartphone use is indeed a cause of worsening youth mental health. Research that limited access to smartphones found significant improvements in adults’ self-reported wellbeing.
However, even if screen time is a contributory factor, it is unlikely to be the sole or even the chief reason for the rising despair among the young. Our very recent research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, points to a reduction in the power of paid work to protect young people from poor mental health. While young people in paid work tend to have better mental health than those who are unemployed or unable to work, the gap has been closing recently as despair among young workers rises.
Although the causes of the changes we describe have yet to be fully understood, it would be prudent for policymakers to place the issue of rising despair among young people at the heart of any wellbeing strategy.
This Halloween, we went to Loch Ness, Scotland, in search of a legend. Is there something strange lurking in those cold waters, or does science have alternative answers?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is claiming that Ukrainian forces are surrounded by the Russian army in two key eastern cities and is offering to negotiate a deal for their surrender
Some of Broadway's biggest stars emphasized that everyone can donate something of their time, talent or treasure at Town & Country's annual Philanthropy Summit on Tuesday
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog says Iran doesn’t appear to be actively enriching uranium but that the agency has recently detected renewed movement at the country’s nuclear sites
On the search for the perfect autumn break, Katie Mather finds intriguing history, traditional restaurants and delicious wine on the banks of the Mosel and Rhine
You can contact the Miscarriage Association helpline on 01924 200799 or email the charity at info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk.The helpline is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday.For more information, help and support regarding pregnancy loss, you can contact Tommy’s on 0800 0147 800.
Thousands of tourists remain stranded, with airports closed after the storm battered the Caribbean island before heading to Cuba, Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports
The NFL’s Salute to Service Award nominees range from Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh and 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey to a member of the Patriots security staff, an Eagles game day employee and the Dolphins head groundskeeper
In this extract from the latest Independent Women newsletter, Victoria Richards shares what happened when an unexpected disruption at the former US vice-president’s London book tour gave her a surprising – and inspirational – private audience with the Democratic presidential candidate
Conor Benn has often used his second home of Mallorca to prepare for fights - but for his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr he is staying as close as possible to his roots
Music rich with South Asian influences is solidifying its popularity worldwide, helping diversify global charts much like Afrobeat, K-pop and Latin music did
The U.S. president was gifted a crown just weeks after posting an AI-generated videos showing himself wearing a crown to mock nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests
Independent Women with Victoria Richards is your weekly dose of smart, sharp and unflinching stories about the issues shaping women’s lives – plus reader voices, recommendations and conversations you won’t want to miss
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has become the latest major international institution to announce plans to close its doors on its headquarters in the UK
Real Madrid claimed there were ‘substantial damages suffered by the club’ after a ruling said attempts to block the Super League were contrary to EU law
A study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family examined the connection between fathers taking paternity leave and the developmental progress of their young children in Singapore. The researchers found that when fathers took two weeks or more of paternity leave, it was associated with increased involvement in childcare, stronger father-child bonds, and improved family dynamics. These factors, in turn, were linked to better academic performance and fewer behavioral challenges in children as they grew from preschool into early primary school.
Previous research , mostly from Western countries, has found that paternity leave was connected to fathers being more involved in childcare and to stronger family ties. However, there was less understanding of how this policy directly influenced the development of young children, especially over a longer period. This gap in knowledge was particularly notable in Asian societies, where paternity leave policies are often newer and offer shorter durations compared to European nations.
In Asia, many regions have only recently introduced paternity leave policies, or they do not have them at all. The length of leave available to fathers in these countries is generally shorter. For example, some countries offer only a few days, while others, like South Korea and Japan, have expanded leave to up to a year.
“Many Asian societies, including Singapore, are facing the challenges of raising fertility rates and the related issues of gender inequality within the family. Some western governments (especially Nordic countries) had introduced longer parental leave to alleviate parents’ work-life conflict and encourage fathers’ participation in childcare decades ago,” said study author Wei-Jun Jean Yeung, a professor and chair of the Family, Children, and Youth Research Cluster at the National University of Singapore.
“In Asian countries, while maternity leave has been widely provided, paternity leave is either relatively short compared to Nordic countries, or non-existing. We believe paternity leave is very important because it helps fathers build stronger bonds with their children and improve couples’ relationships, which could indirectly reduce gender inequality and potentially affect couples’ intention to have a child.”
“However, no study has comprehensively examined how paternity leave affects family relationships and early childhood development. This gap led us to start our research on the topic. This paper is our second study, following our first one published in 2022. We believe the results will be useful for Singapore and other Asian countries, particularly East Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China, which also shares more prevalent patriarchal norms and ‘ultra-low’ fertility levels.”
The research was guided by two main theoretical perspectives: family systems theory and social capital theory. Family systems theory suggests that a family operates as a connected unit, where the actions and experiences of one member, such as a father’s involvement in childcare, can influence other parts of the family, including children’s development and the relationships between parents.
Social capital theory posits that strong relationships and bonds within a family, such as those between parents and children, contribute positively to a child’s development. Paternity leave is seen as a way to enhance this family social capital by giving fathers time to become more competent and involved caregivers.
The researchers analyzed data from the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG-LEADS), which collected information from a large, representative sample of Singaporean children and their primary caregivers in two waves: 2018/2019 and 2021. The study focused on children who were born after May 1, 2013, which is when Singapore’s paternity leave policy began.
The final sample included 3895 children who lived with two parents and whose primary caregiver was their mother. For analyses focusing on developmental outcomes, the sample was further narrowed to children aged three and above who had reported data on both behavioral problems and academic achievements in both waves.
To measure children’s development, the study used the Children’s Behavior Problems Index (BPI) for children aged three and above, which assesses externalizing behaviors like aggression and internalizing behaviors like anxiety. Academic achievements were measured using test scores for letter-word identification and applied problems from the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement. The key independent variable was paternity leave-taking, categorized based on whether fathers took no leave, one week of leave, or two weeks or more of leave, as reported by the mothers.
The researchers also examined several factors as potential intermediaries. Fathers’ involvement was measured by mothers’ reports of how much fathers participated in childcare activities like bathing, changing diapers, and playing. Father-child closeness was assessed by mothers’ statements about how close their child felt to their father. Family dynamics was a broader concept encompassing family conflict, marital satisfaction, and parenting aggravation, all reported by mothers.
The results showed that taking two weeks or more of paternity leave was associated with higher scores in children’s letter-word identification when they were three to six years old, and again when they were five to eight years old. This suggests a direct and lasting benefit for verbal skills.
For children’s applied problems, which measure numeracy skills, taking two weeks or more of leave was positively related to scores when children were three to six years old. Taking one week of leave was linked to better applied problems scores when children were five to eight years old, after accounting for earlier scores. This indicates some direct benefits for numerical abilities as well.
The researchers also found positive connections between paternity leave and the intermediary factors. Specifically, taking two weeks or more of paternity leave was linked to greater fathers’ involvement in childcare activities, stronger father-child closeness, and more positive family dynamics.
Fathers’ involvement, in turn, was positively related to father-child closeness, and both of these were associated with better family dynamics. While fathers’ involvement and father-child closeness did not directly influence children’s verbal academic scores, father-child closeness was directly related to children’s applied problems scores when they were three to six years old.
For children’s behavioral outcomes, paternity leave did not have a direct effect. Instead, its impact was entirely indirect. Taking two weeks or more of paternity leave was associated with fewer behavioral problems in children when they were three to six years old, and also later when they were five to eight years old, primarily through improved family dynamics. This suggests that paternity leave helps reduce children’s behavioral challenges by fostering a more supportive and cohesive family environment.
“Paternity leave is good for family relations and for children’s development,” Yeung told PsyPost. “It has the potential to improve spousal relations and parent-child relation. Our results show that 2 weeks or longer paternity leave was linked to greater fathers’ involvement in childcare, closer father-child relationships, and enhanced family dynamics (i.e, family members have fewer conflicts, mothers have higher marital satisfaction and feel less stressed about raising children). It can also have long-term benefits for children’s cognitive development and social-emotional well-being during early childhood.
“However, paternity leave should be at least two weeks or longer. We found one-week paternity leave does not have a positive impact on family dynamics and child development. It is possible that one week is too short for fathers to build a routine, learn the many new skills needed to care for a baby, and figure out how to work together with the mother. Two weeks gives fathers and mothers more time to adjust emotionally and practically, and to enjoy time with their new baby.”
“We should encourage countries to provide government-subsidized paternity leave that is at least two weeks long, and enable fathers to take paternity leave, because of its potential benefits to family and child well-being.”
The researchers controlled for a range of other influences, such as parents’ education, income, age, children’s age and gender, and household living arrangements, including the presence of domestic helpers or grandparents.
“A common misinterpretation of the results is that fathers who are more likely to take paternity leave are of higher socioeconomic status (SES), and it is the higher SES that makes their children do better cognitively and behaviorally,” Yeung said. “In our study, we have used rigorous methodology to address this selectivity issue, including using data from a nationally representative longitudinal study and taking into account a large number of parents’ and family characteristics to “isolate” the net impact of paternity leave taking on children’s developmental outcomes. ”
But there are still some limitations to consider. The study did not have information on fathers’ gender attitudes or their involvement before the child’s birth, which could influence their decision to take leave and their subsequent parenting behaviors. The measures for fathers’ involvement and family relationships were based on mothers’ reports, which might introduce some bias.
Future research could benefit from including perspectives from both parents. The measure of fathers’ involvement could also be expanded to include engagement in children’s educational and social activities more broadly. The researchers also acknowledge that while they used robust methods to account for pre-existing differences between fathers who took leave and those who did not, it cannot definitively prove a causal link due to the potential for unmeasured factors to play a role.
From live blues performances in St Louis and kayaking on the Lake of the Ozarks, to driving Route 66 through Pulaski County, Annabel Grossman delves into the best of Missouri
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch asked the prime minister on Wednesday whether he stuck by his pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT
Hadush Kebatu, who was wrongly freed from prison instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre, was given the money after threatening to disrupt his deportation to Ethiopia
Lord Hermer also said that he is ‘extremely concerned’ about the impact the case may have had about the public’s trust in the UK’s national security and criminal justice systems
A Pennsylvania man whose murder conviction was overturned after he served 43 years in prison hoped to walk free this month, but instead found himself in immigration custody
Uber said Wednesday that the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first market for its specially built autonomous taxi, which is expected to launch in late 2026
Many NFL teams have lost star players to season-ending injuries this season, or played without them for significant stretches — but a new poll finds that most football fans want more games, even if it means more risk
North was a pioneering green voice who later challenged the movement he helped shape, championing progress, free thought and the value of hard-won scepticism
People in Jamaica are waking up to the devastation left by Hurricane Melissa, as Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the entire country a “disaster area".
Fabio Wardley has not closed the door of possibility on a rematch with Joseph Parker after stopping the Kiwi in the 11th round of their WBO interim heavyweight title fight.
Paris police have acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defenses on Wednesday — turning this month’s dazzling daylight theft into a national reckoning over how France protects its treasures
Even while warning about national security and human rights abuse, the U.S. government across five Republican and Democratic administrations has repeatedly allowed and even actively helped American firms to sell technology to Chinese police, government and surveillance companies, an Associated Press investigation has found
Video shows the damage done to Sangster International Airport in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, with officials declaring the entire country a “disaster area”.
Holidaymakers Wendy and Steve Shirk said they were expecting "sunshine and roses" on a family trip in Jamaica, but found themselves spending the night in a shelter, as Hurricane Melissa made landfall on the island.
A new study has found that young adults who exhibit higher levels of manipulative, self-centered, and callous personality traits tend to report having lower quality family interactions. The research, published in the Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology, suggests a distinct connection between these so called “Dark Triad” traits and the health of family dynamics.
Researchers have long been interested in how personality develops, often focusing on widely recognized models of personality. Recently, attention has shifted toward understanding the less socially desirable aspects of human nature, collectively known as the Dark Triad, which includes Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. These traits are associated with behaviors that can strain social bonds, yet their specific impact within the family unit has been a less explored area.
The study’s authors wanted to examine this connection in a specific cultural and demographic context. They focused on young adults in Pakistan, a country where a large portion of the population falls within the 18 to 25 age range. This period is a formative time when an individual’s personality and perspective are still evolving, heavily influenced by their immediate environment, especially the family. By investigating this group, the researchers aimed to add a non-Western perspective to a field of study that has predominantly been centered on European and North American populations.
“The motivation for this study stemmed from the fact that this area remains largely understudied in Pakistan, leaving a significant research gap,” said study author Quratul Ain Arshad, who is currently a Bachelor of Laws student at the University of London.
“This topic represents a real-world issue that has not received the attention it deserves. I have personally observed several families affected by these dark traits, struggling to cope due to a lack of awareness and understanding. Through this research, I aimed to shed light on this issue so that individuals can better recognize what is happening to them and those around them and seek the help and guidance they need.”
To conduct their investigation, the researchers recruited a sample of 300 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 from various universities and corporate offices in Lahore, Pakistan. Participation was voluntary, and the confidentiality of the responses was protected. Each participant completed two self-report questionnaires designed to measure different psychological constructs.
The first questionnaire was the Short Dark Triad scale, which assesses the three core traits. Machiavellianism is characterized by a manipulative and cynical worldview, narcissism involves a sense of grandiosity and entitlement, and psychopathy is marked by impulsivity and a lack of empathy. The second questionnaire was a modified version of the Family Assessment Device, which measures the quality of family interactions across several dimensions. These dimensions include problem solving, communication, assigned roles, emotional responsiveness, emotional involvement, and behavior control.
After collecting the data, the research team performed a statistical analysis to determine if there was a relationship between the scores for Dark Triad traits and the scores for family functioning. This type of analysis reveals whether two variables tend to move together, either in the same direction or in opposite directions. The study specifically tested four hypotheses about these potential connections.
The primary finding confirmed the researchers’ main prediction. There was a clear negative relationship between overall scores on the Dark Triad scale and the overall quality of family interaction. This indicates that as an individual’s levels of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy increased, their reported level of healthy family functioning tended to decrease. This suggests that these aversive personality traits are indeed connected to difficulties within the family environment.
When the researchers examined the traits individually, the results were more nuanced. The connection between Machiavellianism and a family’s general functioning was found to be very weak and not statistically meaningful. This suggests that a person’s tendency toward manipulation may not have a direct, measurable link to their perception of the family’s overall effectiveness.
A different pattern emerged for psychopathy. This trait was found to have a modest but statistically significant negative relationship with what is known as “affective responsiveness,” which is a family’s capacity to respond to situations with appropriate emotions. In simple terms, young adults with higher psychopathy scores were more likely to come from families they perceived as being less emotionally attuned.
The final hypothesis looked at the link between narcissism and “affective involvement,” which refers to the extent to which family members show interest and care for one another. Much like the finding for Machiavellianism, this connection was also very weak and not considered statistically significant. This outcome suggests that a person’s level of narcissism may not be directly tied to the degree of emotional investment they perceive within their family.
“The key takeaway from this study is the importance of self-awareness,” Arshad told PsyPost. “Every individual should strive to understand their own personality traits and reflect on their behaviors. By doing so, they can not only improve themselves but also better support those around them who may exhibit these traits.”
The study did have some limitations. The findings are based on self-report questionnaires, which means participants’ responses could have been influenced by a desire to present themselves or their families in a positive light. The sample was also drawn exclusively from one city in Pakistan and was limited to young adults, which means the results might not be generalizable to other age groups or cultures.
For future research, the authors suggest that longitudinal studies, which follow individuals over a long period, could provide deeper insight into how Dark Triad traits and family dynamics influence each other over time. Using multiple methods of assessment, beyond just self-reports, could also help create a more complete picture of these complex interactions. Such work could help in designing interventions aimed at improving family relationships and promoting healthier personality development.
“The size of the sample used in this study is not big enough to represent the total young adult population in Pakistan, but this study is significant in understanding how these traits shape interactions on a microlevel,” Arshad said. “The effect of this study is such that it will help researchers dig towards the developmental aspects of these traits and also conduct longitudinal studies in future to understand the implications of the Dark Triad traits in both older and younger populations than young adults.”
A new study has found that a student team’s collective emotional intelligence is a significant predictor of its success in collaborative problem-solving. Specifically, the abilities to understand and manage emotions were linked to both better teamwork processes and a higher quality final product. The findings, which also examined the role of personality, were published in the Journal of Intelligence.
While individual intelligence and personality traits like conscientiousness are known to predict individual success, much less is understood about what drives performance when students are required to work together in teams. This form of learning, known as collaborative problem solving, is increasingly common in modern education, prompting a need to identify the skills and dispositions that help groups succeed.
The study’s authors aimed to investigate how two sets of characteristics, emotional intelligence and the Big Five personality traits, might influence the performance of high school students working in small groups.
“This study was actually part of a larger project, called PEERSolvers, in which we were looking for scientifically supported ways to enhance the quality of students’ collaborative problem solving,” said study author Ana Altaras, a full professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Belgrade.
“This naturally led us to explore the role played by emotional intelligence and personality in student collaborations. Having previously conducted two systematic reviews (Altaras et al., 2025; Jolić Marjanović et al., 2024), we knew that both emotional intelligence and the Big Five personality traits indeed act as ‘deep-level composition variables’ shaping the processes and outcomes of teamwork in higher-education and professional contexts.”
“We also knew that both variable sets contribute to the prediction of individual students’ school performance. However, we also saw an obvious research gap when it comes to exploring their joint effects on the performance of student teams in high school. Hence, we digged into this topic.”
The researchers recruited 162 tenth-grade students from twelve secondary schools. The students first completed assessments to measure their emotional intelligence and personality. Emotional intelligence was evaluated using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, a performance-based test that measures a person’s actual ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. Personality was assessed with the Big Five Inventory, a questionnaire that measures neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Following the initial assessments, the students were organized into 54 teams of three. Each team was then tasked with solving a complex social problem over a 2.5-hour session. The problems were open-ended and required creative thinking, covering topics such as regulating adolescent media use or balancing economic development with ecological protection. The entire collaborative session for each team was video-recorded, and each team submitted a final written solution.
Trained observers analyzed the video recordings to rate the quality of each team’s collaborative processes. They assessed four distinct aspects of teamwork: the exchange of ideas and information, the emotional atmosphere and level of respect, how the team managed its tasks and time, and how it managed interpersonal relationships and conflicts. In a separate analysis, a different set of evaluators rated the quality of the team’s final written solution based on criteria like realism, creativity, and the strength of its arguments.
The researchers found that emotional intelligence was a strong predictor of team performance. Teams with higher average scores in understanding and managing emotions showed superior teamwork processes. This improvement in collaboration, in turn, was associated with producing a better final solution. The ability to understand emotions also appeared to have a direct positive effect on the quality of the written solution. This suggests that knowledge about human emotions was directly applicable to solving the complex social problems presented in the task.
“Looking at the results of our study, emotional intelligence–particularly its ‘strategic branches’ or the ability to understand and manage emotions–had a lot to do with students’ performance in collaborative problem solving,” Altaras told PsyPost. “Student teams with higher team-average emotional intelligence engaged in a more constructive exchange of ideas, had a friendlier way of communicating, and were more efficient in managing both task and relationship-related challenges throughout the problem-solving process. Ultimately, these teams also came up with better solutions to the problems at hand. In sum, students’ emotional intelligence seems to contribute substantially to the quality of their collaborative problem solving.”
The role of personality traits was more nuanced and produced some unexpected results. As expected, the personality trait of openness to experience was positively associated with the quality of the final solution. This connection is likely due to the creative and open-ended nature of the problem-solving task.
But teams with a higher average level of neuroticism, a trait associated with anxiety and stress, were actually better at managing their tasks. The researchers propose that a tendency toward distress may have prompted these teams to plan their approach more diligently. In contrast, teams with higher average extraversion were less effective at relationship management, perhaps because they were less inclined to formally address group tensions.
“Contrary to our expectations, we found only few statistically significant associations between the Big Five personality traits and the quality of students’ collaboration,” Altaras said. “Moreover, the effects that did surface as significant–a positive effect of neuroticism on task management and a negative effect of extraversion on relationship management–seem counterintuitive in terms of their direction.”
When the researchers examined emotional intelligence and personality together in a combined model, emotional intelligence emerged as the more consistent and powerful predictor of overall performance. The contribution of personality was largely limited to the link between neuroticism and task management, suggesting emotional skills were more influential in this context.
As with all research, the study does have some limitations. The sample size was relatively small due to the intensive nature of analyzing hours of video footage. The teams were also composed of students of the same gender, which might not fully represent the dynamics of mixed-gender groups common in schools. Additionally, the study did not measure the students’ general academic intelligence, which could also be a factor in their performance.
“In our defense, emotional intelligence has already been shown to have incremental predictive value in so many instances–including the prediction of students’ individual school performance–that we would not expect it to lose much of its predictive weight when analyzed concurrently with academic abilities,” Altaras noted. “Still, the picture would be more complete had we been able to also test participants’ academic intelligence and include this variable as another potential predictor of their performance in collaborative problem solving.”
For future research, the authors suggest exploring these dynamics in larger and more diverse student groups. It would also be informative to see if these findings hold when teams are faced with different kinds of problems, such as those that are less social and more technical in nature. Examining these factors could provide a more complete picture of the interplay between ability, personality, and group success in educational settings.
“Within the PEERSolvers project, we have already developed a training (PDF) that targets, among other things, students’ emotional intelligence abilities and knowledge of personality differences, hoping to enhance the quality of their collaborative problem solving in this manner,” Altaras said. “In an experimental study, the training was shown to make a difference–i.e., to have a positive effect on students’ performance in collaborative problem solving (Krstić et al., 2025)–and we are now looking forward to having it more widely implemented in schools. When it comes to further research, we will certainly continue to explore the role of emotional intelligence abilities in the educational context, considering the performance and well-being of both students and teachers.”
In a rare interview, former authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina tells The Independent she is not to blame for bloodshed during her ousting, and calls her trial in absentia a ‘sham’
Keen to see more of the Czech Republic than just its romantic capital, Chris Wilson makes his way out to an ancient spa city to combine excitement with relaxation on a dual-destination break
Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson are superb in this labyrinthine, nervy and archly funny conspiracy thriller, adapted from Mick Herron’s debut novel. Oxford hasn’t seen this many murders since Inspector Morse
As the ‘Die My Love’ actor reveals she relied on the AI service during a vulnerable moment, Olivia Petter asks why we all started instinctively relying on robots, and what it says about the future
After a charm offensive in Japan that culminated in $490 billion in investment commitments, President Donald Trump is set to meet with South Korea’s leader on Wednesday as a trade deal with that country appears more elusive
Damage assessment was underway in Jamaica Wednesday, with four people dead and 70 percent of the island without power, after the storm moved on to Cuba
Cyclone Montha is weakening after battering India’s eastern cost with torrential rains and gusty winds as relief teams raced to restore power and clear debris across southern Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Odisha state
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is running for reelection against three lesser-known candidates, arguing that the city has seen major improvements during his first term in office
An Illinois jury is set for a second day of deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of a sheriff’s deputy in the July shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who had called 911 for help
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer off Shohei Ohtani, Shane Bieber pitched four-hit ball into the sixth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays shook off their epic 18-inning loss to even the World Series with a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4
Division within the GOP caucus over food stamps could give Democrats a key opening to ramp up the pressure on Republicans to make concessions and earn their votes to end the shutdown, John Bowden and Eric Garcia report
U.S. viewers for the first two games of World Series between the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays dropped 14% from last year’s matchup between Los Angeles and the New York Yankees, but Canadian and Japanese audiences set records
New sleeveless sacred undergarments for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are now available in the U.S., exciting many women in the faith
Savage aid cuts and a narrow focus on cost to the taxpayer risked undermining ‘the very reason the aid budget exists’, the International Development Committee says
Brazilian security forces launched a massive daylong operation on drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, setting off fierce gun battles that left dozens dead and many wounded, in what officials called one of the largest and most violent police actions in recent years.
A former Massachusetts police officer, who earlier pleaded not guilty to killing a woman he is accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage, faces an additional charge of causing the death of her unborn son
The effects of the president’s sweeping global tariffs have meant that the Sinterklaas celebrations in Rhinebeck have been canceled for the first time in 26 years
A new study has demonstrated that a virtual reality game can successfully teach people a breathing technique to regulate their physiological stress responses. This training led to improved biological markers of stress regulation during a tense virtual experience, suggesting such games could be a practical way to practice stress management skills. The research was published in the journal Psychophysiology.
While physiological regulation strategies like paced breathing are known to be effective, they are typically learned and practiced in calm, controlled environments. This setting is very different from the high-stress situations where such techniques are most needed, which may make it difficult for people to apply their training in real life. The study authors proposed that virtual reality could offer a unique solution by providing an immersive platform to both teach a regulation skill and then immediately create a stressful context in which to practice it.
The project involved two separate studies. The first study was designed as a proof of concept to see if the approach was feasible. Researchers recruited healthy adult participants and first recorded their baseline heart rate, heart rate variability, and breathing rate while they sat quietly. Heart rate variability is a measure of the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats, with higher variability often indicating better physiological regulation and a greater capacity to cope with stress.
Following the baseline recording, participants put on a virtual reality headset and played a training game. In this game, they found themselves on a boat in a calm sea and were guided through a slow, paced breathing exercise. On-screen prompts instructed them to inhale for five seconds, hold for five seconds, and exhale for five seconds, with the goal of achieving a slow breathing rate of four breaths per minute. Immediately after this training, they were immersed in a stressful game set in a dark dungeon. The objective was to avoid being detected by a creature that could supposedly hear their heartbeats.
A biofeedback display, visible at all times, showed participants a simplified “stress score” based on their heart rate. A green light indicated they were safe, while amber and red lights signaled increasing danger of being discovered. To succeed, participants had to use the breathing technique they had just learned to keep their heart rate down.
The study found that participants were able to apply the breathing technique effectively. Their breathing rate during the stressful dungeon game was significantly lower than their initial resting rate, showing they were following the training. Although their heart rate naturally increased from the stress of the game, their heart rate variability also increased compared to their baseline levels. This suggested an enhanced state of physiological regulation, likely driven by the controlled breathing.
The second study was designed to more formally test the effectiveness of the training by comparing a trained group to an untrained control group. Both groups attended two sessions, separated by about a week. In the first session, all participants experienced an initial stressful virtual reality scenario involving an intruder in a house. This was done to establish a baseline measure of each person’s stress reactivity. After this initial stressor, only the training group played the boat game twice to learn the breathing technique.
When they returned for the second session, the training group received a refresher by playing the boat game two more times. Then, both the trained and untrained groups played the same stressful dungeon game from the first study. The results showed a clear effect of the training. During the dungeon game, the trained group had a significantly lower breathing rate and a significantly higher heart rate variability compared to the untrained control group.
When the researchers compared physiological responses across the two different stressors, they found a notable interaction. The trained group showed a significant improvement in their heart rate variability from the pre-training “intruder” stressor to the post-training “dungeon” stressor. This pattern of improvement was not observed in the control group, providing stronger evidence that the breathing training was responsible for the effect.
An unexpected observation was that participants in the trained group reported feeling subjectively more stressed than the control group. The authors speculate this could be related to a sense of performance anxiety, as the trained group was aware their application of the technique was being evaluated.
The researchers acknowledged some limitations in their work. The first study was affected by technical issues with the respiratory measurement equipment, which led to the loss of some data. Additionally, a minor coding error in the training game meant that the boat’s speed was incorrectly linked to heart rate, though the authors believe this was unlikely to have affected the learning of the breathing pattern.
Future research could explore the surprising finding that physiological regulation did not align with subjective feelings of stress. It may also examine whether skills learned in an unrealistic game scenario can be generalized to manage stress in real-world situations.
Login
.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
What can we learn from this?
.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
More steps isn't always better.
.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
.png?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
.png?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
.png?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
.png?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
Mystery solved!
Bluey is a popular Halloween costume this year.
A new approach emerges.
Time to get creative.
Where ice meets rock (or doesn't).
Scientists try to make heads or tails of it.
-is-held-by-her-brother-Kenya-(8)-while-being-checked-by-a-doctor-in-Turka.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&crop=3%3A2)
The first generation at greater risk of developing tumors than their parents.
"It's a bit of a terrifying situation."
