The human being thrives on touch. An enormous amount of research has been done in recent years, on both human beings and animals, in regards to touch. The results show that lack of touch ("cutaneous deprivation") can lead, not only to emotional disturbances but also...

As an associate teaching professor who teaches a very large human sexuality class at the University of Washington, I benefit from frequent access to young people’s inner thoughts and desires surrounding relationships and sex.

Partners can directly influence the likelihood that a pregnant woman will drink alcohol and feel depressed, which affects fetal development, new research shows.

In a new study, we found that women – but not men – continue to be perceived negatively for having casual sex. This stereotype persists even as casual sex has become increasingly normalized and gender equality has risen in the U.S. and much of the Western world. Specifically, both men and women assume that a woman who has casual sex must have low self-esteem.

As behavioural scientists, we have a keen interest in how people make decisions, and particularly how these decisions incorporate a range of emotional, cognitive and psychological factors.

Love can seem a primal force, an intoxicating mix of desire, care, ecstasy and jealousy hard-wired into our hearts. The polar opposite of philosophy’s measured rationality and theoretical speculations.

Someone once said that intimacy is spelled into-me-see. Thinking it of it that way sheds light on why it frightens us. Letting someone see into us when we are afraid of letting them see our hidden "faults and foibles" can be frightening...

Making the decision whether or not to leave a relationship may be the most daunting part of the divorcing process; at least it is the one filled with the most anxiety. Divorce is a choice made of our own free will, and we sense the enormity of this responsibility...

Adequate, formal sexual education is important for young people, but discussions about consent can take place in many situations outside the sex education classroom and outside of school.

Despite living in a sex-obsessed society, we rarely talk about our erotic lives in ways that foster meaningful intimacy with ourselves and others. Indeed, millions of people are craving physical and emotional connection, which has surfaced in heart-breaking ways during COVID-19.

The 1970s anti-sexist men’s movement had an infrastructure of magazines, conferences, men’s centres and local anti-sexist men’s groups. Its members were passionately engaged with the problem of male violence – suffered by women, queer and non-binary people, as well as men and boys. So, what can we learn from their activism?

The Netflix drama The One centres around a geneticist who invents a new matchmaking service. It uses DNA to help people find their romantic and sexual match: their “one”.

While listening to the radio today, I heard someone suggest that the best way to deal with divorce was to never have one! I suppose there is some truth to that; however, it's a bit unrealistic. In America, close to 50 percent...

Certainly, children’s classics from The Gruffalo to the Alice books are produced knowing that when they come to be read, the chances are that an older person will be reading them aloud to a younger one.

A recent petition circulated by Sydney school girl Chanel Contos called for schools to provide better education on consent, and to do so much earlier.

Many of us settle for meager rations in life while we are entitled to enjoy a great banquet. One of the areas we tend to starve ourselves in is relationships.

According to most of the singles I have met in my travels, the typical dating situation is fraught with fear. It seems that when people believe there's a lot at stake, they get nervous and instead of being their creative, delightful selves, they resort to various anxiety management strategies...

Given that stable and satisfying relationships are critical for both mental and physical health, it is necessary to understand what contributes to relationship distress, and how to fix it.

The person you talk to, date, move in with, get engaged to, marry, break up with or divorce – it’s all up to you. You’re in the driver’s seat regarding your relationship’s trajectory. Most of the time, you probably cruise along on autopilot, maintaining the status quo.

One finding soon emerged: People practicing polyamory were facing a totally different set of pandemic-related dilemmas than those who practice monogamy.

When doubts about a relationship start to creep in, people don’t just blurt them out. They might not want to worry their partner and figure they’ll ride out what could just be a rough patch.

Maithuna is a ritual of transformation, and although it is expected to generate pleasure, the pleasure must not be of the ego -- when the man and woman embrace, they do so not as themselves, but as male and female deities. Maithuna may incorporate meditation, yogic postures, mantras, yantras...

Restrictions on indoor dining are some of the hardest to swallow. We all have our favorite restaurants, and the experience of eating out is a big part of feeling normal. In addition, many restaurants are cornerstones of our communities, and owners and staff have struggled throughout the pandemic.