A new study tracking nearly 400 students ages 9 to 14 found that when mothers strongly disapprove of a child’s friends, those friendships are far more likely to unravel. Researchers discovered that parental criticism can quietly erode friendships by making children feel unsupported and unwelcome — weakening trust, closeness and connection until the relationship collapses. The findings also raise concerns that breaking up friendships this way may come at a cost, potentially contributing to emotional and social problems later on.

A joint results conference of nine projects from the Transformative Change Cluster will bring together around 150 participants from science and policy on 4–5 June 2026 at Comet Louise, Brussels.

Based on panel data from 2004 to 2023 covering 30 provinces in China, this study establishes a three-dimensional (economic, technological, institutional) indicator system to evaluate the carbon unlocking level of transportation infrastructure. The entropy weight method and natural breaks method are applied to classify regional and provincial levels, revealing a clear gradient gap and provincial differentiation, which supports low-carbon transition in the transport sector.