EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - Home

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2026 13:17 ET (30-Oct-2026 17:17 GMT/UTC)

Frequent exposure to media on real-world gun violence is linked to mental health risks

Rutgers University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Frequent exposure to real-world firearm violence through media is associated with worse mental health outcomes, according to Rutgers researchers.

Their study, published in BMC Public Health, found that frequent exposure to firearm-related content is linked to higher levels of depression and more days of poor mental health among adults in the United States.

Journal: BMC Public Health

AI content moderation takes a lesson from economics #ASA190

Acoustical Society of America
Reports and Proceedings

Large language models may be able to make moderation of social media and online communities more effective, but they are expensive to run at scale, especially when asked to provide explanations for each piece of content they flag. Yuan Zhao will present research on creating an interpretable and low-cost method for evaluating LLMs’ hate speech classification as part of 190th ASA Meeting. His framework relies on the Rational Inattention model, an economic idea developed to explain human behavior.

Meeting: 190th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America

Consumers willing to pay more for lobster harvested with ropeless technology, UMaine study finds

University of Maine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study led by Qiujie “Angie” Zheng from the University of Maine found that consumers are willing to pay an average of $3.42 more for a lobster roll made with lobster harvested using ropeless fishing technology designed to reduce whale entanglement risks when presented with information on animal welfare. Researchers tested how information about whale conservation, animal welfare and Maine’s lobster industry shaped consumer willingness to pay more for lobster harvested using ropeless technology. Messaging focused on whale welfare and entanglement impacts proved most effective at increasing support for ropeless technology, with consumers willing to pay more.

Journal: Marine Resource Economics

Study: 11 million American children’s well being threatened by criminally charged family members

Boston College
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A cross-sectional study of more than 76 million American children by researchers found approximately 15 percent—or over 11 million—of the children had a family member who was criminally charged within the past five years, resulting in potentially harmful disruptions to families that threaten the young people’s wellbeing.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Adams exploring psychosocial adaptation in survivors of violently acquired spinal cord injury

George Mason University
Grant and Award Announcement

Leah M. Adams, Associate Professor, Psychology and Women and Gender Studies, Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), is studying how people who sustain spinal cord injuries through violence adapt to their new circumstances using national longitudinal data, interviews with people with these injuries, and interviews with specialty-mental health providers who work with them.

Funder: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

UC Irvine team identifies where renewable hydrogen delivers the greatest social benefit

University of California - Irvine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new UC Irvine study uses monetized life-cycle analysis to compare hydrogen, direct electrification and fossil fuel pathways across heavy-duty transport and industrial sectors. The researchers concluded that renewable hydrogen applied in certain sectors offers greater social value, which includes reduced climate change impacts, cleaner air, improved public health and lower demand for natural resources. The researchers pinpointed steel, transoceanic shipping and long-haul trucking as the highest-value targets for clean hydrogen deployment.

Journal: Joule

‘News will find me’ mindset makes people trust algorithms and online networks

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

One in three people believe they don’t have to seek the news from traditional outlets like newspapers and television. Instead, they think the “news will find me” (NFM), relying on algorithms and social networks to get their information. A research team led by Penn State scholars recently found that these individuals often consider their online networks to be as trustworthy as professional editors and journalists.

Journal: Social Media + Society