Younger Black women report the most gendered racial microaggressions. But midlife Black women show the strongest link between anxiety and the "Strong Black Woman" stereotype and sexual objectification—showing that exposure and impact shift across the life course. 🔗

Black fatality rates from police shootings exceed White rates in every U.S. state—but the size of that gap varies more than 13-fold across states, from as low as 0.5 per 100,000 in Mississippi to as high as 6.7 in Utah. 📑

Setting screen time limits helps. So does what mom does with her own phone. New research on Mexican American families found toddler screen time was shaped by mothers' screen-related parenting and their own screen use—each mattered independently. 👉️

Is vaccine hesitancy really about the vaccine—or about who's delivering the message? New research finds vaccine safety/efficacy concerns predicted lower booster uptake mainly among adults who didn't trust public health institutions.📑

Insurance, income and chronic illness usually predict telehealth use—but not for noncitizen immigrants. Even insured noncitizens used telehealth less than uninsured US-born citizens. Immigration-related fear, language barriers and trust in digital platforms may play a role.🔗

New research: time with grandchildren brings out something distinct in grandparents—more love, more pride—than time with anyone else, or time alone. Researchers suggest this may reflect the unique relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. 🔗

“Caregiving for older adults falls disproportionately on women and family members, but little research addresses how gender and kinship intersect to shape caregiver social support.”

“The real path to becoming a tradwife is typically through economic precarity." Fox 5 and The Atlantic spoke with @jessicacalarco.com about parenting, childcare, and the decisions that today’s parents are making.

Early adult mortality rose in 2 waves: since 2011 and during COVID-19. By 2023, deaths at ages 25–44 were 70% above pre-2011 trends. Drug poisoning caused nearly one-third of excess deaths; transport, alcohol & homicide contributed. Priorities: opioids, road safety, alcohol. 👉️

Medicaid coverage of methadone could be a lifeline. A new study found that people who inject drugs were 73–80% more likely to receive medications for opioid use disorder in states where Medicaid covered methadone—suggesting coverage is key to expanding treatment access.🔗

Who gets diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD)—and who doesn't? A new study found that Black and Hispanic patients were less likely than White patients to receive an AUD diagnosis—even after accounting for alcohol use. The findings point to structural inequality in care.🔗

New research finds household chaos, maternal rejection and controlling parenting shape adolescent executive function. Maternal control was linked to worse outcomes only in chaotic, low-warmth households. Maternal warmth buffered the effect. No parallel pattern for fathers.🔗

Gay and lesbian couples are more likely than heterosexual couples to discuss end-of-life preferences and complete legal documents like living wills. Why remains unclear, but concerns about discrimination, legal recognition, and community support may play a role. 👉️

Parents of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth want to support their children but often struggle to find reliable information or affirming care. A new study finds parents want better-trained providers, peer support groups, and parent education programs.🔗

For women with opioid use disorder and criminal legal involvement, barriers to recovery evolve: • Addiction: unsafe housing and isolation • Treatment: earning income could jeopardize coverage for treatment • Recovery: criminal records, debt, and limited job opportunities 📄

New research finds the housework gap between married women and men narrowed from 2003 to 2023, driven largely by men doing more cleaning and laundry. But married women still spent 1.6 times as many hours on housework as married men in 2022–23.👉️

New research finds that when birthing people report more person-centered care—being heard, informed, and treated with respect—they're also more likely to feel empowered to advocate for themselves during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.👉️

New research complicates the U.S. maternal mortality story. Pregnancy-related death rates rose steeply among less-educated White women—but declined for more-educated Black women. Yet Black women still die at more than twice the rate of White women overall.📄

Research by Allison Daminger was featured in the ABC news article “The Four Stages of the Mental Load Explained.”

Black women have the highest obesity prevalence among US women. A new study finds that structural disadvantages—growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods, lower adult income—explain the majority of the gap with White women, not individual behaviors like diet and exercise.🔗

Do women across income groups get the birth timing they want? Standard measures say no—higher-income women have far more "intended" births. But ask if the birth came at the "right time" and the gap nearly vanishes. How we measure success shapes what we see—and what we miss.🔗

Are falling U.S. birth rates a pause or a permanent shift? A new study finds both intentions to delay childbearing and intended childlessness rose between 2012 and 2018 — for men and women alike. Together, these trends suggest fertility may not fully rebound.🔗

You've probably heard childbirth is ~14x riskier than abortion. That figure is from 2005 data. A new study updates it using 2018–2021 data: the ratio is now between 44 and 70 — at least 3x higher. Why? Better maternal death reporting, and abortion has gotten safer. 👉️

How do "tough on crime" sentencing policies affect infant health? 1990s "tough on crime" laws had hidden costs: research shows three strikes mandates (long sentences for repeat offenses) worsened Black infant birth weight. 🔗

What happens to miscarriage care when abortion is banned? A new study from Texas shows blood transfusions during pregnancy loss rose 15% above expected levels after the state's total abortion ban took effect. PRB breaks down the findings 🔗

Fall prevention for people with dementia could also protect caregivers. New research finds that caregiver burden from falls varies significantly depending on whether they live with their loved one—pointing to the need for tailored interventions. 👉️ buff.ly/yM4L2jd

Medicaid cuts could push ~1 million vulnerable older adults out of their homes and into nursing homes — which cost nearly twice as much as home-based care. New research, summarized by @PRB.org, breaks down who's most at risk. Read more 👉 buff.ly/imxR3vx

🍼 A new baby changes everything — including the pressure on a family's resources. New research on families with newborns finds that weak social support and residing in a less cohesive neighborhood are each linked to higher odds of food insecurity, independent of income. 🔗

Your zip code should not determine your birth control options. But new data show it does. Medicaid expansion boosted access to more effective contraception in the most disadvantaged communities — yet many are in states that still haven't expanded Medicaid. Read more 👉 tinyurl.com/bdfkvecw

New data challenge a common assumption: that LARC use among young, low-income women delays or replaces childbearing. Among Delaware Medicaid enrollees, 6 in 10 births after LARC removal were planned—even among the youngest women. 👉️

New research finds racial and ethnic gaps in who gets obesity-management medications in the US. Asian, Black and Hispanic adults are less likely than White adults to receive these treatments—even after accounting for health and socioeconomic factors. Via @ccpratucla.bsky.social 📖

We often link racial differences in elder care to cultural values. New research says the bigger story is structural. Black and Hispanic older adults rely more on family caregivers not due to stronger family values but lower marriage rates, lower incomes, and less access to paid care.

More than 1 in 3 divorces in the US involve adults 50+. New research finds that older adults who divorce are less likely to find a new partner when they have strong ties to their adult children—whether through living together, staying close, frequent contact, or financial support. 🔗

Some pregnant patients seeking permanent contraception were told to think about it more. Others learned about a required 30-day waiting period only during delivery, too late to have the procedure as planned. A new study finds 1 in 5 did not feel supported by their clinical team. 📑

Misinformation about contraception and abortion was widespread among pregnant people in Ohio—whether or not they visited a crisis pregnancy center. Researchers suggest the broader information environment may be contributing to the problem and call for proactive counseling. 🔗

Thanks @um-psc.bsky.social for highlighting our paper in JPE Micro... Establishing common humanity improves relations between migrant workers and employers in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. w/ @tomanbarsbai.com @andreassteinmayr.net @vojtabartos.bsky.social, E. Tiongson, V. Licuanan

“What if the apportionment of variation among racial groups is not, in the first instance, a meaningful exercise? A good first step toward developing an antiracist science of human variation is to stop taking the racists’ categories for granted”

🎡 PSC alum @luciekalousova.bsky.social et al use Health and Retirement Study data that show advanced care planning provides meaningful psychological benefits for surviving spouses. #PAA2026

🎡 Inequality scholar and PSC trainee Catalina Anampa Castro compares various measures of wealth, including childhood net worth and components or net worth-- as predictors of racial disparities in educational outcomes. Don't miss this talk Friday at #PAA2026! Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics#PAA2026

New research shows that, in the mid-20th century, China was able to achieve remarkably rapid declines in child mortality in the absence of economic growth, by investing in healthcare. bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/4/2/...

#PAA2026- check out this webinar on supporting family caregivers from our friends at IHPI, and find caregiving presentations at PAA from @spattersearch.bsky.social, Esther Friedman, @nhats-nsoc.bsky.social and more

Want to live longer and better? Try volunteering... @seoyounkimphd.bsky.social presents findings from HRS data today at #PAA2026. @nacda-icpsr.bsky.social Read more on this research from @theconversation.com: theconversation.com/want-to-stay...

THIS FRIDAY, MAY 8th at #PAA2026 PSC Researchers will present their research @caiqixin.bsky.social @pgonalon.bsky.social @hjkatelyn.bsky.social @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social @leticiamarteleto.bsky.social#PAA2026... Full Schedule: https://www.pop.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/2026-05-06PennAtPAA2026.pdf

⏰ #PAA2026 Wake up for this one tomorrow!

Women with moderate-to-severe menopause symptoms had low rates of hormone therapy initiation overall—and rates were lower still among current tobacco users and those with a history of other drug use. A new study points to potential gaps in menopause care for underserved populations.🔗

⏰Working long hours and eating poorly are each linked to higher obesity and cardiovascular risk—and a new study suggests the combination may be worse than either alone. 🥗 A healthy diet may help offset some of the cardiometabolic risks of long working hours. 👉️

🧠 Does losing a spouse affect cognitive health—and does timing matter? For women, it depends on age. A new study finds women widowed in midlife show lower cognitive function—but women widowed in older adulthood show the opposite. Timing, caregiving and supports help explain why.

Black women are nearly twice as likely as White women to have obesity—but the gap isn't mainly about diet or exercise. A new study finds disadvantaged neighborhoods and single-parent households in adolescence, plus lower adult income, explain most of the disparity. 🔗

A long-standing puzzle in perinatal research: Black infants born extremely early are more likely to survive than white infants born at the same stage. New research suggests stillbirth—driven by racial inequity—may be part of the reason why. 🔗 buff.ly/ULRApdv

How your parents talked to you shapes how you feel about yourself as an adult — and that self-confidence matters for your own kids' wellbeing. A new longitudinal study traces the chain across three generations. Supporting parent-child communication could have ripple effects.🔗