Social Sciences

A supportive relationship with a spouse or partner often is a source of comfort and strength, a buffer against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. By helping both partners manage stress from a variety of sources, it not only can lengthen life, but make it more pleasant. But research shows that close relationships fraught with conflict increase blood pressure, produce cardiovascular strain and alter the function of the immune system, according to Frank Fincham, Ph.D., professor of social and clinical psychology at the University at Buffalo.

The University at Buffalo School of Social Work is taking a pivotal role in a collaborative, community-based program aimed at reducing youth violence in one of the most distressed neighborhoods in Buffalo.

Frank Fincham, UB professor of psychology, will discuss the findings of 30 years of psychological research on marriage and family issues, as well as expose some of the prevalent myths currently held by the public, during a lecture at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 17, in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

In response to concerns that the American health-care system offers almost no palliative care for terminally ill children, psychologist James Donnelly, Ph.D., of the University at Buffalo, is conducting an assessment of the palliative-care needs of terminally ill children and their parents. The needs assessment will be conducted, in part, through brainstorming sessions over the World Wide Web between palliative-care workers, medical personnel and patients' families.

In the wake of the Enron debacle, many Americans will begin to question how much they trust their employers, says a University at Buffalo School of Management professor who researches the development and consequences of trust in the workplace.

Primate evolution, Neanderthal life and the interpretation of human bone will be among the enormous array of topics to be covered April 9-13 when the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA), the largest association of physical anthropologists in the world, meets in Buffalo for the organization's 71st annual conference.

CR: The New Centennial Review, the theoretically inflected interdisciplinary journal of the Americas, has received the Council of Editors of Learned Journals' (CELJ) Phoenix Award for Significant Editorial Achievement for 2001.

An award-winning book by University at Buffalo historian Jorge Canizares-Esguerra examining the emerging identities that shaped the Western hemisphere has been cited as one of the best books of the year by three important international publications and has received two prestigious national awards from the American Historical Association (AHA).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increases craving in drug abusers diagnosed with both conditions, confirming the need to treat the conditions simultaneously, the first laboratory study of the two disorders has shown.

Researchers from the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo are conducting a study to learn what is preventing teen-age girls in Buffalo -- which has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in New York State and one of the highest in the nation -- from taking advantage of area reproductive health services.