Life expectancy may affect when you get married, divorced, have kids: Queen's University study

People may be subconsciously influenced by how long they think they will live, Queen’s study finds

2012-04-10

(Press-News.org) Major life decisions such as marriage, divorce, abortion, having a child and attending university may be subconsciously influenced by how long people believe they will live, according to a Queen's University study.

"Life expectancy might be driving all of these major decisions," says Daniel Krupp, a post doctoral fellow in the Queen's math department who has a background in psychology and biology.

The longer someone expects to live, the more time they will invest in education. If life expectancy is short, someone may decide to get married and have children sooner, or stick with the partner they are currently with rather than seek a divorce.

It is impossible to know how long someone is going to live, but there are many life expectancy cues not consciously processed, affecting how many more years people expect to live. How healthy are they? Do they have a risky job? Are their grandparents still alive? Is there a history of disease in the family?

A branch of evolutionary theory known as life history theory predicts life expectancy to influence major life decisions in humans, as it does in the lives of other animals. Dr. Krupp's findings based on population data from Statistics Canada help to confirm this.

###The study just been published online by the Archives of Sexual Behaviour.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Caution needed when curbing overuse of healthcare resources, study suggests

2012-04-10

NEW YORK, April 9, 2012 – In the current hyper-charged United States healthcare debate, the focus on lowering cost without compromising quality of care remains a priority. But according to a new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues, one common approach may have serious unintended consequences. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF) Clinical Scholars program and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the study, which appears today in the April issue of Health Affairs, examines the potential impact of policies ...

Heart failure patients with diabetes may benefit from higher glucose levels

2012-04-10

Lowering glucose levels for people with diabetes is normally critical to improving health outcomes. But for those with heart failure, that might not always be the case, say UCLA researchers. A new study found that for advanced heart failure patients with diabetes, having higher blood glucose levels may actually help improve survival rates. Currently published online in the American Journal of Cardiology, UCLA researchers compared levels of a marker used to track glucose levels called glycosylated hemoglobin in advanced heart failure patients with and without diabetes. ...

New Jersey Attorney Hanan M. Isaacs Featured Speaker for West LegalEdcenter CLE: E-Discovery and Evidence in the Era of Social Media

2012-04-10

Techniques for leveraging e-discovery and social media evidence. The West LegalEdcenter webinar will include discussions on the importance of e-discovery and social media evidence and how to use it as leverage in civil and criminal litigation. Mr. Isaacs, a New Jersey attorney, mediator, and arbitrator, will provide techniques for obtaining e-discovery and uses for social media. He will also cover material on the recent privacy invasion and bullying issues that resulted in the Rutgers University student's criminal trial and guilty verdicts. Hanan M. lsaacs, M.A., J.D., ...

Job injuries among youth prompt calls for better safety standards

2012-04-10

AURORA, Colo. (April 9, 2012) – Dozens of American youth under the age of 20 die on the job each year while thousands more are injured, often due to poorly regulated work environments, according to a new report released by the Colorado School of Public Health. "We don't tend to think of child labor as a major issue in the U.S. but we should," said the study's lead author Carol Runyan, Ph.D., MPH, and professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health. "Laws governing the employment of youth ages 14 to 17 in this country are often very lenient and in the ...

TravelShark(TM) Honors 30 Unique Travel Discoveries with New Breed of Travel Award

2012-04-10

TravelShark today unveiled the first 30 winners of the Sharky Awards, a hyper-local awards program designed to recognize the freshest, most inspiring travel experiences across the globe. The first group of winners is divided into three categories: People, Places, and Things. TravelShark launched the Sharky Awards in late 2011 and named this class of honorees as its first quarterly collection of rare discoveries and unique finds that make memorable additions to people's travel itineraries. TravelShark singled out the water slide at Golden Nugget Las Vegas for top ...

Loss of predators in Northern Hemisphere affecting ecosystem health

2012-04-10

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A survey done on the loss in the Northern Hemisphere of large predators, particularly wolves, concludes that current populations of moose, deer, and other large herbivores far exceed their historic levels and are contributing to disrupted ecosystems. The research, published today by scientists from Oregon State University, examined 42 studies done over the past 50 years. It found that the loss of major predators in forest ecosystems has allowed game animal populations to greatly increase, crippling the growth of young trees and reducing biodiversity. ...

Corneal thickness linked to early stage Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

2012-04-10

A national consortium of researchers has published new findings that could change the standard of practice for those treating Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD), a disease characterized by cornea swelling that can eventually lead to the need for corneal transplantation. The Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy Genetics Multi-Center Study Group, led by co-principal investigators Jonathan Lass, MD, Charles I Thomas Professor and chair, Case Western Reserve University Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director, University Hospitals Eye Institute, ...

Rapid method of assembling new gene-editing tool could revolutionize genetic research

2012-04-10

Development of a new way to make a powerful tool for altering gene sequences should greatly increase the ability of researchers to knock out or otherwise alter the expression of any gene they are studying. The new method allows investigators to quickly create a large number of TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases), enzymes that target specific DNA sequences and have several advantages over zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), which have become a critical tool for investigating gene function and potential gene therapy applications. "I believe that TALENs ...

UCSB study shows forest insects and diseases arrive in US via imported plants

2012-04-10

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — The trade in live plants from around the world has become a major industry in the United States, with new imports now valued at more than $500 billion annually. According to a study conducted by researchers at UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, however, what has proved to be a boon for the economy has also been shown to have devastating effects on the environment. The multidisciplinary working group found that almost 70 percent of the most damaging non-native forest insects and diseases currently afflicting ...

New finding offers neurological support for Adam Smith's 'theories of morality'

2012-04-10

The part of the brain we use when engaging in egalitarian behavior may also be linked to a larger sense of morality, researchers have found. Their conclusions, which offer scientific support for Adam Smith's theories of morality, are based on experimental research published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, coming seven months after the start of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, which has been aimed at addressing income inequality, was conducted by researchers from: New York University's Wilf Family Department of Politics; ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Your stroke risk might be higher if your parents divorced during your childhood

Life satisfaction measurement tool provides robust information across nations, genders, ages, languages

Adult children of divorced parents at higher risk of stroke

Anti-climate action groups tend to arise in countries with stronger climate change efforts

Some coral "walk" towards blue or white light, using rolling, sliding or pulsing movements to migrate, per experiments with free-living mushroom coral Cycloseris cyclolites