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People eat more with friends and family than when dining alone - a possible throwback to our early ancestors' approach to survival, according to a new study. This phenomenon is known as 'social facilitation'. Previous studies found that those eating with others ate up to 48% more food than solo diners and women with obesity eating socially consumed up to 29% more than when eating alone.

The social care records of looked-after children and young people need to include those children's voices, according to a collaborative research project led by UCL with the Care Leaver's Association and the charity Family Action. The MIRRA (Memory - Identity - Rights in Records - Access) project, led by Professor Elizabeth Shepherd (UCL Information Studies), collected interview and focus group data from more than 80 care leavers, social work practitioners and information professionals.

Wales should be following the lead of other nations and developing credible alternatives to imprisonment, a report says. Having previously disclosed that Wales has the highest average imprisonment rate in Western Europe, academics from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre say their analysis of six other judicial systems shows policymakers in Wales how they could potentially reverse this trend.

A report investigating travel habits in seven European cities reveals environmental and social drivers that make people choose to walk. The new research reveals these include social factors such as how safe people feel and how concerned they are about air pollution, and urban design, such as how connected streets are and how close people are to public transport links.

Women benefit hugely from running but society must ensure their exercise time is not compromised by work and family commitments, new research from Cardiff University suggests. Researchers partnered Cardiff University/Cardiff Half Marathon organisers Run 4 Wales to investigate why women run and the barriers around participation.

Researchers based at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research have published a major new report which consolidates existing knowledge on violence in Scotland. A wealth of research has been conducted in Scotland over the last decade which has been essential in helping us understand violent offending in this country, but this is the first time that evidence has been compiled into one document.

Most British adults, including a majority of Leave voters, think existing EU rules would provide "enough control" over EU immigration, according to a UCL and University of Cambridge survey conducted by YouGov. Crucially, the survey revealed that few people are aware of restrictions the UK could enforce under existing EU free movement regulations.

Less than 10 per cent of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) services identify themselves as providing specialist support to military families, according to a new report from the University of Bristol. The report, from the Centre for Gender and Violence Research and funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), also finds a lack of communication between the civilian and military sectors is hampering efforts to support victims and perpetrators of DVA within military families.

New research from the University of Bristol is the first to use a large generational family study to examine links between childhood trauma, the impact of inflammation and self-harm. Epidemiologists examined 4300 young people in Bristol's Children of the 90s study to see if adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as experiencing abuse, witnessing domestic violence or having separated parents are linked to self-harm at the age of 16.

The University of Birmingham have published the results of a Longitudinal Transition Study, funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust, following the experiences of young people with vision impairment from secondary school into further education and employment. Findings from the study show that whilst participants are inching closer to the labour market, common challenges were identified: Just over a fifth (21 per cent) are either 'Not in Education, Employment, or Training' (NEET) or in long term unpaid voluntary work.

Physically violent rapes by multiple perpetrators are most frequently carried out by groups in which a strong leader is able to influence the behaviour of followers, new research shows. According to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Birmingham, Lancaster University and the University of Gloucestershire , the ways in which peer group members mimic the actions of group leaders is a key hallmark of these attacks.

Frequent, heavy social media use can disrupt activities which promote positive mental health in girls, new research suggests. The findings come from the first comprehensive observational study into how very frequent use of platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp may harm the mental health of young people.

A new study from the University of Bristol has linked bone strength to the timing of puberty. Published today (Friday 9 August) in JAMA Network Open researchers looked at six repeated bone scans from 6389 children in Bristol's Children of the 90s study between the ages of ten and 25 to assess if the timing of puberty had any influence on bone density throughout adolescence and into early adulthood.

Children who are constantly moved around the social care system are more likely to be vulnerable to sexual exploitation, new research concludes. Dr Sophie Hallett of Cardiff University led the study, which used case records to track a cohort of 205 children involved with social services in one Welsh local authority.

The number of self-harm incidents in Welsh prisons has reached record levels, figures from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre show. Drawing on data from Freedom of Information requests as well as publicly available Ministry of Justice figures, the report shows that self-harm incidents (excluding HMP Berwyn*) rose by 16% in the year ending March 2019, following a record figure the previous year.

The more strongly someone agrees with the ideas of revolutionary left-wing groups, the more likely they are to sympathise with violent extremism, finds a first of-its-kind study. The new report , by academics at the University of Bristol, Goldsmiths and King's College London, used an innovative survey to measure sympathy for violent extremism and alignment with values similar to those promoted by revolutionary left-wing groups.

A unique new project led by the University of Bristol has received a £960,000 boost to improve integration across Bristol by exploring how its citizens and communities share spaces and move around the city. University researchers on the 'Everyday Integration' project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will work with Bristol City Council and 29 community partners to identify existing best-practice and better understand how to overcome the various barriers people currently face.

A new study from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford has found that while changes to religious diversity may lead to a short-term decrease in quality of life for communities, this is reversed in the long term as societies adjust to multiculturalism. In this study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the authors conducted the most in-depth analysis to date of religious diversity and its effects on societal wellbeing.

A report aiming to improve safeguarding in international development research has been produced by Sussex academics after they were commissioned by the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR). Dr David Orr from the School of Education and Social Work (ESW), Dr Synne Dyvik and Dr Gabrielle Daoust from the School of Global Studies, along with Sushri Sangita Puhan and Professor Janet Boddy also at ESW, were commissioned to conduct an independent evidence review into safeguarding issues that may arise in the international development research context.

Methods from 1,400 years ago could boost water availability during Lima's dry season, according to new Imperial College London research. Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains , the people of Peru 's coastal region rely on surface water from the Andes for drinking water, industry, and animal and crop farming.