Social Sciences

A sweeping American study signals troubling trends for faith communities worldwide, including Thailand’s small but active Christian minority. With Christians making up about 1.4 percent of Thailand’s Buddhist-majority population, Thai leaders are keenly watching how youth engage with church life and spiritual growth.

The State of the Bible study, led by a major Christian publishing organization, surveyed 2,656 adults across the United States to examine how religious participation relates to personal wellbeing. Researchers found a strong link between active church involvement and “human flourishing,” a broad measure of mental, social, and spiritual wellness. The findings offer both caution and an opportunity for Thailand to reflect on local practice.

A comprehensive American study reveals concerning trends that mirror challenges facing Thailand’s minority Christian community

A groundbreaking research initiative by the American Bible Society has uncovered a troubling pattern: Generation Z adults demonstrate the lowest levels of church engagement across all measured demographics in the United States. This revelation carries profound implications for Thailand’s small but vibrant Christian community, which comprises just 1.4 percent of the nation’s predominantly Buddhist population.

In temples and communities across Thailand, many grapple with lingering guilt and self-blame. Some find healing through meditation and social support, while others remain trapped in shame that erodes daily life. New psychological research sheds light on why self-forgiveness comes easily to some and remains elusive for others, offering practical paths for mental health improvement in Thailand.

A landmark study published in Self & Identity examined 80 adults who shared their most painful memories of personal failure. Rather than confirming common wisdom about guilt, the findings reveal four core patterns that separate those who forgive themselves from those who stay stuck in self-criticism. The results hold important lessons for Thailand, which is grappling with rising depression and anxiety after the pandemic and seeking culturally aligned mental health solutions.

Breakthrough research reveals the hidden barriers preventing emotional healing—and offers hope for millions struggling with persistent shame

In temple courtyards across Thailand, countless individuals carry invisible burdens of guilt and self-condemnation. Some find peace through meditation and community support, while others remain trapped in cycles of shame that destroy their wellbeing. Now, groundbreaking psychological research is illuminating exactly why self-forgiveness comes naturally to some people but remains impossibly out of reach for others.

A new qualitative study finds that people who cannot forgive themselves remain trapped in vivid, ongoing replay of past mistakes and oscillate between denying responsibility and accepting it in ways that deepen shame rather than heal it. The research, published in Self & Identity, analysed first‑person narratives from 80 U.S. adults and identified four recurring psychological patterns — being “stuck” in the past, conflicted personal agency, threats to social‑moral identity, and avoidant coping — that help explain why self‑forgiveness is possible for some but out of reach for others (What makes self‑forgiveness so difficult? Understanding …). The findings were reported in a public summary by PsyPost (New research reveals what makes self‑forgiveness possible or out of reach).

In Buddhist temples across Thailand, many seek forgiveness for past mistakes. But groundbreaking psychological research reveals that some people remain imprisoned by self-blame due to a profound internal conflict — and understanding this struggle could transform how Thai families, clinicians, and communities support healing.

A comprehensive qualitative study published in Self & Identity has uncovered the psychological mechanics behind why certain individuals cannot forgive themselves, while others successfully move forward from guilt and shame. The research reveals that people trapped in self-condemnation face a deep conflict between two fundamental psychological needs: personal agency and moral identity.

A new psychological study explains why some individuals in Thai communities remain trapped by guilt, even as many seek forgiveness in temples and family circles. The findings offer practical insights for Thai families, clinicians, and community groups working to support healing through both faith and modern psychology.

Researchers conducted a qualitative analysis of personal experiences with self-forgiveness, comparing 41 people who could not forgive themselves with 39 who eventually moved past guilt. The study, published in Self & Identity, used narrative methods to explore how people process mistakes ranging from parenting regrets to betrayals. Data from this research highlight four patterns that separate those who heal from those who remain stuck.

A new qualitative study in Self & Identity finds that some people remain trapped in self-condemnation because of a deep conflict between two basic psychological needs — agency (the sense of being able to act) and social‑moral identity (the need to see oneself as a good person). The research shows that being “stuck” often looks like living in the past, toggling between denial and hyper-responsibility, and relying on avoidance rather than working through guilt; by contrast, people who manage self‑forgiveness shift toward the future, accept limits, and engage in meaning‑making and repair. The findings matter because unresolved self-blame is linked to depression and other harms and because understanding the psychological mechanics can help Thai clinicians, families and Buddhist community networks support healing more effectively (PsyPost summary).

A new wave of research warns that AI capable of humanlike emotions may blunt how people view real workers. In five experiments, psychologists found that emotionally adept machines can lead to what they call assimilation-induced dehumanization, where humans are deemed less worthy of empathy. The findings have immediate implications for Thailand, where service industries employ a large segment of the workforce and rely on genuine human connection.

Thailand’s service economy is poised to grow further as AI tools expand in hotels, tour operators, call centers, and retail. With roughly 46% of workers in service roles, emotional labor remains central to job performance and livelihoods. Policymakers, business leaders, and tech developers must consider how AI’s social presence could affect worker dignity and customer expectations.

A new analysis shows Ohioans die younger than the national average, shedding light on how environment, lifestyle, and access to care shape lifespans. For Thailand, which is undergoing rapid urbanization and health transitions, Ohio’s experience offers cautious lessons and practical solutions for safeguarding population health.

A health insights platform evaluated states on health infrastructure and environmental risk. Ohio ranks poorly due to high smoking rates, air pollution, and limited access to healthy foods and fitness facilities. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Ohio’s life expectancy at birth was 74.5 years in 2021, trailing the national average and many states by several years.

A multi-experiment psychology study finds that interacting with autonomous agents that display socio-emotional skills can make people judge those machines as more humanlike — and, worryingly, judge other humans as less human and more acceptable to mistreat. The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology and available via the London School of Economics repository, uses five controlled experiments to show a chain from perceiving emotional ability in AI to lower “humanness” ratings of people, and finally to real choices that disadvantage human workers (e.g., preferring a company linked with poor working conditions or withholding a small donation to support staff) (PsyPost coverage; study PDF; journal record).

A new U.S. state ranking focused on health infrastructure and environmental risks finds Ohioans are living shorter lives than residents of most states, and points to high smoking rates, poor air quality and limited access to healthy food and exercise options as key contributors. The report, compiled by healthcare staffing platform Nursa and summarized in local coverage, places Ohio among the states with the lowest life expectancy and uses measures such as number of parks and gyms, store food offerings, pollution and smoking prevalence to explain variation across states (Mahoning Matters).

Groundbreaking psychological research has uncovered an unsettling paradox at the heart of artificial intelligence development. When machines display emotional intelligence that closely mirrors human capabilities, people begin viewing actual humans as less worthy of compassion and humane treatment. This phenomenon, documented through five rigorous experiments published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, poses immediate risks for Thailand’s service-dependent economy, where millions of workers rely on human emotional connection for their livelihoods.

A comprehensive analysis of American health outcomes reveals Ohio residents face significantly shorter lifespans than most Americans, dying approximately two years earlier than the national average. The stark findings illuminate how environmental factors, lifestyle patterns, and healthcare access combine to determine who lives longer and who faces premature death. For Thailand, currently experiencing rapid health transitions and urbanization pressures, Ohio’s struggles offer both cautionary lessons and evidence-based solutions for protecting population health.

Groundbreaking demographic research reveals a powerful correlation between America’s declining religiosity and plummeting birth rates, adding crucial cultural dimensions to economic explanations for the nation’s fertility crisis while providing stark warnings for Thailand’s even more severe population challenges. Comprehensive analysis from leading research institutions, including extensive reporting synthesis by major news outlets, detailed demographic studies from the Institute for Family Studies, and new data from the Pew Research Center’s 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study, demonstrates that highly religious Americans consistently maintain much larger families than their secular counterparts, while the growing population of religiously unaffiliated individuals has dramatically reduced their fertility to levels comparable with the world’s lowest-birth-rate societies. The fertility gap between religious and secular Americans has widened significantly over recent decades, with researchers calculating that virtually the entire decline in U.S. fertility from 2012 to 2019 can be attributed to growing irreligion combined with the exceptionally low birth rates among non-religious populations. Most critically for Thai readers, these findings illuminate how cultural and spiritual institutions provide essential social scaffolding for family formation—scaffolding that Thailand has been rapidly losing through urbanization, secularization, and changing social values, contributing to the kingdom’s catastrophic fertility decline that now threatens long-term economic stability and intergenerational support systems.

A growing body of demographic research finds a clear association between declining religiosity in the United States and the nation’s falling birth rate, adding a cultural dimension to well-known economic explanations for fewer children. Recent reporting and data syntheses – notably a long-form piece in Newsweek summarizing experts’ views, a detailed demographic analysis posted by the Institute for Family Studies, and new estimates from the Pew Research Center’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study – show that Americans who are more religious tend to have larger families, while the religiously unaffiliated have had markedly fewer children in recent decades. At the same time, the number of people who identify as nonreligious has grown, meaning the fertility gap by religion now helps explain a meaningful share of the overall decline in U.S. births. These trends matter to Thailand because Thai fertility has fallen even more rapidly, and understanding cultural as well as economic drivers can help shape policies to stabilise family formation and cushion the social effects of population ageing. See the Pew report here, the Institute for Family Studies analysis here, and the CDC’s 2023 birth data here.

A new wave of demographic research shows a clear connection between rising secularism in the United States and falling birth rates. For Thai readers, the findings offer a crucial caution: cultural and social supports for families matter, and rapid changes in values can accelerate population decline if policy does not respond.

Across several large studies, highly religious Americans tend to have larger families than their secular peers. The share of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated has grown steadily, reaching about 29% in recent years. Importantly, women who attend religious services weekly tend to have roughly twice as many children as those who never attend. These patterns help explain much of the drop in national fertility observed since 2012, beyond economic factors alone.

In an era dominated by scrolling, posting, and the intoxicating chase for likes, a growing body of psychology research suggests that those who still keep private journals possess five distinct psychological qualities rarely found in the average social media user. As digital sharing becomes almost obligatory for many—whether for meals, milestones, or even moments of grief—the decision to reach for a notebook instead of a smartphone says far more about the mind than simple nostalgia.

Groundbreaking psychological research demonstrates that individuals who maintain private journals develop five distinct mental attributes that set them apart from typical social media users, offering crucial insights for Thailand’s digitally saturated society where online connectivity rates rank among the world’s highest yet mental health concerns continue escalating. As digital sharing becomes increasingly compulsive for meals, milestones, and personal moments, the conscious choice to write privately rather than post publicly reveals profound psychological differences that impact emotional resilience, authentic self-expression, and long-term wellbeing in ways that challenge contemporary assumptions about digital communication benefits.

A new wave of psychological research shows that people who keep private journals develop five key mental traits that set them apart from heavy social media users. In Thailand’s digitally saturated society, where connectivity ranks among the highest globally, these findings highlight important implications for mental health as online sharing continues to dominate daily life.

The research suggests that the act of writing privately, rather than posting publicly, fosters greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, intrinsic motivation, privacy boundaries, and self-control. Studies involving Thai and international university students indicate that structured reflective journaling can boost metacognitive awareness and help learners adjust strategies in real time, supported by deeper neural network engagement in relevant brain networks.

Groundbreaking research published in the prestigious journal Sexuality & Culture has uncovered the sophisticated psychological mechanisms that drive young adults to maintain ambiguous romantic relationships known as “situationships,” providing crucial insights for understanding evolving relationship patterns among Thai youth navigating complex social expectations in an increasingly connected yet commitment-wary society. This comprehensive investigation into modern romantic behavior reveals that despite lower satisfaction levels compared to traditional committed relationships, individuals consistently choose to remain in these undefined partnerships due to powerful emotional investments, persistent hopes for official commitment, and the fulfillment of specific emotional needs that sustain attachment even without clear relationship definitions. The findings prove particularly relevant for Thailand’s urban youth population, who face unique pressures from traditional family expectations, social media influence, dating application culture, and rapidly changing societal norms that collectively reshape how young Thais approach romantic connections and long-term partnership decisions.

A recent study sheds light on why many young Thais maintain ambiguous romantic relationships, or “situationships,” even when satisfaction and commitment are unclear. Researchers found that emotional investment, hope for future commitment, and the fulfillment of deep emotional needs help sustain these connections in Thailand’s fast-changing social landscape.

The study, conducted with thirty-somethings and university students, reveals that Thai urban youth often pursue relationships that offer companionship and support without the pressure of formal labels. This pattern resonates in Bangkok and other cities where career demands, education, and digital dating culture shape how young people form connections. Data shows that even without explicit plans, individuals report meaningful emotional engagement and a sense of being valued by their partners.

A new study published in Sexuality & Culture has uncovered the reasons why many young adults choose to remain in “situationships”—romantic partnerships that exist in a grey area between casual dating and official commitment. Despite evidence that situationships are often less satisfying than traditional relationships, researchers from the United States found that emotional investment, the hope for a more official bond, and having emotional needs met often keep people attached to these ambiguous romances. The findings are especially relevant as Thai youth and young adults navigate complex dating norms shaped by social media, dating apps, and shifting societal expectations.

A recent study has shed light on why some people seem locked into a pattern of making poor choices, suggesting that our biology and psychology may hardwire certain individuals for repeated mistakes. Conducted by a team at UNSW Sydney, the research invites a fresh and sometimes uncomfortable perspective: for some, the cycle of bad decision-making is less a matter of willpower and more a persistent, personality-like trait. The findings hold significant implications not only for understanding addiction and risk behaviors but also for how Thai society navigates education, workplace dynamics, and social interventions.