NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Synergy in Basic and Applied BSSR

(Submitted on behalf of Society for Social Work and Research)

Social workers and social work researchers can help NIH achieve their research goals through the specific social and behavioral lens by which they view engaging individuals in research. In turn, this leads to better outcomes that are more reflective of human behavior. Social work research prioritizes studies that have an action-research component and are translational.... more »

(Submitted on behalf of the American Psychological Association.)

Climate change and its consequences – including pandemics and natural disasters -- are virtually certain to grow in incidence and intensity throughout the U.S. and world over the next several decades. Their impacts include PTSD, depression, social and economic disruption, and violence. Impacts may be strongest among population groups that are already disadvantaged... more »

The Association for Psychological Science (APS) thanks the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) for the opportunity to comment on priorities for behavioral and social science research at NIH. A 30,000-member organization of psychological scientists, clinicians, researchers, and students, APS commends OBSSR for its leadership but believes that the behavioral and social science research and training... more »

Dissociative symptoms are not well known or understood by General Practitioners, doctors, psychiatrists and patients themselves.These symptoms are difficult to identify, articulate, seek help for and understand and may coincide with a trauma history. Traditional and innovative approaches to trauma conditions are known to exacerbate dissociative symptoms and worsen health outcomes. Neuro-physiological education of the... more »

Social environment such as social connections and support is a significant factor influencing individual health, well-being, and substance use disorders including alcohol addiction (1-5). Social isolation including feelings of loneliness, in particular, is known to lead to significant behavioral, affective, neurophysiological, and neurobiological changes (6, 7). There is strong evidence that social isolation induces neurobiological... more »

Over the past decade there has been a troubling increase in feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, suicidal ideation, and trauma in both our student population and the country as a whole. Of course, many factors underlie and relate to these feelings. Unfortunately, they will only be exacerbated by the current coronavirus crisis and whatever comes after. The behavioral and social sciences are already part... more »

In past and present NIH-funded research projects, basic behavioral science research has included the assessment of behavior in non-human animals. Many animal behavioral experiments have come under criticism within the scientific and wider community for lacking relevance to human behavior and for inflicting considerable harms on animals. These include, but are not limited to, the forced swim test, tail suspension test,... more »

Many behavioral science theories depend on creating an emotional state in an individual. Basic research exploring areas of mind suggest that key emotions play a role in memory as well as intentions and action. Translating these findings into applied behavior change fields is a missing link in present health communications research. Neurophysiological sensory research (e.g. fMRI, EEG, eye tracking, facial expression analysis,... more »

The success of heath behavior change often hinges on an individual's ability to sustain effortful self-regulation. Sustaining this effort has proven to be challenging for many because contextual exposures (cues) and psychological states (resources) fluctuate over time.

Learning-based approaches to health behavior change hold promise for promoting more effortless regulation of health behavior. Associative-learning processes... more »

Despite consensus that markers of poverty (food insecurity, unemployment, poor living conditions) are associated with ill health, less is known about the causal relationship between poverty and later health. Similarly, while social and behavioral scientists call for a need to address the social determinants of health, few research programs actually target the structural drivers of ill health.

Pilot funding is needed... more »

It is important that NIH translate the numerous research findings that exposure to electronic product radiation (including from wireless technology) and "dirty" electricity cause serious biological and public health effects in avoidance-based advisory recommendations.

Radiation from wireless technology is both carcinogenic and an endocrine disrupter, among many detrimental biological effects, please read the following... more »

Family medicine provides frontline care for people across their lifespan and within the context of their families, networks, and communities. Therefore, family medicine faculty (both physicians and the social scientists within family medicine departments) can be leaders in the generation of fundamental behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) questions and the application of BSSR. A few examples of the overlap between... more »

Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of learning disabilities would permit early and accurate detection, generate biomarkers that could be used to follow the course and response-to-intervention, and provide targets for potential therapeutic interventions. Since genetic factors account for the largest portion of the variance for the most common learning disabilities - including reading disability, specific... more »

Early pre-symptomatic genetic screening holds promise for identifying children who will likely struggle with attaining developmental expectations in school, and would benefit from timely intervention. Due to the success of three decades of reading research, we know what constitutes effective intervention, but identifying children at an early age when intervention is most effective, remains a formidable challenge. However,... more »

There is still a dearth of work examining how, when, and why palliative care works. We need a multi-disciplinary approach to understand processes of palliative care and also how to implement palliative care across many different health care settings.