For older adults, friendship might be the best medicine. Researchers say that doing small favors for close friends — like offering a ride or lending a hand — can boost happiness and give people a greater sense of purpose.

A University of Michigan study found that older adults who provide practical help to close friends tend to experience more positive emotions in daily life.&n...

Nostalgia might be met by eyerolls from some, as the emotion might inspire insipid images of rose-tinted glasses, gooey sentimentality and living in a time-lost past.

But people prone to nostalgia have an edge when it comes to their health and well-being, a new study says.

Nostalgic people have more close friends and put more effort into maintaining friendships and relationships tha...

Simple neglect can be as damaging to a child’s social development as physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

Children whose basic needs aren’t met can have lifelong damage done to their ability to form friendships and romantic relationships, researchers reported in ...

Close friendships are incredibly important to the mental health of middle-aged folks and seniors, a new study finds.

Older adults with worse mental or physical health were twice as likely to say they don’t have any close friends, according to results from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.

“With growing understanding of the importance of social co...

Friendships forged during a person’s turbulent teenage years lay the essential foundation for their happiness later in life, a new study suggests.

Being broadly accepted by peers in early adolescence and forming close connections as an older teen both predict how ...

If you're a 20-something who is unattached, having good friends is a key to happiness, new research shows. 

"The quality of your friendships is a key factor for your well-being, especially if you're single," a team led by Lisa Walsh, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported Oct. 2 in the journal...

Loneliness has been a major concern in America, particularly in the wake of the social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But friendships are not in decline in the United States, a new study has found.

An American adult has an average of four to five friends, similar to numbers reporte...

Eight healthy habits could add years to your life.

A new study of more than 700,000 U.S. veterans breaks down the habits that when adopted by middle age, can help someone live substantially longer than folks who don't have these habits.

These are the big eight:

• Be physically active.
• Don't smoke.
• Don't get addicted to opioids.
• Don't binge-drink on a...

Living in a walkable neighborhood fosters socialization and helps create a strong sense of community, new research shows.

Among the active behaviors these walkable neighborhoods promote are walking for leisure or as transportation to school, work shopping or home.

"Our built environments create or deny long-lasting opportunities for socialization, physical activity, contact with na...

There is little that is harder than watching a loved one struggle with depression. So what can you do?

More than you might think, experts say.

First, depression is a mood disorder that can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, socioeconomic status or gender. Symptoms ranging from mild to severe and it impacts the way you feel, think and behave, according to the