SEATTLE -- Ramen noodles are supplanting the once popular cigarettes as a form of currency among state prisoners, but not in response to bans on tobacco products within prison systems, finds a new study.

Instead, study author Michael Gibson-Light, a doctoral candidate in the University of Arizona School of Sociology, found that inmates are trying to figure out ways to better feed themselves as certain prison services are being defunded.

The rise of ramen as currency in prison signals "punitive frugality," indicating that the burden and cost of care is shifting away from prison systems and onto prisoners and their support networks, said Gibson-Light, who will present his research at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Job satisfaction in your late 20s and 30s has a link to overall health in your early 40s, according to a new nationwide study.

While job satisfaction had some impact on physical health, its effect was particularly strong for mental health, researchers found.

Those less than happy with their work early in their careers said they were more depressed and worried and had more trouble sleeping.

And the direction of your job satisfaction - whether it is getting better or worse in your early career - has an influence on your later health, the study showed.

Youth cyberbullying is dramatically more likely to occur between current or former friends and dating partners than between students who were never friends or in a romantic relationship, according to researchers.

"A common concern regarding cyberbullying is that strangers can attack someone, but here we see evidence that there are significant risks associated with close connections," said Diane Felmlee, professor of sociology, Penn State. "The large magnitude of the effects of close relationships on the likelihood of cyberbullying, even after controlling for many other factors, was particularly surprising."

A new paper by Lawrence S. Mayer, M.B., M.S., Ph.D. and Paul R. McHugh, M.D., both of Johns Hopkins University, uses more than 200 peer-reviewed studies across a variety of scientific fields including epidemiology, genetics, endocrinology, psychiatry, neuroscience, embryology, and pediatrics to try and explain the higher rates of and explanations for mental health problems among the LGBT community and scientifically addresses some of the most frequently heard claims about sexuality and gender. 

They declare that:

· The belief that sexual orientation is an innate, biologically fixed human property — that people are “born that way” — is not supported by scientific evidence.

Associate sociology professor Julie Brines and doctoral candidate Brian Serafini claims there is quantitative evidence of a seasonal, biannual pattern of filings for divorce - determined by analyzing filings in Washington state between 2001 and 2015. Statistics show that they consistently peaked in March and August, the periods following winter and summer holidays. 

Wealthy elites try to portray traditional values as something held by poor people, but a new sociology paper contends it is based on gender, not wealth or education. And that's why women are more likely to shoulder the bulk of housekeeping and childhood duties.