Once again, I'm coming across the published results of research, much of which just seems like a silly waste of money. Of course, just how much money or resources of other sorts has gone into the 'science' that is studies isn't mentioned anywhere I can find ... it's only the 'results' that get the fanfare.

With that in mind, prepare for ta daaaaaa!

Starting with stating the obvious, here's a doh! for you:

Advertising that looks at girls and young women through a sexual lens can do harm to their mental and physical health, states a report released by the American Psychological Association.

See? Doh!

The Association goes on the say that, "making women into sex objects or defining them by their sexual appeal or behavior -- a common trend in all the media forms studied -- can lead to disturbing consequences."

Wow! Let's all get our pencils out and write that down, shall we?

Turns out that these experts have now established that 'sexualization' can undermine a girl's confidence, cause eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression and "impede development of a healthy sexual self-image."

Another brilliant use of study funds has shown that fathers can have an important influence on their children.

Yep. Dads are parents too. Film at 11.

The survey of orphans, children of divorced parents and children of married parents drew a link between the quality of the child's relationships with dad and his or her success at intimate bonding in adulthood, said study author Dr. Nurit Nahmani of the University of Haifa School of Social Work in Israel.

Sheeesh!

Oh. Oh. One more from this same link up there at the top ...

Secure babies grow into children who can make friends easily and will have healthier relationships as adults.

"Expression of emotions in adult romantic relationships can be related back to a person's attachment experiences during earlier social development. Those participants who were secure and attached as infants were rated with higher social competence as children.

"Children who were socially competent amongst peers were found to be more secure and closer to their friends at age 16. Participants who were closer to friends as a teen were more expressive and emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early adulthood."

Can I be forgiven if I sheesh again?

And one more, although this one actually has some new info that is interesting ...

The University of Maryland has found that stressed mothers may activate a gene in their kids that may cause shyness.

Fox's study supports a small and growing amount of literature emphasizing that the combination of genetics and environment is critical in determining personality and future development of children, Cloninger said.

"It is a reasonable model of how parental care and social supports interact with whether or not the child is already inhibited (genetically)," he said. "It is very much in line with other results that have been found."

Yes, this one is worth a read. The others? You've seen all you need to see right here.