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14Ideas

The science of a bad dynamic

A UBC Okanagan researcher offers evidence-based ways to notice and respond to harmful patterns.

Original reporting by Patty Wellborn

The science of a bad dynamic
IdeasSummer social life can bring people closer, but closeness is not always care. This UBC Magazine story gives readers a vocabulary for noticing patterns that make a relationship harder to navigate. The useful move is not to diagnose from a distance. It is to pay attention, set boundaries and use evidence rather than charm as the measure of a healthy dynamic.Photo: Patty Wellborn

Where the work begins

A UBC Okanagan researcher offers evidence-based ways to notice and respond to harmful patterns.

What follows

Further reporting continues across the university network.

At a glance

  • Campus: UBC Vancouver & Okanagan (Point Grey & Kelowna)
  • Focus: Research & public discovery (Ideas)
  • Outcome: Verified reporting (September 2026 issue)
Sources 1
  1. Original reporting · magazine.alumni.ubc.ca

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This story is from the September 2026 issue of Alumni Digest · UBC. It's free, monthly and independent.

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Alumni Digest is independent and is not an official University of British Columbia publication. Stories summarize the public reporting linked under each piece; photographs belong to the credited sources and remain under rights review.