Social disconnectedness, loneliness, and mental health among adolescents in Danish high schools : a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background: Previous research has suggested that social disconnectedness experienced at school is linked to mental health problems, however, more research is needed to investigate (1) whether the accumulation of various types of social disconnectedness is associated with risk for mental health problems, and (2) whether loneliness is a mechanism that explains these associations. Methods: Using data from the Danish National Youth Study 2019 (UNG19), nation-wide cross-sectional data from 29,086 high school students in Denmark were analyzed to assess associations between social disconnectedness experienced at school (lack of classmate support, lack of teacher support, lack of class social cohesion, and not being part of the school community) and various mental health outcomes, as well as the mediating role of loneliness for each type of disconnectedness. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations. Results: Descriptive analyses suggest that 27.5% of Danish high school students experience at least one type of social disconnectedness at school. Each type of social disconnectedness was positively associated with mental health problems (depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, stress, sleep problems, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury, eating disorder, body dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem) and negatively associated with mental well-being. In all cases, loneliness significantly mediated the associations. We found a clear dose-response pattern, where each addition in types of social disconnectedness was associated with (1) stronger negative coefficients with mental well-being and (2) stronger positive coefficients with mental health problems. Conclusion: Our results add to a large evidence-base suggesting that mental health problems among adolescents may be prevented by promoting social connectedness at school. More specifically, fostering social connectedness at school may prevent loneliness, which in turn may promote mental well-being and prevent mental health problems during the developmental stages of adolescence. It is important to note that focusing on single indicators of school social connectedness/disconnectedness would appear to be insufficient. Implications for practices within school settings to enhance social connectedness are discussed

Re-Imagining Ecclesiology: A New Missional Paradigm For Community Transformation

This dissertation claims that the church is siloed, disconnected, and disengaged from the communities they are called to serve. The destructive mentalities of a disengaged church may even be complicit in creating and enabling some of these community health problems instead of being a part of the solutions. This research is focused on how ecclesiology, ethnography, and epidemiology is a missional paradigm to improve the gospel’s contextualization and work in community transformation. Chapter 1 demonstrates how increasing public health issues (such as pandemics, chronic diseases, poverty, homelessness, food deserts, addiction, inadequate health care, gun violence, mass incarceration, racism, and social injustice are larger than any one church can address. In spite of increased public awareness and pleas from the public health community for churches to become actively engaged, provide solutions and resources; the destructive mentalities of a disengaged church may even be complicit in creating and enabling some of these community health problems instead of being a part of the solutions. Chapter 2 examines how ecclesiology has been based on a mistranslation, a semiotic void, or a deliberate politically motivated translation of the Greek term ἐκκλησία spoken by Jesus on Matthew 16:18, to show how a proper view of ecclesiology can enable congregations to work together as one church in their city. Chapter 3 introduces ethnography to assist congregations in the semiotic reading of their communities, learning the story, context, and culture in order to join God in His Missio Dei in the neighborhood. Chapter 4 introduces Epidemiology as a system of organized soteriology and eschatology as a means to bring about community wholeness. Chapter 5 presents how contextual intelligence enables congregations to develop cultural competence for contextualizing the gospel. Chapter 6 presents how a church collective, is able to take concrete steps in the work of community transformation

Three Studies Examining the Mechanisms Linking Stress Exposure to Delinquency and Substance Use among North American Indigenous Adolescents

Objective: The purpose of this dissertation research was to examine in three separate studies the mechanisms linking a variety of stressors to delinquency/substance use among North American Indigenous (i.e., American Indian and Canadian First Nations) youth. Method: Data for the three empirical chapters come from an eight-wave longitudinal study of 676 Indigenous youth and their caretakers from three U.S. reservations and four Canadian First Nations reserves. Study 1 Results: The objective was to examine the intergenerational transmission of problem behavior from female caretakers to their children via caretaker stress exposure, psychosocial functioning, and parenting practices. Early caretaker adversity and problem behavior undermined caretaker warmth and support through their positive effects on adult financial strain. Early caretaker problem behavior had a direct negative association with warmth and support and was partially mediated by adult problem behavior. As expected, caretaker warmth and support linked these processes with their child’s problem behavior. Study 2 Results: The objective was to examine the mechanisms linking perceived racial discrimination with aggression. Path analysis results showed that discrimination was indirectly associated with aggression through its negative effect on school bonds and positive effect on delinquent peer associations. The indirect effect for school bonds, however, was stronger when depressive symptoms were high. Delinquent peer associations also amplified the positive effect of perceived discrimination on aggression. Depressive symptoms did not operate as a mediator or moderator. Study 3 Results: The objective was to examine ecological moderators of the relation between violence exposure and meeting past year criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD). Logistic regression analyses suggested that dating violence victimization amplified the effect caretaker victimization had on SUD risk, whereas family warmth and support buffered this association. Moreover, the effect of community violence exposure on SUD risk was greater for those living in remote communities and high income families. Although delinquent peer associations had a direct effect on SUD risk, it did not moderate any of the violence exposure measures. Conclusion: Collectively, this dissertation demonstrates the usefulness of stress-based models for understanding heightened Indigenous delinquency and substance use, and provides insights into prevention/intervention policies among Indigenous youth. Advisor: Lisa Kort-Butle