Loneliness across cultures with different levels of social embeddedness:A qualitative study

Valid theorizing and quantitative comparisons of loneliness across cultures require cross‐culturally similar meanings of loneliness. However, we know little about whether this is the case: Influential conceptualizations of loneliness mostly come from North America or Europe, where individuals tend to have relatively few stable social relationships and social interactions (i.e., less socially embedded cultures). We thus compare selected conceptualizations of loneliness from the literature to loneliness experiences that are reported in 42 semi‐structured interviews from countries with different levels of social embeddedness (Austria, Bulgaria, Israel, Egypt, India). Encouragingly, our thematic analysis does not suggest fundamental qualitative differences in loneliness definitions, perceived causes, or remedies. Nevertheless, we noticed and discuss aspects that may not be sufficiently considered in previous literature

Country-Level Meritocratic Beliefs Moderate the Social Gradient in Adolescent Mental Health: A Multilevel Study in 30 European Countries

Purpose: Adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) report better mental health. The strength of the association—the “social gradient in adolescent mental health”—varies across countries, with stronger associations in countries with greater income inequality. Country-level meritocratic beliefs (beliefs that people get what they deserve) may also strengthen the social gradient in adolescent mental health; higher SES may be more strongly linked to adolescent's perceptions of capability and respectful treatment. Methods: Using data from 11–15 year olds across 30 European countries participating in the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 131,101), multilevel regression models with cross-level interactions examined whether country-level meritocratic beliefs moderated the association between two individual-level indicators of SES, family affluence and perceived family wealth, and three indicators of adolescent mental health (life satisfaction, psychosomatic complaints, and aggressive behavior). Results: For family affluence, in some countries, there was a social gradient in adolescent mental health, but in others the social gradient was absent or reversed. For perceived family wealth, there was a social gradient in adolescent life satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints in all countries. Country-level meritocratic beliefs moderated associations between SES and both life satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints: in countries with stronger meritocratic beliefs associations with family affluence strengthened, while associations with perceived family wealth weakened. Conclusions: Country-level meritocratic beliefs moderate the associations between SES and adolescent mental health, with contrasting results for two different SES measures. Further understanding of the mechanisms connecting meritocratic beliefs, SES, and adolescent mental health is warranted

Longitudinal bidirectional associations between internalizing mental disorders and cardiometabolic disorders in the general adult population

Purpose This prospective population-based study investigated whether having any internalizing mental disorder (INT) was associated with the presence and onset of any cardiometabolic disorder (CM) at 3-year follow-up; and vice versa. Furthermore, we examined whether observed associations differed when using longer time intervals of respectively 6 and 9 years. Methods Data were used from the four waves (baseline and 3-, 6- and 9-year follow-up) of the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2, a prospective study of a representative cohort of adults. At each wave, the presence and first onset of INT (i.e. any mood or anxiety disorder) were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0; the presence and onset of CM (i.e. hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke) were based on self-report. Multilevel logistic autoregressive models were controlled for previous-wave INT and CM, respectively, and sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle covariates. Results Having any INT predicted both the presence (OR 1.28, p = 0.029) and the onset (OR 1.46, p = 0.003) of any CM at the next wave (3-year intervals). Having any CM was not significantly related to the presence of any INT at 3-year follow-up, while its association with the first onset of any INT reached borderline significance (OR 1.64, p = 0.06), but only when examining 6-year intervals. Conclusions Our findings indicate that INTs increase the risk of both the presence and the onset of CMs in the short term, while CMs may increase the likelihood of the first onset of INTs in the longer term. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the observed associations

National-level wealth inequality and socioeconomic inequality in adolescent mental well-being: a time series analysis of 17 countries

Purpose: Although previous research has established a positive association between national income inequality and socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health, very little is known about the extent to which national-level wealth inequalities (i.e., accumulated financial resources) are associated with these inequalities in health. Therefore, this study examined the association between national wealth inequality and income inequality and socioeconomic inequality in adolescents' mental well-being at the aggregated level. Methods: Data were from 17 countries participating in three consecutive waves (2010, 2014, and 2018) of the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. We aggregated data on adolescents' life satisfaction, psychological and somatic symptoms, and socioeconomic status (SES) to produce a country-level slope index of inequality and combined it with country-level data on income inequality and wealth inequality (n = 244,771). Time series analyses were performed on a pooled sample of 48 country-year groups. Results: Higher levels of national wealth inequality were associated with fewer average psychological and somatic symptoms, while higher levels of national income inequality were associated with more psychological and somatic symptoms. No associations between either national wealth inequality or income inequality and life satisfaction were found. Smaller differences in somatic symptoms between higher and lower SES groups were found in countries with higher levels of national wealth inequality. In contrast, larger differences in psychological symptoms and life satisfaction (but not somatic symptoms) between higher and lower SES groups were found in countries with higher levels of national income inequality. Conclusions: Although both national wealth and income inequality are associated with socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being at the aggregated level, associations are in opposite directions. Social policies aimed at a redistribution of income resources at the national level could decrease socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental well-being while further research is warranted to gain a better understanding of the role of national wealth inequality in socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine

HBSC 2021. Gezondheid en welzijn van jongeren in Nederland

De mentale gezondheid van meisjes in Nederland is tussen 2017 en 2021 sterk verslechterd. Dat blijkt uit het Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC)-rapport, met daarin de resultaten van 20 jaar onderzoek naar het welzijn en de gezondheid van jongeren in Nederland. Vandaag wordt het rapport tijdens het symposium ‘Jong in de 21ste eeuw’ in Utrecht uitgereikt aan Hare Majesteit Koningin Máxima

Alcohol use: Biology, Neurology, and Cognition in Adolescence Adolescent Health

Experimenting with alcohol use in adolescence is age‐normative behavior. Around 60–80% of adolescents have experimented with alcohol use before the age of 18. However, for some adolescents this experimenting with drinking results in persistent and uncontrolled use of alcohol. Why are some adolescents more resilient or vulnerable to alcohol misuse? And can we identify possible risky drinking patterns in adolescence? This entry discusses predictors and consequences of alcohol use while focusing on both social and cognitive processes in relation to trajectories of alcohol use in adolescence and young adulthood

Hong Kong University Students’ Normative Beliefs about Aggression toward Police: The Role of Ecological Risks and Future Perspective

Ample social protests occurred in Hong Kong during 2019-2020 to achieve various political goals. One of the goals was to require an investigation of police’s excessive and brutal enforcement while handling the protests. University students were actively involved in the protests. Normative beliefs about aggression toward police (NBAGG→P) play an important role in students’ behavior during the protests. In this cross-sectional study, we quantified NBAGG→P among Hong Kong university students (N=1,025) and examined the associations between NBAGG→P and multiple ecological risks (i.e., distrust in institutions, exposure to community violence, poor family monitoring, poor university discipline and affiliation with delinquent peers). Moreover, we examined the protective and buffering role of future orientation. The results showed that about 78.6% students had participated in social protests and about 35.4% of them had engaged in aggressive acts during protests. Students reported medium levels of NBAGG→P, and NBAGG→P was positively related to participation in social protests and use of aggression during protests. Except for poor family monitoring, other ecological risks were related to higher levels of NBAGG→P. Moreover, a positive future orientation was related to lower levels of NBAGG→P. Future orientation moderated the link between distrust in institutions and NBAGG→P. The relation was stronger for students with a more positive future orientation than those with a less positive future orientation. These findings offer insights in understanding young people’s aggressive attitude and promoting positive social participation

Facebook intensity, social network support, stability and satisfaction in long-distance and geographically-close romantic relationships: A test of a mediation model

The impetus for this study is the proposition that social network sites (SNSs), like Facebook, can be beneficial for romantic relationships via network support functions. This study investigated a model which proposes that the use of Facebook predicts relationship support from Facebook connections, and this, in turn, predicts relationship stability and satisfaction in romantic relationships. This mediation model was tested on data gathered via an online survey among individuals who use Facebook, who are in long-distance (LDRR, n = 142) and geographically-close romantic relationships (GCRR, n = 314). GCRR participants reported higher levels of Facebook intensity and relationship support, as well as perceived relationship stability and satisfaction than participants in LDRR. Moreover, the results indicated that Facebook intensity predicted higher access to Facebook relationship support in LDRR and GCRR which, in turn, predicted perceived relationship stability and satisfaction in LDRR; and only perceived relationship satisfaction in GCRR. However, Facebook intensity had direct negative impacts on relationship satisfaction in GCRR, and on perceived relationship stability in LDRR. Facebook intensity and Facebook relationship support were not associated with relationship stability in GCRR. This demonstrates the relative importance of SNSs, such as Facebook, in relationship stability for those in LDRR

Keeping secrets from parents: on galloping horses, prancing ponies and pink unicorns

We identify the need for a new wave of research on adolescent secrecy in their relationship with parents that relinquishes the focus on the nomothetic objective of finding general principles. This third wave builds on novel insights on three fallacies committed in previous waves of research: (1) between-person effects do not necessarily provide insights into within-family processes (the ecological fallacy), (2) within-family processes are not necessarily homogeneous across adolescents and families (the one size fits all fallacy), and (3) longer-term effects are not necessarily identical to short-term processes (the galloping horse fallacy). This approach promises to provide us with a more person-specific understanding of adolescent secrecy from parents, which enables more tailored insights as to when and for whom secrecy is bad versus good