A qualitative study examining young peoples' perceptions and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines in Ireland.

BACKGROUND: Public health measures are the main intervention to stop the spread of COVID-19. They rely on the adherence to everyday health behaviors, and depend on those at high and low personal risk of serious disease to comply. Young people are crucial to stemming community transmission, and are often living in shared housing and at a stage of their lives with more economic uncertainty than older groups. Public health messaging has relied on the mantra that we are 'in it together,' despite very diverse experiences of the pandemic across different groups. The central aim of this research is to understand and optimize young peoples' engagement with public health guidelines with the view to improve future adherence with public health initiatives. METHOD: Twelve young people were interviewed as part of this research, ranging from 18 to 24 years. Interviewees were chosen to ensure that there was a diverse range of opinions within the participant pool. Interviews were semi-structured with open questions and the flexibility to explore the topics of interest that arose. All interviews were fully transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: This study found that participants deemed the consequences of lockdown a greater threat than infection with SARS-COV-2. Participants expressed concerns about the government's handling of the pandemic. Some felt young peoples' interests were not represented by authorities. There were concerns that messaging was inaccurate, difficult to understand, and filled with statistical and medical jargon. These perceptions underpinned a sense that the guidelines could be broken in good conscience as well as result in accidental breaches of the guidelines. Though wider community factors were often cited as having a positive influence on health behavior, differences and division were seen to inspire trust or adherence. CONCLUSION: These findings provide an insight into the psychological, financial and physical difficulties young people face as a consequence of pandemic public health measures and lockdowns in particular. They highlight the need for better communication with young people to support and embed trust in authorities and the scientific and political community.

Social cohesion and loneliness are associated with the antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has suggested that psychosocial factors influence the antibody response to vaccine, including SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccines. Here we investigated whether social cohesion and loneliness were predictive of antibody response to a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. We also tested if the association between social cohesion and antibody response was mediated by feelings of loneliness. METHODS: Participants (N = 676) COVID-19 antibody data were extracted from March 2021 wave of the Understanding Society COVID-19 study from the UK. Relevant socio-demographics, health and lifestyle, loneliness, social cohesion indices were also used in a series of hierarchical linear regression to test our main hypotheses. RESULTS: After controlling for covariates (e.g., age and chronic health conditions), lower social cohesion was associated with a lower antibody response. Further, the association between social cohesion and poorer antibody responses was mediated by loneliness; those reporting lower social cohesion also reported higher loneliness, which in turn was associated with lower antibody response. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that feelings of 'being in it together' relate to the strength of the antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination, emphasising the importance of the social cohesion agenda during the pandemic.

New group memberships formed after an acquired brain injury and posttraumatic growth: A prospective study.

Predicting positive psychosocial outcomes following an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) remains a challenge. Considerable research demonstrates that social group memberships can have positive effects on psychological well-being, particularly during life transitions. Social group memberships are argued to help people derive a sense of self. This prospective study examined if social group memberships (number of groups and connectedness with groups) could predict posttraumatic growth (PTG) in those affected by ABI. Thirty-six participants (10 females, Mage = 46.56, SD = 11.46) engaged in community rehabilitation services completed measures at two time-points. Mediation analyses demonstrated that the number of new group memberships (groups formed post-injury) predicted greater PTG at time 2, via stronger connectedness with these new group memberships (controlling for initial PTG). The observed results suggest that a focus on developing and strengthening connections with new group memberships may promote positive adjustment after brain injury.

Longitudinal associations between parental incarceration and children's emotional and behavioural development: Results from a population cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Parental incarceration (PI) is associated with adverse developmental outcomes for children affected. However, research in this area often reports conflicting results with few studies following children across time in non-U.S. POPULATIONS: Additionally, more research is called for using multi-informant perspectives rather than relying on adult reports of child outcomes alone. METHODS: This study used data from the first two waves of a nationally representative cohort study of 8,568 children aged 9 years and followed up at age 13 living in the Republic of Ireland (2007-2012). Propensity score matching was used to match children who had experienced PI by the age of nine to children who had not experienced PI by sociodemographics and experience of other stressful events. Mental health, as measured by self-concept (Piers-Harris II) and externalizing and internalizing difficulties (strength and difficulties questionnaire), was compared across both groups. RESULTS: Fifty of the 8,568 children (weighted percentage 0.9%) reported experiencing PI by the age of nine. These children came from more socially disadvantaged homes and were more likely to have experienced other potentially stressful life events. In comparison to a matched sample of children not affected by PI, children affected by PI reported higher levels of anxiety at age nine. Longitudinal analysis indicated these children affected by PI also reported lower levels of happiness at age 13 with higher levels of emotional difficulties reported by their primary caregiver. CONCLUSIONS: Children of incarcerated parents face a greater array of life challenges. PI had an association with child-reported levels of anxiety at age nine. PI also had a medium-term association on caregiver assessments of emotional difficulties of children affected as well child-reported levels of happiness over time.

Collective influences on individual functioning: Multiple group memberships, self-regulation, and depression after acquired brain injury.

A growing body of research demonstrates the role that social groups play in protecting health and well-being in the context of adjusting to acquired brain injury (ABI). However, the psychological processes that underpin this relationship are less well understood. The present research extends this work by testing a theoretically derived model about the role of multiple social group belonging in contributing to improved self-regulation and depression symptoms. A cross sectional survey was conducted involving 50 adults with ABI (Mage = 45 years, SD = 12.10; range 22-67 years) who completed a series of self-report measures indexing social group membership, self-regulation, and depression. Support for the predicted model was found with mediation analysis showing that multiple group belonging predicted lowered depression symptoms, by providing a basis for enhancing self-regulation. The findings suggest that belonging to multiple groups provides individuals with multiple opportunities for social interaction with which to trial and develop self-regulatory skills, which, in turn, has a positive influence on depression.

Stigma of eating disorders and recovery-related outcomes: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: People with eating disorders (EDs) tend to engage in behaviours that are ordinarily perceived as normal in society, such as restrictive dieting. However, when people are diagnosed with an ED, they may often feel stigmatized, which is likely to act as a barrier to recovery. To date, there is a limited understanding of how stigma of EDs impacts recovery-related outcomes. METHOD: A systematic search was performed using PsychINFO and PubMed. Multiple combined searches of terms relating to stigma, EDs, and recovery-related outcomes were conducted. PRISMA guidelines were followed throughout the selection process and resulted in nine studies meeting specific inclusion criteria. The extracted data are examined in a critical narrative synthesis. RESULTS: Our review suggested that across different samples and measures, stigmatization of EDs is negatively related to a range of factors important for recovery. These include psychological, social and physical health outcomes, ED psychopathology and treatment-seeking behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the quality assessment, it was concluded that future research would benefit from the use of research designs that can demonstrate causality and generalize findings across community samples. Therefore, in order to improve recovery-related outcomes, treatment plans must consider the type of ED stigma experienced and its relation with specific recovery-related outcomes.

The impact of community-based mental health service provision on stigma and attitudes towards professional help-seeking.

BACKGROUND: Stigma of mental ill-health and attitudes towards help-seeking are recognized barriers to seeking professional help, and have previously been linked to the type of support services available. AIMS: This study examined if the introduction of community-based mental health services to an area impacts mental health stigma and attitudes towards professional help-seeking amongst local residents. METHOD: A repeated cross-sectional study comprising of community surveys in two localities was carried out before and after community-based mental health services were introduced (N = 1074). Measures including perceived public and self-stigma of mental ill-health, and attitudes towards seeking professional help were compared across the two time points. RESULTS: Both public and self-stigma were significantly lower, and attitudes towards seeking professional help significantly more positive, after community-based mental health services had been introduced in each locality. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of local, accessible mental health services can positively impact help-seeking behaviour by reducing stigma and changing norms and attitudes around professional help-seeking.

Identification Reduces Stigma of Mental Ill-Health: A Community-Based Study.

The stigma surrounding mental ill-health is an important issue that affects likelihood of diagnosis and uptake of services, as those affected may work to avoid exposure, judgment, or any perceived loss in status associated with their mental ill-health. In this study, we drew upon social identity theory to examine how social group membership might influence the stigma surrounding mental ill-health. Participants from two urban centers in Ireland (N = 626) completed a survey measuring stigma of mental health, perceived social support as well as identification with two different social groups (community and religion). Mediation analysis showed that subjective identification with religious and community groups led to greater perceived social support and consequently lower perceived stigma of mental ill-health. Furthermore, findings indicated that high identification with more than one social group can lead to enhanced social resources, and that identification with a religious group was associated with greater community identification. This study thus extends the evidence base of group identification by demonstrating its relationship with stigma of mental ill-health, while also reinforcing how multiple identities can interact to enhance social resources crucial for well-being.

Affiliative and "self-as-doer" identities: Relationships between social identity, social support, and emotional status amongst survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI).

Social support is an important factor in rehabilitation following acquired brain injury (ABI). Research indicates that social identity makes social support possible and that social identity is made possible by social support. In order to further investigate the reciprocity between social identity and social support, the present research applied the concepts of affiliative and "self-as-doer" identities to an analysis of relationships between social identity, social support, and emotional status amongst a cohort of 53 adult survivors of ABI engaged in post-acute community neurorehabilitation. Path analysis was used to test a hypothesised mediated model whereby affiliative identities have a significant indirect relationship with emotional status via social support and self-as-doer identification. Results support the hypothesised model. Evidence supports an "upward spiral" between social identity and social support such that affiliative identity makes social support possible and social support drives self-as-doer identity. Our discussion emphasises the importance of identity characteristics to social support, and to emotional status, for those living with ABI.