Starting an undergraduate degree amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-method egocentric network study on student loneliness.

Students who began their undergraduate university studies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic (the 'COVID cohort'), may have been particularly at risk for experiencing increased loneliness. This study employed an exploratory egocentric network and mixed-methods approach to investigate the links between social networks and loneliness in the COVID cohort. Of sixty-one respondents meeting inclusion criteria for the study, fifty-eight first-year undergraduate students from the September 2020 intake at a large Scottish University provided egocentric network data via an online survey, as well as responses to three open-ended questions which were aimed at generating qualitative data about participants' experiences of starting university in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bivariate analyses suggest that having a larger social network, and higher satisfaction with that network, was associated with reduced loneliness. We additionally explored these associations in subsamples of students living on-campus and living off-campus. Our qualitative data adds valuable insight into the impact that pandemic-related social-distancing restrictions had on limiting students' opportunities for meeting their peers and forging meaningful social connections at university. Limitations of this study include a small sample size and an exploratory approach requiring further investigation and replication. However, in the context of universities continuing to use hybrid teaching models, this study provides useful initial insights, highlighting potential avenues for institutions to support students in developing social connections in the transition to higher education.

Mental health and loneliness in Scottish schools: A multilevel analysis of data from the health behaviour in school-aged children study.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent loneliness and poor mental health represent dual public health concerns. Yet, associations between loneliness and mental health, and critically, how these associations vary in school settings are less understood. AIMS: Framed by social-ecological theory, we aimed to identify key predictors of adolescent mental health and examine school-level variation in the relationship between loneliness and mental health. SAMPLE: Cross-sectional data on adolescents from the 2018 wave of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (HBSC) in Scotland were used (N = 5286). METHODS: Mental health was measured as a composite variable containing items assessing nervousness, irritability, sleep difficulties and feeling low. Loneliness was measured via a single item assessing how often adolescents felt 'left out'. Multilevel models were used to identify social-ecological predictors of mental health, associations with loneliness and between-school variation. RESULTS: Loneliness, as well as demographic, social and school factors, was found to be associated with mental health. Mental health varied across schools, with the between-school difference greater among adolescents with high levels of loneliness. Additionally, the negative effect of loneliness on mental health was stronger in schools with lower average mental health scores. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that schools can play an important role in shaping adolescent mental health. Our study uniquely identifies that school-based interventions targeting mental health may be especially necessary among lonely adolescents, and programmes aimed at tackling loneliness may be more beneficial in schools with poorer mental health.

Associations between dimensions of mental health literacy and adolescent help-seeking intentions.

BACKGROUND: The majority of long-term mental health problems begin during adolescence. Low mental health literacy (MHL) may impede help-seeking for these problems. Although MHL is a multidimensional construct and adolescent help-seeking can be through formal and informal means, little is known about how dimensions of MHL influence these help-seeking intentions. This study examines associations between dimensions of MHL and formal and informal help-seeking intentions among adolescents. It also investigates whether informal help-seeking mediates the association between dimensions of MHL and formal help-seeking, and whether these associations are moderated by gender. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey including measures of MHL, and help-seeking intentions was distributed to participants in 10 schools (12-17 years) across Scotland (n = 734). Data were analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). RESULTS: Confirmatory Factor Analyses identified two distinct dimensions of MHL: ability to identify a mental health problem, and knowledge of treatment efficacy. Only knowledge of treatment efficacy was associated with increased intention to seek formal and informal help. Ability to identify a mental health problem was negatively associated with both forms of help-seeking intentions. Informal help-seeking mediated the association between both forms of MHL and formal help-seeking. Gender did not moderate the associations between MHL and help-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Care should be taken when providing MHL interventions to ensure that adaptive forms of MHL are promoted. Future research should investigate possible mechanisms by which discrete forms of MHL influence adolescent help-seeking as well as investigating other potential moderators of MHL and help-seeking, such as stigma.

Correction to: The prospective relationship between loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s10389-022-01719-x.].

The prospective relationship between loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Aim: Mental wellbeing in the UK seems to have deteriorated significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the rates of loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress taking longer to return to the pre-pandemic levels than elsewhere. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge about the interactions between these outcomes, or the factors that played a role in the rates of change. The current study aims to address this gap by simultaneously investigating changes in loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress in the UK from pre-pandemic levels to those between April and November 2020, while critically assessing the role of a range of social ecological influencing factors. Subject and Methods: Longitudinal data from Understanding Society (N=3475) were used to explore the changes in loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress from pre-pandemic levels (2017-2019) through November 2020, the interactions between these outcomes, and the role of individual, social, community and geographic factors in the rates of change, using multivariate latent growth curve model. Results: Loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress deteriorated minimally between April and November 2020, compared to the pre-pandemic levels (2017-2019), while the rate of change in each outcome influenced the rates of change in the other two. Key individual (age, gender, physical health), social (number of friends and similarity to them), and environmental (neighbourhood quality) variables influenced baseline scores and the rates of change. Conclusion: Considering significant dynamic associations between loneliness, life satisfaction and psychological distress, we argue that interventions to tackle any one of the outcomes may have beneficial effects on others, while highlighting malleable factors and individual and community-level interventions to tackle loneliness.

Loneliness and personal well-being in young people: Moderating effects of individual, interpersonal, and community factors.

INTRODUCTION: Loneliness is prevalent among young people. But, there is little work exploring the association between loneliness with well-being among this age group. Framed by social-ecological theory, we examined demographic, interpersonal, and community factors associated with personal wellbeing and, critically, identified malleable moderators of the relationship between loneliness and well-being that could be targeted in intervention efforts. METHODS: We used cross-sectional, secondary data from 965 young people (aged 16-24) from the Community Life Survey in England. Loneliness was measured using a single-item direct measure; personal wellbeing was measured through a composite measure containing items assessing happiness, life satisfaction, and a sense that life is worthwhile (α = 0.88). Regression techniques were used to assess associations between individual, interpersonal, and community factors and well-being, and to identify moderators of the relationship between loneliness and well-being. RESULTS: Loneliness was negatively associated with well-being. Chatting with neighbors and having people to provide help moderated the relationship between loneliness and well-being. Full-time students and those with good physical health had higher well-being while being a carer was predictive of lower well-being. All community variables were strongly associated with increased well-being. Of all interpersonal variables investigated, only having people to count on was associated with increased well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that supportive relationships and close community ties are important for reducing the negative impact of loneliness on youth well-being. Interventions to improve well-being could benefit from targeting these aspects of young people's social and community lives, while acknowledging individual vulnerabilities, such as poor physical health.

Evolution of host-microbe cell adherence by receptor domain shuffling.

Stable adherence to epithelial surfaces is required for colonization by diverse host-associated microbes. Successful attachment of pathogenic microbes to host cells via adhesin molecules is also the first step in many devastating infections. Despite the primacy of epithelial adherence in establishing host-microbe associations, the evolutionary processes that shape this crucial interface remain enigmatic. Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecules (CEACAMs) encompass a multifunctional family of vertebrate cell surface proteins which are recurrent targets of bacterial adhesins at epithelial barriers. Here, we show that multiple members of the primate CEACAM family exhibit evidence of repeated natural selection at protein surfaces targeted by bacteria, consistent with pathogen-driven evolution. Divergence of CEACAM proteins between even closely related great apes is sufficient to control molecular interactions with a range of bacterial adhesins. Phylogenetic analyses further reveal that repeated gene conversion of CEACAM extracellular domains during primate divergence plays a key role in limiting bacterial adhesin host tropism. Moreover, we demonstrate that gene conversion has continued to shape CEACAM diversity within human populations, with abundant human CEACAM1 variants mediating evasion of adhesins from pathogenic Neisseria. Together this work reveals a mechanism by which gene conversion shapes first contact between microbes and animal hosts.

Trillions of bacteria live in and on the human body. Most of them are harmless but some can cause serious infections. To grow in or on the body, bacteria often attach to proteins on the surface of cells that make up the lining of tissues like the gut or the throat. In some cases, bacteria use these proteins to invade the cells causing an infection. Genetic mutations in the genes encoding these proteins that protect against infection are more likely to be passed on to future generations. This may lead to rapid spread of these beneficial genes in a population. A family of proteins called CEACAMs are frequent targets of infection-causing bacteria. These proteins have been shown to play a role in cancer progression. But they also play many helpful roles in the body, including helping transmit messages between cells, aiding cell growth, and helping the immune system recognize pathogens. Scientists are not sure if these multi-tasking CEACAM proteins can evolve to evade bacteria without affecting their other roles. Baker et al. show that CEACAM proteins targeted by bacteria have undergone rapid evolution in primates. In the experiments, human genes encoding CEACAMs were compared with equivalent genes from 19 different primates. Baker et al. found the changes in human and primate CEACAMs often occur through a process called gene conversion. Gene conversion occurs when DNA sections are copied and pasted from one gene to another. Using laboratory experiments, they showed that some of these changes enabled CEACAM proteins to prevent certain harmful bacteria from binding. The experiments suggest that some versions of CEACAM genes may protect humans or other primates against bacterial infections. Studies in natural populations are needed to test if this is the case. Learning more about how CEACAM proteins evolve and what they do may help scientists better understand the role they play in cancer and help improve cancer care. Studying CEACAM evolution may also help scientists understand how bacteria and other pathogens drive protein evolution in the body.

Using a pragmatically adapted, low-cost contingency management intervention to promote heroin abstinence in individuals undergoing treatment for heroin use disorder in UK drug services (PRAISE): a cluster randomised trial.

INTRODUCTION: Most individuals treated for heroin use disorder receive opioid agonist treatment (OAT)(methadone or buprenorphine). However, OAT is associated with high attrition and persistent, occasional heroin use. There is some evidence for the effectiveness of contingency management (CM), a behavioural intervention involving modest financial incentives, in encouraging drug abstinence when applied adjunctively with OAT. UK drug services have a minimal track record of applying CM and limited resources to implement it. We assessed a CM intervention pragmatically adapted for ease of implementation in UK drug services to promote heroin abstinence among individuals receiving OAT. DESIGN: Cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 552 adults with heroin use disorder (target 660) enrolled from 34 clusters (drug treatment clinics) in England between November 2012 and October 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Clusters were randomly allocated 1:1:1 to OAT plus 12× weekly appointments with: (1) CM targeted at opiate abstinence at appointments (CM Abstinence); (2) CM targeted at on-time attendance at appointments (CM Attendance); or (3) no CM (treatment as usual; TAU). Modifications included monitoring behaviour weekly and fixed incentives schedule. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome: heroin abstinence measured by heroin-free urines (weeks 9-12). SECONDARY OUTCOMES: heroin abstinence 12 weeks after discontinuation of CM (weeks 21-24); attendance; self-reported drug use, physical and mental health. RESULTS: CM Attendance was superior to TAU in encouraging heroin abstinence. Odds of a heroin-negative urine in weeks 9-12 was statistically significantly greater in CM Attendance compared with TAU (OR=2.1; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.9; p=0.030). CM Abstinence was not superior to TAU (OR=1.6; 95% CI 0.9 to 3.0; p=0.146) or CM Attendance (OR=1.3; 95% CI 0.7 to 2.4; p=0.438) (not statistically significant differences). Reductions in heroin use were not sustained at 21-24 weeks. No differences between groups in self-reported heroin use. CONCLUSIONS: A pragmatically adapted CM intervention for routine use in UK drug services was moderately effective in encouraging heroin abstinence compared with no CM only when targeted at attendance. CM targeted at abstinence was not effective. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN 01591254.

Divergence in gut microbial communities mirrors a social group fission event in a black-and-white colobus monkey (Colobus vellerosus).

Host behavior and social factors have increasingly been implicated in structuring the composition of gut microbial communities. In social animals, distinct microbial communities characterize different social groups across a variety of taxa, although little longitudinal research has been conducted that demonstrates how this divergence occurs. Our study addresses this question by characterizing the gut microbial composition of an African Old World monkey, the black-and-white colobus (Colobus vellerosus), before and after a social group fission event. Gut microbial taxonomic composition of these monkeys was profiled using the V-4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene, and pairwise-relatedness values were calculated for all individuals using 17 short tandem repeat loci and partial pedigree information. The two social groups in this study were found to harbor distinct microbial signatures after the fission event from which they emerged, while these communities were not divergent in the same individuals before this event. Three genera were found to differ in abundance between the two new social groups: Parabacteroides, Coprococcus, and Porphyromonadaceae. Additionally, although this fission happened partially along lines of relatedness, relatedness did not structure the differences that we found. Taken together, this study suggests that distinct gut microbial profiles can emerge in social groups in <1 year and recommends further work into more finely mapping the timescales, causes, and potentially adaptive effects of this recurring trend toward distinct group microbial signatures.