Adolescent loneliness across the world and its relation to school climate, national culture and academic performance.

BACKGROUND: Loneliness during adolescence has adverse consequences for mental health, education and employment outcomes. Yet, we know little about common correlates of loneliness among adolescents, making intervention work difficult. AIMS: In this study, we (1) explore individual-, school- and country-level correlates of loneliness to help identify potential intervention targets, and (2) examine the influence of loneliness on academic performance. SAMPLE: A total of 518,210 students aged 15 years from 75 countries provided self-reported loneliness data. RESULTS: Using multilevel modelling, we found individual-, school- and country-level correlates of self-reported school-based loneliness, and showed that loneliness negatively influenced academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, interventions that focus on enhancing social and emotional skills, increasing trust between teachers and students and changing school climate to be more inclusive are likely to be the most effective for adolescents; they should also be culturally sensitive.

Loneliness During the School Years: How It Affects Learning and How Schools Can Help.

BACKGROUND: Substantial evidence links loneliness to poor academic outcomes and poor employment prospects. Schools have been shown to be places that mitigate or aggravate loneliness, suggesting a need to consider how schools can better support youth experiencing loneliness. METHODS: We conducted a narrative review on loneliness in childhood and adolescence to examine the literature on how loneliness changes over the school years and how it influences learning. We also examined whether there were increases in loneliness because of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closures, and whether schools can be places for loneliness interventions/prevention. FINDINGS: Studies describe how loneliness becomes more prevalent during the adolescent years and why that is the case. Loneliness is associated with poor academic outcomes and poor health behaviors that impact learning or turn students away from education. Research shows that loneliness increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence suggests that creating positive social classroom environments, where teacher and classmate support are available, is crucial in combatting youth loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptations to the school climate can be made to meet the needs of all students, reducing loneliness. Investigation of the impacts of school-based loneliness prevention/intervention is crucial.

In a mental-health care setting, can nature conservation and health priorities align?

There is growing evidence that activities in nature could meet both health and nature conservation goals. Consequently, there is growing interest in collaborations between health and nature conservation organizations. However, interdisciplinary teamwork and collaborations risk failing through lack of common understanding and awareness of desired outcomes. For this project a multidisciplinary team was established and used a case study collaboration between a major conservation organization and health organization to examine perceptions of nature and assess the nature interventions desired by people in both sectors. We found a broad overlap in understanding of nature. However, there was a tendency for conservation outcomes to be overlooked, highlighting a potential risk of disengagement from the conservation partner. We recommend that health-conservation collaborations increase early communication and more strongly promote the interventions that provide tangible, physical benefits to nature.

Ways forward for aquatic conservation: Applications of environmental psychology to support management objectives.

The success or failure of environmental management goals can be partially attributed to the support for such goals from the public. Despite this, environmental management is still dominated by a natural science approach with little input from disciplines that are concerned with the relationship between humans and the natural environment such as environmental psychology. Within the marine and freshwater environments, this is particularly concerning given the cultural and aesthetic significance of these environments to the public, coupled with the services delivered by freshwater and marine ecosystems, and the vulnerability of aquatic ecosystems to human-driven environmental perturbations. This paper documents nine case studies which use environmental psychology methods to support a range of aquatic management goals. Examples include understanding the drivers of public attitudes towards ecologically important but uncharismatic river species, impacts of marine litter on human well-being, efficacy of small-scale governance of tropical marine fisheries and the role of media in shaping attitudes towards. These case studies illustrate how environmental psychology and natural sciences can be used together to apply an interdisciplinary approach to the management of aquatic environments. Such an approach that actively takes into account the range of issues surrounding aquatic environment management is more likely to result in successful outcomes, from both human and environmental perspectives. Furthermore, the results illustrate that better understanding the societal importance of aquatic ecosystems can reduce conflict between social needs and ecological objectives, and help improve the governance of aquatic ecosystems. Thus, this paper concludes that an effective relationship between academics and practitioners requires fully utilising the skills, knowledge and experience from both sectors.

Seventy-one important questions for the conservation of marine biodiversity.

The ocean provides food, economic activity, and cultural value for a large proportion of humanity. Our knowledge of marine ecosystems lags behind that of terrestrial ecosystems, limiting effective protection of marine resources. We describe the outcome of 2 workshops in 2011 and 2012 to establish a list of important questions, which, if answered, would substantially improve our ability to conserve and manage the world's marine resources. Participants included individuals from academia, government, and nongovernment organizations with broad experience across disciplines, marine ecosystems, and countries that vary in levels of development. Contributors from the fields of science, conservation, industry, and government submitted questions to our workshops, which we distilled into a list of priority research questions. Through this process, we identified 71 key questions. We grouped these into 8 subject categories, each pertaining to a broad component of marine conservation: fisheries, climate change, other anthropogenic threats, ecosystems, marine citizenship, policy, societal and cultural considerations, and scientific enterprise. Our questions address many issues that are specific to marine conservation, and will serve as a road map to funders and researchers to develop programs that can greatly benefit marine conservation.

How good is good? Human values and Europe's proposed Marine Strategy Directive.

The adoption of the proposed European Marine Strategy Directive is an opportunity for a comprehensive policy for protecting, improving and sustainably using Europe's environmentally degraded seas. It calls for an ecosystem-based approach to management where humans are regarded as a key system component. Although the proposed wording has been the subject of fierce debate, the central policy goal remains achieving "Good Environmental Status". The interpretation of "good" is key to implementation and relates to human values and worldviews. We demonstrate how these vary widely across Europe. Solution of fundamental considerations such as the assignation of reference states, the balance between precautionary and evidence-based action, the degree of subsidiarity, and conservation strategies including marine protected areas, will ultimately depend upon public understanding, involvement in and support for the Directive. The social element, critical to effective adaptive management, requires greater attention within the context of a regional seas geographical framework.