Mental Health Leadership Fellow - The impact of social relationships in the 21st century on mental health and wellbeing

在过去的几十年里，我们参与社会关系的方式发生了巨大的变化。新技术、城市化进程加快和人口老龄化都对我们相互交往的方式产生了深远的影响，其影响尚未得到充分理解。拟议的研究项目旨在调查社会关系的影响，在当代英国，作为改变和改善整个生命周期的心理健康和福祉的过程中的潜在可塑性目标。依靠来自两个英国国家代表性队列的可用数据，并使用生命过程方法，该项目将研究社会孤立和孤独，网络骚扰和儿童欺凌受害情况，并将涵盖从童年到中年的心理健康和福祉。更具体地说，将进行分析，以（1）通过观察他们的整体幸福感，心理健康，教育水平，就业和生活环境（NEET）以及身体健康状况，生成年轻人的孤独感概况;（2）绘制年轻人孤独感的“热点”，心理健康问题，以及当代英国的心理健康服务提供;（3）研究童年时期社会支持的预测因素，并测试社会支持对中年身心健康的缓冲作用;（3）研究年轻人中网络骚扰的程度，并测试其对心理健康和幸福的独立影响，超过其他形式的受害;（5）探讨儿童期欺凌受害对儿童期至青春期和中年期心理健康服务使用的长期影响;（6）估计相关的个人和社会成本。儿童欺凌受害在青少年中很常见：根据世界卫生组织（WHO）的数据，三分之一的儿童报告在他们生命中的某个时刻受到欺凌，10%至14%的儿童经历了持续六个月以上的慢性欺凌。欺凌和网络骚扰是年轻人联系儿童热线和YoungMinds等在线支持服务的主要原因，这并不奇怪。该项目将使主要利益攸关方参与考虑解决方案，以减少个人的痛苦和欺凌受害对整个生命周期的心理健康造成的负担。它还将使政府和政策制定者考虑在英国欺凌受害的个人和社会成本。此外，英国被媒体称为“欧洲的孤独之都”。根据国家统计局（2014年）的数据，英国居民对社会生活的满意度低于欧盟平均水平，获得支持性社会关系的人口比例在所有28个欧盟国家中排名第三。该项目将引起公众对与发展不良社会关系有关的风险的关注，并找到如何从幼年开始解决这些问题的解决方案。该项目将通过产生新的发现，利用创新技术和最大限度地利用有价值的现有数据资源来影响研究。这个项目是尖端的，调查年轻人的孤独和网络骚扰的新兴话题。研究结果将通过潜在地揭示孤独和网络骚扰对心理健康和幸福的重大影响来影响干预措施和临床实践。最终，该项目可能表明，积极的社会关系是预防和干预战略的目标。帮助青年发展和保持与同龄人的支持性关系可能是促进心理健康和福祉以及建立复原力的有效途径。

How we engage in social relationships has changed dramatically over the past few decades. New technologies, increased urbanisation, and the ageing population have all had a profound impact on the way we interact with each other, the implications of which have yet to be fully understood. The proposed research project aims to investigate the influence of social relationships, in a contemporary Britain, as a potentially malleable target for changing and improving the course of mental health and wellbeing throughout the lifespan. Relying on available data from two UK nationally-representative cohorts, and using a life-course approach, this project will examine social isolation and loneliness, cyber harassment, and childhood bullying victimization and will cover mental health and wellbeing from childhood up to midlife. More specifically, analyses will be conducted to (1) generate a profile of loneliness in young adults by looking at their overall wellbeing, mental health, education levels, employment and living circumstances (NEET), and physical health; (2) map "hotspots" of loneliness among young adults, mental health problems, and provision of mental health services in contemporary Britain; (3) examine childhood predictors of social support in adult life and test the buffering effect of social support on mental and physical health at midlife; (3) study the extent of cyber harassment among young adults and test its independent effect on mental health and wellbeing, over and above other forms of victimization; (5) explore the long-term impact of childhood bullying victimization on mental health service use from childhood to adolescence and up to midlife; and (6) estimate the associated individual and societal costs. Childhood bullying victimization is common among youths: according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in three children report having been bullied at some point in their lives, with 10% to 14% experiencing chronic bullying lasting for more than six months. It is not surprising that bullying and cyber harassment are the main reason for young people contacting online support services such as Child Line and YoungMinds. This project will engage key stakeholders in considering solutions for reducing individuals' suffering and the burden of bullying victimization on mental health across the lifespan. It will also engage the government and policy makers in considering the individual and societal costs of bullying victimization in the UK. Furthermore, the UK has being described in the press as the "loneliness capital of Europe". According to the Office for National Statistics (2014), UK residents' satisfaction with their social lives is lower than the EU-wide average, and the percentage of the population with access to supportive social relationships is the third lowest of all the 28 EU nations. This project will resonate with the public's concerns around risk associated with developing poor social relationships and finding solutions on how to address these problems from an early age. This project will impact on research by generating new discoveries, exploiting innovative technologies, and maximizing valuable existing data resources. This project is cutting-edge, investigating the emerging topics of youths' loneliness and cyber harassment. Findings will impact interventions and clinical practices by potentially unraveling loneliness and cyber harassment as significant influences on mental health and wellbeing. Ultimately, this project may indicate that positive social relationships represent a target for prevention and intervention strategies. Helping youth developing and maintaining supportive relationships with their peers may be an efficient pathway to promote mental health and wellbeing and also build resilience.