Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review.

Background: Poor social connectedness has been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health but there is a lack of standardisation in how it is measured. This systematic review aimed to identify suitable measures of social connectedness for use in UK adult general populations.

Methods: Searches were undertaken in two stages to identify: (1) measures of social connectedness from review articles and grey literature and (2) studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the identified measures.

The Impact of Different Types of Social Media Use on the Mental Health of UK Adults: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background: Previous studies have explored the association between social media use and mental health among adolescents. However, few studies using nationally representative longitudinal data have explored this relationship for adults and how the effect might change depending on how people use social media.

Objective: This study investigated the longitudinal relationship between the frequency of viewing and posting on social media and mental health problems among UK adults.

Exploring the impact of 'hostile environment' policies on psychological distress of ethnic groups in the UK: a differences-in-differences analysis.

Purpose: In 2012, the UK government announced legislation changes and heightened immigration controls designed to create a 'hostile environment for illegal migration.' We measured changes in psychological distress among people from minoritised ethnic groups compared to White British controls before and throughout the implementation of these policies.

Methods: We used the UK Household Longitudinal Survey to estimate difference-in-difference models for six ethnic groups (Bangladeshi, African, Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, and White British) in three eras: pre-policy (2009-2012); (2) transition (2012-2016); and (3) ongoing policy (2016-2020).

Refugee status and the incidence of affective psychotic disorders and non-psychotic bipolar disorder: A register-based cohort study of 1.3m people in Sweden.

Background: Refugees are at increased risk of non-affective psychotic disorders, but it is unclear whether this extends to affective psychotic disorders [APD] or non-psychotic bipolar disorder [NPB].

Methods: We conducted a nationwide cohort study in Sweden of all refugees, non-refugee migrants and the Swedish-born population, born 1 Jan 1984-31 Dec 2016. We followed participants from age 14 years until first ICD-10 diagnosis of APD or NPB.