Temporal associations of emotional and social loneliness and psychosocial functioning in emerging adulthood.

Emerging adulthood is an important developmental phase often accompanied by peaks in loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. However, knowledge is lacking on how the relationships between emotional loneliness, social loneliness, social isolation, social anxiety and depression evolve over time. Gaining insight in these temporal relations is crucial for our understanding of how these problems arise and maintain each other across time.

Web-Based, Human-Guided, or Computer-Guided Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in University Students With Anxiety and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Internet-based cognitive behavioral interventions (iCBTs) are efficacious treatments for depression and anxiety. However, it is unknown whether adding human guidance is feasible and beneficial within a large educational setting.

Objective: This study aims to potentially demonstrate the superiority of 2 variants of a transdiagnostic iCBT program (human-guided and computer-guided iCBT) over care as usual (CAU) in a large sample of university students and the superiority of human-guided iCBT over computer-guided iCBT.

Emotional and social loneliness and their unique links with social isolation, depression and anxiety.

Background: Loneliness and social isolation are known to be associated with depression, general anxiety, and social anxiety. However, knowledge on the overlapping and unique features of these relationships, while differentiating between social loneliness (perceived absence of an acceptable social network) and emotional loneliness (perceived absence of close connections), is lacking.

Methods: We constructed a network analysis to examine the relationships between self-reported social loneliness, emotional loneliness, social isolation, depression, general anxiety and social anxiety in a large sample of university students (N = 7314, 67.

COVID-19 and mental health among at-risk university students: A prospective study into risk and protective factors.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted young adults with an unprecedented mental health challenge. Yet, prospective studies examining protective factors are limited.

Methods: In the present study, we focused on changes in mental health in a large sample (N = 685) of at-risk university students, which were measured before and during the pandemic.

Interventions to improve social connections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: The importance of both frequent and high-quality social connections is widely recognised. Previous reviews of interventions for promoting social connections found mixed results due to the inclusion of uncontrolled studies and merging of objective and subjective dimensions of social connections. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of interventions designed to promote 'objective social contact' and the 'quality of social connections'; and compare the effectiveness of interventions from different theoretical orientations on these social dimensions through a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials.