4 results
Profiling third-level student mental health: findings from My World Survey 2
- Ciara Mahon, Amanda Fitzgerald, Aileen O’Reilly, Barbara Dooley
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- Journal:
- Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , First View
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 18 January 2022, pp. 1-9
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Objectives:
This study aimed to identify risk and protective factors for mental health across student cohorts to guide mental health provision.
Methods:Cross-sectional data from the My World Survey 2-Post Second Level (MWS2-PSL) were used. The sample consisted of N = 9935 students (18–65 years) from 12 third-level institutions (7 out of 7 universities and 5 out of 14 Institute of Technologies (IoTs)) across Ireland. Key outcomes of interest were depression, anxiety and suicidality. Risk factors included drug/alcohol use, risky sexual behaviours and exposure to stressors. Protective factors included coping strategies, help-seeking, resilience, self-esteem, life satisfaction, optimism and social support. These factors were profiled by degree type (undergraduate, postgraduate taught, postgraduate research), access route, and institution type (IoT, university). Chi-square tests of Independence and one-way ANOVAs compared groups on key risk and protective factors.
Results:A total 71% of respondents were female, 85% were aged 23 or under and there was a 2.2% response rate in IoTs versus 10.6% in university students. Undergraduates demonstrated higher levels of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation than postgraduates. Undergraduates showed higher risk and lower protective factors than postgraduates. Students attending Institutes of Technology reported higher levels of depression and anxiety, lower protective and higher risk factors than university students.
Conclusion:In this sample of students, undergraduates, especially those attending Institutes of Technology, were at increased risk of mental health difficulties. Findings suggest the need to tailor interventions to meet cohort needs, and consider the differing vulnerabilities and strengths across student cohorts. Due to limitations of this study, such as selection bias, further research is warranted.
Thirteen - Spatial inequalities
- Edited by Ruth Lupton, Tania Burchardt, London School of Economics and Political Science, John Hills, London School of Economics and Political Science, Kitty Stewart, London School of Economics and Political Science, Polly Vizard, London School of Economics and Political Science
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- Book:
- Social Policy in a Cold Climate
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 01 September 2022
- Print publication:
- 20 April 2016, pp 291-316
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Summary
Introduction
Since the economic crisis, increasing political attention has been given to spatial inequalities, perhaps more so than at any time since the late 1990s. Much of the debate and policy effort has focused on economic disparities between regions. In his first major speech as Prime Minister, David Cameron announced a determination to transform England’s heavy reliance on a few industries and a few regions (London and the South East), through breathing new economic life into less well performing areas (Cameron, 2010). A number of new policies and funds ensued, largely focused on the Northern cities, as we describe later in this chapter, and by January 2015, the Minister for Cities, Greg Clark, announced that such was the revival of these cities since the coalition took power that the ‘picture of a north-south divide pulling apart was certainly true in the previous decade … in this decade it is changing. North and south are now pulling in the same direction, which is upwards’ (quoted in Burton, 2015).
Much less is generally known and heard about disparities in social outcomes between regions and their trends than about economic ones. However, in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum of September 2014, political debate around the 2015 General Election revealed a new sense that the interests of ‘the North’ and ‘the South’ were increasingly diverging, to the extent that the politics and policies of London-based government might no longer adequately represent Northern interests. Proponents of a new regional federalism have argued that the issue at stake is not simply the need for a serious focus on the economic revival of areas outside London, but a degree of self-governance to reflect their different conditions, assets, issues and challenges (Mitchell, 2012). The Labour Party leadership campaign, conducted during the summer of 2015, also featured an active debate about how the Party could effectively appeal both to people in the North's working-class industrial communities, and the beneficiaries of the economic success of London and the South East, given their diverging interests and priorities. The Jeremy Corbyn campaign produced its own document on the future of the North (Corbyn, 2015). These arguments focus on the North as a region, not just the economies of its major urban centres.
Weight concerns among adolescent boys
- Colette Kelly, Amanda Fitzgerald, Mariane Sentenac, Jakub Gakewski, Michal Molcho, Saoirse Nic Gabhainn
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- Journal:
- Public Health Nutrition / Volume 19 / Issue 3 / February 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 19 June 2015, pp. 456-462
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- Article
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Objective
To investigate weight concerns among adolescent boys and relationships with health indicators and family factors.
DesignAnalysis of the 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey of 10–17-year-olds.
SettingSchools in the Republic of Ireland.
ResultsAmong 6187 boys, 25·1 % reported a desire to lose weight (weight ‘loss’ concern) and 7·7 % reported a desire to gain weight (weight ‘gain’ concern). Both types of weight concerns were associated with poor self-rated health, life satisfaction and happiness, and with more frequent emotional and physical symptoms. Family factors were associated with boys’ weight concerns. In adjusted analyses, the risk of weight ‘loss’ concerns decreased with daily family breakfasts (OR=0·80; 95 % CI 0·66, 0·97). The risk of weight ‘gain’ concerns decreased with frequent family evening meals (OR=0·77; 95 % CI 0·60, 0·99). Ease of communication with mother was associated with a decreased risk of weight ‘loss’ and weight ‘gain’ concerns among boys (OR=0·74; 95 % CI 0·60, 0·90 and OR=0·61; 95 % CI 0·44, 0·82, respectively). An open father–son relationship and having a father present in the home decreased the risk of weight ‘loss’ concerns (OR=0·69; 95 % CI 0·57, 0·82 and OR=0·81; 95 % CI 0·67, 0·98, respectively).
ConclusionsBody weight concerns were reported by a sizeable minority of boys and were associated with negative health outcomes. The findings support the need to promote frequent family meals and facilitate open communication in families.
Benefits and Challenges in Stroke Research in Developing Countries
- Sharyn M. Fitzgerald, Velandai K. Srikanth, Roger G. Evans, Amanda G. Thrift
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- Journal:
- Brain Impairment / Volume 9 / Issue 2 / 01 September 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 February 2012, pp. 198-204
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Stroke is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Currently more than two thirds of the burden of stroke occurs in developing countries. Development of strategies for prevention and management of stroke in these countries requires data on incidence, risk factors and management practices that are relevant to the specific socioeconomic and cultural factors present in these populations. Yet currently available data come almost exclusively from developed countries. Herein, we aim to discuss some of the issues, impediments and opportunities faced by researchers undertaking population-based studies on the burden of stroke in developing countries. Important criteria to be addressed include the establishment of productive working relationships with both local collaborators and the community; the identification of an appropriate population group; and development of a working protocol which takes into account potential language barriers and the need for cultural sensitivity. When possible the protocol should include similar methods to studies conducted elsewhere so that comparisons can be made between regions. Furthermore, the results of such studies should be disseminated in an appropriate and timely manner to the local community and appropriate government and nongovernment organisations. This will enable the development and implementation of prevention and intervention programs to reduce the impact of stroke in these nations.