The Impact of Social Support on the Mental Health of Cancer Patients:Evidence from China

Exploring the relationship between social support and the mental health of cancer patients is a vital endeavor for enhancing mental well-being.The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between social support and psychological well-being in cancer patients and to provide new empirical evidence for psychological improvement in cancer patients.This research holds significant practical implications for optimizing China’s public health system and strengthening the development of a healthy China.Using data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)database,we empirically examined the influence of social support on the mental health of cancer patients.Models such as Ordered Probit and OLogit were used to provide empirical evidence and theoretical insights for enhancing the mental health of cancer patients in a context marked by a high prevalence of cancer.The findings indicated that both formal and informal social support mechanisms were effective in improving the mental health of cancer patients.Furthermore,we utilized the propensity score matching(PSM)model to eliminate the endogeneity issue associated with sample selectivity bias.The results obtained through PSM demonstrated robustness,underscoring the importance of addressing sample selectivity bias when assessing the impact of social support on the mental health of cancer patients.Therefore,the Chinese government is recommended to prioritize the use of social support as a means to proactively enhance the mental health of cancer patients,thereby continuously elevating their overall quality of life.

Enhancing adolescent mental health through cognitive and social support:Insights from study on depression in Chinese adolescents

Adolescent depression is a growing global health concern,affecting 14%of adolescents and leading to severe consequences such as academic failure,substance abuse,and suicidal ideation.The study by Yu et al,investigates the cognitive and social factors influencing depression in 795 Chinese adolescents.Findings reveal that negative life events(NLEs)and dysfunctional attitudes are strongly associated with depressive symptoms,while social support moderates the impact of NLEs but not dysfunctional attitudes.The study highlights the need for cognitivebehavioural interventions targeting perfectionism and autonomy,and the importance of strengthening social support systems in schools and communities.Culturally sensitive,holistic approaches to adolescent mental health are crucial for addressing both the internal vulnerabilities and external pressures contributing to depression.Further research is needed to explore the roles of peer and parental support and the long-term effects of these factors across diverse cultural contexts.

Perception,use of social media,and its impact on the mental health of Indian adolescents:A qualitative study

BACKGROUND Mental illness is a health challenge faced by adolescents that has grown worse after the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.Research on social media and young people’s mental health has recently increased,and numerous studies have examined whether frequent use of social media is linked to issues such as anxiety,stress,depression,eating disorders,insomnia,frustration,feeling alone,and externalizing problems among adolescents.This influence of social media on adolescents’lives is clear,with many platforms like Facebook,Instagram,and YouTube playing an important role in daily interactions and self-expression.Even though social media offers numerous benefits,such as connectivity and information sharing,excessive usage can have detrimental effects on mental health,particularly among adolescents.AIM To study the impact of social media on the mental wellbeing of adolescents,and the associated potential dangers in India.METHODS A total of 204 adolescents aged 14 years to 23 years were included in the study.This study explored the intricate relationship between social media usage and adolescent mental health in India.The study employs a cross-sectional survey design to capture a snapshot of adolescent mental health and social media usage patterns.Data collection involved administering structured questionnaires and the analysis utilized quantitative methods,including descriptive statistics.RESULTS Excessive use of social media is correlated with increased stress,anxiety,and depression.Adolescents engage in compulsive behaviors such as scrolling in the middle of the night,which negatively impacts their mental and physical health,and leads to significant sleep disruption.Findings from the study aim to provide insights into the current state of adolescent mental health and inform strategies to promote positive wellbeing in the Indian population.CONCLUSION The study underscores the need for further research to better understand the complex interplay between social media and adolescent mental health,and need for effective strategies to combat online harassment.

Japanese Social Mentality and the Change in the Approval Rates of the Abe Administration

From June to July of 2017, the approval rates of the Abe administration fell sharply, in stark contrast to the long-term stability since 2012. The stability of Abe＇ s approval rates originated from the people＇ s negative support for him and their opposition to the Security Laws and other important events as well as the scandals under his administration. The opposition and negative support originated from the people＇s ＂acquired helplessness＂, ＂Abenomics＂, the sharp drop in the opporttmity costs of voting and other conditions. The sudden fall of Abe＇ s approval rates was not due to the change in the aforementioned conditions, rather because of the collapse of his image including personality owing to Abe＇ s perceived arrogance and his estrangement with the people. In the context of the temporary stabilization of approval rates, Abe dissolved the House of Representatives ahead of schedule and held a general election, taking full advantage of the internal strife between the opposition parties, to achieve his goal of ruling until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. His victory in the recent election does not accurately demonstrate that Abe is completely immune to negative impact, thus he will to use the Korean Peninsula crisis and other issues to demonstrate his ability of safeguarding Japan＇s security, seek reconstruction of his image, and further enhance his approval rate to stabilize his administration.

Effectiveness of an intervention for reducing social stigma towards mental illness in adolescents

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention for reducing social stigma towards mental illness in adolescents. The effect of gender and knowledge of someone with mental illness was measured. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty secondary school students were evaluated using the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness(CAMI) questionnaire. The schools were randomized and some received the intervention and others acted as the control group. The programme consisted of providing information via a documentary film and of contact with healthcare staff in order to reduce the social stigma within the school environment. RESULTS: The intervention was effective in reducing the CAMI authoritarianism and social restrictiveness subscales. The intervention showed significant changes in girls in terms of authoritarianism and social restrictiveness, while boys only showed significant changes in authoritarianism. Following the intervention, a significant reduction was found in authoritarianism and social restrictiveness in those who knew someone with mental illness, and only in authoritarianism in those who did not know anyone with mental illness. CONCLUSION: The intervention was effective to reduce social stigma towards people with mental illness, especially in the area of authoritarianism. Some differences were found depending on gender and whether or not the subjects knew someone with mental illness.

Consideration of Social Aspects and Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Elderly People: A Literature Review

Purpose: A literature review was conducted to explore the social factors and mental health-related scales, and to examine associations between social factors and mental health of the elderly, in order to consider the social aspects and mental health as outcome measurements for an effective community-based care. Methods: An electronic search for English articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to October 2019 was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL with the following search terms: “social cohesion,” “mental health,” “elderly,” and “community.” Inclusion criteria were 3 as follows;1) studies in community-dwelling elderly people or participants including elderly individuals;2) studies with clear descriptions of social factors in the Methods section;and 3) studies with clear descriptions of health-related items (e.g., mental health) in the Methods section. The extracted articles were subjected to narrative review. Results: In total, 118 articles were identified, of which 11 met the inclusion criteria after critical review of the full text. 6 mental health-related scales were perceived in order to assess of mental health or depression or anxiety of the elderly. And, 4 factors related to social aspects;neighborhood social cohesion, social capital, neighborhood environment, and social support, were perceived. Significant associations between social aspects and mental health of the elderly were examined. In social cohesion, 6 studies reported a significant association with elderly mental health. In social capital, 3 studies reported a significant association with elderly mental health. In neighborhood environment, 3 studies reported a significant association with elderly mental health. Discussion: In the development of an effective community-based care, it may be expected to be focused on social aspects to lead to promoting mental health of the elderly. For the further investigation, it will need to be considered more clearly defined measurements related to social aspects and mental health of the elderly, and it will be more important to pile the research data globally.

Causal relationships between physical, mental and social health-related factors among the Japanese elderly: A chronological study

The World Health Organization defines health as a state of physical, mental and social well being. This study was conducted to explore chronological relationships between physical, mental and social factors. Among urban-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and over, data were collected via a self-report questionnaire in 2001 and 2004. The three health-related latent factors were identified with nine measurement variables by an exploratory factor analysis. A structural equation modeling method was used to analyze underlying relationships among the three factors with a cross-lagged model and a synchronous model. A total of 7,683 individuals aged between 65 and 84 years were analyzed. The three-year prior and current physical health significantly affected social health as well as mental health, and this effect appeared to be stronger in males compared to females. Maintenance of physical health may be crucial to support mental and social health among elderly individuals.

The Relationship between Mental Health Literacy and Subjective Well-Being of Young and Middle-Aged Residents: Perceived the Mediating Role of Social Support and Its Urban-Rural Differences

This study investigates mental health literacy among young and middle-aged urban and rural residents and the differences in mental health literacy,perceived social support and subjective well-being.From January to February 2022,620 participants(320 rural and 300 urban residents)from three provinces of China were selected by con-venience sampling.A general data questionnaire,mental health literacy scale,perceived social support scale and subjective well-being scale were administered.The mental health literacy scores of urban residents were 3.34±0.57 and those of rural residents were 2.73±0.79.The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the mental health literacy scores of rural residents were more significant than those of urban residents in terms of sex and age,while urban residents’mental health literacy scores were more significant than those of rural resi-dents in terms of monthly income.Mental health literacy,perceived social support and subjective well-being of young and middle-aged urban and rural residents were all positively correlated(P<0.01).While the level of mental health literacy is better among urban residents than rural residents,perceived social support plays a partial mediating role between mental health literacy and subjective well-being of both urban and rural residents,and should be the focus of researchers seeking to improve the level of well-being of residents.

Using IQA to Extract Mental Models Concerning Quality Evaluation Factors for Social Networking Services on Smartphones

Although today’s users of mobile phones are afforded increasing control as the popularity and richness of information provided by smartphones increases, how these users make choices and evaluations cannot be explicitly expressed. This study uses an acute observation of designers of technology and aesthetics to conduct a mental-model analysis of smartphones with the purpose of explicitly identifying the differences in the schemas of users. This study also modifies the mental model to evaluate the practicability of the mental model. Hence, this study investigates groups of subjects, comparing freshmen and graduating students froma college of design, and adopts a schematized data collection and analysis approach, Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA), to ascertain the relationships between factors and establish a complete user mental model. The study results present 11 primary affinity factors: “Pricing,” “Advertisement,” “User Interface,” “Innovation Functions,” “System Maintenance,” “Privacy,” “Utility Functions,” “Personalization,” “Network Performance,” “Customer Service,” and “Multimedia Contents.” The primary driver in evaluating smartphones is found to be “Pricing” for graduating students and “Privacy” for freshmen. The two groups share the same final effect factor, “Multimedia Contents.” This study has successfully identified differences between the different mental models of the two groups, supporting the method that using IQA to perform a quality evaluation of social networking for smartphones is effective. Consequently, platform developers can understand user demand through a mental model and can design good platform functions to effectively improve users’ experience of smartphones.

Is There an Association between Social Connectedness, Social Identity, Alcohol Consumption and Mental Health among Young University Students?

Social connectedness has been identified as a protective factor for a range of health issues however the literature is not conclusive. The high prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption and mental health problems among university students along with the potential for the university as a setting for health promotion prompted this study. The study aims to explore the association between levels of alcohol consumption, mental health, social connectedness and social identity among university students. Online data were collected from a random sample of university undergraduate students (n = 2506) aged 18 - 24 years old. Outcomes were measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Social Connectedness Scale, Social Identity Scale and measures of paid employment and study (hours), and participation in sports and other clubs. The majority of students had consumed alcohol in the last 12 months (87%). Of these students 38% reported to drink at hazardous levels (AUDIT ≥ 8). When all factors were considered: gender, living arrangements, being a domestic student, hours spent at work, participation in university and community sport, higher levels of psychological distress, higher levels of social connectedness, and lower levels of social identity were significant predictors of hazardous alcohol consumption. The finding highlights the need for the inclusion of integrated, multi-strategy health promotion interventions on campus. Further exploration of the associations between social connectedness and social identity as influences of health behaviors will better inform the development of targeted strategies for specific groups.

The Mental Protection System for Protective Behaviors: The Social Brain and the Mental Immune System

The physical protection system of the body consists of the protective organs for vulnerable body parts-functions and the protective countermeasures against invaders (pathogens), but to survive, the body also requires the protective social groups for vulnerable social members-functions and the protective instinctive mental countermeasures against adversities such as hardship, danger, and unfamiliarity-uncertainty. As a result, this paper proposes that the mental protection system of the body consists of the social brain to set up the protective social groups for vulnerable social members-functions and the mental immune system to produce the protective mental countermeasures against adversities. This paper proposes that from the social brain, the protective social groups include alliance group for vulnerable individuals, kinship-friendship group for vulnerable children, interdependent specialists group for vulnerable pregnant females, territorial group for social boundary, connective group for social connection, and competitive group for social competition. From the mental immune system, the mental protective countermeasures include comforter against hardship, hyperactivity against danger, phobia against unfamiliarity-uncertainty, and rationality against unfamiliarity-uncertainty. The overactive mental immune system causes mental allergies and auto immune diseases as personality-mental disorders against ubiquitous harmful and harmless perceived adversities, correlating to physical allergies and auto immune diseases against ubiquitous harmful and harmless detected invaders. The mental protection system also produces personality traits, social moralities, social organizations, social systems, religions, and cultures as described in this paper. The mental protective system is the source of protective behaviors.

Stigma of Mental Illness: Social Distancing Attitudes among Registered Nurses in Australia

Background: Stigma of mental illness is often examined in social psychology and psychiatric rehabilitation using attitude studies. Participants of these studies are among health professionals and general public members. A common measure of stigma is using validated scale which measures the opinion on mental illness. Method: A cross-sectional survey was presented to 208 registered nurses. Principal component analyses (with oblique rotation) were used to identify underlying dimensionality in the correlations of items for social distancing. Subscale score variations were analysed across nurse type and ethnicity to examine the discriminant validity of the subscale. Results: Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed one dimension accounting for 43.5% of the variations within items for social distancing. Developed as scale, termed Stigma towards Psychiatric Patients (STPP), reliability analysis indicated high internal consistency with respective alpha coefficient of 0.8. Chinese general nurses scored highest on social distancing than the other three groups: Chinese psychiatric nurses, Anglo general and Anglo psychiatric nurses. Conclusion: Psychometric evaluation of the Stigma Scale (STPP) suggests it is a reliable instrument for measuring social distancing attitudes towards mental illness. The effect of ethnicity on stigmatising attitudes is not entirely accounted for by exposure to people with mental illness.

Moderating Mechanism in the Relationship between Social Isolation and Mental Health among College Students during High-Risk Period of COVID-19 Transmission in Hubei, China

This study explored the effect of perceived social isolation on the mental health of college students during the high-risk period of COVID-19 transmission in Hubei,China and the role of social support from online friends in alleviating this effect.The questionnaire responses of 213 college students from four universities in Hubei were included.Measurement and structural models were constructed using structural equation modeling.The findings revealed that perceived social isolation while under home quarantine was a negative predictor of the mental health of college students in Hubei.Low social support from online friends may lead to a relatively strong relationship between perceived social isolation and mental health in these college students,whereas high social support from online friends may lead to a relatively weak relationship between perceived social isolation and mental health.

Analyzing COVID-2019 Impact on Mental Health Through Social Media Forum

This study aims to identify the potential association of mental health and social media forum during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.COVID-19 brings a lot of challenges to government globally.Among the different strategies the most extensively adopted ones were lockdown,social distancing,and isolation among others.Most people with no mental illness history have been found with high risk of distress and psychological discomfort due to anxiety of being infected with the virus.Panic among people due to COVID-19 spread faster than the disease itself.The misinformation and excessive usage of social media in this pandemic era have adversely affected mental health across the world.Due to limited historical data,psychiatrists are finding it difficult to cure the mental illness of people resulting from the pandemic repercussion,fueled by social media forum.In this study the methodology used for data extraction is by considering the implications of social network platforms(such as Reddit)and levering the capabilities of a semi-supervised co-training technique-based use of Naïve Bayes(NB),Random Forest(RF),and Support Vector Machine(SVM)classifiers.The experimental results shows the efficacy of the proposed methodology to identify the mental illness level(such as anxiety,bipolar disorder,depression,PTSD,schizophrenia,and OCD)of those who are in anxious of being infected with this virus.We observed 1 to 5%improvement in the classification decision through the proposed method as compared to state-of-the-art classifiers.

Determinants of Positive Mental Health in Adolescents–A Cross-Sectional Study on Relationships between Positive Mental Health, Self-Esteem, Character Strengths and Social Inclusion

Adolescence is a crucial time period with especial vulnerability for development of mental health problems.Growing interest is focusing on the determinants of positive mental health in order to find the key concepts that could be influenced in the promotion of mental well-being of adolescents.In this study we aim to explore the relations between self-esteem,character strengths and experience of social inclusion as determinants of adolescents’positive mental health controlled for selected sociodemographic background factors.The study population(n=195)consisted of comprehensive school students who filled in an electronic questionnaire of adolescent’s mental well-being in Fall 2019.The questionnaire included measures of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale(WEMWBS),VIA Youth-measure 96,Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Experience of Social Inclusion Scale.The methods included group comparisons and General Linear Model computed by SPSS 24.0.The strongest association was found between positive mental health and self-esteem(β=0.789,p<0.001),followed by character strengths of hope and kindness and experience of social inclusion.Interestingly,family’s socioeconomic factors did not associate significantly with positive mental health in the final statistical model.In terms of our results,it seems that self-esteem,character strengths and experience of social inclusion might have stronger association with adolescents’mental well-being than family’s socioeconomic determinants.Therefore,it should be discussed whether psychological determinants overcome the individual effect of poor socioeconomic status as factors that influence positive mental health.Further studies are needed to establish these results more firmly.

Intervention Effects on the Willingness to Stop Smoking and Social Nicotine Dependence Based on Single-Session Group Therapy with Frequent Use of Role Play Targeting Smokers with Mental Disorders

Objective: We devised a “Smoking-Cessation Motivation Program” as a community welfare service aimed at making short-term improvements in social nicotine dependence and enhancing the willingness to stop smoking among people with mental disorders. Method: The study conducted a controlled trial to empirically examine the effects of the program on the willingness to stop smoking and social nicotine dependence among 26 smokers with mental disorders in the intervention group, who were compared with a control group of 16 individuals. Results: Results demonstrated the program’s effectiveness in reducing social nicotine dependence, and a variance analysis with age as the covariate evidenced a mutual interaction between social nicotine dependence and the willingness to stop smoking, confidence to stop smoking, and resisting the temptation to smoke. Conclusion: Future studies should examine longer-term program results, the impact of program duration, and other factors that influence the program’s effectiveness.

Investigating the Cognitive Control of Social Media-Anxious Users Using a Psychological Experimental Approach

Social media has become increasingly popular and is now a significant tool for daily communication for many people.The use of social media can cause anxiety and have detrimental impacts on mental health.Cognitive impairment is more likely to affect individuals with anxiety.Investigating the cognitive abilities and mental health of social media users requires the development of new methodologies.This study employed the AX-Continuous Performance Test(AX-CPT)paradigm and the Stroop paradigm to study the cognitive control characteristics of trait anxiety,drawing on psychological experimental methods.Previous studies on whether trait anxiety impairs cognitive control remain controversial,possibly because cognitive control is viewed as a whole.It may also be due to the motivational effect of anxiety,which compensates for the impairment of cognitive control caused by anxiety through the recruitment of cognitive resources.Understanding the mental health and cognitive control traits of anxious social media users can be improved by using the Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control Account,which divides cognitive control into proactive and reactive control.Thefindings demonstrate that trait anxiety has an impact on both proactive and reactive control,while working memory load did not modulate the effect of trait anxiety on cognitive control.These results support the attentional control theory and provide a new approach to studying the mental health of social media users.

Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflecting on Lockdowns and Social Isolations

This brief study explores the diverse and long-term mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on societies worldwide. Based on the recent existing literature, six primary categories of mental effects are identified to verify how people are affected by reoccurring lockdowns and social isolations. The study urges holistic research in this field, suggesting that researchers must not neglect the diversity of mental health impacts and context-specific factors. While long-term mental and psychological impacts are mostly hidden for now, we anticipate them to fuel other health issues already experienced by the vulnerable groups, healthcare units, and those fighting the pandemic at the front line. The paper aims to highlight primary mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic due to reoccurring lockdowns and social isolations. This is an opinion paper reflecting on ongoing research related to mental health issues of the ongoing pandemic, some of that could be looked at through case study research or extended research and comparative studies. This brief study suggests further case study-based analysis to evaluate the impacts of lockdowns and social isolations on societal wellbeing and mental health. Globally, the ongoing pandemic has made public health unstable and is expected to continue with its long-term consequences on societies. Research studies should help make governments and policymakers more aware of such long-term consequences to ensure they can respond more effectively to foreseeing public health issues.

The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health:Finding an Antidote for the Anxiety Era

Social media has become an inseparable part of modern life,but concerns have arisen regarding its influence on mental health.This article aims to delve into the intricate relationship between social media and mental health,highlighting both the benefits it brings and the risks it poses.Drawing upon existing research,this study reveals that excessive reliance on social media can contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression,social isolation,and the spread of violent or hateful speech.Therefore,individuals need to be mindful of these potential hazards and take measures to protect their mental well-being.Through a comprehensive analysis of the positive and negative effects of social media on mental health,this article puts forward practical solutions to alleviate any adverse consequences.For instance,individuals are encouraged to use social media moderately,cultivate healthy digital habits,and limit their screen time.Moreover,governments and society as a whole should actively promote mental health awareness and reinforce regulations around social media usage to minimize potential negative impacts.In conclusion,while social media brings convenience and various benefits,it cannot be ignored that it also has the potential to impact mental health.By recognizing and addressing the associated risks,individuals,governments,and society can work together to foster a culture of healthy social media practices and safeguard mental well-being.The innovative approaches proposed in this article serve as a helpful guide for further exploration in this intriguing field.

The effects of basketball on students＇ social adaptation ability and mental health

After several years of intense study, the most urgent problem those college students must face is employment, what＇ s more, with the sustaining development of China＇ s economy and the accelerating pace of social progress, the society shows much more need for the comprehensiveness and adaptation ability of talents. However, under the influence of long-term examination-oriented education, college students are only content with the courses required now which leads to the lack of large scope of expertise and ability to solve practical problems, being narrow-minded, and having poor flexibility, creativity and manipulative ability. With the addition of the significant differences between the campus and the society, many college graduates always have the feeling of maladjuslanent when entering the society, for example, they are usually lack of effective learning methods, strong social responsibilities and self-learning abilities and have poor understanding and mastery of professional knowledge, poor unity consciousness, poor manipulative ability in social practices and poor cognitive competence, furthermore ,they tend to have great intercommunicative obstacles and can not evaluate themselves and others correctly.