Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Centre for Mental Health @centreformh.bsky.social · Jul 22

Prisons are facing a mounting mental health crisis.

➡️ Rates of self-harm have more than tripled in the last decade
➡️ Among prisoners, 56% of men & 74% of women report having mental health problems
➡️ Too many unwell prisoners face long waits for transfer to hospital

We need change - now.

Invest in better mental health support for people in the criminal justice system, say charities - Centre for Mental Health

Investing in community mental health services would help to ease the pressure on the prison system by diverting more people from custody.

www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk

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Ola Demkowicz @olademk.bsky.social · Jul 17

New report on understanding the drivers of declining youth mental health

To effectively respond to worsening mental health, we need to understand not just what is happening, but *why*

We used an evidence-based approach to unpack common explanations

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youthfuturesfoundation.org/publication/...

Understanding drivers of recent trends in young people’s mental health - Youth Futures Foundation

Research report exploring the reasons for the recent decline in mental health among 14 to 24-year-olds in England

youthfuturesfoundation.org

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dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · Jun 17

In this age of AI and false citations, any mention of a legal case or public legal instrument should hyperlink to the original.

Just as previous generations used footnotes and citations, we should routinely link back to sources.

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NIHR Policy Research Unit in Mental health @mentalhealthpru.bsky.social · May 13

🚨 New Published Paper - Understanding barriers and facilitators to delivering peer support effectively: a qualitative interview study

Proud to share our latest research, led by academic and lived experience researchers.

🔗 Read in full: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

#PeerSupport

Understanding the barriers and facilitators to delivering peer support effectively in England: a qualitative interview study - BMC Psychiatry

Background Peer support roles within mental health services are rapidly increasing in number and scope in the UK and internationally. This paper explores the facilitators and barriers to delivering pe...

bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · May 11

Loved Thunderbolts* but the best description I've heard was overhearing two teenage boys talking about it and one referred to it as "the one with the B-tec Captain America".

Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · May 11

Our new report: local political parties are renting out office space to MPs — who claim the cost on expenses.

But in most cases, they pay no tax on that income — or on rent from local businesses.

We reviewed 630 sets of accounts. What we found is a systemic failure. 🧵

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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · May 1

Parents and teens who say they are at least somewhat concerned about teen mental health today were then asked to explain, in their own words, what they think most negatively impacts it. www.pewresearch.org/...

Chart shows that Among parents and teens concerned about teen mental health, what each group sees most negatively impacting teen mental health

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Daniel P. Moriarity @dpmoriarity.bsky.social · Apr 22

‼️ New paper @ Child Development discussing why it is inappropriate to use traditional common factor models to model adverse childhood experienced (ACEs) and other stressor inventories ‼️

Read full (brief) paper at srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

@srcdorg.bsky.social #PsychSciSky

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<em>Child Development</em> | SRCD Journal | Wiley Online Library

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are highly impactful stressors that increase individuals' risk for a plethora of negative developmental and health outcomes. Furthermore, minoritized groups and u...

srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Ola Demkowicz @olademk.bsky.social · Apr 11

Great to see coverage of our work with adolescent girls understanding the gender mental health gap by @bpsofficial.bsky.social this week! www.bps.org.uk/research-dig...

Teenage girls explain mental health gender gap in new study | BPS

New paper draws on the lived experiences of UK-based girls to assess factors driving widening mental health disparity between boys and girls.

www.bps.org.uk

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Mar 26

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

Estimates of the population for England and Wales - Office for National Statistics

National and subnational mid-year population estimates for England and Wales by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).

www.ons.gov.uk

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Mar 26

Having looked at the report timelines they would have had to base the sampling and subsequent weights on the 2021 ONS data...which also happened to be the census year. Using the UK top line figures about 25.1% should be males aged 13-16. So about 250 given the reported sample size.

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Mar 26

It sounds similar in methodology to what's employed for The Good Childhood Report it'll be using the ONS Mid year population statistics for children...not sure about representativeness of parents though.

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Emiliano Mellino @mellino.bsky.social · Mar 25

The Employment Rights Bill has been called the biggest boost to worker rights in a generation,but huge gaps remain in enforcing these rights.

So we're investigating the barriers workers face when they seek justice at tribunals.

But we need your help!
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Image of TBIJ article header.

Title: Employment tribunals: can you help us with a major new project?

Standfirst: We are investigating the barriers faced by workers trying to assert their rights. If you have tried to take your employer to tribunal, or have helped somebody who has, we want to hear from you

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National Centre for Social Research @natcen.bsky.social · Feb 13

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has published a report in collaboration with ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) exploring children and young people’s experiences with social care.

NatCen has published a report in collaboration with ADR UK. The report pulls together administrative data from the four UK nations for the first time and the combined data reveals insights into the care experiences of children.

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Dr Lucy Foulkes @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social · Feb 10

Important new evidence published today: large-scale DofE trial (N=12,166) found that two universal MH awareness interventions, in secondary schools, led to an *increase* in emotional symptoms at long term (9-12 month) follow up

tinyurl.com/4ffday8y

Thread below

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Department for Education. Effectiveness of school mental health awareness interventions
Universal approaches in English secondary schools
February 2025

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Ola Demkowicz @olademk.bsky.social · Feb 5

We talk a lot about why adolescent girls report more low mood and anxiety, and why this might be getting worse.

But what do girls themselves think might explain this? As you might have guessed, we don’t really know.

So, we asked them: doi.org/10.1186/s129...

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Adolescent girls’ explanations of high rates of low mood and anxiety in their population: a co-produced qualitative study - BMC Women's Health

Background From early adolescence, girls face greater risk of experiencing low mood and anxiety relative to boys, with recent evidence that this may be worsening. There is a paucity of mental health r...

doi.org

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PBE @pbe.co.uk · Jan 28

"Treasury guidance attaches a monetary value to wellbeing, and the economic value of claiming disability benefits is estimated to be around £12,300 per person."

@isabellamcrae.bsky.social covers our new report for the Big Issue: www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Disability benefits system actually good for the economy, economists say

Disability benefits have a positive impact on people's wellbeing which outweighs the cost of administering them, economists have found.

www.bigissue.com

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Jan 22

Incredible news!!

#BeeWell @beewelluk.bsky.social · Jan 22

We did it!

Thank you @munirawilson.bsky.social for championing the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, calling for national children and young people’s wellbeing measurement.

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#BeeWell @beewelluk.bsky.social · Jan 22

We did it!

Thank you @munirawilson.bsky.social for championing the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, calling for national children and young people’s wellbeing measurement.

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Dr Lucy Foulkes @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social · Jan 21

Which academics are conducting research into how to parent adolescents?

I get asked a lot about parenting advice, and it’s not really my area of focus (I am more interested in peer relationships)

I am keen to send people towards the right experts/papers. Who is conducting research in this space?

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Impact on Urban Health @impurbanhealth.bsky.social · Jan 20

📢 Calling all primary schools!

Our friends at @schoolfoodmatters.bsky.social are hosting a free webinar to help primary schools establish and run successful #BreakfastClubs serving tasty, nutritious food.

🗓️ When: 21 Jan 2025, 12-1pm
💻 Sign up: bit.ly/4aomNyx

#SchoolFoodMatters

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Jan 9

Investing in standardised data recording and reporting is not massively innovative and can face many issues but it would go a long way to begin to be able to identify the genuine scale of the issue.

Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Jan 9

It is unreliable because there is no mandatory reporting. And even then the rates of disclosure would likely be very low due to so many factors not least the shame and fear many victims face. Getting robust estimates for many issues facing children just has not been prioritised!

Full Fact @fullfact.org · Jan 9

Estimates for the number of victims of grooming gangs have been circulating in recent days.

There have clearly been very many victims. But a widely shared estimate that one million children have been victims is unreliable. The true total remains unclear.

How many children have been the victims of grooming gangs in the UK? - Full Fact

A widely shared estimate that a million children have been victims is not reliable, but the true total remains unclear.

fullfact.org

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Full Fact @fullfact.org · Jan 9

Estimates for the number of victims of grooming gangs have been circulating in recent days.

There have clearly been very many victims. But a widely shared estimate that one million children have been victims is unreliable. The true total remains unclear.

How many children have been the victims of grooming gangs in the UK? - Full Fact

A widely shared estimate that a million children have been victims is not reliable, but the true total remains unclear.

fullfact.org

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Alex Turner @dralexlturner.bsky.social · Jan 8

Fantastic to hear this raises in the House of Commons. Having worked to promote the importance of a national measurement of children's wellbeing since 2017, I am cautiously optimistic that this gap may soon be addressed!

PBE @pbe.co.uk · Jan 8

We're pleased to see universal wellbeing measurement raised by @victoria-collins.bsky.social during the 2nd reading of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill this afternoon.

Our report on why this matters: www.probonoeconomics.com/charting-a-h...
@beewelluk.bsky.social
@thefea.bsky.social

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PBE @pbe.co.uk · Jan 8

We're pleased to see universal wellbeing measurement raised by @victoria-collins.bsky.social during the 2nd reading of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill this afternoon.

Our report on why this matters: www.probonoeconomics.com/charting-a-h...
@beewelluk.bsky.social
@thefea.bsky.social

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Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · Jan 6

New analysis from @mikebrewerecon.bsky.social & @alexclegg.bsky.social examines the role employment could play in a child poverty strategy.

This is in the context of single-earner couples seeing their risk of falling into poverty rise by a third since 2000.

Learn more ⤵️ https://buff.ly/4iZATds

Mike Brewer, Interim Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said:
“Getting more parents into work played a major role in reducing child poverty during the last Labour government.
“But Britain today is very different – most families in poverty have at least one person in work, with those that are still workless facing significant barriers to employment.
“The Government’s new child poverty strategy will need to confront these challenges, which require action across a broad front. As well as the obvious moves, like boosting childcare support – particularly for primary-school-aged children – and making it easier to commute between workplaces, schools and nurseries, strengthening workers’ rights should help reduce the risks involved in changing jobs.
“With many of the ‘easy gains’ on poverty reduction achieved, the Government will need deep pockets, and action on multiple fronts across employment, housing and benefits, to lift significantly more children out of poverty.”

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Victoria Derbyshire @vicderbyshire.bsky.social · Jan 4

Some people in recent days have alleged a ‘cover-up’ over the grooming & rape of hundreds of young girls in predominantly northern UK towns, leading to calls for a ‘national’ public inquiry into child sexual exploitation

FWIW here’s a non-exhaustive list of inquiries into #CSE in last 12 yrs…

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PBE @pbe.co.uk · Dec 10

We’re really excited to bring you this #PBEEvents webinar exploring findings from PBE’s first Low Wellbeing in the UK report, which provides an insight into the state of wellbeing, drivers of low wellbeing and its economic impact.

Read the report here: www.probonoeconomics.com/mind-body-an...

Low wellbeing in the UK - trends, drivers and solutions

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Understanding Society @usociety.bsky.social · Dec 6

New on our website today: @age-uk.bsky.social has used our data to examine loneliness in older people, and recommend ways local, regional and national government, funders, charities and communities can work together to combat it

New Age UK loneliness report uses Understanding Society - Understanding Society

Report shows link to unhappiness and depression New Age UK loneliness report uses Understanding Society - shows link to unhappiness and depression

www.understandingsociety.ac.uk

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