Mental health and loneliness in Scottish schools: A multilevel analysis of data from the health behaviour in school-aged children study

The seven deadly sins: measuring overvaluation of social media with the Plan-net 25 scale

BACKGROUND

Problematic social media use refers to the excessive and maladaptive use of social media platforms, which negatively affects personal, social, and professional functioning. Although linked to mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. A potential contributing factor to Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) is the overvaluation of the relative utility of social media, where individuals disproportionately overvalue social media for different utility domains (e.g., communication or emotional regulation). This study aimed to develop and validate the Plan-net 25 scale, which was designed to assess overvaluation of the relative utility of social media in adolescents.

METHODS

The study followed three phases. Initially, a Delphi panel of 14 experts evaluated items across different utility domains. A pilot study involving 17 adolescents was conducted, and cognitive interviews were subsequently used to refine the scale items. Finally, the scale was administered to a large sample of 2,477 adolescents aged 12-20 years in Spain, alongside assessments of depression, anxiety, loneliness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and problematic social media use. The analyses included confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation, and network analysis, all of which were conducted via R 4.3.2.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis supported the theoretical seven-factor structure, capturing the following overvaluation of the relative utility of social media domains: social interaction, meeting new people, emotional regulation, social acceptance, staying informed, self-expression, and boredom management. The scale demonstrated full measurement invariance across gender and age groups (early and late adolescence). Significant correlations were found between overvaluation of the relative utility of social media, problematic social media use, and mental health indicators, with the emotional regulation and entertainment overvaluation of the relative utility of social media domains showing the strongest associations with problematic social media use.

CONCLUSIONS

The Plan-net-25 scale exhibited robust psychometric properties, suggesting that it is a promising tool for assessing overvaluation of the relative utility of social media during adolescence.

Food insecurity and early childhood development among children 24-59 months in Nigeria: A multilevel mixed effects modelling of the social determinants of health inequities

Food insecurity (FI) has been identified as a determinant of child development, yet evidence quantifying this association using the newly developed Early Childhood Development Index 2030 (ECDI2030) remains limited. Herein, we provide national estimates of early childhood development (ECD) risks using the ECDI2030 and examined to what extent FI was associated with ECD among children aged 24-59 months in Nigeria. This population based cross-sectional analyses used data from the UNICEF-supported 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in Nigeria. The analytic sample comprised children aged 24-59 months (weighted N = 12,112). We measured early childhood development for each child using the ECDI2030, measured across three domains: learning, psychosocial well-being and health. Food insecurity was assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), categorized as none/mild, moderate and severe. We fitted mixed-effects multilevel logistic regression models, with random intercepts, to estimate the odds of association between FI status and ECD. A total of 11,494 children aged 24-59 months (mean ± SD age, 43.4 ± 9.9 months), including 5,797 boys (50.2%) and 5,697 girls (49.8%), were included in the study. Approximately 46.4% of children were developmentally off track and about 76% of children lived in food-insecure households. The intercept-only model indicated significant variation in ECD prevalence across communities (τ00 = 0.94, intraclass correlation = 0.22, p < 0.0001), suggesting nonignorable variability in ECD across communities. Adjusting for confounders, we observed no significant association between FI and ECD. However, increasing child's age and disability status appeared as significant risk factors for higher odds of children being developmentally off track. These findings highlight that while FI alone may not explain ECD, a combination of individual and contextual factors plays a crucial role. Future interventions addressing ECD in Nigeria should consider these multidimensional influences to promote optimal child development.

Psychometric analysis of the three item loneliness scale in the Czech Republic

BACKGROUND

There is a growing importance of loneliness measurement through valid and reliable instruments. However, to establish valid and reliable measures, there is a need to explore their psychometric properties in different research settings and language environments. For this reason, this study aimed to validate the Three Item Loneliness Scale (TILS) in the Czech Republic within a Slavonic language environment.

METHODS

A sample of Czech adults (n = 3236) was used consisting primarily of university students. We utilized Classical Test Theory to assess TILS internal consistency, temporal stability, and factor structure. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to estimate Differential Item Functioning (DIF), the discrimination and difficulty of the TILS items and to estimate the measurement precision of the whole scale. Construct validity was explored through the Spearman correlation coefficient using personality traits, depression, and anxiety.

RESULTS

The results showed satisfactory reliability and validity of the TILS in the Czech Republic. The scale's internal consistency and temporal stability were found to be satisfactory (Cronbach's α = 0.81, McDonald's ω = 0.82, ICC = 0.71). The parallel analysis supported the unidimensionality of the TILS. The IRT results indicated that the highest measurement precision was reached in individuals with lower and above-average levels of loneliness. Significant correlations between the TILS scores, anxiety, depression, and personality traits supported the construct validity of the scale. Although the DIF analysis identified statistically significant differences in responses to items TILS_2 and TILS_3 based on education level and employment status (with no significant differences observed for TILS_1), the effect sizes of these differences were small. This indicates that, despite statistical significance, the practical impact on the scale's validity across these groups is minimal.

CONCLUSIONS

The validated TILS provides a reliable and valid tool for assessing loneliness in the Czech Republic. Its brevity makes it a practical option for researchers and clinicians seeking to measure loneliness time-efficiently. Future studies should explore how adding new items could increase the measurement precision of the TILS.

Cultural Dimensions Moderate the Association between Loneliness and Mental Health during Adolescence and Younger Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cultural factors, such as country or continent, influence the relationship between loneliness and mental health. However, less is known about how cultural dimensions moderate this relationship during adolescence and younger adulthood, even if these dimensions manifest as country or continent differences. This study aims to examine the potential influence of Hofstede's cultural dimensions on this relationship using a three-level meta-analysis approach. A total of 292 studies with 291,946 participants aged 10 to 24 were included in this study. The results indicate that cultural dimensions, such as individualism vs. collectivism, indulgence vs. restraint, power distance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation, moderated the associations between loneliness and social anxiety, stress, Internet overuse, and negative affect. The association between loneliness and mental health was not moderated by cultural dimensions, such as masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. These findings suggest that culture's influence on the association between loneliness and mental health is based on a domain-specific mechanism.