Meaningful Social Relationships Research Articles

“I’m able to function better when I know there's a beginning and an end time”: Autistic adolescents’ experiences of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and Aims Survey research indicates that autistic children and young people experienced high levels of anxiety and isolation during lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, qualitative studies suggest that there may have been some benefits in the switch to home learning for this population. However, the majority of evidence to date comes from parent reports; the current study aimed to triangulate the perspectives of autistic youth and their parents in order to more fully understand the impact of periods of lockdown on education, relationships, and wellbeing. Methods Thirteen semistructured interviews were conducted (six with adolescents, seven with parents) to explore the experiences of a group of autistic youth aged 13–14 years (Year 9 of mainstream education in England) during a period of intermittent lockdown. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Two broad themes capturing commonality and diversity in the adolescents’ experiences of lockdown were developed. (1) “Different stress, not less stress” encapsulates the finding that, despite the enforced removal from the school environment providing short-term relief, new stressors contributed to consistently high levels of anxiety for the young people throughout lockdown periods. Stressors included managing home-school within the family unit, navigating time without boundaries, and anxiety about the virus. (2) “A shrunken world” reflects the heightened impact of losing access to meaningful social relationships, extracurricular pursuits, and health-promoting activities for autistic youth. Discussion The early stages of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused serious disruption to education for many children and young people globally; our findings provide further evidence that the impact was particularly salient for autistic youth in terms of social isolation, lost learning, and heightened anxiety. Implications These findings underscore the necessity of long-term support for the education, social needs, and mental health of autistic young people in the aftermath of lockdowns in response to COVID-19.

The role of community-led organisations in creating social infrastructure for the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged populations: a qualitative study

BackgroundA decade of cuts to public services and the COVID pandemic have impacted the social infrastructure supporting connection and networking among communities. Although UK Levelling Up agendas advocate investment in physical infrastructure for economic prosperity, there are calls for a greater focus on the creation of community-led social infrastructure to address growing public health concerns, such as social isolation and loneliness. This paper explores the role of community-led organisations in creating social infrastructure and its impacts on the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged populations. MethodsInterviews took place with 130 members of 12 community-led third sector organisations in Scotland with different spatial and social disadvantages. Interviewees were recruited through targeted and snowballing techniques, and included 25 staff, 27 volunteers, 11 board members, and 67 service users who commented on the effects of the organisations' activities on their health and wellbeing. To identify types of sociality created through social infrastructure, data was analysed and mapped through thematic coding techniques using social capital theory. Written and verbal consent was gained from all research participants and Ethical approval was granted by Glasgow Caledonian Ethics Committee. FindingsFindings showed that the activities of organisations had the most prominent effect on the social wellbeing of service users, including increased social networks, sense of belonging, and decreased instances of social isolation and loneliness. These led to wider positive mental and physical health impacts, such as decreased depression and increased mobility. Community organisations created key social infrastructures that were found to facilitate bonding, bridging, and linking capital as a result of increased opportunity to form meaningful social connections and relationships. InterpretationThis study shows the importance of community-led organisations in creating and maintaining vital social infrastructure for populations facing social and spatial disadvantage. Such information is important to inform policy and practice of ways in which third sector organisations can be supported to provide alternative or complementary provision that exists alongside formal public healthcare in a time where finding social as well as economic solutions for post COVID recovery is a strategic priority. FundingMedical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, National Lottery Community Fund.

Recognizing Complexity in Our Changing Contexts: Centering What Matters in Comparative and International Education

Recognizing Complexity in Our Changing Contexts: Centering What Matters in Comparative and International Education

Decentering Hegemony and “Open” Orders: Fifteenth-Century Melaka in a World of Orders

Abstract I explain the differences between centered and decentered systems (world orders) by adopting a relational approach to international relations. I argue that centric systems have three characteristics: most meaningful social relations are oriented toward one center; this center establishes the practices governing social relations; and the center recognizes no peers. Conversely, if these attributes are not the chief hallmarks of a social system, then it is decentered. More specifically, I analyze fifteenth-century Melaka to show that simultaneous participation in multiple world orders is a distinct response to hegemony that decenters it. Melaka recognized Ming hegemony but decentered it by also participating in the Persian cosmopolis, and by emerging as a (mini-)center in maritime Southeast Asia. My analysis has two main implications. First, I make the case for “open” orders—multiple, (partially) overlapping orders as viable and long-lasting systems—in contrast to the realist and liberal logics of orders of exclusion/inclusion. Second, this has implications for contemporary Southeast Asian “choices” in the context of the US–China rivalry as these states are likely to “openly” participate in the American and Chinese world orders simultaneously instead of choosing between them. My relational perspective rooted in global history argues against treating historical East Asia as “closed” for such a view is prone to both Sinocentrism and Eurocentrism. Instead, I emphasize the pivotal role played by Melaka—that pursued the strategy of attraction to manage its unequal world—and make the case for “open” orders without flattening power hierarchies or cultural differences.

The Longitudinal Effects of Mother-Preschooler Interaction on a Child’s Prosocial Behavior and Behavior Problem: The Mediating Effect of Child’s Self-Esteem

Objectives: This study aims to examine the longitudinal effects of mother-preschooler interaction on a child’s prosocial behavior and behavior problem. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of child’s self-esteem between mother-preschooler interaction and child’s prosocial behavior and behavior problem.Methods: The participants were 882 children(452 boys and 430 girls) and their mothers from the 7th(T1) to 9th(T3) wave(2014~2016) of the Panel Study on Korean Children. Data were analyzed with a Structural Equation Model and a bootstrapping method was used to test the statistical significance of the mediation.Results: First, the mother-preschooler interaction did not have a direct longitudinal effect on a child’s prosocial behavior, but had an indirect effect through self-esteem after controlling gender. The bootstrapping result suggested that the indirect effect is statistically significant. Second, mother-preschooler interaction did not have longitudinal effects on behavior problem, both directly and indirectly, through child’s self-esteem. Consequently, the more the interaction between mothers and preschoolers, the higher the child’s self-esteem, which led to a higher prosocial behavior.Conclusion: The results of this study show the mediating effect of self-esteem on the relationship between mother-preschooler interaction and child’s prosocial behavior. These findings suggest that parents should provide children with experiences in various interactions. They also imply the importance of experience in interactions in meaningful social relations for positive behavior of children. These experiences could play a role improving confidence in one’s worth and, eventually, allow children to have positive behaviors in social relations. The limitations and other implications of this study are also discussed.

Dynamic Interactive Social Cognition Training in Virtual Reality (DiSCoVR) for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A feasibility study

BackgroundSocial cognitive difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can affect the daily lives of people with ASD profoundly, impacting the development and maintenance of meaningful social relations. Social cognition training (SCT) is commonly used for improving social functioning, but lacks ecological validity and the ability to effectively mimic social situations. Development of virtual reality (VR) interventions, focusing on enhancing social cognition, could add to the effectiveness of SCT within ASD care, by offering a safe, interactive and practical training setting, where generalization of knowledge and skills to the real-world are promoted. In this paper, our primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptance by participants and therapists of the Dynamic Interactive Social Cognition MethodTraining in Virtual Reality (DiSCoVR) protocol as developed for adults with schizophrenic spectrum disorder (SSD), adapted for ASD (DiSCoVR-A). 26 participants, aged 18–63, took part in a pilot study. 22 participants completed baseline and post-assessment, including primary outcome evaluation assessment through a semi-structured interview. Secondary measures focused on social cognition, emotion recognition, mental flexibility, social anxiety, empathy and social responsiveness and were assessed at baseline (T0), post-treatment (T1), and at follow-up (T2) sixteen weeks after completion of the intervention. ResultsOur results show that the majority of participant and therapists found the VR intervention acceptable and feasible, as reported in evaluation questionnaires and interviews. ConclusionThese preliminary findings are promising; however, controlled research is needed to further investigate the effectiveness of VR within social cognition training for adults with ASD.

The Influence of Observed Workplace Ostracism on Psychological Distress and Job Performance: The Moderating Effects of Perpetrator’s Injustice Attribution and Emotional Intelligence

Forming and sustaining meaningful social relationships is a fundamental need for individuals (Baumeister and Leary, 1995). If they feel rejected, their social interaction need will be unfulfilled (Dewall & Bushman, 2011), leading to impaired belonging needs, control, self-esteem and meaningful existence, which eventually impact their behaviour, mental health and emotions (Williams, 2007). Ostracism is a form of social exclusion/rejection, expressed in various actions, such as ignoring the target and shutting him/her out of the conversations and other actions (Ferris et al., 2008), leading to various detrimental consequences (Li et al., 2021). It is a pervasive phenomenon in different social contexts (Kimel et al., 2017). Workplace Ostracism is defined as “the degree to which an employee perceives that he or she is ignored or excluded by others in the workplace” (Ferris et al., 2008). Research in workplace ostracism has prospered in recent years (Howard et al., 2019). Various theoretical perspectives have been brought forward to explain workplace ostracism, one of which is the workplace victimisation relational model by Aquino and Lamertz (2004) that consolidates two perspectives—the victim and the perpetrator—in the context of role relationships and organisational structure. This model proposes that workplace ostracism should be understood within a social, dyadic relationship between the victim and the perpetrator and the organisational context in which such relationships occur. Keywords: Observed workplace ostracism, psychological distress, perpetrator’s injustice, emotional intelligence, job performance.

Intimate Belonging—Intimate Becoming: How Police Officers and Migrant Gang Defectors Seek to (Re)shape Ties of Belonging in Denmark

This article examines the ways that Danish gang exit programs engage police officers and gang defectors in a pervasive work on belonging between gangs, kinship networks and the state. In urban Denmark, the majority of gang exit candidates are of ethnic-minority background and form part of the street-gang environment in marginalized migrant neighborhoods. This is an intimate social environment constituted by diasporic kinship networks, where gang formations are entangled with kinship formations. Hence, when gang defectors leave their gang, they also often leave their family and childhood home for a life in unfamiliar places and positions. As I show, gang desistance is thus a highly dilemmatic process in which gang defectors find themselves “unhinged” from meaningful social and kinship relationships and in search of new ways of embedding themselves into a social world. Based on an ethnographic study of gang exit processes in Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, this article shows how police officers and gang defectors seek to (re)shape ties of belonging between gangs, kinship networks and the state. The process, I argue, illuminates the intimate aspect of the notion of belonging, in which kin and state relatedness is deeply rooted in interpersonal spaces and relationships.

Loneliness is not a homogeneous experience: An empirical analysis of adaptive and maladaptive forms of loneliness in the UK

Understanding loneliness is pivotal to informing relevant evidence-based preventive interventions. The present study examined the prevalence of loneliness in the UK, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the association between loneliness, mental health outcomes, and risk and protective factors for loneliness, after controlling for the effects of social isolation. It was estimated that 18.1% of the population in our study experienced moderately high to very high loneliness. We also found that loneliness was positively associated with self-disgust and social inhibition, and negatively associated with trait optimism and hope. Cluster analysis indicated that two distinct groups emerged among those experiencing higher levels of loneliness: “adaptive” and “maladaptive” loneliness groups. The maladaptive loneliness group displayed psychological characteristics like self-disgust and social inhibition including symptoms of depression and anxiety that can potentially undermine their ability to connect with others and form meaningful social relationships. These findings suggest that not all people experience loneliness in the same way. It is possible that a one-size-fit-all approach to reducing loneliness, may be less effective because it does not take into account the differential psychological profiles and characteristics of lonely people, relevant to their capacity to connect with others.

STEM Faculty Mentoring and Advising at an Urban Hispanic-Serving Community College

ABSTRACT This article provides a detailed description of how faculty mentoring and advising occurred at an urban Hispanic-serving community college for future replication. Three research questions were pursued: (1) What were the most important successes and challenges? (2) What are the key components of a faculty mentoring and advising program? (3) What theoretical approaches in the existing research best align with these results for use in future faculty mentoring and advising programs? Data was analyzed from two grant-funded projects (NSF STEP and ED HSI STEM). Quantitative and qualitative data included program and administrative data, two faculty mentor focus groups, an online faculty survey, and an online student survey. Taken together, the results emphasize the multifaceted nature of the STEM faculty mentoring and advising program from the perspective of students, faculty, and STEM counselors. Six key components emerged from the results: (a) an approach to faculty release time; (b) tracking student outcomes using available administrative and program data; (c) program wide aspects; (d) readiness to address challenges; (e) qualities of faculty mentors; and (e) qualities of STEM counselors. Similarities with existing research were found across multiple theories. Most notable was how mentors and advisers simultaneously addressed the psychosocial and academic needs of students, provided both academic and interpersonal validation, created meaningful social relationships, addressed the psychological, social, and cultural needs of Latinx students, and used proactive advising. These results can be utilized by other programs to increase the number of Latinx students in the STEM workforce.

The McNorm library: creating and validating a new library of emotionally expressive whole body dance movements

The ability to exchange affective cues with others plays a key role in our ability to create and maintain meaningful social relationships. We express our emotions through a variety of socially salient cues, including facial expressions, the voice, and body movement. While significant advances have been made in our understanding of verbal and facial communication, to date, understanding of the role played by human body movement in our social interactions remains incomplete. To this end, here we describe the creation and validation of a new set of emotionally expressive whole-body dance movement stimuli, named the Motion Capture Norming (McNorm) Library, which was designed to reconcile a number of limitations associated with previous movement stimuli. This library comprises a series of point-light representations of a dancer’s movements, which were performed to communicate to observers neutrality, happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Based on results from two validation experiments, participants could reliably discriminate the intended emotion expressed in the clips in this stimulus set, with accuracy rates up to 60% (chance = 20%). We further explored the impact of dance experience and trait empathy on emotion recognition and found that neither significantly impacted emotion discrimination. As all materials for presenting and analysing this movement library are openly available, we hope this resource will aid other researchers in further exploration of affective communication expressed by human bodily movement.

The Role Of Friendship In Character Development: Lessons From The Biblical Story Of David And Jonathan

Amidst the complexities of modern life, the role of friendship in character development is becoming increasingly important. The presence of true friends not only provides emotional support, but also serves as a mirror for self-knowledge. This study aims to explore the role of friendship in character development based on the story of David and Jonathan in the Bible. A qualitative approach with case studies is used to analyze narratives that are relevant to the friendship between the two characters. The results of the study show that deep friendship has a major positive influence in shaping individual character. Loyalty, emotional support, and inspiration from true friends lay a solid foundation for the development of strong and meaningful character. The story of Daud and Jonathan emphasizes the importance of friendship values in facing life's challenges, forming self-identities, and achieving full potential. This research also underscores the relevance of friendship values in modern life, inviting us to build supportive and inspiring friendships in order to build quality and integrity characters. The findings in this study provide insight into how friendship can be a crucial aspect in shaping human character and provide inspiration for individuals to develop meaningful social relationships in everyday society.

Expanding Opportunities for Work and Citizenship: Participation of People with Intellectual Disabilities in Voluntary Work

This article discusses the findings of a study into how voluntary work provides opportunities for work inclusion and citizenship for people with intellectual disabilities. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 12 people with intellectual disabilities engaged in voluntary work in Iceland and Norway. Based on collective qualitative analysis, opportunities for meaningful social relations, competence, contribution and belonging were identified as key aspects of the participants’ experiences of volunteering. The study indicates that voluntary settings offer work that recognises the diversity of preferences, expectations and skills among people with intellectual disabilities. The study’s findings point to the importance of rethinking the meaning and boundaries of work, as participation in voluntary work provides opportunities for both inclusion and citizenship in addition to the participants’ participation in other work settings.

Tehostetun palveluasumisen vaikuttavuus ja asiakkaiden elämänlaatu

We analyzed the effectiveness of sheltered housing and the quality of life of service users with the ASCOT-INT4 service user measure. We evaluated the suitability of the measure and the associations between service user characteristics, service quality and the unweighted SCRQoL and effectiveness. Our findings from interview surveys (N = 101) indicated that the service was more effective for clients with higher care needs and better SCRQoL was predicted by the satisfaction with the treatment received. The results show that good basic services were provided to but there were some shortcomings in the implementation of meaningful social relations and activities.

Family's role in long-term care-A qualitative study of Finnish family members' experiences on supporting the functional ability of an older relative.

Family members are important providers of care for older people. In residential long‐term care, however, their role is not always simple and straightforward: responsibility for care provision rests officially with staff members, but in practice family members often contribute to providing care. The main reason for admission to long‐term care is functional decline. At the same time, the maintenance of functional ability is a central goal in long‐term care. It is therefore reasonable to assume that functional ability is also an important factor in the relationship between family members and long‐term care residents. This study aims to explore how family members experience their role in supporting the functional ability of older relatives in residential long‐term care. With the approval of the local hospital district's ethics committee, we conducted semi‐structured interviews with family members (n = 16) in Finland in 2016. Thematic data analysis showed that family members supported the functional ability of their older parent or spouse by organising and monitoring care and by bringing forth their relative's personal needs and wishes. They often saw their role alongside staff members as ambiguous, and their understanding of the scope of support for functioning extended beyond physical everyday tasks. In their talk, family members broadened the concept of functional ability from daily chores and independence to meaningful social relations and acknowledgement of person's individual background and preferences. Family members’ views offer valuable insights into residents’ personal needs, values and preferences and in doing so help care workers to support their functional ability with a person‐centred care approach.

Psychological Benefits of a Sport-Based Program for Female Cancer Survivors: The Role of Social Connections.

In the context of sports-based interventions for improving health and quality of life in chronic patients, participants could develop meaningful social relationships that affect their well-being as much as intervention activities. In this study, 80 female cancer survivors participated in a running-based group intervention (2 sessions/week; 1.5 h), while 51 acted as controls. The intervention lasted approximately 5 months. Unfortunately, the length of the intervention was reduced and sport activities were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown mid-intervention, while the shared therapy sessions continued online. This possibly altered the results, as anxiety, depression, and physical aspects did not show significant differences between the experimental and control groups after the intervention. Participants reported positive comments on the experience as a whole, especially regarding the positive influence of the newly developed social connections. This was corroborated by significant correlations between group perceived cohesion and anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, and positive experience with the group psychological support. Overall, it is possible to suggest that in the program an important role was played by social connections and support, peer influence and the group experience, preserving positive experiential qualities of the intervention even if it was altered by external circumstances.

Moderate Weightbearing Restrictions Are Associated with Worse Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety in Children Aged 5 to 7 Years with Perthes Disease.

Moderate Weightbearing Restrictions Are Associated with Worse Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety in Children Aged 5 to 7 Years with Perthes Disease.

Strangers in the sheets: how Airbnb hosts overcome uncertainty

Abstract Uncertainty is typically viewed as an impediment to trade. I argue that in morally attuned markets, where actors seek not just economic transactions but also social connection, uncertainty contributes to market order and reproduction. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 40 Airbnb hosts, I first explain how market risks are inadequately mitigated by social credit data, that is, publicly available information about exchange partners, and by institutional safeguards, such as the platform’s insurance policy. I then explain how hosts overcome remaining uncertainties by getting to know and building rapport with their guests. This emotional labor is in turn converted to meaningful social relations that motivate further hosting. In some cases, these ad hoc ties transcend the market and live on as authentic friendships.

WSU ROAR and ROAR Online! Program Description and COVID-19 Response

Washington State University, Responsibility Opportunity Advocacy and Respect (WSU ROAR) is an inclusive 2-year residential postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. WSU ROAR is a recognized comprehensive transition program located in rural eastern Washington. Within the program, there are four pillars: WSU ROAR workshops, Washington State University audit courses, employment experiences, and independent living. Individualized instruction guides the WSU ROAR workshops to allow students to develop their independence. Students also participate in audit courses in inclusive settings on campus to gain skills to help with future employment opportunities. Peer Allies, who are students traditionally enrolled at college, provide meaningful social and academic relationships by partnering with the students in WSU ROAR. This program description discusses the development of the postsecondary education program and its adaptation to meet its goals while addressing the challenges of being a rural university in eastern Washington. This program description also describes how the WSU ROAR program adapted to a remote learning platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Identity Formation and Developing Meaningful Social Relationships: The Role of the Polish Catholic Community for Polish Young People Migrating to Sweden.

This article draws from a broader research project Transnational childhoods, illuminating the agency and experiences of children and young people migrating from Poland and Romania to Sweden under the age of 18. Focusing on young people born in Poland and having social relationships post-migration as central theoretical component, the article explores the role that the Polish Catholic community in Sweden plays in the lives of young Polish migrants. It does so by grounding the analysis on 23 qualitative interviews, combined with network maps and life-lines, produced by the young Polish participants. The study identifies three important dimensions in the role of the Polish Catholic community. These are comprised of the community's role for young Poles' spiritual development and religious identity, for building new friendships and making sense of common migration and religious experiences, and guidance by specifically Polish Catholic priests in the young migrants' family relationships and in future life projects. The article concludes that while practicing religion and building significant social relationships within the Polish congregations the young migrants shape feelings of belonging and inclusion, however primarily within the limits of their own ethnic community. Further research is needed on the wider implications of primarily mono-ethnic relational practices for the young Poles' lives within the increasingly ethnically heterogeneous Swedish society.