Number Of Close Friends Research Articles

Family and Social Variables Associated with Family Health.

The current study examined the interrelationships among potentially relevant family and social factors associated with family health. A cross-sectional study was conducted by collecting demographic information from 432 families, including family typology, family life cycle (FLC), and social status as well as social support and stressful life events (SLEs), with self-perception of family health being measured as a dependent variable. Descriptive analysis of the sample and univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed. Multivariate analyses showed that the FLC stage of families as launching centers, lower educational level of household heads, and impact of SLEs were negatively associated with family health, whereas adequate perceived social support and the number of close friends and relatives were positively associated with family health. Therefore, these factors must be considered by family nurses to promote family health and prevent family dysfunction.

Psychosocial and behavioral problems of children and adolescents in the early stage of reopening schools after the COVID-19 pandemic: a national cross-sectional study in China

This study aims to explore the psychosocial and behavioral problems of children and adolescents in the early stage of reopening schools. In this national cross-sectional study, a total of 11072 students from China were naturally divided into two groups based on their schooling status: reopened schools (RS) and home schooling (HS) group. The psychosocial and behavioral functioning were measured by Achenbach Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and compared in these two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the independent predictors associated with the psychosocial and behavioral problems. Our results showed that the students in the RS group had more adverse behaviors than that of HS group. The RS group had the higher rates of parent-offspring conflict, prolonged homework time, increased sedentary time and sleep problems (all p < 0.001). When separate analyses were conducted in boys and girls, the RS group had the higher scores for (1) overall behavioral problems (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01), internalizing (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02) and externalizing (p = 0.02 and p = 0.004) behaviors in the 6–11 age group; (2) externalizing (p = 0.049 and p = 0.006) behaviors in the 12–16 age group. Multivariable regression showed parent-offspring conflict and increased sedentary time were the most common risk factors, while physical activity and number of close friends were protective factors for behavior problems in RS students (p < 0.01 or 0.05). The present study revealed that students’ psychosocial and behavioral problems increased in the early stage of schools reopened unexpectedly. These findings suggest that close attention must be paid and holistic strategies employed in the school reopening process of post-COVID-19 period.

Associations of quality of social support and beliefs in curability among older adults with advanced cancer.

12049 Background: Prior studies suggest that social support plays a role in disease understanding of older patients with advanced cancer. In this study, we examined the association of quantity and quality of social support with belief in curability among older patients with advanced incurable cancer. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized geriatric assessment trial (URCC 13070: PI Mohile) that recruited older adults (≥70) with advanced incurable cancer and caregivers. At enrollment, patients completed the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) Medical Social Support form to measure both quantity (number of close friends and relatives) and quality of social support. Quality of social support was measured using twelve questions, each ranged from 1 (none of the time) to 5 (all of the time). Higher cumulative scores indicated greater quality of support. For beliefs in curability, patients were asked, “What do you believe are the chances that your cancer will go away and never come back with treatment?” Responses were 0%, &lt;50%, 50/50, &gt;50%, and 100%. Ordinal logistic regression was used to investigate the association of social support with beliefs in curability, adjusting for adjusting for age, gender, education, race, number of Geriatric Assessment (GA) impairments, cancer type, and locality (rural versus urban). Results: We included 347 patients; mean age was 76.4 years, 91% were white, 52% were male, 46% had household income &lt;$50,000, and 55% had high school degree or higher. For every unit increase in OARS Medical Social Support score, the odds of believing in curability decreases by 36.4% [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 0.733, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): (0.555, 0.969)], after controlling for covariates. Quantity of social support was not associated with belief in curability [AOR 1.033 95% CI: (0.921, 1.156)]. Conclusions: Our study revealed that older patients with advanced cancer who felt more supported by their social network were more likely to report that their cancer was not curable. Interventions that improve quality of social support may also affect disease understanding. Funding: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) 4634 and NIH K24 AG056589 to SGM, NCI UG1CA189961, T32CA102618, NCI K99CA237744 to Loh.

Bullying Victimization and Friendship as Influences on Sleep Difficulty among Brazilian Adolescents

Bullying victimization is associated with poor health-related outcomes, including sleeping problems. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of bullying victimization on sleep difficulty, and the moderating effect of the number of close friends on this association, also exploring differences across genders. The study was based on a nationally-representative survey on adolescent health conducted in Brazilian schools, involving a total of 109,104 participants, enrolled at the 9th year in 2012. The measures used in the analysis included socio-demographic characteristics, bullying victimization, sleep difficulty, and number of close friends. In the multilevel models, reporting more peer victimization was associated with more sleep difficulties (b = .18, t = 50.17, p < .05), with girls reporting more sleep difficulties in association with peer victimization than boys. Reporting having more friends was inversely linked to sleep difficulties (b = −.08, t = −15.26, p < .05), and the association between peer victimization and sleep difficulties was significantly buffered by the number of friends. Moreover, in a three way interaction, there was a marginally significant difference in the effect of friends on the link between victimization and sleep difficulties between boys and girls (b = .02, t = 1.86, p = .06), with the buffering effect of friendships being negligible among girls as opposed to boys. The results indicate a significant association between bullying victimization and sleep difficulties, which seems to be more pronounced among girls, also suggesting that the number of close friends may buffer this association, mainly for boys.

Psychological distress and alcohol use disorder during the COVID-19 era among middle- and low-income U.S. adults

PurposeThis study examined how exposure to events during the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) era is linked to symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), COVID-19 era-related stress (CS), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and suicidal ideation (SI) in low and middle-income U.S adults. MethodsA national sample of 6,607 adults (4.4% who reported testing positive for COVID-19, 25.3% testing negative, and 70.3% untested) were recruited an online platform andcompleted the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2, PTSD-Checklist for DSM-5, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification-Consumption scale, and an item assessing SI in May-June 2020. A series of multivariable analyses were conducted. ResultsIn the total sample, 35.3% screened positive for current AUD, 33.6% for MDD, 33.6% for GAD, 24.6% for SI, and 20.2% for CS. Past 2-week SI (adjusted odds ratios [AORs]= 1.49–12.06), number of close friends (AORs= 1.40–2.72), history of AUD (AORs= 1.15–1.92), history of anxiety disorder (AORs= 1.07–2.63), and younger age (AORs= 0.97–0.98) were significantly associated with screening positive for MDD, GAD, CS, and AUD. COVID-19 status was not independently associated with these conditions, but the combination of testing positive for COVID-19, meeting criteria for AUD, and screening positive for MDD, GAD, or CS predicted a 96% probability for SI. ConclusionPredisposing factors are stronger predictors of psychological distress than personal COVID-19 infection or exposure. The additive effects of COVID-19 infection, alcohol use, and psychiatric problems in predicting SI suggest screening, monitoring, and treating these conditions in population-based prevention and treatment efforts may be important.

Factors associated with physical and sexual violence among school-going adolescents in Nepal: Findings from Global School-based Student Health Survey.

BackgroundGlobally violence is a matter of public health concern with severe physical and mental health implications and social consequences. Evidence suggest that adolescents have an elevated risk of exposure to physical and sexual violence. However, there is a lack of nationally representative research on violence and its associated factors in Nepal to inform interventions. This paper attempts to find the factors associated with various forms of physical and sexual violence among school-going adolescents in Nepal.MethodsWe analysed the cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2015. The GSHS survey applied a two-stage cluster sampling process to select a representative sample of 7 to 11 grade students from 74 schools across the country. We applied logistic regression analysis to identify the factors associated with physical and sexual violence.ResultsOut of the total 6,529 participants, 45.24% of them faced a physical attack, 39.25% were involved in a physical fight, and 11.65% were victims of sexual violence in the survey administered between 7 August 2015 to 14 March 2016. In a multiple regression analysis, the age of participants, parental supervision, feeling unsafe at school, and the number of close friends were found to be associated with a physical attack. Participants who were bullied, had multiple sex partners, and had received corporal punishment in school had a higher engagement in a physical fight. Likewise, school grade, having parents who understand the problems, having multiple sex partners, and corporal punishment at school were associated with instances of sexual violence.ConclusionThe study identified multiple factors associated with experiences of physical attacks, involvement in a physical fight, and sexual violence among school-going adolescents. This study results can have important implications for school administration, parents, and policymakers alike to plan appropriate anti-violence strategies and interventions. Since various forms of violence share some common risk factors, a comprehensive strategy could be worth considering to prevent such acts of violence.

Association of Social Determinants of Health with Time to Diagnosis and Treatment Outcomes in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis.

To examine whether social determinants of health (SDH) factors are associated with time to diagnosis, treatment selection, and time to recurrent surgical intervention in idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) patients. Adult patients with diagnosed iSGS were recruited prospectively (2015-2017) via clinical providers as part of the North American Airway Collaborative (NoAAC) and via an online iSGS support community on Facebook. Patient-specific SDH factors included highest educational attainment (self-reported), median household income (matched from home zip code via U.S. Census data), and number of close friends (self-reported) as a measure of social support. Main outcomes of interest were time to disease diagnosis (years from symptom onset), treatment selection (endoscopic dilation [ED] vs cricotracheal resection [CTR] vs endoscopic resection with adjuvant medical therapy [ERMT]), and time to recurrent surgical intervention (number of days from initial surgical procedure) as a surrogate for disease recurrence. The total 810 participants were 98.5% female, 97.2% Caucasian, and had a median age of 50 years (IQR, 43-58). The cohort had a median household income of $62 307 (IQR, $50 345-$79 773), a median of 7 close friends (IQR, 4-10), and 64.7% of patients completed college or graduate school. Education, income, and number of friends were not associated with time to diagnosis via multivariable linear regression modeling. Univariable multinominal logistic regression demonstrated an association between education and income for selecting ED versus ERMT, but no associations were noted for CTR. No associations were noted for time to recurrent surgical procedure via Kaplan Meier modeling and Cox proportional hazards regression. Patient education, income, and social support were not associated with time to diagnosis or time to disease recurrence. This suggests additional patient, procedure, or disease-specific factors contribute to the observed variations in iSGS surgical outcomes.

Volunteering and Friendship in Later Life: Does Gender Moderate the Relationship?

Friendship, which is an essential part of social life and beneficial to individuals’ well-being, plays a crucial role in maintaining social connectedness in late life. Volunteering is an avenue for older adults to stay socially engaged, and also provides older adults the opportunity to meet and make new friends. A limited literature suggests that volunteering may be associated with friendship, but many studies are limited by reliance on small, non-probability samples and overly simplistic analytic approaches. The literature is also unclear with respect to how volunteering behaviors relate to specific characteristics of friendships and whether there are gender differences underlying these relationships. Using the 2014 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (N=5,306), this study investigates the association between volunteering characteristics (i.e., volunteer status and hours) and friendship characteristics (i.e., the number of close friends, friendship quality, and contact frequency) among community-dwelling older adults. We also examine whether gender moderated these relationships. Results from linear regression analyses indicate that volunteer status and the number of volunteer hours were positively associated with each dimension of friendship. Also, the positive association between volunteering at 1–99 hours, 100–199 hours, and 200 hours or more and number of close friends, friendship quality, and contact frequency were stronger for older women than for older men. Findings demonstrated that volunteering is integral in shaping late-life friendships. The differential benefits of volunteering between older men and women also suggest that volunteering might be more critical for older women’s friendships.

Volunteering and Cognitive Health Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Friendship

We lack knowledge about the underlying mechanisms that link formal volunteering to cognitive health. Friendships can be formed and improved through volunteering. Friendship is also beneficial to cognitive health as it often involves sharing information and promoting social interactions. This study investigated the potential mediating role of friendship (i.e., the number of close friends and the quality of friendships) for the association between volunteering (i.e., volunteering status and volunteering hours) and episodic memory among middle-aged and older adults in the United States, using data from the 2014 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 6,029). Moderated mediation models were employed to test the mediation role of friendship for the association between volunteering and cognition for two age groups, middle-aged adults (age 50-64, n = 2,441) and older adults (age 65+, n = 3,588). The results showed that the quality of friendships, but not the number of close friends, mediated the relationship between volunteering (both status and hours) and episodic memory for middle-aged adults. However, mediation effects of friendship were not discovered for older adults. Our findings emphasize the important role of the quality of friendship in understanding the cognitive benefit of volunteering among middle-aged adults. For older adults, the nonsignificant effects of friendship may be consistent with socioemotional selectivity theory, suggesting that older adults may not use volunteering to expand their social networks. Instead, they may participate in volunteer work for other reasons in the context of shrinking social networks.

Global Sensory Impairment Independently Predicts Decreased Social Function Over Time

The classical senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) play a key role in social function by allowing interaction and communication. We assessed whether sensory impairment across all 5 modalities (global sensory impairment [GSI]) was associated with social function in older adults. Sensory function was measured in 3,005 home-dwelling older U.S. adults at baseline in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project and GSI, a validated measure, was calculated. Social network size and kin composition, number of close friends, and social engagement were assessed at baseline and 5- and 10-year follow-up. Ordinal logistic regression and mixed effects ordinal logistic regression analyzed cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships respectively, controlling for demographics, physical/mental health, disability, and cognitive function (at baseline). Adults with worse GSI had smaller networks (β=-0.159, p=0.021), fewer close friends (β=-0.262, p=0.003) and lower engagement (β=-0.252, p=0.006) at baseline, relationships that persisted at 5 and 10 year follow-up. Men, older people, African-Americans, and those with less education, fewer assets, poor mental health, worse cognitive function, and more disability had worse GSI. Men and those with fewer assets, worse cognitive function, and less education had smaller networks and lower engagement. African-American and Hispanic individuals had smaller networks and fewer close friends, but more engagement. Older respondents also had more engagement. In summary, GSI independently predicts smaller social networks, fewer close friends, and lower social engagement over time, suggesting that sensory decline results in decreased social function. Thus, rehabilitating multisensory impairment may be a strategy to enhance social function as people age.

Examining transitions in loneliness for people without and with moderate and severe disabilities

Purpose To investigate how disability affects the levels of loneliness reported by people living in Germany. In particular, we are interested in analysing the transitions into and out of loneliness but incorporating a dynamic approach of disability (i.e., disability trajectories). Method Drawing data from the German Socio-Economic Panel for the years 2013 and 2017 and using a three-item version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, we construct a balance panel of individuals and estimate linear regression models on loneliness, and probit models to predict the likelihood to become lonely or exit from loneliness. Results We find a positive association between disability and loneliness (especially for those people who are severely limited). The frequency of contacts with family, friends, etc., the number of close friends and the participation in volunteering, sports, cultural and religious events reduce loneliness. Furthermore, we find that those individuals making the transition into a moderate/severe disability and also those recovering totally from a severe disability are more likely to become lonely in 2017. Conclusions From a public health policy perspective, it is necessary to undertake the design and implementation of instrumental, emotional and social support for people with disabilities. A higher engagement in social activities (e.g., social gatherings, cultural and leisure activities) and the elimination of barriers (e.g., structural and environmental) may become key elements to preventing loneliness. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Loneliness has become an important social problem in most countries with a significant impact on individuals’ health status (mental and physical). Loneliness strongly affects individuals who experience important levels of discrimination and social exclusion (e.g., people with disabilities). Transitions of disabilities and loneliness must be taken into account to investigate the relative position of people with disabilities (especially those with severe disabilities). People with severe disabilities report the highest levels of loneliness, especially if this disability status remains over time. Rehabilitation professionals must promote social relations and support among people with disabilities and help them exit from permanent loneliness.

Chronic Pain and Friendship Among Middle-Aged and Older U.S. Adults.

This study examines how chronic pain affects friendship in later life. We test whether onset of pain leads to social network activation, as suggested by research on other health conditions, or whether pain-an unverifiable and often stigmatizing condition-functions as a "threat to the social self". Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 4,598; 2006/2008 as Time 1 and 2010/2012 as Time 2), we conducted OLS regressions with a lagged dependent variable approach to assess how new-onset chronic pain predicted (a) respondents' number of close friends and (b) their frequency of in-person meetings with friends, controlling for sociodemographic variables and health conditions. New-onset severe pain predicted a decrease in number of friends. New-onset moderate pain, in contrast, predicted more friends and more frequent in-person meetings. (Findings were significant or marginally significant depending on model specifications.) Mild pain showed no significant association with either outcome. Pain had a greater effect on men's friendship outcomes than women's. The effects of chronic pain on later-life friendships appear to depend on pain severity, and to differ between men and women. Onset of severe pain serves as a "threat to the social self," while onset of moderate pain contributes to social network activation; both associations are significantly more pronounced among men. These findings highlight the complex associations between health and social outcomes.

An investigation into social support networks of parents of children with intellectual disability in Bangladesh

Drawing upon the theories of social cognition, social networks and social capital, this article investigates the structure and function of social support networks of parent of children with intellectual disability in Bangladesh, a developing country in South Asia. The primary data for the study were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Snowball sampling method was used to reach to participants. It also used psychometric tools such as the Lubben Social Network Scale – Revised (LSNS-R) and the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB) to measure the social network and support among the participants. The results show that parents of children with intellectual disability have smaller social network than parents of children without intellectual disabilities. The parents of intellectual disability have relatively a smaller number of close friends and relatives for seeking help, sharing private matters and consulting while making any important decisions. Multiple factors influence their possibility of getting social support. The factors include the number of relatives who see or hear at least once a month; number of relatives to share private matters; availability of relatives for making a decision; number of close friends and the number of close friends who live within five miles of their residence. This article concludes that the social network interventions can be a mechanism for individualized supports and services for the parents.

Early Adolescents’ Risk Taking Propensity, Urban Stress, and Affiliation With Risky Peers

This study examined how early adolescents’ risk taking propensity and urban stress were linked to their affiliation with risky peers. Participants ( n = 297; [Formula: see text] age = 10.48 years [ SD = 0.93 years]; 54% male; 58% Black/African American) completed a brief laboratory-based behavioral risk taking task. They also completed self-report measures of urban stress and the number of close friends engaged in various risky behaviors (e.g., smoking, stealing). Results supported a link between risk taking propensity and affiliation with risky peers that was moderated by urban stress. After controlling for demographic factors, early adolescents’ risk taking propensity was positively associated with affiliation with risky peers at high levels of urban stress but not at low levels of urban stress.

The importance of social factors in the association between physical activity and depression in children

BackgroundPhysical activity is associated with reduced depression in youth and adults. However, our understanding of how different aspects of youth activities—specifically, the degree to which they are social, team-oriented, and physical—relate to mental health in children is less clear.MethodsHere we use a data-driven approach to characterize the degree to which physical and non-physical youth activities are social and team-oriented. We then examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and participation in different clusters of youth activities using mixed effect models and causal mediation analyses in 11,875 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We test our hypotheses in an original sample (n = 4520, NDA release 1.1) and replication sample of participants (n = 7355, NDA release 2.0.1).ResultsWe show and replicate that social–physical activities are associated with lower depressive symptoms. Next, we demonstrate that social connections, measured by number of close friends, partially mediate the association between social–physical activities and lower depressive symptoms.ConclusionsOur results provide a rubric for using data-driven techniques to investigate different aspects of youth activities and highlight the social dynamics of physical activities as a possible protective factor against depression in childhood.

Lower socioeconomic status and the acceleration of aging: An outcome-wide analysis

Aging involves decline in a range of functional abilities and phenotypes, many of which are also associated with socioeconomic status (SES). Here we assessed whether lower SES is a determinant of the rate of decline over 8 y in six domains-physical capability, sensory function, physiological function, cognitive performance, emotional well-being, and social function-in a sample of 5,018 men and women aged 64.44 (SD 8.49) y on average at baseline. Wealth was used as the marker of SES, and all analyses controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment, and long-term health conditions. Lower SES was associated with greater adverse changes in physical capability (grip strength, gait speed, and physical activity), sensory function (sight impairment), physiological function (plasma fibrinogen concentration and lung function), cognitive performance (memory, executive function, and processing speed), emotional well-being (enjoyment of life and depressive symptoms), and social function (organizational membership, number of close friends, volunteering, and cultural engagement). Effects were maintained when controlling statistically for other factors such as smoking, marital/partnership status, and self-rated health and were also present when analyses were limited to participants aged ≤75 y. We conclude that lower SES is related to accelerated aging across a broad range of functional abilities and phenotypes independently of the presence of health conditions and that social circumstances impinge on multiple aspects of aging.

Examination of mental well-being levels of individuals who are studying at university and who are receiving compulsory physical education according to different variables

The aim of this research is to investigate the mental well-being levels of individuals who are educated in university preparatory classes according to different variables. In the research, a descriptive screening model has been used. The study group consists of male and female participants in preparatory classes at Kyrgyzstan Turkey Manas University in the 2019-2020 academic year. To evaluate the Mental Well-Being level, "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researcher and the data of the research, "Mental Well-Being Scale", a scale -original name being "Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale" -developed by Tennant and his fellows (2007) adapted to Turkish by Keldal (2015) was used. Independent Samples T Test for frequency distributions, normality analyses and binary group comparisons, and one way ANOVA test for more than two group comparisons were conducted to provide descriptive information about the participants. As a result, there has been no significant difference in the answers given to questions such as gender, age and division variables, number of close friends, who help you the most when you encounter a problem, which sport branch you are engaged in, who encouraged you to exercise, how long you spend on your daily workouts, and specify some of your reasons to exercise. However, it has been determined that there is a meaningful difference in the answers given to the question of how long you have been playing this sport.

Influence of gender on initiation of tobacco and nicotine containing product use among U.S. Air Force trainees.

Military personnel are a subgroup of young adults at risk for tobacco and nicotine containing product (TNCP) use. This study of US Air Force (USAF) trainees who were never users of TNCPs examined gender, peer tobacco use, and tobacco use intentions as predictors of TNCP initiation after Basic Military Training (BMT). We used a longitudinal cohort assessment study design with baseline and 1-year surveys completed (2011-2016) among 2393 USAF trainees: 73% men, 95% aged 18-25years, 36% racial minorities. Overall, initiation of any TNCP use at 1-year was 23% (20% women, 24% men). From a multivariable multinomial logistic regression model predicting TNCP use at 1-year follow-up, significant 2-way interactions were detected between gender and number of close friends using tobacco before BMT (p=0.015), and between gender and tobacco use intentions (p<0.0001). Women reporting almost all or many close friends used tobacco were more likely to report TNCP use compared to women with none (Odds ratio [OR]=5.8, 95% CI 2.5-13.5, Bonferroni corrected p<0.0001). Having close friends using tobacco had little influence on TNCP use among men. Men with tobacco use intentions were more likely to report TNCP use compared to men having no intentions (OR=8.0, 95% CI: 4.7-13.6, Bonferroni corrected p<0.001), but tobacco use intentions had little influence among women. In this sample of USAF trainees, the study provides novel prospective findings on TNCP initiation, and how men and women are influenced differently by peer tobacco use and tobacco use intentions. Gender-specific prevention efforts focused on uptake of TNCPs appear warranted.

Assessing the Mental Health of Brazilian Students Involved in Risky Behaviors.

Adolescence, which is the transition from childhood to adulthood, is marked by emotional sensitivity and inconsistency and may be affected by mental health problems. In order to fill the gap related to the risky behaviors in students in Brazil, our cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the relationship between risky behaviors and indicators of mental health of Brazilian students. We used the data from the National School Health Survey to analyze the relationship between risk behaviors and three symptoms of mental health issues: feeling of being alone, number of close friends, and trouble sleeping due to worries. The sample consisted of 102,072 students in Brazil (48.3% boys and 51.7% girls), aged between 11 to 19 years. The risk behaviors evaluated were substance use, sedentary lifestyle, sexual behavior, and suffering violence and bullying. We have performed a multivariate analysis based on the Poisson regression model, and the measure of effect used was the prevalence ratio (PR) with confidence intervals (CI) of 95%. Our results showed that students with symptoms of mental health issues were involved in risky behaviors, including drug use and unsafe sex. Thus, mental illness outcomes may be associated with risky behaviors, or mental health may be impaired by them. Given these findings, in-school programs focused on improving mental health outcomes should be developed.

Determinants of individual social capital in dairy cooperatives in West Shoa, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT While previous studies recognise the importance of social capital for cooperatives’ social and economic outcomes, there are no empirical studies on the determinants of farmers’ social capital in cooperatives. This paper investigates the determinants of social capital using data from farmers in dairy cooperatives in Ethiopia. First, principal component analyses (PCAs) are performed on the data set of dimensions of social capital: structural, relational and cognitive. After applying PCA, composite indicators are developed as measures of farmers’ dimensions of social capital. Second, seemingly unrelated regression is employed to identify the determinants of the dimensions of social capital. The results suggest that marital status, education level and length of membership have a positive effect on the structural dimension. The relational dimension has a positive relationship with the ownership of a radio, the number of close friends, and membership in associations, while training access and number of close friends positively influence the cognitive dimension. The study concludes that improving farmers’ social capital in dairy cooperatives requires investment in the educational system, creating and developing local associations, promoting cooperatives through mass media, and strengthening the existing training programmes.