Social Exclusion In Adolescence Research Articles

Recreational awareness prevents digital game addiction associated with social exclusion in adolescents

ABSTRACT Digital game addiction has become an important topic in recent years, and research into this area is constantly expanding because of the vast popularity of video games. These studies examine the physical, psychological, and social origins of digital game addiction to better understand the issues that might result from it. The current study seeks to shed light on the preventative impact of recreational awareness on digital game addiction linked to social exclusion within this context. Data were gathered through an online survey method, and a total of 346 Turkish adolescents (ages 15–18) were included in the sample. The findings revealed that recreational awareness had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between social exclusion and digital game addiction. Moreover, it was determined that men had higher levels of digital game addiction compared to women and women had higher levels of social exclusion compared to men. The results obtained from the research have been discussed in the relevant section, and recommendations have been formulated considering the outcomes.

Emotional reactivity and prosocial behaviour in response to witnessing social exclusion in adolescents with eating disorders and healthy controls

BackgroundProsocial behaviour can promote positive social interactions and it is a key skill in adolescence. People with emotional problems or psychiatric disorders, such as people with eating disorders might have impairments in prosocial behaviour, due to broader documented difficulties in underlying processes (e.g., mentalizing).MethodsThe aim of this study was to examine prosocial behaviour in adolescents with eating disorders compared to healthy controls, using a computerised behavioural task. Adolescents (N = 123) including patients with eating disorders (n = 61) and healthy adolescents (n = 62) played a four-player computerised Prosocial Cyberball Game with three pre-programmed avatar players. During the task, participants witnessed the exclusion of one of the players, and subsequently had the opportunity to compensate for this by throwing the ball more often to the excluded player. Throughout the game, participants rated the level of negative emotion in themselves and in the excluded player.ResultsPatients made significantly fewer ball tosses towards the excluded player during the compensation round compared to healthy controls (large effect size). Patients reported a significantly smaller increase in negative emotion after witnessing the exclusion and a significantly smaller decrease in negative emotion following the compensation round (large effect sizes). Patients also estimated a smaller decrease in negative emotion in the excluded player following the compensation round (medium effect size). There were no significant associations between these outcomes and eating disorder psychopathology in patients.ConclusionsCompared to healthy adolescents, adolescent patients with eating disorders demonstrated less prosocial compensatory behaviour towards a computerised victim of social exclusion. In addition, they reported flatter negative emotion in themselves in response to witnessing and compensating for exclusion, and in the excluded player following compensation. If these findings are replicated, interventions to target these difficulties might contribute to improvements in social functioning in this patient group.

Diabetes-specific eating disorder and social exclusion in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Diabetes-specific eating disorder and social exclusion in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Factors Contributing to the Social Exclusion of Secondary School Aged Youth

The study describes secondary school nurses’, subject teachers’, special needs teachers’, study counsellors’ and school social workers’ (n=60) experiences of factors that contribute to the development of social exclusion in adolescents. The data were collected in Finland using an online survey tool in 2022 and analysed using inductive content analysis. Some factors associated with social exclusion of the adolescents concerned the youth themselves: problems with self-esteem, learning, emotional intelligence, mental health and intoxicants; while other factors concerned families: problems with family dynamics, interaction, mental health and socioeconomic issues. Inadequate support and mental health services were also mentioned by the participants. Mental health problems, especially depression, are relatively common in families and a major risk factor for the development of social exclusion. In addition, some of the other factors, for example problems in family dynamics, could be secondary, reflecting diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health problems. The risk of social exclusion is likely to increase if several of these factors are accumulated in a young person’s life, possibly passed on from the earlier generation and reinforced in the family home.

Use of ICT and social networks in the neurodevelopment of minors

The presence of technologies in all areas and stages of life increases the risk of addiction to devices, networks, and the use of various programmes. Excessive use of devices and technologies during childhood and adolescence has negative effects on neurodevelopment and causes emotional disorders related to anxiety, stress, and depression. These disorders can be associated with the development of other addictions (alcohol, psychoactive substances) or other situations of risk of social exclusion such as bullying, among others. In our study of the risk of social exclusion in adolescents (ÁVALOS, 2022) we have applied a complete diagnostic battery to 25 subjects of both sexes between 12 and 17 years of age focusing on six dimensions of risk: anxiety and depression, alcohol and other substance abuse, bullying, addiction to technologies, gender violence and risk behaviour in love and sexual relationships, and difficult family situation. The aim of this paper is to present and analyse the correlations found between each of the first three dimensions, and the technology addiction dimension as a predictor of other risk factors for social exclusion. The data show that addiction to video games, in particular, is related to high levels of depression, while addiction to any of the technologies studied (mobile, internet and video games) is significantly related to being a victim of bullying.

Turning a Blind Eye? Punishment of Friends and Unfamiliar Peers After Observed Exclusion in Adolescence.

In order to decrease the occurrence of social exclusion in adolescence, we need to better understand how adolescents perceive and behave toward peers involved in exclusion. We examined the role of friendships in treatment of perpetrators and victims of social exclusion. Eighty‐nine participants (aged 9–16) observed exclusion of an unfamiliar peer (victim) by their best friend and another unfamiliar peer. Subsequently, participants could give up valuable coins to altruistically punish or help peers. Results showed that participants altruistically compensated victims and punished unfamiliar excluders, but refrained from punishing their friends. Our findings show that friendship with excluders modulates altruistic punishment of peers and provide mechanistic insight into how friendships may influence treatment of peers involved in social exclusion during adolescence.

Differential Neural Processing of Social Exclusion and Inclusion in Adolescents with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Young Adults with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, NSSI often occurs independently of BPD. Altered neural processing of social exclusion has been shown in adolescents with NSSI and adults with BPD with additional alterations during social inclusion in BPD patients. Aims of this study were to investigate differences in neural processing of social inclusion and exclusion situations between adolescents with NSSI and young adults with BPD and NSSI. Using fMRI, neural processing of positive and negative social situations (paradigm: "Cyberball") was explored. Participants were 14 adolescents with NSSI, but without BPD (Mage = 15.4; SD = 1.9), 15 adults with BPD and NSSI (Mage = 23.3; SD = 4.1), as well as 15 healthy adolescents (Mage = 14.5; SD = 1.7), and 16 healthy adults (Mage = 23.2; SD = 4.4). Behavioral results showed enhanced feelings of social exclusion in both patient groups as compared to healthy controls but only the NSSI group showed enhanced activation during social exclusion versus inclusion compared to the other groups. While both NSSI and BPD groups showed enhanced activation in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex during social exclusion as compared to their age-matched controls, enhanced activation during social inclusion as compared to a passive watching condition was mainly observed in the BPD group in the dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and the anterior insula. While neural processing of social exclusion was pronounced in adolescents with NSSI, BPD patients also showed increased activity in a per se positive social situation. These results might point toward a higher responsiveness to social exclusion in adolescents with NSSI, which might then develop into a generalized increased sensitivity to all kinds of social situations in adults with BPD.

Peer status in relation to psychotic experiences and psychosocial problems in adolescents: a longitudinal school-based study.

Social exclusion is related to many adverse mental health outcomes and may be particularly harmful for mental health in adolescence when peer relations become very important. This study examined associations between low peer status and psychotic experiences, psychosocial problems and short-term courses of these symptoms. A school-based sample of adolescents (N=1171) was investigated in 2 consecutive years using the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire and the self-report and teacher-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Peer status was measured in the second year with positive and negative peer nominations of classmates. Low peer status was, after adjusting for gender, ethnic minority status and level of education, associated with more psychosocial difficulties with a persistent course and a higher level of psychotic experiences. Of all peer status groups, being neglected had the strongest associations with mental health problems. The results of this study show that social exclusion in adolescence is related to psychotic experiences and psychosocial problems, emphasizing the importance of belonging to a social group. Customized prevention programs at individual, family and school level should target causes and consequences of social exclusion.

Neural responses to social exclusion in adolescents: Effects of peer status

We examined whether adolescents' neural responses to social exclusion and inclusion are influenced by their own popularity and acceptance and by the popularity of their excluders and includers. Accepted adolescents are highly prosocial. In contrast, popular adolescents, who are central and influential, show prosocial as well as antisocial behaviors, such as peer exclusion. Fifty-two 12–16 year-old adolescents underwent an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan while playing the ball-tossing game Cyberball in which they received or did not receive the ball from other virtual players. The other virtual players were described as either highly popular or average in popularity. Participants' own popularity and acceptance were assessed with peer nominations at school (n = 31). Participants' acceptance was positively correlated with activity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during exclusion. Participants' popularity was positively associated with ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex activity during exclusion, but only when the excluders were popular virtual players. Participants showed increased rostral ACC activation to inclusion by players who were average in popularity. These findings indicate that peer status plays an important role in adolescents' neural processing of social exclusion and inclusion. Moreover, these findings underscore that popularity and acceptance are distinct types of high peer status in adolescence, with not only distinct behavioral correlates, but also distinct neural correlates.

Vinculación entre la vulnerabilidad y la exclusión social y las trayectorias delictivas. Un estudio de asociación

The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between criminal trajectories and factors involving vulnerability and social exclusion in adolescents in conflict with the law. To this end we analysed 281 case files of these adolescents in the city of Valencia and produced 3 types of criminal trajectory —initial, moderate and consolidated— associated with vulnerability and social exclusion indicators. Empirical evidence of the relationship is provided. Criminal trajectories and factors involving vulnerability and social exclusion are found to be closely connected, intertwined and overlapping. The accumulation of vulnerability and social exclusion factors in adolescents in conflict with the law works in such a way that the greater the accumulation and intensity, the greater the probability of developing a consolidated criminal trajectory. Demonstrating the link between them is essential in order to modify psychosocial intervention with these adolescents, whether this happens before the start of the criminal trajectory or later so as to prevent it from becoming consolidated.

Differential neural processing of social exclusion in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury: An fMRI study

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in adolescence and has been suggested as an autonomous diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5). Social rejection is as potential risk-factor for NSSI and depression in adolescence. Objectives of this study were to identify differences in neural processing of social rejection in depressed adolescents with and without co-morbid NSSI and healthy controls. Participants were 28 depressed adolescents (14 with co-morbid NSSI, 79% females) and 15 healthy controls, with an average age of 15.2 years (SD=1.8). Social exclusion was implemented using the Cyberball paradigm ‘Cyberball’ during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All participants reported feelings of social exclusion after fMRI scanning. Investigating the effects of NSSI, we found that depressed adolescents with NSSI showed relatively enhanced activation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) compared to depressed adolescents without NSSI and also compared to healthy controls. Results point towards divergent processing of social exclusion in depressed adolescents with NSSI as compared to adolescents with mere depression in brain regions previously related to the processing of social exclusion. This finding of distinct neurophysiological responses may stimulate further research on individual treatment approaches.

Unlike adults, children and adolescents show predominantly increased neural activation to social exclusion by members of the opposite gender

ABSTRACTThe effects of group membership on brain responses to social exclusion have been investigated in adults, revealing greater anterior cingulate responses to exclusion by members of one’s in-group (e.g., same-gender). However, social exclusion is a critical aspect of peer relations in youth and reaches heightened salience during adolescence, a time when social anxiety disorders are also emergent. While the behavioral and neural correlates of social exclusion in adolescence have been extensively explored, the effects of group membership on peer rejection are less clear. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the differential neural correlates of being excluded by peers of one’s same- versus opposite-gender during an online ball-toss game. Participants were a group of typically developing children and adolescents (7–17 years). As predicted, anterior cingulate cortex showed a main effect of social exclusion versus fair play. However, unlike a previous adult study, this region did not show increased activation to same-gender exclusion. Instead, several regions differentiating same- versus opposite-gender exclusion were exclusively more sensitive to exclusion by one’s opposite gender. These results are discussed in the context of adolescent socio-emotional development.

Chronic Childhood Peer Rejection is Associated with Heightened Neural Responses to Social Exclusion During Adolescence.

This functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study examined subjective and neural responses to social exclusion in adolescents (age 12–15) who either had a stable accepted (n = 27; 14 males) or a chronic rejected (n = 19; 12 males) status among peers from age 6 to 12. Both groups of adolescents reported similar increases in distress after being excluded in a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball), but adolescents with a history of chronic peer rejection showed higher activity in brain regions previously linked to the detection of, and the distress caused by, social exclusion. Specifically, compared with stably accepted adolescents, chronically rejected adolescents displayed: 1) higher activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) during social exclusion and 2) higher activity in the dACC and anterior prefrontal cortex when they were incidentally excluded in a social interaction in which they were overall included. These findings demonstrate that chronic childhood peer rejection is associated with heightened neural responses to social exclusion during adolescence, which has implications for understanding the processes through which peer rejection may lead to adverse effects on mental health over time.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10802-015-9983-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Risk-taking and social exclusion in adolescence: Neural mechanisms underlying peer influences on decision-making

Social exclusion and risk-taking are both common experiences of concern in adolescence, yet little is known about how the two may be related at behavioral or neural levels. In this fMRI study, adolescents (N=27, 14 male, 14–17years-old) completed a series of tasks in the scanner assessing risky decision-making before and after an episode of social exclusion. In this particular context, exclusion was associated with greater behavioral risk-taking among adolescents with low self-reported resistance to peer influence (RPI). When making risky decisions after social exclusion, adolescents who had lower RPI exhibited higher levels of activity in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ), and this response in rTPJ was a significant mediator of the relationship between RPI and greater risk-taking after social exclusion. Lower RPI was also associated with lower levels of activity in lPFC during crashes following social exclusion, but unlike rTPJ this response in lPFC was not a significant mediator of the relationship between RPI and greater risk-taking after social exclusion. The results suggest that mentalizing and/or attentional mechanisms have a unique direct effect on adolescents' vulnerability to peer influence on risk-taking.

Development of neural systems for processing social exclusion from childhood to adolescence.

Adolescence is a period of development in which peer relationships become especially important. A computer-based game (Cyberball) has been used to explore the effects of social exclusion in adolescents and adults. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study used Cyberball to extend prior work to the cross-sectional study of younger children and adolescents (7 to 17 years), identifying age-related changes in the neural correlates of social exclusion across the important transition from middle childhood into adolescence. Additionally, a control task illustrated the specificity of these age-related changes for social exclusion as distinct from expectancy violation more generally. During exclusion, activation in and functional connectivity between ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and ventral anterior cingulate cortex increased with age. These effects were specific to social exclusion and did not exist for expectancy violation. Our results illustrate developmental changes from middle childhood through adolescence in both affective and regulatory brain regions during social exclusion.

Cohort Profile: The 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort

There is ample evidence showing how marginalization and inequalities in well-being and health have roots in childhood. Preand perinatal factors affect childhood and adolescent outcomes—such as mortality and morbidity, behavioural problems, delinquent and criminal behaviour, cognitive and motor functioning and teenage pregnancies, but the extent to which these effects are sustained through adulthood is less clear. Epidemiological research has identified various early childhood determinants for social exclusion in adolescence and adulthood. These include preand perinatal, genetic as well as environmental risk factors across childhood years. Problems also run in families as a result of both social and biological processes. There is information about several risk factors that contribute to adolescent mental health problems. However, little is known about the protective factors. The Finnish welfare system provides many services to children in at-risk groups, yet little is known about the long-term effects of different official actions and at times reports have been unfavourable. In addition, significant health differences have been observed according to gender and region, but the reasons for these remain unknown. Most data on child and adolescent health and social coping are sample based, cross-sectional or based on short-term outcome. The increased routine collection of administrative register data has created new possibilities for life-course epidemiological research. Previously, such data have not been widely used for follow-up purposes. The Academy of Finland launched a research programme on Responding to Public Health Challenges (SALVE) in 2008. This programme is set to provide applicable information in order to respond to current and future key public health issues, and to bring together approaches applied in public health research as well as in behavioural sciences, social sciences and biosciences. The programme is divided into four thematic areas: health-protecting and health-promoting factors, life-course approaches and critical periods of life, health inequalities and clustering of ill health, and predicting future health. Follow-up of the 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort is funded by the consortium ‘Life-course Determinants of Mental Health, Marginalization and Social Coping’ through the Academy of Finland’s SALVE research programme.