Studying adolescent social isolation in school-based social networks: implications for health research Adolescent peer relationships matter profoundly for mental and physical health.1 2 Social isolation from peers (ie, a lack of connection) is associated with increased risk of mental health problems an...

✨ New publication!

Pleased to share a new commentary co-authored with @jackandrews.bsky.social. We explore how adolescent social isolation is conceptualised and measured in school-based social network research.

jech.bmj.com/content/earl...

From a distance you can see a mountain landscape with a blue sky and a few hazy clouds. on the sides of the picture you can see parts of trees. On the left in light green, on the right a smaller dark green tree further away. in the center is a black box on which is written in white “Only caring about your own right is exactly how you lose them”.

Mental-health lessons in schools sound like a great idea. The trouble is, they don’t work | Lucy Foulkes All-class therapy sessions don’t help, and may even make matters worse. The evidence shows we need different solutions, says Dr Lucy Foulkes, an academic psychologist at Oxford University

I’m in the Guardian today, arguing that we should stop them all-class mental health lessons in schools

I've thought very carefully about ‘going public’ with this, because it's a sensitive argument to make, especially in the face of so many young people struggling.

(cont 🧵)

tinyurl.com/vun92cz7

i mean to enrol in the beginning stages of a new longitudinal study lol

i find this fascinating. I don't think the literature talks enough about how the majority of your time in and beyond the critical period is spent learning, socialising and advancing our skills during that age which in adulthood we just don't in the same way.

You're only considered old when it's too late to take part in a longitudinal study (which is subjective anyway) 👍

Shocking to see how the current political climate is emboldening researchers to come out and be openly racist, homophobic, transphobic and misogynistic. Academic freedom I guess..

Cover image of 'Understanding Ant-Racism in Co-production Spaces: Centring the Voices of Racialised Individual' Report - with this title and the quote "You can't do co-production without talking about racism" above it and Illustration of 6 people from racialised backgrounds by Kareen Cox (showing their head and shoulders) on the top left there is image of a man win blue jumper with dreadlocks in the middle is a woman in a blue jumper saying be kind on the right is a woman wearing hijab on the bottom row is an older man with a beard next to woman with glasses wearing a jumper with blue blue flowers next to a man wearing a turban - underneath text says February 2025 v1.2 Produced by People's Voice Media

Today we are proud to launch our joint report with People's Voice Media on 'Understanding Racism in Co-Production Spaces' Read our blog from Isaac Samuels for a link to the report and to find out more. #anti-racism #coproduction
www.coproductioncollective.co.uk/news/underst...

Burning dog / 'this is fine' meme. The dog sits in a fire labelled 'the world burning' and remarks 'we should focus on our work'.

Shout out to everyone else who struggles to focus when the world is burning 😵‍💫

National Science Foundation suspends salary payments, leaving researchers unable to pay their bills An NSF online payment system remained down after the federal funding freeze was lifted, leaving early-career scientists scrambling to pay bills

“If the freeze is not stopped, I might lose my house."

Some NSF-funded postdocs are having trouble paying rent and credit card bills because their salaries were paused this week, even though the federal funding freeze memo was rescinded.

www.statnews.com/2025/01/30/t...

Books I read in January and my ratings:
1) Francis Fukayama - Identity 1/10
2) Imran Khan - A personal history 8.5/10
3) Mornings in Jenin - Susan Abulhawa 10/10
4) A Flat Place - Noreen Masud 7/10

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service.

“Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

Interesting. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Previous experience affects family planning decisions of people with hereditary dementia Living in a family where there is genetic risk for dementia significantly affects choices about having children and how to parent, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

New @uclpals.bsky.social research suggests that living in a family where there is genetic risk for #dementia significantly affects choices about having children and parenting.
Researchers are now calling for better information and support for those affected.
www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ja...