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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a range of negative social and economic effects that may contribute to a rise in mental health problems. In this observational population-based study, we examined longitudinal changes in the prevalence of mental health problems from before to during the COVID-19 crisis and identified subgroups that are psychologically vulnerable during the pandemic. Methods: Participants (N = 14 393; observations = 48 486) were adults drawn from wave 9 (2017–2019) of the nationally representative United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) and followed-up across three waves of assessment in April, May, and June 2020. Mental health problems were assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results: The population prevalence of mental health problems (GHQ-12 score ⩾3) increased by 13.5 percentage points from 24.3% in 2017–2019 to 37.8% in April 2020 and remained elevated in May (34.7%) and June (31.9%) 2020. All sociodemographic groups examined showed statistically significant increases in mental health problems in April 2020. The increase was largest among those aged 18–34 years (18.6 percentage points, 95% CI 14.3–22.9%), followed by females and high-income and education groups. Levels of mental health problems subsequently declined between April and June 2020 but remained significantly above pre-COVID-19 levels. Additional analyses showed that the rise in mental health problems observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was unlikely to be due to seasonality or year-to-year variation. Conclusions: This study suggests that a pronounced and prolonged deterioration in mental health occurred as the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in the UK between April and June 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In late 2020 a second wave of COVID-19 infections occurred in many countries and resulted in a national lockdown in the UK including stay at home orders and school closures. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of psychological distress before and during the second COVID-19 wave in the UK.Methods: This study drew on data from 10,657 participants from the nationally representative probability-based UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) assessment measure was used to detect the proportion of UK adults experiencing clinically significant psychological distress. Changes in distress levels associated with the second pandemic wave were examined between September 2020 and January 2021 using logistic regression and linear fixed-effects regression models.Results: Longitudinal analyses showed that the prevalence of clinically significant distress rose by 5.8% (95% CI: 4.4-7.2) from 21.3% in September 2020 to 27.1% in January 2021, compared with a 2019 pre-pandemic estimate of 21% in this cohort. Fixed effects analyses confirmed that the second COVID-19 wave was associated with a significant within-person increase in distress (d = 0.15, p < .001). Increases were particularly pronounced among those with school-age children in the home.Limitations: A non-specific measure of mental health symptoms was utilized and it was not possible to separate the potential impact of the pandemic from other changes occurring in tandem within the study period.Conclusion: Clinically significant distress rose during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and reached levels similar to those observed in the immediate aftermath of the first pandemic wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions may have influenced alcohol consumption. This study examines changes in high-risk alcohol consumption from before to during the COVID-19 crisis in an established cohort of middle-aged British adults.Methods: Participants consisted of 3,358 middle-aged adults from the 1970 British Cohort Study who completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for detecting hazardous drinkers in primary care settings in 2016-2018 (when aged 46-48 years) and May 2020 (aged 50 years). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine changes in high-risk drinking (scores of ≥5), and multinomial regression was used to compare responses with individual test items in 2016-2018 and May 2020.Results: Among middle-aged British adults, high-risk drinking increased by 5.2 percentage points from 19.4% to 24.6% (p<0.001) between 2016-2018 and May 2020. The increase in high-risk drinking was not moderated by sex, marital status, educational attainment, the presence of a chronic illness, or the year the baseline survey was completed. The prevalence of drinking ≥4 times a week doubled from 12.5% to 26% from before to during the pandemic (p<0.001), and there was also evidence of an increase in the frequency of being unable to stop drinking.Conclusions: This study provides evidence linking the COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdown restrictions to an increase in high-risk drinking patterns and particularly frequent drinking in British adults. Potential long-term changes in drinking habits should be monitored following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Drivers on slip roads want vehicles on the target lane to decelerate. • Drivers in target lanes rate the behaviour of vehicles on slip roads ambiguously. • AVs are rated identically or even more positively than MVs with identical behaviour. • No different safety distance is kept from automated vehicles. • Results show that cross-border traffic between Germany and UK with AVs is feasible. • Intercultural aspects must still be considered in the development of AVs. To ensure safe and uninterrupted traffic flow, (semi-)automated vehicles must be capable of providing comprehensible and agreeable implicit communication cues to human drivers. This driving simulator study investigated the assessment of implicit communication at a motorway slip road through longitudinal driving dynamics (acceleration, deceleration, and maintaining speed). The second aim of the study was to determine whether expectations of automated vehicles are different from those of human drivers. And thirdly, we investigated whether these findings are country-specific or can be (partially) generalised to other countries. The perception of three means of communication in connection with the presence of a labelling as an automated vehicle (eHMI) was examined in two samples in Germany and England. 27 participants drove from a slip road onto the motorway and interacted with another vehicle. After a stretch on the motorway, they passed a second slip road on which there was a vehicle merging onto the participants lane. This was repeated six times to test all variables. After each situation, the perceived cooperativity and criticality was recorded, as well as the time headway (THW) to the other vehicle. This paper presents the findings from the UK sample and compares them with the German results, which were previously published. Results show, that when the cooperating vehicles are on the slip road, participants from both countries prefer this vehicle to decelerate. However, when participants themselves are on the slip road, expectations for vehicles on the target lane are ambiguous in the UK sample. Except for one aspect (perceived cooperativity of decelerating vehicles on the slip road), the perception of automated vehicles is similar to those of manual drivers. Also, UK participants do not maintain a different safety distance from these vehicles, while this is the case in the German sample. This paper contributes valuable insights into the cross-cultural evaluation of driving dynamics, shedding light on implications for the development and acceptance of automated vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• UK adults commonly experience discrimination and mental health problems. • Social inequalities exist for discrimination and mental health problems. • Discrimination may in part explain some social inequalities in mental health problems. • SES moderated some associations between disadvantaged subgroups and outcomes. Experiencing discrimination is associated with poorer mental health and the demographic patterning of discrimination may explain social inequalities in mental health. The present research examined prevalence of perceived discrimination in the UK and associations with social inequalities in mental health. Data were taken from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (n = 32,003). Population subgroups (sex, age, ethnicity, health, religiousness, income, education, and occupation), perceived personal discrimination (personal experience) and perceived belonging to a discriminated group (identified as belonging to a group discriminated against in this country), and probable mental health problems (GHQ-12 assessed, cut off 4+) were reported on in 2019/2020. Nineteen percent of participants perceived personal discrimination in the last year, 9% perceived belonging to a discriminated group, and 22% had probable mental health problems. There were significant inequalities in both perceived discrimination and mental health. Being a younger adult, of mixed ethnicity, having health problems, having a university degree, and being unemployed increased risk of mental health problems and these associations were partially explained by perceived discrimination being more common among these groups. Perceived discrimination is common among UK adults, but prevalence differs by population subgroup. Perceived discrimination may contribute to social inequalities in mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents legal cases concerning social security in Great Britain. Claims for attendance allowance and disability living allowance; Withdrawal of community care services.

This article documents the number of strikes in the four regions of Great Britain from 1921 to 1936. A fierce controversy has been raging for a number of years among economists concerned with the problem of industrial location as to whether labor in the older industrial areas of the country is more or less docile than labor in the southeast and midlands. In the course of the argument, the protagonists usually appeal to what the statistics of the number of strikes called in each area of the country would show if someone compiled them. But so far the only factual contribution which has been made are some figures of the number of man-days lost in 1934 and 1935 in strikes called in the coal-mining industry of the northeast coast and south Wales. This article is based upon particulars of certain outstanding strikes of which particulars are given each month in the Ministry of Labour Gazette, which in turn, is compiled from memoranda filed with the Ministry by employers seeking to have any of their workers who have gone on strike refused admittance to relief rolls, by trade union leaders seeking to refute the contentions of the employers, and by the local exchange officials giving information as to the cause, outcome, number of men involved in strikes in the normal course of their reports to Montague House.

This article comments on a paper about the social consequences of industrial transference in Great Britain, previously published in "The Sociological Review" journal. In his article "The Social Consequences of Industrial Transference," Mr. A. D. K. Owen attempted to develop a case, firstly, against the policy of assisted transference of workers from the depressed to the prosperous areas; and secondly, against the location of the newer industries in the South-east and Midlands. Unfortunately, Mr. Owen made several statements of fact and judgment which it is difficult to accept. Mr. Owen's first major charge is that a great deal of the post-war development of the newer industrial areas of the country was made possible only by the solicitude shown by the Ministry of Labor's transference schemes in ensuring, not only that these areas had adequate labor supplies for the unimpeded development of the expanding industries, but that they secured the needed labor more cheaply than would have been the case had these schemes not existed. This last conclusion is based on the following reasoning: the official transference schemes, by facilitating the mobility of labor, had the effect of increasing the elasticity of the supply of labor to small increases in wages.

• COVID-19 may have a profound and enduring influence on population mental health. • Few studies have tracked changes in mental health before and during the pandemic. • Distress levels declined quickly after an initial rise at the start of the pandemic. • Psychological distress levels returned to baseline (2019) levels by July 2020. • Recovery was observed across all demographic subgroups examined. In a large (n =10918), national, longitudinal probability-based sample of UK adults the prevalence of clinically significant psychological distress rose from prepandemic levels of 20.8% in 2019 to 29.5% in April 2020 and then declined significantly to prepandemic levels by September (20.8%). Longitudinal analyses showed that all demographic groups examined (age, sex, race/ethnicity, income) experienced increases in distress after the onset of the pandemic followed by significant decreases. By September 2020 distress levels were indistinguishable from prepandemic levels for all groups. This recovery may reflect the influence of the easing of restrictions and psychological adaptation to the demands of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale. It is often assumed that experiencing an upward shift in social position from one generation to the next will provide happiness, yet empirical evidence demonstrating such a connection is limited. Objective. We provide a large-scale test of the relationship between intergenerational mobility and midlife life satisfaction using data from two prospective UK studies (N = 20,948). Method. Intergenerational mobility was modelled as a formative construct gauging the extent to which individuals moved up or down the social hierarchy compared to their parents, on a continuum ranging from high levels of downward mobility to high levels of upward mobility. Results. An intergenerational increase in social mobility, captured by greater educational attainment, social status, and home size than one's parents was positively associated with life satisfaction at age 42 in both cohorts. Mediation analyses revealed that almost half of this relationship was explained by better self-reported health and fewer perceived financial difficulties amongst the upwardly mobile. Conclusion. This study provides evidence that enhanced satisfaction with life may be a key outcome of intergenerational increases in social status. • Limited evidence that intergenerational mobility is related to well-being. • Large-scale test using two UK prospective Birth Cohorts (N = 20,948). • Mobility modelled as a continuum from high downward to high upward mobility. • Intergenerational mobility positively associated with life satisfaction at age 42. • Half of link was mediated by self-rated health and perceived financial difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The share of workers who work part-time because full-time jobs are not available remains larger compared to the period prior to the 2008 crisis. For part-time workers, being available to work more hours than offered may have negative mental health implications. Drawing on two nationally representative British surveys, we tested whether working less than 30 hours per week while preferring to work longer hours (underemployment) is associated with increased psychological distress. Distress was assessed using responses to the 12-item General Health Questionnaire in both samples. In the National Child Development Study (N = 6,295), propensity score estimates indicated that the hours-underemployed workers experienced higher levels of psychological distress (β = 0.25, p <0.001) than full-time workers matched on observable characteristics, including prior distress levels. Fixed effects estimates using 18 years of the British Household Panel Survey (N = 8,665) showed that transitioning from full-time employment to underemployment predicted an increase in distress levels (β = 0.19, p <0.01). Conversely, transitioning from underemployment to full-time employment forecasted a reduction in distress (β = -0.18, p <0.001). On average, job earnings and perceptions of job security explained a small (≈ 10%) portion of the potential psychological impact of hours-underemployment. These findings highlight the possibility that underemployment among part-time workers may have detrimental psychological consequences. Policy interventions geared towards improving career opportunities for part-time workers would potentially ameliorate losses in psychological well-being experienced by this group. • Examined underemployment defined as part-time workers preferring to work more hours. • Underemployment predicts increases in distress in matched sample of workers. • Moving to underemployment predicts elevated distress in fixed-effect models. • Underemployment effect is comparable to distress increases after job loss. • Returning to full-time work may reverse the effect of underemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study on the diagnosis of the mid-ventricular Takotsubo cardiomyopathy to a 48 year old woman in Great Britain. The clinical examination and the coronary angiography were conducted to be able to determine the causes of the acute central chest pain associate with dyspnoea. The signs and symptoms exhibited were associated to stress-induced cardiomyopathy which affects postmenopausal women.

Background: Limited research has examined whether accumulation of discrimination over time is associated with worse mental health and whether such experiences are related to socioeconomic status (SES)., Methods: A sample of UK adults with self-reported discrimination experiences (n = 3863) was taken from three waves of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2015-2020). Multinomial logistic regression assessed associations between SES (income, education, occupation) and cumulative discrimination (number of timepoints discrimination was reported). Logistic regression models assessed prospective associations between cumulative discrimination and probable mental health problems (GHQ-12; 4+ threshold)., Results: Those with lower income were more likely to report discrimination at one timepoint (vs. none). No SES measures were associated with experiencing discrimination at multiple timepoints. Participants who reported one timepoint of discrimination (vs. no experiences) were significantly more likely to report probable mental health problems (OR = 1.47, p < .001, 95% CI 1.20-1.80). Moreover, compared to those experiencing one timepoint, participants reporting multiple timepoints of discrimination were significantly more likely to report probable mental health problems (OR = 1.46, p = .002, 95% CI 1.15-1.86), indicating a cumulative association between discrimination and mental health. There was limited evidence that SES moderated this cumulative association., Limitations: Mental health measures were based on self-report questionnaires and not a clinical diagnosis., Conclusions: Amongst a sample of UK adults, perceiving discrimination at multiple timepoints increased the likelihood of experiencing probable mental health problems. There was limited evidence that this cumulative association differed by SES. National measures designed to reduce discrimination may benefit mental health., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to examine the prospective association between psychological well-being and overweight and obesity reversal., Methods: We analyzed data of UK children with overweight or obesity at ages 11 (n = 4556, baseline), 14 (n = 3791, baseline), and 17 years (follow-up). Psychological well-being-related measures were characterized into indexes of caregiver-reported child mental health and child-reported psychosocial well-being, with a higher score indicating better mental health or psychosocial well-being. Weight changes were presented as reversal versus persistence of overweight or obesity and residualized-change BMI z scores. Data were analyzed using regression analysis., Results: Better child mental health and psychosocial well-being at age 11 years were independently associated with increased odds of reversal versus persistence (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.29; OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.44, respectively) and decreased BMI z scores (β = -0.08, 95% CI: -0.13 to -0.03; β = -0.07, 95% CI: -0.11 to -0.03, respectively) at age 17 years. However, neither of the indexes was associated with weight changes when measured at age 14 years. Analyses between psychological well-being-related measures and timing of measures indicated that psychological well-being-related measures were more likely to prospectively predict weight changes when measured at age 11 versus age 14 years., Conclusions: Better psychological well-being at age 11 years is a prognostic factor that may be associated with an increased likelihood of reversing childhood overweight and obesity by age 17 years., (© 2024 The Author(s). Obesity published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Obesity Society.)

Background: We examined the role of psychological well-being related measures in explaining the associations between obesity and increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs: hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and memory-related disease) in older adults., Methods: Data were from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), UK (baseline: Wave 4-2008/2009; n = 8127) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), US (baseline: Waves 9 and 10-2008/2010; n = 12,477). Objective body mass index was used to define obesity. A range of psychological well-being related measures (e.g., depressive symptoms, life satisfaction) was available in ELSA (n = 7) and HRS (n = 15), and an index of overall psychological well-being was developed separately in each study. NCDs were from a self-reported doctor diagnosis and/or other assessments (e.g., biomarker data) in both studies; and in ELSA, NCDs from linked hospital admissions data were examined. Longitudinal associations between obesity status, psychological well-being measures, and NCDs were examined using Cox proportional hazard models (individual NCDs) and Poisson regression (a cumulative number of NCDs). Mediation by psychological well-being related measures was assessed using causal mediation analysis., Results: Obesity was consistently associated with an increased prospective risk of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and a cumulative number of NCDs in both ELSA and HRS. Worse overall psychological well-being (index measure) and some individual psychological well-being related measures were associated with an increased prospective risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, memory-related disease, and a cumulative number of NCDs across studies. Findings from mediation analyses showed that neither the index of overall psychological well-being nor any individual psychological well-being related measures explained (mediated) why obesity increased the risk of developing NCDs in both studies., Conclusion: Obesity and psychological well-being may independently and additively increase the risk of developing NCDs., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Social disadvantage consistently predicts both self-reported distress and clinically diagnosed disorders such as depression. Yet, many individuals who are exposed to disadvantage do not report high levels of distress. This study extends our recent work showing that high cognitive ability may protect against the negative health consequences of exposure to disadvantaged backgrounds. We test whether this 'buffer effect' exists across clinically relevant indices of mental health in a population-representative sample., Methods: In total, 27 985 participants were drawn from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Understanding Society). Clinical diagnoses of depression and clinically relevant measures of psychological distress [i.e. Short Form-12 (SF-12) Mental Component, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)] and trait neuroticism were assessed. Cognitive ability was derived from performance on word recall, verbal fluency and numerical ability tasks. Early-life disadvantage was gauged using family background measures assessing parental education and occupation at age 14., Results: Background disadvantage predicted increased levels of reported psychological distress and neuroticism. These associations were moderated by cognitive ability. Across all available mental health measures, the negative association between early-life disadvantage and poor adult mental health was strongest at low (-1 s.d.) cognitive ability and was no longer evident at high (+1 s.d.) levels of cognitive ability., Conclusions: The results provide support for a cognitive buffering hypothesis linking high cognitive ability to a decrease in the magnitude of the social gradient in mental health. Those disadvantaged by both low socioeconomic status and low cognitive ability may benefit from targeted prevention and treatment programmes aiming to reduce socioeconomic disparities in mental health.