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Social network sites (SNS) are a preferred method of communication for many young people. Therefore, it is of increasing importance to examine the possible benefits and detriments of SNS use to adolescent mental health. One possible benefit to adolescents who engage with SNS is increased access to social support from peers, which may promote positive mental health. We aimed to systematically review the existing research that has examined relationships between SNS use, social support and mental health in adolescents. The protocol for this review was registered with PROSPERO. A systematic literature search was conducted using PRISMA guidelines for studies published between 2003 and 2021 to identify research that examined the relationships between SNS use, social support, and mental health in adolescents. Study quality was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Eleven articles met the criteria for inclusion in the current review. Findings show that adolescents use SNS to access social support when experiencing stressful life events and perception of support is important for enabling a positive impact on mental health. SNS offer marginalised groups a way to access social support that may be lacking in their offline life. There is a clear difference between males and females in how adolescents use SNS and how active and passive SNS use impacts mental health. Included studies are mostly cross-sectional in design, and investigations into the differences between male and female adolescents experiences of using SNS were limited. Despite the widespread publication of the adverse impact of SNS on adolescent well-being, access to social support is a clear benefit with positive impacts on adolescent mental health. However, the benefits of perceived social support appear to be context-specific.

There have been recent increase in reported knife crime throughout the United Kingdom, while social media usage has also increased. Existing research has reported associations between social media usage and secondary traumatic stress (STS), with symptoms similar to that of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study is the first to investigate the relationship between the frequency of viewing knife crime-related news via social media and STS. This study additionally investigated potential moderating effects of gender, age, and residential location. Participants (N = 155) completed an online survey which included the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), modified to refer to knife crime. Participants also self-reported the frequency of viewing knife crime on social media and relevant demographic information. Hypotheses and data analysis plan were pre-registered. 63% of participants reported STS symptoms, and 28% reported possible clinical levels of PTSD. A higher frequency of knife crime viewed via social media was significantly associated with higher STS symptoms, and this study found evidence that this effect is moderated by residential location, with those participants living in towns and villages most at risk. Younger, female participants scored highest on the STSS overall. It is important to understand the impact of viewing knife crime content via social media on mental health, and identification of those most at risk of experiencing STS will enable targeted intervention strategies. &nbsp

The prevalence of poor mental health, including disorders such as depression and anxiety, has been steadily rising over the past two decades among all age groups, but most strikingly so among children (World Health Organization, 2017). Many factors contribute to the onset and maintenance of poor mental health, including genetics, physiology, neurological functioning, and environmental factors. In short, it is a very complicated picture. One key environmental factor which is consistently associated with poor mental health is perceived psychological stress (Burke et al., 2005; Thoits, 2010). That is, high levels of perceived stress are often associated with high levels of depression and anxiety. Although exactly how feelings of stress lead to the onset of poor mental health is, again, complicated, and includes biological, psychological, and social mechanisms and pathways. Investigation of the link between stress and mental health is a worthy pursuit, because targeting how an individual manages and copes with stress has clear implications for reducing the prevalence of mental health disorders, and their associated personal, social, and economic impacts. Following the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in self-reported low mood, reduced well-being, and poor mental health (Salari et al., 2020); and once again this change is particularly striking among younger people (Salari et al., 2020). Thus, understanding the link between stress and mental health is perhaps more pertinent than ever

Substantial data demonstrate that the early‐life environment, including in utero, plays a key role in later life disease. In particular, maternal stress during pregnancy has been linked to adverse behavioural and emotional outcomes in children. Data from human cohort studies and experimental animal models suggest that modulation of the developing epigenome in the foetus by maternal stress may contribute to the foetal programming of disease. Here, we summarise insights gained from recent studies that may advance our understanding of the role of the placenta in mediating the association between maternal mood disorders and offspring outcomes. First, the placenta provides a record of exposures during pregnancy, as indicated by changes in the placental trancriptome and epigenome. Second, prenatal maternal mood may alter placental function to adversely impact foetal and child development. Finally, we discuss the less well established but interesting possibility that altered placental function, more specifically changes in placental hormones, may adversely affect maternal mood and later maternal behaviour, which can also have consequence for offspring well‐being.

OBJECTIVE: Maternal antenatal anxiety is associated with an increased risk of behavioral disturbances in offspring. Recent work has suggested that the effect of maternal antenatal anxiety on infant temperament at 6 months is moderated by the serotonin transporter polymorphism 5-HTTLPR, with carriers of the short allele more susceptible to the adverse behavioral outcomes of maternal antenatal anxiety. These findings, however, are yet to be replicated and extended beyond infancy. The aim of the current study was to assess this same potential moderator (5-HTTLPR) in a large population-based cohort study, and to determine whether or not the effects persist into childhood and early adolescence. METHOD: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) cohort (N = 3,946) were used to assess whether the 5-HTTLPR genotype moderated the association between self-reported maternal antenatal anxiety (Crown Crisp Index) in pregnancy, and child temperament at 6 months (Infant Temperament Questionnaire), and also later behavioral and emotional problems on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire from age 4 to 13 years. RESULTS: We found no evidence to suggest that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism moderated the effects of maternal antenatal anxiety on infant temperament at 6 months or infant behavioral and emotional problems from childhood through to adolescence. CONCLUSION: Our results, based on a large prospective community sample that assessed children from infancy to early adolescence, provide a thorough test of, but no evidence for, a genetic moderation of the effects of maternal antenatal anxiety by 5-HTTLPR.