探花直播 of Cambridge - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore /taxonomy/people/sarah-jayne-blakemore en Ten Cambridge scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society 2024 /news/ten-cambridge-scientists-elected-as-fellows-of-the-royal-society-2024 <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/news/royal-societythis.jpg?itok=moX_lzpz" alt=" 探花直播Royal Society in central London" title=" 探花直播Royal Society in central London, Credit: Royal Society" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> 探花直播Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world鈥檚 most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering and medicine.</p> <p> 探花直播Society鈥檚 fundamental purpose, as it has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.</p> <p>This year, over 90 researchers, innovators and communicators from around the world have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society for their substantial contribution to the advancement of science. Nine of these are from the 探花直播 of Cambridge.</p> <p>Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said: 鈥淚 am pleased to welcome such an outstanding group into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.</p> <p>鈥淭his new cohort have already made significant contributions to our understanding of the world around us and continue to push the boundaries of possibility in academic research and industry.</p> <p>鈥淔rom visualising the sharp rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution to leading the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, their diverse range of expertise is furthering human understanding and helping to address some of our greatest challenges. It is an honour to have them join the Fellowship.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播Fellows and Foreign Members join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.</p> <p> 探花直播new Cambridge fellows are:聽<br /> 聽</p> <h3><strong>Professor Sir John Aston Kt FRS</strong></h3> <p>Aston is the Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life at the Statistical Laboratory, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, where he develops techniques for public policy and improves the use of quantitative methods in public policy debates.</p> <p>From 2017 to 2020 he was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Home Office, providing statistical and scientific advice to ministers and officials, and was involved in the UK鈥檚 response to the Covid pandemic. He was knighted in 2021 for services to statistics and public policymaking, and is a Fellow of Churchill College.<br /> 聽</p> <h3><strong>Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore FBA FMedSci FRS</strong></h3> <p>Blakemore is the Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, and leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group. Her research focuses on the development of social cognition and decision making in the human adolescent brain, and adolescent mental health.聽</p> <p>Blakemore has been awarded several national and international prizes for her research, and is a Fellow of the British Academy, the American Association of Psychological Science and the Academy of Medical Sciences.聽<br /> 聽</p> <h3><strong>Professor Patrick Chinnery FMedSci FRS</strong></h3> <p>Chinnery is Professor of Neurology and head of the 探花直播鈥檚 Department of Clinical Neurosciences, and a Fellow of Gonville &amp; Caius College. He was appointed Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council last year, having previously been MRC Clinical Director since 2019.</p> <p>His principal research is the role of mitochondria in human disease and developing new treatments for mitochondrial disorders. Chinnery is a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow with a lab based in the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit and jointly chairs the NIHR BioResource for Translational Research in Common and Rare Diseases. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.</p> <h3><br /> <strong>Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald OBE FMedSci FRS</strong></h3> <p>Fitzgerald is Professor of Cancer Prevention in the Department of Oncology and the inaugural Director of the 探花直播鈥檚 new Early Cancer Institute, which launched in 2022. She is a Fellow of Trinity College.</p> <p>Her pioneering work to devise a first-in-class, non-endoscopic capsule sponge test for identifying individuals at high risk for oesophageal cancer has won numerous prizes, including the Westminster Medal, and this test is now being rolled out in the NHS and beyond by her spin-out Cyted Ltd.</p> <h3><br /> <strong>Professor David Hodell FRS</strong></h3> <p>Hodell is the Woodwardian Professor of Geology and Director of the Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research in the Department of Earth Sciences, and a Fellow of Clare College.</p> <p>A marine geologist and paleoclimatologist, his research focuses on high-resolution paleoclimate records from marine and lake sediments, as well as mineral deposits, to better understand past climate dynamics. Hodell is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.聽He has received the聽Milutin Milankovic Medal.</p> <h3><br /> <strong>Professor Eric Lauga FRS</strong></h3> <p>Lauga is Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, where his research is in fluid mechanics, biophysics and soft matter. Lauga is the author, or co-author, of over 180 publications and currently serves as Associate Editor for the journal Physical Review Fluids.</p> <p>He is a recipient of three awards from the American Physical Society: the Andreas Acrivos Dissertation Award in Fluid Dynamics, the Fran莽ois Frenkiel Award for Fluid Mechanics and the Early Career Award for Soft Matter Research. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of Trinity College.</p> <h3><br /> <strong>Professor George Malliaras FRS</strong></h3> <p>Malliaras is the Prince Philip Professor of Technology in the Department of Engineering, where he leads a group that works on the development and translation of implantable and wearable devices that interface with electrically active tissues, with applications in neurological disorders and brain cancer.</p> <p>Research conducted by Malliaras has received awards from the European Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the US National Science Foundation among others. He is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society and of the Royal Society of Chemistry.<br /> 聽</p> <h3><strong>Professor Lloyd Peck FRI FRSB FRS</strong></h3> <p>Peck is a marine biologist at the British Antarctic Survey and a fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge.</p> <p>He identified oxygen as a factor in polar gigantism and identified problems with protein synthesis as the cause of slow development and growth in polar marine species.聽He was awareded a Polar Medal in 2009, the PLYMSEF Silver medal in 2015 and an Erskine Fellowship at the 探花直播 of Canterbury, Christchurch in 2016-2017.聽</p> <h3><br /> <strong>Professor Oscar Randal-Williams FRS</strong></h3> <p>Randal-Williams is the Sadleirian Professor of Pure Mathematics in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics.</p> <p>He has received the Whitehead Prize from the London Mathematical Society, a Philip Leverhulme Prize, the Oberwolfach Prize, the Dannie Heineman Prize of the G枚ttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and was jointly awarded the Clay Research Award.</p> <p>Randal-Williams is one of two managing editors of the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, and an editor of the Journal of Topology.</p> <h3><br /> <strong>Professor Mihaela van der Schaar FRS</strong></h3> <p>Van der Schaar is the John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine in the Departments of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Engineering and Medicine.</p> <p>She is the founder and director of the Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine, and a Fellow at 探花直播Alan Turing Institute. Her work has received numerous awards, including the Oon Prize on Preventative Medicine, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and the IEEE Darlington Award.</p> <p>Van der Schaar is credited as inventor on 35 US patents, and has made over 45 contributions to international standards for which she received three ISO Awards. In 2019, a Nesta report declared her the most-cited female AI researcher in the UK.<br /> <br /> <br /> 聽</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Ten outstanding Cambridge researchers have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, the UK鈥檚 national academy of sciences and the oldest science academy in continuous existence.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Royal Society</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> 探花直播Royal Society in central London</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Thu, 16 May 2024 08:51:02 +0000 Anonymous 246011 at Feeling poorer than your friends in early adolescence is associated with worse mental health /research/news/feeling-poorer-than-your-friends-in-early-adolescence-is-associated-with-worse-mental-health <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/blanca.jpg?itok=HfvRoM2N" alt="School children in Great Yarmouth sitting in the cloakroom" title="School children in Great Yarmouth sitting in the cloakroom, Credit: Getty Images" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Young people who believe they come from poorer backgrounds than their friends are more likely to have lower self-esteem and be victims of bullying than those who feel financially equal to the rest of their peer group, according to a new study from psychologists at the 探花直播 of Cambridge.</p> <p> 探花直播team also found that those who think themselves poorer and those who believe they are richer were both more likely to perpetrate bullying. Overall, feeling a sense of economic equality among your friends had the best outcomes for mental health and social behaviour. 聽聽聽</p> <p>While economic disadvantage on a society-wide spectrum has long been linked to mental health and social problems in young people, the new study is one of the first to show that just feeling poorer compared to those in your immediate social sphere may be related to negative psychological outcomes.聽聽 聽</p> <p>According to researchers, judgments we make about ourselves via 鈥渟ocial comparison鈥 in early adolescence 鈥 how popular or attractive we think we are, compared to others 鈥 are central to our burgeoning sense of self, and perceived economic status may contribute to this development.聽 聽聽聽</p> <p>鈥淎dolescence is an age of transitions, when we use social comparisons to make self-judgments and develop our sense of self,鈥 said study lead author Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer, a Cambridge Gates Scholar and PhD candidate in the 探花直播鈥檚 Department of Psychology.聽</p> <p>鈥淎 sense of our economic position not just in wider society, but in our immediate environment, might be problematic for our sense of belonging,鈥 said Piera Pi-Sunyer. 鈥淏elonging is particularly important for well-being and psychosocial functioning during adolescence.鈥</p> <p>鈥淥ur research suggests that wealth comparisons with those around us might contribute to a sense of social and personal self-worth when we are young.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播latest study, published today in the <em><a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.13719">Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</a></em>, was co-led by Piera Pi-Sunyer and Dr Jack Andrews of the 探花直播 of New South Wales, as part of a research project conducted by Cambridge psychologist Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore.聽</p> <p> 探花直播researchers analysed perceived economic inequality within friendship groups among 12,995 children in the UK at age 11.</p> <p>Eleven-year-olds who believed themselves poorer than their friends scored 6-8% lower for self-esteem, and 11% lower in terms of wellbeing, than those who saw themselves as economically equal to friends.聽聽聽</p> <p>Those who considered themselves less wealthy were also more likely to have 'internalising difficulties' such as anxiety, as well as behavioural problems eg anger issues or hyperactivity.</p> <p>Adolescents who see themselves as poorer than their friends were 17% more likely to report being bullied or picked on compared to those who feel financially the same as friends at age 11.</p> <p>While reported levels of victimisation fell across the board by the time young people reached 14 years old, those who considered themselves poorer were still 8% more likely to be victimised than those who felt economically similar to friends. 聽聽</p> <p>Feeling both richer or poorer than peers was related to 3-5% higher rates of actually perpetrating bullying. 鈥淚t may be that feeling different in any way at a time when belonging is important increases the risk of interpersonal difficulties such as bullying,鈥 said Piera Pi-Sunyer.聽聽</p> <p>Part of Piera Pi-Sunyer鈥檚 PhD research looks at the cognitive processes behind how we view ourselves. This includes how memorising and internalising self-judgements in our earlier years can guide how we come to think of ourselves 鈥 sometimes known as 'self-schema'.聽聽</p> <p>鈥淣egative judgments about ourselves can bias us to pay attention to information that reinforces a lack of self-worth, which has implications for mental health. We see this may well include economic perceptions among some of our peer and friendship groups during adolescence,鈥 said Piera Pi-Sunyer. 聽聽聽</p> <p> 探花直播researchers used data collected as part of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), conducted with thousands of young people born between the years 2000 and 2002. 探花直播surveys gauged an array of mental states and social behaviours, and included questions on perceived economic status.</p> <p> 探花直播majority of children felt they were as wealthy as their friends, but 4% and 8% perceived themselves as poorer or richer, respectively, than their friends (16% said they didn鈥檛 know).</p> <p> 探花直播MCS also gathered data on 'objective family income', including a measure of weekly family disposable income, allowing researchers to discount the effects of actual parental wealth.</p> <p>鈥淢any studies suggest that, objectively, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have more mental health difficulties. Our findings show that the subjective experience of disadvantage is also relevant,鈥 added Piera Pi-Sunyer.</p> <p>鈥淵ou do not have to be rich or poor to feel richer or poorer than your friends, and we can see this affects the mental health of young adolescents.鈥</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>How rich or poor young people think they are compared to their friendship group is linked to wellbeing and even bullying during the shift between childhood and teenage years.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Belonging is particularly important for well-being and psychosocial functioning during adolescence</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Getty Images</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">School children in Great Yarmouth sitting in the cloakroom</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width:0" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Tue, 15 Nov 2022 09:08:25 +0000 fpjl2 235401 at Scientists find that the impact of social media on wellbeing varies across adolescence /research/news/scientists-find-that-the-impact-of-social-media-on-wellbeing-varies-across-adolescence <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/gettyimages-1097975504web.jpg?itok=nIClMUHt" alt="Boy using a smartphone" title="Boy using a smartphone, Credit: Rouzes (Getty Images)" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In a study published today in Nature Communications, the researchers show that, in UK data, girls experience a negative link between social media use and life satisfaction when they are 11-13 years old and boys when they are 14-15 years old. Increased social media use again predicts lower life satisfaction at age 19 years. At other times the link was not statistically significant.</p> <p>In just over a decade, social media has fundamentally changed how we spend our time, share information about ourselves, and talk to others. This has led to widespread concern about its potential negative impact, both on individuals and on the wider society. Yet, even after years of research, there is still considerable uncertainty about how social media use relates to wellbeing.</p> <p>A team of scientists including psychologists, neuroscientists and modellers analysed two UK datasets comprising some 84,000 individuals between the ages of 10 and 80 years old. These included longitudinal data 鈥 that is, data that tracks individuals over a period of time 鈥 on 17,400 young people aged 10-21 years old. 探花直播researchers are from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, 探花直播 of Oxford, and the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour.</p> <p> 探花直播team looked for a connection between estimated social media use and reported life satisfaction and found key periods of adolescence where social media use was associated with a decrease in life satisfaction 12 months later. In the opposite direction, the researchers also found that teens who have lower than average life satisfaction use more social media one year later.</p> <p>In girls, social media use between the ages of 11 and 13 years was associated with a decrease in life satisfaction one year later, whereas in boys this occurred between the ages of 14 and 15 years. 探花直播differences suggest that sensitivity to social media use might be linked to developmental changes, possibly changes in the structure of the brain, or to puberty, which occurs later in boys than in girls. This requires further research.</p> <p>In both females and males, social media use at the age of 19 years was again associated with a decrease in life satisfaction a year later. At this age, say the researchers, it is possible that social changes 鈥 such as leaving home or starting work 鈥 may make us particularly vulnerable. Again, this requires further research.</p> <p>At other times, the link between social media use and life satisfaction one year later was not statistically significant. Decreases in life satisfaction also predicted increases in social media use one year later; however this does not change across age and or differ between the sexes.</p> <p>Dr Amy Orben a group leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 探花直播 of Cambridge, who led the study, said: 鈥 探花直播link between social media use and mental wellbeing is clearly very complex. Changes within our bodies, such as brain development and puberty, and in our social circumstances appear to make us vulnerable at particular times of our lives.鈥</p> <p>Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Cambridge and a co-author of the study, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not possible to pinpoint the precise processes that underlie this vulnerability. Adolescence is a time of cognitive, biological and social change, all of which are intertwined, making it difficult to disentangle one factor from another. For example, it is not yet clear what might be due to developmental changes in hormones or the brain and what might be down to how an individual interacts with their peers.鈥</p> <p>Dr Orben added: 鈥淲ith our findings, rather than debating whether or not the link exists, we can now focus on the periods of our adolescence where we now know we might be most at risk and use this as a springboard to explore some of the really interesting questions.鈥</p> <p>Further complicating the relationship is the fact 鈥 previously reported and confirmed by today鈥檚 findings 鈥 that not only can social media use negatively impact wellbeing, but that the reverse is also true and lower life satisfaction can drive increased social media use.</p> <p> 探花直播researchers are keen to point out that, while their findings show at a population level that there is a link between social media use and poorer wellbeing, it is not yet possible to predict which individuals are most at risk.</p> <p>Professor Rogier Kievit, Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, said: 鈥淥ur statistical modelling examines averages. This means not every young person is going to experience a negative impact on their wellbeing from social media use. For some, it will often have a positive impact. Some might use social media to connect with friends, or cope with a certain problem or because they don't have anyone to talk to about a particular problem or how they feel 鈥 for these individuals, social media can provide valuable support.鈥</p> <p>Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute at the 探花直播 of Oxford said: 鈥淭o pinpoint which individuals might be influenced by social media, more research is needed that combines objective behavioural data with biological and cognitive measurements of development. We therefore call on social media companies and other online platforms to do more to share their data with independent scientists, and, if they are unwilling, for governments to show they are serious about tackling online harms by introducing legislation to compel these companies to be more open.鈥</p> <p> 探花直播research was supported by Emmanuel College, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, the Huo Family Foundation, Wellcome, the Jacobs Foundation, the Wellspring Foundation, the RadboudUMC and the Medical Research Council.</p> <p><em><strong>Reference</strong><br /> Orben, A et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29296-3">Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media.</a> Nat Comms; 28 March 2022; DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29296-3</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Girls and boys might be more vulnerable to the negative effects of social media use at different times during their adolescence, say an international team of scientists.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">With our findings, rather than debating whether or not the link exists, we can now focus on the periods of our adolescence where we now know we might be most at risk</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Amy Orben</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/boy-using-smart-phone-royalty-free-image/1097975504" target="_blank">Rouzes (Getty Images)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Boy using a smartphone</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width:0" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Mon, 28 Mar 2022 10:00:41 +0000 cjb250 230911 at Tackling COVID-19: Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore /research/news/tackling-covid-19-professor-sarah-jayne-blakemore <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/sjbcrop.jpg?itok=gFSdV_O2" alt="" title="Credit: None" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h2><strong>This article is part of a <a href="/topics/covid-19">series</a> in which we speak to some of the many Cambridge researchers tackling COVID-19. For聽other articles聽about our latest COVID-19-related research, click聽<a href="/topics/covid-19">here</a>.</strong></h2>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>I usually work in the 探花直播鈥檚 Department of Psychology on the Downing Site. </strong>Currently I work from home most of the week, and go into the department one day each week to have socially distanced face-to-face meetings with students and lab members.<br />&#13; 聽<br /><strong>My group's research focuses on brain and social development and mental health in adolescence.</strong> We run large-scale behavioural studies in schools and in the lab, as well as neuroimaging studies. Humans are inherently social. Our research has shown that the network of brain regions that enable us to recognise the mental states, feelings and actions of others develops throughout adolescence, and that adolescence is a period of increased social interaction and peer affiliation.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>It is important to consider the developmental needs and wellbeing of children and adolescents in this pandemic.</strong> Young people around the world now have fewer opportunities to interact face-to-face with peers at a time in their lives when this is crucial for their development. Waves of social distancing and restrictions, even if only temporary, represent a large portion of a young person鈥檚 life. At the beginning of lockdown I wrote a paper with my colleagues, Dr Amy Orben and Dr Livia Tomova, on the effects of social distancing on adolescent development and mental health.*</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Right now, young people around the world are being blamed and shamed for their role in the spread of coronavirus. </strong>In my view, this is not fair and might be counterproductive. Young people are naturally driven to socialise, and meet new people and romantic partners. There is evidence that empowering young people to influence each other to make positive and healthy decisions works better than adult-led campaigns. In the case of COVID-19, educating young people about the importance of social distancing and reducing social contact in order to reduce infection rates, and then incentivising them to run their own campaigns amongst their social networks, might have more of an impact than adults lecturing and blaming them. I recently wrote a short paper on this with my PhD student Jack Andrews and our colleague Dr Lucy Foulkes.**聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>It's crucial to take into account the social needs of young people when making policy decisions</strong>, and to allow the voices of young people to be heard. I was recently involved in setting up an organisation called <a href="https://reachwell.org/">Reachwell</a>, to highlight the importance of considering the needs of children and adolescents when making policy decisions around the pandemic. It draws on the expertise of a group of developmental psychologists and psychiatrists.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Education is a basic human right. </strong>Schools shutting for long periods will be detrimental to the development and learning of the younger generation. 探花直播pandemic has thrown up many challenges and nothing is simple. From my point of view, one of the biggest challenges is reducing the spread of the virus so that schools are safe for teachers, children and adolescents and can stay open.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Cambridge provided written evidence to the Education Select Committee</strong> reviewing the impact of COVID-19 on education and children鈥檚 services. This was a fantastic example of Cambridge experts from different areas coming together in a time of crisis, and prioritising this vitally important issue. We formed the Cambridge 探花直播 Cross-Disciplinary Special Interest Group for Policy related to children and young people (CUSP), galvanised and brilliantly chaired by Professor Tamsin Ford in the Department of Psychiatry.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>My group has been planning a study on the effects of social isolation in adolescence since early 2019. </strong> 探花直播pandemic has made this a much larger part of our research plans. We recently embarked on a large-scale study to investigate the effects of social isolation on adolescent cognition and emotion processing, led by Dr Tomova, a research fellow at Hughes Hall who is based in my lab. It involves participants having a brain scan, and experiencing short periods of social isolation followed by behavioural tasks and questionnaires.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>When the pandemic is over I鈥檓 looking forward to enormous amounts of face-to-face social interaction</strong> with friends and family, with lots of hugs.聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong><a href="https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/staff/professor-sarah-jayne-blakemore">Sarah-Jayne Blakemore</a> is Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at the 探花直播 of Cambridge.</strong>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>*Orben, A, Tomova, L &amp; Blakemore, S-J. (2020). <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(20)30186-3/fulltext"> 探花直播effects of social deprivation on adolescent development and mental health</a>. 探花直播Lancet Child &amp; Adolescent Health, 4(8), 634-640.聽</em></p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>**Andrews, J.L., Foulkes, L. &amp; Blakemore, S-J. (2020). <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(20)30109-1">Peer influence in adolescence: Public-health implications for COVID-19</a>. Trends in Cognitive Science, 24(8), 585-587.聽</em></p>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Listen to Sarah-Jayne talking more about these topics on <em>We are the 探花直播!</em> - a podcast from the 探花直播 of Cambridge:</strong></p>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <div class="media_embed">&#13; <div height="" style="border-radius: 10px; width: 100%; height: 170px; overflow: hidden; margin-bottom: 20px;" width=""><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/b8f35fd6-80af-4dcf-882c-051450468a57" style="width: 100%; height: 170px;"></iframe></div>&#13; </div>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; &#13; <h2><a href="https://www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-cambridge/cambridge-covid-19-research-fund"><strong>How you can support Cambridge鈥檚 COVID-19 research</strong></a></h2>&#13; &#13; <p>聽</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Her plans to study the effects of social isolation on adolescents have become particularly pertinent this year. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is a cognitive neuroscientist who has spoken out about the importance of supporting and empowering young people, not suppressing and blaming them, during the pandemic.</p>&#13; </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width: 0px;" /></a><br />&#13; 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Thu, 22 Oct 2020 09:12:20 +0000 jg533 218912 at Social media influencers could encourage adolescents to follow social distancing guidelines, say researchers /research/news/social-media-influencers-could-encourage-adolescents-to-follow-social-distancing-guidelines-say <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/phoneyjasminsesslerfrompixabay.jpg?itok=MpuX5E6V" alt="" title="Credit: Jasmin Sessler from Pixabay" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>鈥淔or many people, adolescence - between the ages of 10 and 24 - is when you want to be making more social connections, not losing them. It鈥檚 also a time of increased risk-taking and sensitivity to peer influence,鈥 said Jack Andrews at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, and first author of the paper. 鈥淔or some adolescents it鈥檚 a challenge to stick to social distancing rules, particularly if their friends aren鈥檛 following the rules.鈥澛</p> <p>Breaking social distancing rules is a risk-taking behaviour, putting at risk the health of the rule-breaker and of others - in many places with legal or financial consequences. But adolescents are particularly sensitive to the negative effects of social exclusion, and may prefer to risk breaking the rules rather than lose their friends, say the researchers of the paper <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(20)30109-1">published</a>聽in the journal <em>Trends in Cognitive Sciences</em>.聽</p> <p>Campaigns led by adults that try to influence adolescent behaviour often have mixed success. 探花直播COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the widespread implementation of social distancing measures, led by governments, which are likely to be in place in some form for the foreseeable future. But media reports of large student gatherings in the US in March demonstrated the challenge of stopping young people from meeting their friends face-to-face.聽</p> <p>Social distancing guidance could be more effective if adolescents are allowed to develop and deliver their own campaigns, focused on changing peer attitudes around the importance of social distancing. With the current restrictions on face-to-face interventions, social media is expected to be particularly effective in promoting social distancing behaviours amongst adolescents.聽</p> <p>鈥淎dolescents look to their peers to understand social norms, and align their behaviour with the group they want to belong to. 探花直播speed and extent of peer influence online is likely to amplified, because social media has such a wide and immediate reach,鈥 said Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore at the 探花直播 of Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Psychology, who led the report.聽</p> <p>Previous studies have shown that adolescents are more likely to take certain risks, such as experimenting with drugs or posting sexual content online, when peers are present or doing the same things. Adolescents are also more likely to get involved in beneficial activities, such as volunteering in the community, if they know others who are doing them.</p> <p>Young people鈥檚 capacity to encourage each other in a positive way has been demonstrated in previous studies, for example in a peer-led approach to reducing bullying in schools. This study identified highly-connected, well-liked students, and asked them to develop their own anti-bullying campaigns to share with their peers. Bullying dropped by 25% as a result, compared with other schools.</p> <p>鈥 探花直播advantage of social media influencers is that the motivation for social distancing comes naturally from the young people themselves. Influencers could post videos or photos online, for example, showing how they are following social distancing rules by staying at home, and add tags to increase their visibility through sharing and Likes. Many YouTubers are already doing this. It鈥檚 really just presenting public health advice in a more accessible way that adolescents are more likely to listen to,鈥 said Blakemore.聽</p> <p>If social distancing can be established as a group norm amongst friends, it is more likely to be copied by others. Another advantage of targeting social media influencers is that they exist across many spheres of interest so have the potential to reach diverse groups of young people.</p> <p> 探花直播researchers say that to create positive change, adolescents must be given the capacity to lead their own ideas. They hope that their proposals will be taken up by charities and public health bodies who can work with influencers to make sure the correct type of information is being shared.</p> <p><em><strong>Reference</strong><br /> Andrews, J.L. et al: 鈥<a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(20)30109-1">Peer influence in adolescence: Public-health implications for COVID-19</a>.鈥 May 2020, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.05.001</em></p> <p>聽</p> <h2><a href="https://www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-cambridge/cambridge-covid-19-research-fund"><strong>How you can support Cambridge鈥檚 COVID-19 research</strong></a></h2> <p>聽</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Public health bodies should consider聽incentivising聽social media influencers to encourage adolescents to follow social distancing guidelines, say researchers. Many adolescents are choosing to ignore the guidelines set out by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and peer-to-peer campaigns are likely to be more successful in changing attitudes.</p> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It鈥檚 really just presenting public health advice in a more accessible way, that adolescents are more likely to listen to</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sarah-Jayne Blakemore</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/" target="_blank">Jasmin Sessler from Pixabay</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width:0" /></a><br /> 探花直播text in this work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏 探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥 as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-license-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Licence type:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/imagecredit/attribution">Attribution</a></div></div></div> Tue, 12 May 2020 07:44:17 +0000 jg533 214452 at