Self-Reported Health, Well-Being, and COVID-19 Vaccination Willingness Across the Generations

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the generations’ health and wellbeing across a range of dimensions. In the first survey, the 50+ adopted the smallest number of health behaviors (e.g., handwashing, mask-wearing, etc.) in response to the pandemic compared to younger age groups. In the first and second surveys, the Baby Boomer generation reported less intense worry than other generations, especially regarding their socioemotional health and family members’ health. For younger generations, worries tended to increase from March to June—especially those related to socio-emotional health and COVID-19 in general. In the third survey wave, older generations self-reported better psychological wellbeing, less personal burnout, and better cognitive health compared to younger generations. Willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine did not vary by generation in this sample; however, implications of this (including additional factors that may be influential such as psychological wellbeing) will be discussed.

Neighborhood Environment and Child Health in Immigrant Families: Using Nationally Representative Individual, Family, and Community Datasets

Purpose: This study aimed to examine neighborhood effects on the physical and socioemotional health of children from immigrant families, after controlling for parents’ demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, acculturation, and health care issues. Design: Pooled cross-sectional data were merged with community profiles. Setting: The United States in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Participants: 10,399 children from immigrant families in the 2013-2015 National Health Interview Surveys and the U.S. Census Data. Measures: Both objective and subjective measures of neighborhood environments were assessed, including neighborhood physical disorder, socioeconomic status, demographic composition, community resources, and social trust. Analysis: Descriptive statistics, logistic regression models. Results: About half of the sampled children were male (51%); 68% were white; 56% were of Hispanic; and 34% were school-aged. Three neighborhood factors—neighborhood trust, area-level poverty rate, and the presence of primary care physician—were identified as significant predictors for child health outcomes. Foreign-born population, green space, and food desert were not significant. At the individual level, parents’ racial and ethnic minority status, non-marital status, and healthcare issues were found to be risk factors. Families’ financial resources and parental education were identified as protective factors of socioemotional health. Conclusion: Intervention approaches to build on neighborhood trust may have broad potential to improve child outcomes. Programs focusing on immigrant families with children in high poverty neighborhoods should be a high priority.

Measurement Invariance of Social Media Use in Younger and Older Adults and Links to Socioemotional Health

Background and Objectives Social media use has been linked to socioemotional health; however, less is known regarding whether these associations are moderated by age. Additionally, as the use of social media in older adult populations is rapidly increasing, there is a greater need for the investigation of psychometric properties of social media usage scales before determining age differences in the impact of social media on socioemotional health outcomes. Research Design and Methods Using an online adult lifespan sample (n=592), the current cross-sectional study tested the measurement invariance of the general social media usage subscale of the Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale across younger (aged 19-54) versus older (aged 55-81) adults and whether age moderated associations between social media use and socioemotional health (depressive symptoms, self-esteem, envy). Results Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that posting-related and checking-related items were noninvariant across age groups. In multi-group structural equation models accounting for differential item functioning, higher social media use was associated with more depressive symptoms in younger adults, but not in older adults. While higher social media use was associated with higher envy in both age groups, this association was stronger in younger adults. Discussion and Implications Findings suggest younger adults may be more susceptible to the detrimental effects of social media use on socioemotional health. Future directions regarding the measurement of social media use and the salience of social media use across the lifespan are discussed.

The Impact of Schoolyard Greening on Children’s Physical Activity and Socioemotional Health: A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies

Access to green schoolyards (schoolyards designed with greenery and natural elements to create a park-like environment, as opposed to asphalt-based playgrounds) are associated with many benefits for students, including improvements in physical and mental health. While many studies examining these associations are cross-sectional, some feature experimental designs that offer the possibility of causal inference. In this review, we looked at experimental studies that examine the impact of schoolyard greening on measures of physical activity and socioemotional health in children. Four electronic databases (Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus and Greenfile) were searched, and from 1843 articles retrieved, 6 articles met the inclusion criteria. Examination of the eligible studies revealed a general consensus on the positive impact of schoolyard greening on both physical activity and socioemotional health outcomes for students, suggesting that schoolyard greening is a viable intervention in reducing the health equity gaps and improving children’s health regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds or residential neighborhood socioeconomic status. Further experimental research on this topic should elucidate how educators, administrators, policy makers, and other stakeholders can harness the benefits of schoolyard greening to improve the health and well-being of children in their communities.

Exposure to Violence, Firearm Involvement, and Socioemotional Consequences Among California Adults

Violence is a leading cause of injury and death, and its impacts extend far beyond physical harm to the victim. We estimated the prevalence of direct or indirect exposure to violence, factors associated with exposure, and effects of exposure on socioemotional health—with effect modification by firearm involvement during the violent event—among a state-representative sample of California adults. We also examined effects of exposure on subsequent intent to purchase firearms. The sample comprised 2,558 California adults who completed the 2018 California Safety and Wellbeing Survey. An estimated 4% of respondents—1.2 million Californians—said they or a household member were exposed to violence while living in their current neighborhood. Half of those exposed to violence reported the event was “severely” distressing, and 47% experienced social functioning problems (i.e., problems with job/school and/or family/friends); for comparison, only 12% of unexposed adults reported having such problems in the past 12 months. When the violent event involved a weapon, respondents who did (versus did not) experience severe distress were significantly more likely to report that a firearm was present (69% versus 14%); those with (versus without) social functioning problems were significantly more likely to report other types of weapons were involved (67% versus 22%). Exposed adults considered buying a gun in response to the violent event more often than did unexposed respondents in the past 12 months (33% versus 17%). These findings highlight the need to address the physical and psychological sequelae of violence exposure among direct and indirect victims and can inform violence prevention research, programs, and policies across the nation.