Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
6,976
result(s) for
"Loneliness - psychology"
Sort by:
The lonely stories : 22 celebrated writers on the joys & struggles of being alone
A collection of essays about the joys and struggles of being alone by 22 literary writers including: Lev Grossman, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lena Dunham, Jesmyn Ward, Yiyun Li, and Anthony DoerrIf you're feeling lonely or if you've ever felt unseen, if you're emboldened by solitude or secretly longing for it: Welcome to 'The Lonely Stories'. This cathartic collection of essays illuminates an experience that so few of us openly discuss.
Book
Mindfulness training reduces loneliness and increases social contact in a randomized controlled trial
Loneliness and social isolation are a growing public health concern, yet there are few evidence-based interventions for mitigating these social risk factors. Accumulating evidence suggests that mindfulness interventions can improve social-relationship processes. However, the active ingredients of mindfulness training underlying these improvements are unclear. Developing mindfulness-specific skills—namely, (i) monitoring present-moment experiences with (ii) an orientation of acceptance—may change the way people perceive and relate toward others. We predicted that developing openness and acceptance toward present experiences is critical for reducing loneliness and increasing social contact and that removing acceptance-skills training from a mindfulness intervention would eliminate these benefits. In this dismantling trial, 153 community adults were randomly assigned to a 14-lesson smartphone-based intervention: (i) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (ii) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (iii) active control training. For 3 d before and after the intervention, ambulatory assessments were used to measure loneliness and social contact in daily life. Consistent with predictions, Monitor+Accept training reduced daily-life loneliness by 22% (d = 0.44, P = 0.0001) and increased social contact by two more interactions each day (d = 0.47, P = 0.001) and one more person each day (d = 0.39, P = 0.004), compared with both Monitor Only and control trainings. These findings describe a behavioral therapeutic target for improving social relationship functioning; by fostering equanimity with feelings of loneliness and social disconnect, acceptance-skills training may allow loneliness to dissipate and encourage greater engagement with others in daily life.
Journal Article
Project unlonely : navigate loneliness and reconnect with others
Even before 2020, chronic loneliness was a private experience of profound anguish that had become a public health crisis. Since then it has reached new heights. While we can't cure loneliness the way we can cure strep throat or even cancer, there are concrete, actionable and effective things we can do to manage it and keep it from becoming chronic. For an individual lonely reader, or for anyone who loves, serves, treats, or employs people vulnerable to loneliness in community, work or educational settings, this book will clarify how meaningful reconnection between the self and others begins, and how it can be nourished and sustained.
Book
Effectiveness of a chatbot in improving the mental wellbeing of health workers in Malawi during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized, controlled trial
We conducted a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) to investigate our hypothesis that the interactive chatbot, Vitalk, is more effective in improving mental wellbeing and resilience outcomes of health workers in Malawi than the passive use of Internet resources. For our 2-arm, 8-week, parallel RCT (ISRCTN Registry: trial ID ISRCTN16378480), we recruited participants from 8 professional cadres from public and private healthcare facilities. The treatment arm used Vitalk; the control arm received links to Internet resources. The research team was blinded to the assignment. Of 1,584 participants randomly assigned to the treatment and control arms, 215 participants in the treatment and 296 in the control group completed baseline and endline anxiety assessments. Six assessments provided outcome measures for: anxiety (GAD-7); depression (PHQ-9); burnout (OLBI); loneliness (ULCA); resilience (RS-14); and resilience-building activities. We analyzed effectiveness using mixed-effects linear models, effect size estimates, and reliable change in risk levels. Results support our hypothesis. Difference-in-differences estimators showed that Vitalk reduced: depression (-0.68 [95% CI -1.15 to -0.21]); anxiety (-0.44 [95% CI -0.88 to 0.01]); and burnout (-0.58 [95% CI -1.32 to 0.15]). Changes in resilience (1.47 [95% CI 0.05 to 2.88]) and resilience-building activities (1.22 [95% CI 0.56 to 1.87]) were significantly greater in the treatment group. Our RCT produced a medium effect size for the treatment and a small effect size for the control group. This is the first RCT of a mental health app for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Africa combining multiple mental wellbeing outcomes and measuring resilience and resilience-building activities. A substantial number of participants could have benefited from mental health support (1 in 8 reported anxiety and depression; 3 in 4 suffered burnout; and 1 in 4 had low resilience). Such help is not readily available in Malawi. Vitalk has the potential to fill this gap.
Journal Article
Investigating the use of a one-page infographic to improve recruitment and retention to the BASIL+ randomised controlled trial: A Study Within a Trial (SWAT)
Low participant recruitment and retention rates are a significant barrier to successful Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs). A Study Within A Trial (SWAT) is an effective way to explore which trial delivery methods may be useful for improving participant recruitment and retention rates. Infographics are a useful information delivery tool that may improve participants' understanding of the trial and thus improve recruitment or retention rates. This SWAT was embedded within the Behavioural Activation in Social Isolation (BASIL+) RCT. BASIL+ was delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic and evaluated the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a brief psychological intervention (Behavioural Activation) to mitigate depression and loneliness in older adults with multiple long-term health conditions.
Twelve research sites were randomly allocated 1:1 to either the SWAT intervention group (participant information included a one-page infographic) or the SWAT control group (participant information did not include a one-page infographic). The primary outcome was the recruitment rate to the BASIL+ trial. The secondary outcomes were the number of expressions of interest in the trial and the follow-up retention rate at 3 months post-randomisation. Results were compared for each group using a mixed-effect logistic regression model with trial site as a random effect. The cost-effectiveness of the SWAT intervention was also evaluated.
Despite a small additional cost (£0.13) per participant, there was no evidence that participant recruitment, expressions of interest or retention was significantly affected by the inclusion of the one-page infographic.
Our results suggest that the inclusion of an infographic alongside the participant information sheet may not be the best way to improve recruitment and retention rates for RCTs. However, infographics continue to be effective tools for information delivery in healthcare settings, and further research is needed to explore their use in RCTs.
Journal Article
Effects of a 16-week dance intervention on loneliness and self-esteem in left behind children: a randomised controlled trial
Loneliness and low self-esteem are among the more prominent mental health problems among left-behind children, but most of the current research stays in cross-sectional surveys, with fewer studies proposing specific solutions. In addition, although the effective impact of dance interventions on loneliness and self-esteem has been demonstrated, the impact in the group of left-behind children remains under-explored. Therefore, this study validated the effectiveness of a dance intervention on loneliness and self-esteem in left-behind children through a 16-week randomised controlled trial. Stratified sampling was used to select one primary school from each of the 14 cities in Hunan Province, with a maximum of 100 children recruited from each primary school. Independent researchers used SPSS 29.0 to randomly assign the eligible 1270 participants to the Experimental group (
n
= 635) and Control group (
n
= 635) in a 1:1 ratio. The Experimental group performed 45 min of moderate-intensity dance training five times a week. The Control group maintained their original living conditions. Participants were measured three times using the Children’s Loneliness Scale and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale: baseline (T0), after 8 weeks (T1), and post-intervention (16 weeks, T2). Linear mixed-effects models for repeated measures were used to test the effects of time, group and time × group interactions. (a) The average age of the 1261 participants was 10 years (SD = 3.52), with high levels of loneliness (42.48 ± 12.04) and low levels of self-esteem (26.75 ± 6.39). (b) There was a significant negative correlation between loneliness and self-esteem among the LBC (
p
< 0.001,
r
= − 0.390). (c) After the dance intervention, the LBC’s loneliness significantly decreased [
F
(2, 1258) = 74.516,
η
p
2
= 0.106,
p
< 0.001] and their self-esteem significantly increased [
F
(2, 1258) = 73.64,
η
p
2
= 0.104,
p
< 0.001]. A 16-week dance intervention is an effective strategy to improve loneliness and self-esteem in LBC. Given the acceptability and practicality of the dance intervention, it could be included in a health programme to improve loneliness and self-esteem in LBC.
Journal Article
A life less lonely : what we can all do to lead more connected, kinder lives
\"Loneliness has reached the levels of an epidemic. From the bullied child to the new parent, from the pensioner who has outlived friends and family members to teenagers who manage their social lives through the glow of a mobile phone, it can, and does, affect anyone and everyone, irrespective of age, race or class. What's it like when loneliness descends? How does it announce itself, and how do you recognise it? Do you discuss it, or conceal it? From where can you seek help? 'A Life Less Lonely' shares stories of loneliness and social isolation, and looks for ways in which we can help one another to future-proof ourselves against this insidious affliction\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Nature-based social interventions to address loneliness among vulnerable populations: a common study protocol for three related randomized controlled trials in Barcelona, Helsinki, and Prague within the RECETAS European project
Background
The negative effects of loneliness on population health and wellbeing requires interventions that transcend the medical system and leverage social, cultural, and public health system resources. Group-based social interventions are a potential method to alleviate loneliness. Moreover, nature, as part of our social and health infrastructure, may be an important part of the solutions that are needed to address loneliness. The RECETAS European project H2020 (Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces) is an international research project aiming to develop and test the effectiveness of nature-based social interventions to reduce loneliness and increase health-related quality of life.
Methods
This article describes the three related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that will be implemented: the RECETAS-BCN Trial in Barcelona (Spain) is targeting people 18+ from low socio-economic urban areas; the RECETAS-PRG Trial in Prague (Czech Republic) is addressing community-dwelling older adults over 60 years of age, and the RECETAS-HLSNK trial is reaching older people in assisted living facilities. Each trial will recruit 316 adults suffering from loneliness at least sometimes and randomize them to nature-based social interventions called “Friends in Nature” or to the control group. “Friends in Nature” uses modifications of the “Circle of Friends” methodology based on group processes of peer support and empowerment but including activities in nature. Participants will be assessed at baseline, at post-intervention (3 months), and at 6- and 12-month follow-up after baseline. Primary outcomes are the health-related quality-of-life according to 15D measure and The De Jong Gierveld 11-item loneliness scale. Secondary outcomes are health and psychosocial variables tailored to the specific target population. Nature exposure will be collected throughout the intervention period. Process evaluation will explore context, implementation, and mechanism of impact. Additionally, health economic evaluations will be performed.
Discussion
The three RECETAS trials will explore the effectiveness of nature-based social interventions among lonely people from various ages, social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. RECETAS meets the growing need of solid evidence for programs addressing loneliness by harnessing the beneficial impact of nature on enhancing wellbeing and social connections.
Trial registration
Barcelona (Spain) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05488496. Registered 29 July 2022.
Prague (Czech Republic) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05522140. Registered August 25, 2022.
Helsinki (Finland) trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05507684. Registered August 12, 2022.
Journal Article