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The authors test the effect of test score comparison on the self-efficacy of adolescents versus adults.

Here, seeking to better understand on the effects of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors used a survey during April and May of 2020 of participants primarily in Long Island, NY to assess the physical and mental health of the general population. They found negative impacts to physical health and increases in depressive symptoms and feelings of loneliness across all groups. More significant increases in negative mental health symptoms were observed in younger age groups and amongst women.

With the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating the transition to remote learning, disruption to daily school routine has impacted educational experiences on a global scale. As a result, it has potentially worsened reading achievement gaps typically exacerbated by long summer months. To address literacy skill retention and pandemic-induced social isolation, the non-profit organization ByKids4Kids has created a reading program, “Kindles4Covid Virtual Reading Buddies Program,” to instill a structure for youth to read together and connect with the convenience of Amazon Kindle devices. In this article, the authors determine the efficacy of their invaluable program by assessing changes in reading frequency and self-reported connectedness among program participants.

Adolescence is a critical period for self-identity formation, heavily influenced by feedback from social networks. This research examined the interplay between social support from parents and peers and self-concept development in adolescents using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. While individual support from parents and peers did not directly impact self-concept, their combined interaction significantly influenced it, highlighting the importance of various social supports in fostering healthy self-concept development and overall adolescent well-being.

This study examined how social determinants of health (SDH) relate to vision loss by analyzing publicly available data from 18 northern and southern U.S. states and using Bayesian correlation analysis.

Default opt-ins and social proof tags effect on decision making in an e-commerce context

Here, the authors considered the effects of relationship status and substance use on the mental health of colleges students, where they specifically examined their correlation with depression, anxiety, and the fear of missing out (FoMO). Through a survey of college students they found that those with higher substance misuse had higher levels of anxiety, depression, and FoMO, while those involved in longer-term relationships had lower levels of FoMo and alcohol use.

In this study the authors sought to understand the influence of implicit social pressure on prosocial behavior (voluntary acts that benefit someone else) in adolescents age 12–19. They considered how participants divided money between themselves and four teammate they did a school project with. Despite being shown examples of how to divide money (social pressure), their results showed that both boys and girls were unaffected by prosocial, neutral, and antisocial pressures.

Because humans live in societies, they may feel social pressure to conform to majority opinions. This follow-up study explores whether teenagers are likely to change their opinions to match others’, particularly in ambiguous situations.

The authors survey adults to assess how childhood adversity may impact adult relationships and ways of giving or receiving affection.