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Significant increases seen in teenagers' mental ill-health during secondary school is mostly likely linked to growing older, rather than academic and peer pressures associated with being in a more senior year group, finds a new study of over 40,000 young people led by UCL. Published in the British Educational Research Journal, the study provides one of the most detailed investigations into the link between mental health and school year, and finds mental ill-health is particularly prevalent among girls during secondary education.

A GW4-funded report that focused on what regional Green Recovery might look like argues that climate justice needs to be at the forefront of our thinking. Last updated on Friday 5 November 2021 A new report from researchers from the GW4 universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, and Exeter suggests that local green recovery debates need to find a way to better connect people's concerns about the climate, inequality, and prosperity in local areas.

There are clear and enduring regional divides across Great Britain, finds an intergenerational assessment of the social mobility of British families between 1851 and 2016, carried out by UCL researchers at the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC). Professor Paul Longley, Dr Justin Van Dijk and Dr Tian Lan (all UCL Geography) created GB Names which allows users to chart exactly where their family group has been based across Britain from 1851 to the present day.

A new study led by the and based on public attitudes expressed in 36,000 Facebook posts, has found that consumer uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) can be boosted by promoting the social justice and health aspects of the technology. The researchers found that effective communication of social and health benefits of EV ownership can be a motivating factor for influencing higher EV uptake.

Researchers involved in a major COVID-19 study - launched in Scotland earlier in the year to understand the long-term health of people who have had COVID-19 - are encouraging the public to participate if they receive a new invitation.

There were nearly twice as many unplanned pregnancies during the first lockdown compared to before, finds a major study led by researchers from UCL and University College London Hospital. The study, published today in BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health, is the first to assess changes in women's self-reported access to contraception as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Politicians and businesses must treat pandemics as if their country is preparing for war - they are too focused on the current pandemic and not paying enough attention to developing strategies to lessen the impact of the next one, researchers reveal.

Scottish veterans face the highest risk of suicide in middle age, many years after leaving service. The study, led by the University of Glasgow in partnership with the Forces in Mind Trust and published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, looked at the risk of suicide in veterans compared with people who had never served, and found that overall, their risk was no higher than non-veterans.

Children from less affluent backgrounds are likely to have found COVID-19 lockdowns more challenging to their mental health because they experienced a lower connection with nature than their wealthier peers, a new study suggests.

Older adults around the world are more willing to donate to charity than younger people, but will prioritise charitable organisations operating within their own country, new research finds. Older adults also had stronger self-reported preferences for their 'in-group' - people in the same country. They were more likely to report identifying with their country and agreed more strongly with statements such as "My country deserves special treatment".

A new study reveals differences in brain structure between antisocial and non-antisocial members of the same families. Last updated on Tuesday 5 October 2021 Structural differences in the area of the brain responsible for decision making could explain why two siblings living in the same family might differ in their risk of developing the condition conduct disorder.

In a large school-based survey of students from 9-18-years-old (Years 5 to 13), researchers from the University of Oxford, UCL and the University of Cambridge have discovered that the younger you are, the less likely you are to want a COVID-19 vaccination. Writing in  EClinicalMedicine , the authors present the results of the OxWell School Survey 2021, finding that 36% of 9-year-olds are willing to have a COVID-19 vaccination, compared to 51% of 13-year-olds, and 78% of 17-year-olds.

New research into child maltreatment has highlighted the links with ongoing mental health disorders, even into middle and older age adulthood. The new study, led by the University of Glasgow and published in the Lancet Regional Health - Europe, finds that child maltreatment was associated with a wide range of mental health conditions in later life, even if they were not diagnosed of any in early adulthood.

36% of 9-year-olds and 51% of 13-year-olds say they are willing to have a COVID-19 vaccination compared to 78% of 17-year-olds, finds a major study co-led by UCL, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The study, published today in EClinicalMedicine, is the only large-scale study to ask children and adolescents about their willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and found that the younger you are the less likely you are to want a COVID-19 vaccination.

Children who experience sexual or physical abuse or are neglected are more likely to die prematurely as adults, according to a new study analysing data from the 1950s to the present by researchers at UCL and the University of Cambridge. The study, published in BMJ Open , found that adults who reported experiencing sexual abuse by the age of 16 had a 2.6 times higher risk of dying in middle age - that is, between 45 and 58 - than those who did not report sexual abuse.

Social inequality can incite collective violence in an experimental setting, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, was conceived following the London riots of 2011, as researchers sought to understand the origins of antisocial group behaviour. The findings are published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B .

This Australian study trialled a parent-mediated therapy, iBASIS-VIPP, which was developed by the study's UK collaborators, led by Professor Jonathan Green from The University of Manchester. The use of iBASIS-VIPP reduced clinician autism diagnoses at age three by two-thirds. This is the first evidence that a pre-emptive intervention during infancy can lead to a significant reduction in the social communication difficulties characteristic of autism, and reduced likelihood of a clinician autism diagnosis in early childhood.

New research from the suggests that autistic individuals are less likely to identify as heterosexual and more likely to identify with a diverse range of sexual orientations than non-autistic individuals. The findings have important implications for the healthcare and support of autistic individuals. The results are published in the journal Autism Research .

Care experienced children in Scotland have poorer health and higher average rates of mortality when compared to children in the general population, according to a new study. The study - led by the University of Glasgow and published in BMJ Open - also showed substantial differences in health outcomes and health service use between care experienced children and children in the general population.

Researchers based at the University of Glasgow have launched a new study which will look at how South Asian women in Scotland get help for domestic abuse, and their experiences of the criminal justice system. The study will fill a vital gap in our understanding of how race, culture, social, education and community factors play into victim/survivors' decision-making on which services to access and when, as well as their perceptions of justice, and the justice system.