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18 papers

Young Adults' Views on Priority Health Issues and Their Involvement in Shaping Responses: A Qualitative Exploration in South Australia.

Castleton P et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Introduction Young people must be central to health response design to ensure they are relevant and effective. It requires a clearer understanding of the opportunities and expectations surrounding youth engagement. Therefore, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the health priorities of young adults residing in South Australia (SA) and their engagement in the design of health programmes. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 young adults aged 18-24 years (all genders) in SA to identify priority health concerns, contributing factors and preferred solutions. We also explored their interest and expectations of being involved in the health programme design. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results Mental health and vaping emerged as the predominant health concerns. Key drivers of health concern amongst young adults included a lack of awareness of vaping and eating disorders, peer pressure, living costs, poor work-life balance and limited mental health services. Participants recommended early, school-based interventions, and free accessible services. They underscored the need for structural changes at policy-level to create supportive environments. Participants expressed interest in contributing to intervention design when aligned with their interests, skills and availability, but reported limited opportunities. Conclusion Young adults are eager to be involved in health programme design and have unique skills that should be better leveraged upon through co-design of research and programmes. Effective solutions to pressing health concerns must align with the lives of young adults and actively involve them in the design, implementation and evaluation of programmes and policies. WHAT'S NEXT?: The study results suggest employing the motivation and insights of young adults can lead to more relevant, effective and engaging health solutions tailored to their needs.

Social Sciences

Youth Perspectives on the Climate Crisis: Motivation and Action Pathways.

Kramer AW et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Young people can be agents of change for urgently needed sustainable transitions. We combine survey data from the Urban Rotterdam Project (2021 sample: N = 1152, age range = 12-28 years, M age = 19.07, SD age = 2.87, 54% female, 16% bi- or multicultural background; 2023 sample: N = 327, age range = 13-28, M age = 19.24, SD age = 2.86, 67% female, 24% bi- or multicultural background) with youth participatory data (2024 sample: N = 114, age range = 16-26, M age = 20, 51% female, 37% bi- or multicultural background) to examine youths' climate-related worry, affective wellbeing, motivations for pro-environmental behavior and preferences for climate change communication. First, drawing on self-determination theory, we tested whether associations between climate-related worry, pro-environmental behavior, and affective wellbeing depend on the quality of youths' motivation to engage in pro-environmental behavior. We found that climate-related worry was associated with increased pro-environmental behavior for youth who acted out of interest and enjoyment (i.e., intrinsic motivation) or internal pressure (i.e. introjected motivation). Youth who had internalized pro-environmental behavior as personally important (i.e. identified motivation) showed high levels of pro-environmental behavior regardless of worry. Climate-related worry was also robustly associated with reduced affective wellbeing, irrespective of motivation type. Additionally, adopting a youth participatory approach, we explored youths' preferences for climate change communication and pro-environmental behaviors. We found that youth were more motivated by collective-systemic than individual pro-environmental actions because of benefits for motivation ("Alone it feels useless"), affective wellbeing ("Doing something together gives me hope"), and sustainability ("Cheaper public transport would make my choices matter"). We also found that youth preferred risk-emphasizing, positive, and empowering communication strategies over approaches including humor and purely factual information. Overall, our research illustrates the importance of supporting youths' motivation to help them turn their climate-related worry into pro-environmental behavior, presents youths' perspectives on what motivating climate communication and action pathways might look like, and highlights the value of involving youth as active contributors to research and evidence-informed climate action. SUMMARY: The present study combined survey and participatory methods to examine youths' climate-related worry, affective wellbeing, motivations for pro-environmental behavior and preferences for climate change communication. Climate-related worry was more strongly linked to pro-environmental behavior when youth were motivated by interest and enjoyment (intrinsic) or by internal pressure such as guilt (introjected), though introjected motivation may carry wellbeing costs. Youth who had internalized pro-environmental behavior as personally important (identified motivation) engaged in more pro-environmental behavior regardless of their worry levels. Climate-related worry was robustly associated with reduced affective wellbeing, irrespective of motivation type. Youth preferred collective-systemic over individual pro-environmental behaviors, while also recognizing the interconnectedness between the two. Youth preferred climate communication that is direct, positive, and empowering.

Social Sciences

'Far right just means anyone who wants to support British values': Mobilizing 'British values' talk in discussions of the August 2024 UK race riots.

Sambaraju R et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Social psychological research has shown how far-right leaders mobilize people by claiming that majority populations are threatened or silenced. This paper builds on this work to examine a related process in naturalistic interactions: how riotous actions are explained and justified through appeals to 'British values' in online forums. Using discursive psychology, we analyse talk surrounding the riots that followed the stabbing of three young girls in Southport, England-the UK race riots of August 2024. We show that invoking British or English values serves two key functions: it renders rioters' actions self-explanatory and offers a competing account of rioters as the more authentic representation of Britishness and the British people than the government. This reframing of 'British values' offers up a challenge to those attributing riots to 'far right' motivations and instead portrays the riots as effortful and even ideal expressions of British citizenship. Thus, British values operate not merely as symbols but as rhetorical tools that can sanitize the 'far-right' label linking the riots, immigration, state policy and national identity.

Social Sciences

The enduring power of social context: Pre-war contact opportunity amplifies the effects of post-war contact.

Afandiyev Z et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Intergroup contact is one of the most established approaches for improving relations between adversary groups in conflict settings; yet little is known about whether its effects might be shaped by the social context. In this paper, we examine whether pre-war contact opportunity with the adversary group shapes the relationship between post-war intergroup contact and willingness to engage with the adversary group, measured at two post-war time points. We operationalize pre-war contact opportunity objectively, using pre-war census data on adversary group share. We analyse data from two studies conducted in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. Study 1, conducted approximately 10 years after the war's outbreak (N = 1967), demonstrates that post-war intergroup contact is more strongly associated with contact willingness among individuals who, before the war, lived in municipalities with higher contact opportunity. Study 2, conducted more than 30 years after the war, does not provide evidence for the same moderating pattern (N = 330), but supplementary analyses indicate persistent significant yet attenuated effects of contact opportunity. These findings highlight the relevance of the pre-conflict social context and temporal dynamics for understanding intergroup contact effects in post-conflict societies.

Social Sciences

Police officers' prejudice and distrust towards racialized groups is related to internal motivation to suppress prejudice and negative intergroup contact.

Stelter M et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Racialized individuals experience different interactions with the police compared to non-racialized individuals. This study investigates biases among German police officers (N = 208) towards individuals perceived as Arab. Police officers demonstrated shooter biases in a first-person shooter task, rated Arab individuals as less trustworthy, and expressed a preference for White individuals over Arab individuals. These biases closely mirrored those found in a civilian convenience sample (N = 237), with one notable difference: police officers showed significantly greater distrust towards Arab individuals than civilians. This heightened distrust was mediated by social dominance orientation and negative perceptions of intergroup contact. Additionally, internal motivation to suppress prejudice was as a strong predictor of both group preference and distrust in both samples. Collectively, these findings highlight that police officers, as a reflection of society, exhibit pervasive biases towards racialized groups, which might impact their interactions with minoritized communities.

Social Sciences

Sharing conspiracy theories and staying in power: How leaders' false theories influence leadership perception.

Cao S et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Research shows that spreading conspiracy theories impacts leaders' reputations; yet, it remains unclear how leaders are viewed when their theories are debunked. Across four studies (N = 1437), we explored whether conveying a conspiracy theory, regardless of its accuracy, influences followers' impressions of leader dominance, competence and warmth. Participants evaluated leaders who either incorrectly perceived (false-positive) or incorrectly misperceived (false-negative) a conspiracy about the cause of a simulated crisis. During intergroup conflict, false-positive leaders were seen as less warm, similarly competent, yet more dominant than false-negative leaders. The dominance gap grew when the consequences of overlooking a conspiracy were more severe. Conversely, in the absence of conflict, false-positive leaders were perceived as less warm and competent than false-negative leaders. These findings support an error management approach to conspiracy theories: Leaders who spread conspiracy theories, even if later debunked, are still perceived as strong leaders, particularly in conflict settings.

Social Sciences

Sharing for the common good: Children's levels of social inclusion within the group and their sharing decisions in a public goods game.

Malin Y et al. · Jul 1, 2026

Across two studies, this research explored the relationship between levels of social inclusion within a group and cooperative sharing decisions among children, using the public goods game (PGG). In Study 1 (10-12 years old, N = 165), participants' social inclusion was experimentally manipulated using a modified version of the Cyberball paradigm that varied the number of ball tosses, after which they were asked about their willingness to contribute resources to the common pool in the PGG. In Study 2 (10-11 years old, N = 249), social inclusion was measured in a naturalistic context by assessing children's interactions with peers in their class and their actual contributions in the PGG at two time points, 1 week apart. In both studies, children who experienced higher levels of social inclusion within the group were more willing to contribute to the group, even at a personal cost, compared with children experiencing lower levels of social inclusion. Together, these findings deepen our understanding of how social inclusion within the group shapes prosocial behaviour during middle childhood-a pivotal period in social development.

Social Sciences

Social capital and grassroots organisational change: a comparative case study from post-Morakot Taiwan.

Pau PWM. · Jul 1, 2026

Grassroots organisations (GOs) often emerge spontaneously in disaster contexts to fill gaps left by formal authorities, changing their structures and functions to meet evolving community needs. While prior research documents these transformations, it offers limited insight into why they occur and what they mean for disaster recovery. Social capital (SC) is critical for collective action, but its role in shaping grassroots organisational change remains underexplored. This study, examining community-based GOs in Taiwan following Typhoon Morakot in 2009, investigates how SC influences organisational change. Using a comparative case study design, it finds that bonding SC within communities was most closely associated with whether change was sustained. Alignment between the initiatives of GOs and community priorities mediated bonding SC, sustaining trust, reciprocity, and legitimacy. Bridging and linking SC supported access to resources and external legitimacy, but they were not sufficient on their own when local support weakened. Theoretically, the study clarifies how SC subtypes interact with organisational change and helps interpret what such changes signify. Practically, it underscores the importance of responsive community engagement while strategically leveraging bridging and linking SC in post-disaster recovery.

Social Sciences

With a little help from my 'ordinary friends': relationships, networks, and resilience in Masisi, North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Fontana SG. · Jul 1, 2026

Are social networks the key to understanding resilience in conflict? Recent studies suggest so, but relational research in conflict-affected areas is rare. What exists stresses the importance of small circles of close family members, trusted friends, and co-ethnic persons/groups, but tends to overlook their aggregate effect. Drawing on data from a relational study of personal support networks in Masisi, a rural area of North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, I show how people rely on large, widespread networks of ethnically diverse recent strangers. I highlight the types of relationships people value most, assess how they make and maintain them, and begin to explore some of their cumulative socio-political effects. I posit that reputation and improved local security are support networks' most important outcomes, although the latter comes at a price. The findings reveal a fundamental paradox: while resilience in conflict is primarily relational, its dependence on connections limits its scope and makes it inherently unstable.

Social Sciences

gender.neutral@work.de: An experimental approach to the discrimination of nonbinary individuals during job applications.

Dörr L et al. · Jul 1, 2026

For many nonbinary individuals, disclosing their pronouns and preferred forms of address when applying for a job is necessary to avoid being misgendered. The request to be referred to in a gender-neutral way may trigger stereotypes and result in discrimination. Simulating recruitment scenarios, we test the effects of an applicant's request for gender-neutral address and avoidance of pronouns compared to binary-gendered alternatives. We hypothesize that applicants with a gender-neutral request would be discriminated against compared to applicants requesting binary-gendered pronouns. In a pre-registered pre-experiment with a convenience sample (N = 248), we found that applicants with a gender-neutral request were misgendered more often than applicants requesting binary-gendered pronouns and forms of address. No other indicators of discrimination were found, possibly due to the convenience sample. The reviewed experiment tested the hypotheses in a more diverse sample (N = 1275), adding openness towards nonbinary gender (ONBG) as a moderator variable and investigating spontaneous stereotype content. The findings demonstrated that applicants with a gender-neutral request were discriminated against compared to masculine-request applicants during the initial written application stage, with bias being moderated by ONBG. We discuss implications for understanding and reducing discrimination against nonbinary applicants in the work context.

Social Sciences