Danish National Centre for Social Research

Abstract The climate crisis is increasingly contributing to a mental health crisis. Policy and practice inadequately account for the mental health costs of climate change and the mental health benefits of climate action. The climate and mental health field is expanding rapidly but unevenly. Connecting Climate Minds (CCM), a global initiative, aimed to develop a guiding vision to ensure investment in and implementation of future research aligns with lived experience needs and appropriately informs policies. CCM convened 1184 contributors with diverse expertise across 126 countries, through 21 online and in-person dialogues. Their insights produced a Global Research and Action Agenda for climate change and mental health. This paper outlines the 53 research priorities structured into four high-level themes (impacts, risks and vulnerable groups; pathways and mechanisms; mental health benefits and risks of climate action; mental health interventions). It also outlines how to implement research and translate evidence to action.

Abstract Background Victimisation has been associated with self‐harm (with or without suicidal intent), but little is known about this association during young adulthood—a distinct developmental period. Further, not all individuals who experience victimisation will later engage in self‐harm, suggesting the influence of other factors. The present study examined whether perceived victimisation is associated with self‐harm during young adulthood while adjusting for confounders such as peer victimisation and mental health difficulties in adolescence. Additionally, we investigated whether genetic susceptibility for mental health difficulties moderates this association. Methods Participants were from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (1998–2023); a population‐based birth cohort from the Canadian province of Quebec, with victimisation and self‐harm measures in young adulthood (sample 1; N = 1235), and who provided blood samples and had been genotyped (sample 2; N = 552). At 20 years old, they were asked how often they had experienced forms of victimisations in the past 12 months (e.g., insulted you, put you down in front of others) without specifying the perpetrator. At 20–25 years old, participants reported self‐harm. Polygenic scores (PGSs) for depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suicide attempt were calculated. Results Overall, 17.2% (sample 1) participants reported self‐harm at age 20–25 years. Victimisation was associated with self‐harm (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.45, 1.89, for each standard deviation increase in victimisation), even after adjusting for confounders, for example, victimisation and mental health in adolescence (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.86). In sample 2, PGSs for depression and suicide attempt (not ADHD) were associated with self‐harm as well as victimisation in young adulthood, and none moderated the association between victimisation and self‐harm. Conclusion Regardless of genetic susceptibility indexed by PGSs, young adult exposed to victimisation are at higher risk of self‐harm. Continuing efforts to prevent victimisation beyond childhood/adolescence and into young adulthood may contribute to reducing self‐harm risk.

While prenatal exposure to tobacco has been associated with adolescent suicide attempt, little is known about the mechanisms explaining this association. This study aims to explore the mediating roles of internalizing symptoms, externalizing behaviors, and peer problems across childhood in the association between prenatal exposure to tobacco and adolescent suicide attempt. We analyzed data from N=8,861 participants from the Millennium Cohort Study followed from ages 9months to 17years. Binary logistic regression models were used to investigate the total association between exposure to tobacco in pregnancy and suicide attempt, and mediation analyses were conducted using structural equation models to investigate the direct and indirect associations. In models adjusted for key covariates, we found a significant association between prenatal tobacco exposure and increased risk of adolescent suicide attempts (odds ratio=2.08, 95% confidence interval = [1.68, 2.56]), partly mediated through internalizing problems, externalizing behaviors, and peer problems from ages 3 to 14 years (accounting for 37% of the total association, that is, 16%, 12%, and 9%, respectively). These findings suggest that interventions targeting mental health symptoms and peer problems may maximize suicide prevention efforts among children who were prenatally exposed to tobacco, thus potentially reducing the long-term risk of suicide attempt.

This qualitative interview study explored 11 young adult clients’ initial experiences of writing letters to their deceased parent in group therapy for parental bereavement. The focus was on: the clients’ responses to first hearing about letter-writing; the clients’ first encounters with the method in group sessions, and the clients’ first experiences of writing letters at home. The method made immediate sense to many of the clients. Experiencing other clients reading letters in the group was an intense but manageable experience supported by the counselor and other group members. The clients underwent a process of adjustment from focusing on the group to focusing on their loss and their relationship with their deceased parent. At home, the clients aimed to secure their privacy and their ability to manage emotional processes connected with addressing their loss without disturbing daily activities too much. A rich description of the clients’ initial experiences was generated.

Abstract This study investigates the cost of job loss to household incomes, and the extent to which initial earnings losses are compensated through the labor market, within the household, and by the social security programs. Using survey and administrative data from Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the UK (1990–2018), we estimate short- and long-term effects of job loss with a dynamic difference-in-differences model. Job loss reduces household income by 17 per cent in the UK while only 5 to 6 percent in other countries during the first year. These losses gradually diminish and disappear over the long run. Across all countries, market (i.e. re-employment) is the main source of compensation, while the role of household and state compensations varies in line with the national compensation strategies. State compensation is crucial in mitigating immediate income losses, while market compensation becomes even more important over time. Household compensation mainly substitutes for weaker market and state protections.

Perinatal loss is rare in high-income countries. In Danish neonatology, the psychosocial approach to neonatal care has been to acknowledge the personhood of the newborn infant with the goal of enabling grief and healing. However, one question is how the family lives with the memory of a child they hardly had time to know. Mothers of 40 newborn infants who died in hospital more than 15 years ago were invited. Five couples, seven mothers, and one father were interviewed. The focus was on the remembrance of the child and the significance of the death for the life of the parents. Recorded interviews were analysed thematically. Most children died within days. The children were regarded as family members. Physical tokens and birthdays played a central role in remembrance practices. Although the process of grief was described as long and painful, it was also described as an existential experience and a source of better priorities in life. After 15 years, the dead newborn child was still considered a family member. There was little expression of regret about what happened at the time. Due to the low response rate, it is possible that diverging lived experiences may be common.

ABSTRACTAimAlthough evidence supporting mother‐newborn couplet care continues to grow, its clinical integration remains inconsistent due to ongoing barriers. This study aimed to describe current practices of mother‐newborn couplet care in Danish obstetric and neonatal departments.MethodsA national cross‐sectional survey was conducted in all Danish neonatal and obstetric departments. An online questionnaire identified organisational structures, collaboration between departments, and interprofessional education. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, while qualitative responses were evaluated using content analysis.ResultsThe response rate was 91% (n = 31/34). Maternal treatment and care provided in neonatal departments were reported as “always” by 33% of respondents, “often” by 44%, and “sometimes” by 17%. Neonatal treatment and care provided in obstetric departments were reported as “always” by 22% of respondents, “often” by 33%, and “sometimes” by 28%. The clinical integration of couplet care depended on the level of medical needs for both. Key barriers included organisational and structural challenges and a lack of formalised interprofessional education.ConclusionThe findings highlight the current situation of reducing mother–newborn separation through couplet care. Most Danish departments report that mothers and newborns can often be cared for together. However, organisational and structural barriers still prevent the integration of mother–newborn couplet care.

Abstract In this paper, we present a foray into the computational study of anthropological texts. Drawing on a corpus of approximately 2,500 articles published in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (formerly Man) from 1950 to 2018, we discuss selected findings from the deployment of two methods for computational text analysis, namely word‐frequency approaches, and topic modelling. The aim of the paper is exploratory: it asks how computational methods can contribute to how anthropologists usually think about the history of their discipline. Computational approaches have several limitations, but we argue they can also help to defamiliarize a corpus in ways which are not unlike the defamiliarizing effects of the ethnographic encounter. In conclusion, we reflect on the possibilities – and pitfalls – of this and other ongoing attempts to use computational methods to map trends within anthropology and cognate disciplines.

BackgroundChildhood irritability increases the risk of later suicidal behaviors, but the moderators of this association have not been identified. We investigated harsh parenting as a moderator in the association of childhood irritability with adolescent suicide attempt and self-harm, and possible sex differences in these associations.MethodData were from 9,480 children from the Millennium Cohort Study. We averaged parent ratings of child irritability and harsh parenting at ages 3, 5, and 7 years (range 1–3). Suicide attempt and self-harm were self-reported at age 17. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations of irritability with suicide attempt and self-harm, adjusting for confounding factors. Interaction analyses were used to test the moderating role of harsh parenting and sex in these associations.ResultsChildren with greater irritability scores were at increased risk to attempt suicide (OR=1.72, 95% CI=1.42–2.08). Interaction analyses suggested that this risk in males was elevated regardless of harsh parenting. However, high levels of harsh parenting interacted with irritability in increasing the risk of suicide attempt in females. Children with high irritability were also more at risk of self-harm (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.03–1.31) but this association was not moderated by harsh parenting in either sex.ConclusionParental behaviors may play an important role in the pathway to suicide attempt of children with irritability, especially for females, who may have a heightened sensitivity to interpersonal stressors. Parenting interventions may be helpful in suicide prevention among females with irritability.