Monday, November 27, 2023

Northumbria University announces £50M space skills, research and development centre set to transform the UK space industry

NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY

Investments from Lockheed Martin, the UK Space Agency and Northumbria University forge pathway for NESST’s global prominence

Northumbria University, Newcastle has secured a total of £50 million in funding to create a world-leading space skills, research and technology centre in the North East of England.

Major funding awards that were confirmed today from the UK Space Agency and global aerospace giant, Lockheed Martin have been match-funded by the University itself to create the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre.

The centre, which will be known as NESST, will be a “game-changer” for the UK space economy. NESST is expected to directly support the creation of over 350 jobs and inject over £260 million into the North East economy over the next 30 years, playing a critical role in the government’s levelling-up agenda and immediately becoming a catalyst for the wider development of the UK space sector in the North East region.

Announced today during the UK Space Conference, the UK Space Agency has awarded £10 million to Northumbria University to support the development of NESST. In addition to this, Lockheed Martin committed a further £15 million investment in NESST to work with Northumbria’s experts on collaborative research, technology development, in-demand skills provision and STEM engagement activities over a 10-year period.

Through this strategic agreement, Lockheed Martin will become the first anchor tenant in NESST, creating unprecedented links for UK companies to access the global space market.

In recognition of the University’s excellence in all aspects of space research, and the transformative impact of NESST on the North East region and beyond, Northumbria University confirmed it would match-fund the UK Space Agency and Lockheed Martin awards with a further £25 million, bringing the overall total investment in NESST to £50 million.

Located in the heart of Northumbria University's Newcastle city campus, NESST will be a new national space asset that brings together industry and academic to collaborate on internationally significant space research and technological developments.

NESST will put the UK at the forefront of research and innovation in areas including optical satellite communications, space weather and space-based energy, and will lead the way in providing specialist education and training to ensure the UK space sector has the highly skilled workers it needs in the future.

Lockheed Martin and Northumbria University first joined forces in 2022 to support the development of skills, research and technology in the space sector. Lockheed Martin has previously invested £630,000 into collaborations with the University on a number of trailblazing projects, including working together to create machine learning algorithms to detect and record nanojets, as well as joining forces to accelerate the use of space-based solar power. Its award of £15 million will be split evenly across capital equipment to be used in the centre and research and development work.

The UK Space Agency award to Northumbria was the largest of all the projects funded and the maximum amount that could be granted under the organisation’s new Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) - an initiative aimed at increasing the capability, capacity, and connectivity of the UK’s space research and development infrastructure - and is a clear sign of the UK Space Agency’s confidence in the University’s ambitions.

The University's Wynne Jones building, which overlooks Newcastle's central motorway, will be transformed into a prominent, iconic home for NESST. The building, which is due to re-open in 2025, will feature world-class laboratory, testing, teaching, collaboration and office spaces, and the surrounding public spaces will be extensively regenerated to create an attractive new environment.

A major stimulus to the thriving local space cluster ecosystem, NESST will be home to some of the University’s key existing partnerships with local, national and international organisations and will also be open to businesses of all sizes working in the space sector.

Northumbria University is one of the UK’s leading universities in solar and space physics, receiving a number of significant funding awards in recent months including £5 million from the UK Space Agency to take forward work to build a new laser-based satellite communications system and awards totalling £2.6 million from the Science and Technology Facilities Council to fund studies into the Sun’s activity and its impact on Earth and to create a new Centre for Doctoral Training in the field of data intensive science.

The flagship NESST development marks a further step-change for Northumbria’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading universities for research and teaching, following its success in the latest Research Excellence Framework and being named Times Higher Education’s University of the Year 2022.

Professor Andy Long, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria University, said: “This is a pivotal moment, not just for Northumbria University, but for the wider North East region and indeed, for the UK space sector as a whole.

“This catalytic funding from both the UK Space Agency and Lockheed Martin recognises the world-leading excellence in all aspects of space research at Northumbria University. Quite simply, NESST will be a game-changer for the whole of the North East, ensuring the region becomes a major hub for innovation in the global space economy.”

Nik Smith, Regional Director for UK and Europe, Lockheed Martin, said: “NESST is one part of Lockheed Martin’s investment plans for our space business in the UK and will provide early prototyping and test facilities for new capabilities that could eventually be manufactured onshore. It will also be a reskilling hub, providing the pipeline of talent we will need to deliver national and even global programmes. With this investment, Lockheed Martin is thrilled to further our collaboration with Northumbria University and the UK Space Agency, and be a part of such significant initiatives for the region and the entire UK space sector.”

Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: “Making Britain a space superpower means backing brilliant ideas up and down the land and harnessing the full potential of talent in our growing sector – from Dundee to Newcastle, Cornwall to Snowdonia.

“By investing with the private sector in research and facilities across the UK, we are ensuring they become home to global industries that support the growth of our £17.5 billion space sector, create hundreds of new jobs and build dynamic businesses across the UK.”

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “Our space sector has been concentrated in London and the South East, but in recent years we’ve seen the emergence of vibrant clusters across the whole of the country and significant investments from world-leading companies such as Lockheed Martin. This is a fantastic opportunity for Northumbria University to further propel the UK to the forefront of world-class research and innovation with the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre (NESST), helping us lead the way in optical satellite communications, space weather and energy research, education and training.

“It’s a brilliant example of the potential of our thriving space sector across the length and breadth of the UK to develop innovative infrastructure that helps us deliver increasingly ambitious missions and capabilities. The Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund highlights the government’s commitment to space and will help deliver the goal set out in the National Space Strategy to build one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world, developing new skills and creating jobs.”

Cllr Nick Kemp, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “The North East Space Skills and Technology Centre is an incredibly exciting development for our city and the wider region.

“This is an opportunity to make Newcastle a major player in the UK space industry while providing a significant boost to the local economy and providing hundreds of new opportunities for people.

“We are very fortunate in Newcastle to have the world-leading academic institutions that we do, and securing the funding for this landmark project is an outstanding achievement for Northumbria University, and is testament to the excellence of the research it undertakes.

Colorectal cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: Lack of basic care is costing lives

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MARTIN-LUTHER-UNIVERSITÄT HALLE-WITTENBERG

Most people with colorectal cancer in sub-Saharan Africa receive no treatment or only inadequate treatment, despite the disease being potentially curable. The life expectancy of many of those affected can be significantly improved through simple measures. These were the findings of a new study published in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The study was conducted by University Medicine Halle along with the American Cancer Society and various international institutes. The team analyzed the data of 653 people diagnosed with colorectal cancer. In light of the rising number of cases and low survival rates in the region, the authors underscore the need to improve diagnosis and treatment options.

“Our study aimed at establishing the amount of basic care that colorectal cancer patients are receiving in sub-Saharan Africa and how impactful the treatment is in terms of survival rates,” explains Lucia Hämmerl, lead author of the new study and research associate in the Global Health working group at University Medicine Halle. Guidelines are used to make appropriate treatment decisions and options depend on the availability of personnel and the infrastructure and vary widely around the world. “Our focus was on harmonized colorectal cancer guidelines that take into account the circumstances in sub-Saharan Africa,” explains Hämmerl.

The study looked at 653 people who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The data was taken from eleven population-based cancer registries. Additional medical information was available in 356 cases (55%). Of these, non-metastatic colorectal cancer (stage I-III) was documented in 262 people and metastatic colorectal cancer (stage IV) in 94 people. Only eight people (3%) with non-metastatic and potentially curable disease received guideline-compliant treatment; over half received treatment with deviations and more than a third received no treatment at all. This resulted in a mortality rate that was up to 3.5-times higher in the regions studied. “Most of the patients with incomplete medical records presumably did not receive adequate treatment and that was why no clinical data was collected. In the remaining patients, the survival rate was significantly higher when the treatment was guideline-concordant or slightly deviated from the guideline. However, this occurred in less than one in twenty cases, even though adequate basic care can be provided without high-tech or costly solutions,” says Hämmerl.

Inequalities were also found when the data was compared globally. This was done using the Human Development Index (HDI), which takes life expectancy, education and income into account. The mortality rate of colorectal cancer patients in countries with low HDI scores, such as Ethiopia, Mali and the Congo, is two thirds higher than in countries with medium HDI scores, like Namibia and Kenya. “We saw an alarming gap between the recommendations of the harmonized guidelines and the treatment that was actually being provided, especially in patients with potentially curable disease. In light of the aging population in sub-Saharan Africa and the rising incidence of colorectal cancer, a great deal of suffering could be avoided through simple measures. The necessary strategies are available,” explains Professor Eva Kantelhardt, co-author of the study and head of the Global Health working group at University Medicine Halle.

“It is crucial that surgeons in particular are trained to perform radical cancer surgery. German hospitals can contribute by working in partnership to train specialists from African countries. In the case of gynecological oncology, where a similar problem exists, many colleagues from Ethiopia have already received further surgical training at University Medicine Halle,” says the expert on global health. As part of the BMBF-funded NORA research network, the study will be repeated and compared with the previous data.

Study: Hämmerl L. et al. Treatment and Survival Among Patients With Colorectal Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicentric Population-Based Follow-Up Study. JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. (2023) doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2023.7041

JOURNAL

Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

DOI

10.6004/jnccn.2023.7041

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Treatment and Survival Among Patients With Colorectal Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicentric Population-Based Follow-Up Study

Canadians’ feelings about the causes of obesity are often harmful to self-esteem, new Concordia study shows

Vida Forouhar’s research reveals that negative thoughts about body weight are found among Canadians of all sizes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

Vida Forouhar — IMAGE:
VIDA FOROUHAR: “THIS STUDY LOOKS AT HOW THE AVERAGE PERSON IN CANADA VIEWS NOT ONLY OBESITY AND PEOPLE WITH OBESITY, BUT ALSO THE VIEWS THEY HAVE ABOUT THEMSELVES WHEN THEY ARE SELF-DIRECTED.”
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CREDIT: VIDA FOROUHAR

The causes behind weight gain and obesity are complex, but many Canadians still hold negative attitudes and beliefs towards individuals who live with overweight and obesity.

Those attitudes are often held by people living with overweight and obesity themselves. These individuals have often internalized those feelings and blame their own behaviour for their size — an experience called weight bias internalization (WBI).

According to a new Concordia-led study, these feelings are present in individuals across the weight spectrum. However, they are more pronounced in people with higher body mass index (BMI) scores. And females are more likely to report WBI than males.

Writing in the journal BMC Public Health, the authors note that “44 percent of Canadians believe behavioural causes are very or extremely important in causing obesity, 38% for environmental causes, 28% for physiological and 27% for psychosocial causes.”

Those individuals who are more likely to believe in behavioural causes were also more likely to hold negative attitudes towards people with overweight or obesity. These negative attitudes are a concept known as explicit weight bias.

“This study looks at how the average person in Canada views not only obesity and people with obesity, but also the views they have about themselves when they view themselves negatively,” says lead author Vida Forouhar (MSc 22).

“Looking at this from a public health perspective helps us to better understand these attitudes to inform advocacy initiatives and weight bias reduction interventions.”

Internal and external biases

The researchers used data that was previously collected from a 2018 study. The study involved 942 demographically representative English-speaking Canadian adults who completed questionnaires about attitudes towards weight-related issues.

Their secondary analysis looked at answers from three specific questionnaires that measured respondents’ internalization of negative attitudes about weight, their beliefs about the different causes of obesity and their explicit weight bias.

Among their findings, the researchers noted that internalization of WBI — the extent to which a person self-stigmatizes their own weight and applies negative attitudes towards themselves — was present in every BMI category (normal/underweight, overweight, obesity).

High WBI rates were reported in 20 percent of those who were normal/underweight, in 29 percent who were overweight and in 51 percent in the group of people who had obesity.

Respondents most commonly endorsed overeating as a cause of obesity (71 percent of the sample), followed by physical inactivity (67 percent) and high fat diets (59 percent) — all behavioural causes.

Among the least endorsed were endocrine disorders (35 percent), repeated dieting (38 percent) and metabolic factors (41 percent), which are physiological and psychosocial causes.

Beliefs in behavioural causes of obesity were directly associated with explicit weight bias, while beliefs in physiological and psychosocial causes were negatively associated.

“You tend to have more negative attitudes towards people with obesity if you really believe that obesity is mostly a behavioural issue,” Forouhar says.

Forouhar works as a research coordinator in the Montreal Interdisciplinary Laboratory on Obesity and Health. Her co-author Angela Alberga, an associate professor and research chair in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, is the lab’s director.

She adds that WBI has been linked to increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, eating disorders and exercise avoidance in many other studies.

“Our study reflects that weight bias is prevalent everywhere and among everyone, regardless of body shape and size,” she says.

“It does not only affect people with obesity. We should be addressing weight bias more systematically rather than simply from a clinical perspective.”

Iyoma Y. Edache (Concordia MSc 2019 alumna and current PhD student at the University of British Columbia) and Ximena Ramos Salas of Replica Communications also contributed to this study.

Les Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Santé provided funding.

Read the cited paper: “Weight bias internalization and beliefs about the causes of obesity among the Canadian public.”

JOURNAL

BMC Public Health

DOI

10.1186/s12889-023-16454-5

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Weight bias internalization and beliefs about the causes of obesity among the Canadian public

COI STATEMENT

VF, IYE, and ASA authors declare that they have no competing interests. XRS is an independent research consultant. She owns a private research consulting agency in Sweden. XRS provides research consulting services to Obesity Canada, the European Association for the Study of Obesity, and the World Health Organization.

A new diagnostic tool to identify and treat pathological social withdrawal, Hikikomori

Researchers develop the Hikikomori Diagnostic Evaluation, or HiDE, as a diagnostic tool to better identify the pathology of extended social withdrawal, known as Hikikomori

Peer-Reviewed Publication

KYUSHU UNIVERSITY

Hikikomori, pathological social withdrawal — IMAGE:
HIKIKOMORI WAS FIRST RECOGNIZED IN JAPAN IN 1998. IT IS A PATHOLOGY CHARACTERIZED BY SUSTAINED PHYSICAL ISOLATION OR SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL FOR A PERIOD EXCEEDING SIX MONTHS, AND WHILE INITIALLY CONSIDERED A CULTURE-BOUND SYNDROME, RECENT EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN A MARKED GROWTH OF IT WORLDWIDE.
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CREDIT: KYUSHU UNIVERSITY/KATO LAB

Fukuoka, Japan—Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a new tool to help clinicians and researchers assess individuals for pathological social withdrawal, known as Hikikomori. The tool, called Hikikomori Diagnostic Evaluation, or HiDE, can be a practical guide on collecting information on this globally growing pathology.

Hikikomori is a condition characterized by sustained physical isolation or social withdrawal for a period exceeding six months. It was first defined in Japan in 1998, and while thought to be a Japan specific ‘culture-bound’ syndrome, recent evidence has shown a marked growth of it worldwide. Researchers and medical professionals also fear that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the increase of hikikomori patients across the globe.

However, there is yet to be a standardized tool to identify the hikikomori pathology. The new HiDE assessment tool, developed by Associate Professor Takahiro A. Kato of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences published in World Psychiatry, is intended to be the next step in a transcultural tool to help identify and assess hikikomori individuals.

In 2013, the Kyushu University hospital established the world's first outpatient clinic for hikikomori in the hopes to research the pathology and find better methods of treatment. Over the years, Kato and his team have developed different methods for early detection of hikikomori and has even been investigating possible biomarkers of the pathology.

"HiDE is a questionnaire we've been developing at our clinic at the University Hospital. We've refined it over the years, and today it takes roughly 5-20 minutes to complete depending on the answers," explains Kato. "It's primarily divided into two sections. The first section looks at the features of the patient's behavior to see if they exhibit hikikomori. The second section is used to help us gain context to the patient’s extent of social withdrawal."

The team has also added a screening form to the HiDE in case clinicians lack the time to administer the entire tool. They suggest that the full questionnaire be administered to patients who respond that they 'spend one hour or less per day out of their home, at least three days a week' and that 'their family, others, or are personally bothered by this.'

"The HiDE has proven to be an indispensable tool for the structured assessment of pathological social withdrawal in our clinical practice and research. But more empirical studies must be done to assess its validity beyond our practice," concludes Kato. "We would like to see this used by our colleagues around the world, so we can work to refine the tool. Hikikomori is becoming a global phenomenon, and a collective effort in recognizing and treating hikikomori is going to be vital."

###

For more information about this research, see "The Hikikomori Diagnostic Evaluation (HiDE): a proposal for a structured assessment of pathological social withdrawal," Alan R. Teo, Kazumasa Horie, Keita Kurahara, and Takahiro A. Kato World Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21123

About Kyushu University
Kyushu University is one of Japan's leading research-oriented institutes of higher education since its founding in 1911. Home to around 19,000 students and 8,000 faculty and staff, Kyushu U's world-class research centers cover a wide range of study areas and research fields, from the humanities and arts to engineering and medical sciences. Its multiple campuses—including one of the largest in Japan—are located around Fukuoka City, a coastal metropolis on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu that is frequently ranked among the world's most livable cities and historically known as Japan's gateway to Asia. Through its Vision 2030, Kyushu U will 'Drive Social Change with Integrative Knowledge.' Its synergistic application of knowledge will encompass all of academia and solve issues in society while innovating new systems for a better future.

JOURNAL

World Psychiatry

DOI

10.1002/wps.21123

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The Hikikomori Diagnostic Evaluation (HiDE): a proposal for a structured assessment of pathological social withdrawal

Video games may make it easier for teens to discuss mental health

Reports and Proceedings

RADBOUD UNIVERSITY NIJMEGEN

Depression is common among young people, but this target group often does not get the help they need. Books, exercise, and other depression prevention programmes do not achieve the envisioned results for everyone. Video games might help reach another part of this target group. Anouk Tuijnman co-developed two applied video games to target depression in adolescents and will defend her PhD at Radboud University on 28 November.

Previous research revealed limitations in the effectiveness of existing depression prevention programmes: improvements to those programmes did not lead to sufficient results, and the programmes were unable to effectively reach all young people. Tuijnman's research focused on the social context of depression: “A lot is happening in young people's lives when it comes to social interactions. Friends become increasingly important, but as a result, the impact of rejection on mental health also increases,” Tuijnman explains.

“I wanted to explore whether we could develop materials that help and support young people in finding help. In the process, my attention soon turned to video games. We were inspired by games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and Dark Souls, which we know have a positive impact for many people. Video games can provide an environment in which you can meet like-minded people, but also learn to deal with difficult moments.”

“Games have unique characteristics: they are a great learning environment to practice behaviour without consequences. We also know that interventions are more effective if they are entertaining and motivating. This is relevant because many existing anti-depression programmes can be quite boring. The message is more likely to stick if you use video games.”

Two video games

To test this hypothesis, Tuijnman joined forces with game developers to develop two applied video games: Moving Stories and ScrollQuest. In ScrollQuest, an action game, four players work together to defeat monsters and collect gold while responding to various social situations in the game's story. Tuijnman had fathers and sons play the game together to see how they reacted to these situations. “In the game, players get rejected. We explored whether fathers could guide their sons in dealing with these feelings of rejection. A first study found that the video game could successfully evoke feelings of rejection, and that the presence of fathers could mitigate negative feelings. But we did not observe any real learning moments yet. A second study showed that if young adults would play the game alone with online players, they could also experience feelings of rejection, but at the same time feel motivated to continue playing. We also found differences between young people who were more sensitive to rejection and those who were not.”

In Moving Stories, the players are concerned about Lisa, their fictional cousin, being depressed. They spend time with her in a house, trying to help her. They are presented with various options to help Lisa, which the virtual avatar then provides feedback on. Tuijnman: “We had an entire class play Moving Stories, after which we organised a Q&A session for the students with someone who had suffered from depression. We saw that participation reduced some of the stigma around mental health in secondary school. We also saw that conversations arose between students on the subject.”

Not a treatment tool (yet)

Tuijnman says that there are no plans to deploy the two video games in their current form. “If we want to do it well, we need more budget and time. However, ScrollQuest and Moving Stories do offer valuable insights for research and practice. They prove that video games have a lot of potential for improving mental health. In her current research, Tuijnman, who is now affiliated with the Trimbos Institute, is, among other things, looking at ways to help children and young people achieve a healthy digital balance in their lives.

Two video games

Not a treatment tool (yet)

This sea worm’s butt swims away, and now scientists know how

Armed with its own eyes, antennae, and swimming bristles, the posterior body part detaches for spawning. UTokyo scientists revealed its developmental mechanism for the first time.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

This sea worm's butt swims away — IMAGE:
A MATURE MEGASYLLIS NIPPONICA WITH A DEVELOPING FEMALE STOLON.
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CREDIT: NAKAMURA ET AL 2023

A research team, led by Professor Toru Miura from the University of Tokyo, shows how the expression of developmental genes in the Japanese green syllid worms, Megasyllis nipponica, helps form their swimming reproductive unit called stolon.

Life always finds ways to surprise us. The presence of a unique reproductive mechanism of some annelid worms or segmented worms is one such surprise. In a process called stolonization, the posterior body part with gonads of the syllid worm detaches from its original body. The detached part is called the stolon, and it is full of gametes (eggs or sperms). The stolon swims around by itself and spawns when it meets the opposite sex. Swimming autonomously would not only protect the original body from environmental dangers but could also help its gametes disperse over larger distances.

To swim autonomously, the stolons develop their own eyes, antennae, and swimming bristles while still attached to their original body. But how does the stolon head form in the middle of the original body?

The mystery surrounding the development of the stolon’s head within the original body has long perplexed scientists. Professor Miura’s research, driven by a keen interest in the evolutionary transitions of developmental systems in animal life cycles, has finally brought clarity to this intriguing phenomenon. Careful histological and morphological observations revealed that the stolon formation starts with the maturation of gonads in the posterior end. Then forms a head in the anterior part of the developing stolon. Sense organs such as eyes and antennae, and swimming bristles form soon after. Before the stolon detaches, it develops nerves and a ‘brain’ to sense and behave independently.

To understand the development of stolon’s head, Miura and his team investigated the developmental gene expression patterns of the sexually maturing worms. A well-known group of head formation genes are known to define the head region of various animals. Miura and team found that these genes are expressed more in the head region of the stolon. Typically, the head formation genes are not expressed as much in the middle of the body. But during gonad development in syllids, head formation genes are highly expressed in the middle of the posterior end of the original body. “This shows how normal developmental processes are modified to fit the life history of animals with unique reproductive styles,” explains Miura.

Hox genes determine the body segmentation along the syllids’ body. Miura and team thought that those genes would be expressed differently along the anterior-posterior axis. “Interestingly, the expressions of Hox genes that determine body-part identity were constant during the process,” says Miura. As a result, the stolons lack differentiated digestive tract and have repeated uniform body segments (except for the head and tail). “This indicates that only the head part is induced at the posterior body part to control spawning behavior for reproduction.”

The study not only revealed the developmental mechanism of stolons for the first time but also sparked further inquiry into the intricacies of this bizarre reproductive method. “We would like to clarify the sex determination mechanism and the endocrine regulations underlying the reproductive cycles in syllids,” concludes Miura.

A swimming Megasyllis nipponic [VIDEO] |

A schematic diagram showing the developmental process of stolonization.

CAPTION
The top illustration shows staging based on morphological characteristics. The lower bands show the transitions in gene expressions upregulated in anterior (blue) and posterior (orange) body parts.
CREDIT
Nakamura et al 2023

JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-023-46358-8

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Morphological, Histological and Gene-Expression Analyses on Stolonization in the Japanese Green Syllid, Megasyllis nipponica (Annelida, Syllidae)

New study on experience of adopted people as they become parents

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Becoming a parent is a key turning point for adopted people

Parenting is always challenging, but for adopted people becoming a mum or dad can be extra demanding, as well as extra special – according to research from the University of East Anglia.

A new study is the first in to investigate the lived experiences of adopted people in the UK as they become parents.

It finds that they are affected by issues that link back to their adoption and to difficult experiences in their past – related to loss, rejection, abuse and neglect.

Because of these difficult early experiences, many adoptees experience significant challenges, particularly as teenagers and young adults.

These included mental health problems, emotional and behavioural difficulties, education and employment, relationship problems, and substance misuse.

But while many people were parenting under the pressure of also trying to manage these challenges, becoming a mum or dad was often a key turning point and a motivation to turn their lives around.

Lead researcher Prof Beth Neil, from UEA’s School of Social Work, said: “Adoption is a life-changing event, and it is really important to understand how people are affected throughout their whole life - not just in childhood.

“Becoming a parent is a key life experience, but the research on adopted people becoming parents is very limited and has not tended to include people adopted through the child protection system, or the experiences of adopted men as fathers.

“We wanted to better understand the issues faced by people who are adopted, as they become parents themselves.”

The team worked with 20 adopted men and 20 adopted women – who were interviewed about their experiences.

Most of the participants were in their 20s and 30s and all had been adopted under the age of 12 – with two thirds having been adopted through the child protection system.

Almost a quarter of the parents in the study were not living with their children - including some who had themselves lost their children to care or adoption.

Prof Neil said: “We guided them to break down their life into key chapters and talk through the high points, the low points and the turning points that were most significant to them. We wanted to understand adopted people’s life stories in their own words.

“What we found is that when adopted people become parents, lots of issues can come up that link back to their adoption and to difficult experiences in their past such as issues of loss, rejection, abuse and neglect.

“For some, having their first child meant meeting the first person in their life that they had a biological connection to. Others were afraid they would not bond with their child or that their child would reject them.

“Because many of the participants had a history of abuse and neglect, thinking about their birth parents often raised anxieties that they would parent their own child poorly.

“The flipside of this was the determination to try and break cycles of abuse, and we saw that for many, becoming a parent was a positive turning point.

“Because the often-difficult backgrounds of the parents, many reported problems in their teenage years and as young adults with mental health, education and employment, substance misuse, relationships with parents and partners.

“Often these problems were ongoing when they became a mum or dad, threatening their parenting and playing into their biggest fear - that they might repeat negative cycles of neglect or abuse with their own children.

“Sadly, many adoptees feared that asking for help and expressing worries would lead to scrutiny of their parenting.

“Most people were managing well in their role as mum and dad, but a minority were still struggling with difficult problems, and a small number of parents had experienced their worst fear - the removal of their own children. For parents who were judged unable to look after their own children, not ‘breaking the cycle’ was devastating.”

The team say that support for adopted adults with mental health problems is a particularly pressing need, as parental mental health problems are a strong mediating factor in the link between childhood adversity and compromised parenting.

Where adoptees are still struggling with these issues when they become a parent, then support is needed at that life stage.

But ideally, the adoption system needs to recognise the need to provide support to adoptive families much earlier on, to prevent the difficulties that often become particularly challenging during the teenage years.

The study found that identity issues raised by both men and women were very similar. This is important because almost all previous research had focused just on mothers. But fathers also felt deeply about the impact of adoption on their life, and issues linked to adoption came up for them when they became dads.

“This research highlights the need for more support for adopted people both in childhood and when they become parents themselves,” added Prof Neil.

This study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

‘How do adopted adults see the significance of adoption and being a parent in their life stories? A narrative analysis of 40 life story interviews with male and female adoptees’ is published in the journal Children and Youth Services Review.

JOURNAL

Children and Youth Services Review

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

How do adopted adults see the significance of adoption and being a parent in their life stories? A narrative analysis of 40 life story interviews with male and female adoptees

Monday, November 27, 2023

JOURNAL

DOI

METHOD OF RESEARCH

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

ARTICLE TITLE

Internal and external biases

JOURNAL

DOI

METHOD OF RESEARCH

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

ARTICLE TITLE

COI STATEMENT

JOURNAL

DOI

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

ARTICLE TITLE

Two video games

Not a treatment tool (yet)

Two video games

Not a treatment tool (yet)

CAPTION

CREDIT

JOURNAL

DOI

METHOD OF RESEARCH

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

ARTICLE TITLE

JOURNAL

METHOD OF RESEARCH

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

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