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Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses
Get PDFVery few genetic variants have been associated with depression and neuroticism, likely because of limitations on sample size in previous studies. Subjective well-being, a phenotype that is genetically correlated with both of these traits, has not yet been studied with genome-wide data. We conducted genome-wide association studies of three phenotypes: subjective well-being
(n = 298,420), depressive symptoms (n = 161,460), and neuroticism (n = 170,911). We identify 3 variants associated with subjective well-being, 2 variants associated with depressive symptoms, and 11 variants associated with neuroticism, including 2 inversion polymorphisms. The two loci associated with depressive symptoms replicate in an independent depression sample. Joint analyses that exploit the high genetic correlations between the phenotypes (|ˆ |≈ 0.8) strengthen the overall credibility of the findings and allow us to identify additional variants. Across our phenotypes, loci regulating expression in central nervous system and adrenal or pancreas tissues are strongly enriched for association
The Choices and Constraints of Secondary Singles: Willingness to Stepparent Among Divorced Online Daters Across Europe
Get PDFUsing a large-scale sample of online daters in eight European countries (N = 196,777), we examine willingness to stepparent among divorcees in relation to both gender and number of children, as well as a set of contextual determinants. We find evidence that having one’s own resident children increases the readiness to partner someone with children. Contrary to previous findings, women are generally less willing to stepparent than men, but when resident children are present, gender dissimilarities fade. Notable national differences are also found. Divorced mothers living in Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, or France are more open to having a partner with children, whereas Polish and Spanish divorced mothers would be less willing to stepparent. These results are interpreted in light of each country’s institutional background
MethodsNews newsletter 2016: 1
Get PDFIn this issue:
1. New NCRM Explore site
2. The value and place of qualitative research in science policy-making
3. Creative research methods: the story so far
4. The NCRM first International Visitor Exchange Scheme fellowships
5. Reflecting on the NCRM Autumn School: “Radical interdisciplinarity in the social sciences”
6. Variation within households in consent to link survey data to administrative records: Evidence from the UK Millenium Cohort Study
7. Consultation on training needs in advanced social science research methods
8. Latest research methods audio and vide
The Interconnectedness of Methodological and Pedagogical Innovation
Get PDFThere are increasingly well-understood incentives to innovate in social science research methods, spurred by factors including the affordances of new technologies, a pluralistic methods culture, and the value placed on innovation and interdisciplinarity by research councils. While some claims to innovation are exaggerated, researchers respond to a fast-changing social and data landscape - in which methods gaps call to be filled - with processes of inception, adaptation and adoption of methods. Simultaneously, corresponding calls to build methodological capacity amongst researchers are inevitable. To this end, our research explores the nature of innovation in methods and the sometimes-interconnected innovation in the teaching and learning of those methods. Using expert panel method, we have conducted interviews with eight UK and 13 international specialists/leaders in the teaching and learning of advanced research methods. Following thematic analysis, we have explored the resonance of key ideas across experts and amongst methods teachers and learners.
In this paper we discuss the contextual nature of both kinds of innovation, the sustainability issues, and the overlap in the communities involved in both tasks (e.g. how methods learners advance methods). We explore the risks and rewards of innovation as those involved straddle the ground between the established and the new, creatively respond to necessity, tackle inertia and contribute to a culture of sharing and developing both methodological and pedagogical expertise. We ask whether new research methods demand new pedagogies and look at the role data play in the moving interplay of methods for research and methods for teaching
