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Insights into adolescent well‐being from computerised analysis of written language
Author(s) -
Shearer Natalie J.,
Gillespie Alan.,
Olds Tim S.,
Mensah Fiona K.,
Edwards Ben,
Fernando Julian W.,
Wang Yichao,
Wake Melissa,
Lycett Kate
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15813
Subject(s) - psychosocial , medicine , plural , quality of life (healthcare) , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , life satisfaction , psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy , nursing
Aim To examine associations between patterns of language use and early adolescent well‐being. Methods Participants were 1763 Australian 11‐ to 12‐year‐olds in the Child Health CheckPoint. Six patterns of language use were identified from a writing activity using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count and factor analysis: Acting in the present and future , Positive emotion , Gender and relationships , Self‐aware, Inquisitive and time focused, and Confident . Well‐being measures represented a spectrum from negatively to positively framed psychosocial health. Associations between language use and well‐being were estimated using linear regression adjusted for age, sex and social disadvantage. Results Positive emotion (high emotional tone, positive emotion) was associated with better general well‐being (standardised regression coefficient (SRC) 0.05; 95% confidence interval 0.00 to 0.11; p = 0.04), life satisfaction (0.06; 0.01 to 0.11; p = 0.03), psychosocial health (0.07; 0.02 to 0.12; p = 0.01) and quality of life (QoL) (0.06; 0.01 to 0.11; p = 0.02). Similarly, Self‐aware (high first person singular pronouns, authentic, low clout) was associated with better general well‐being, life satisfaction and psychosocial health (SRC 0.05, 0.09, 0.08), but Confident (high clout, first person plural pronouns, affiliation) was associated with worse life satisfaction, psychosocial health and QoL (SRC −0.06, −0.09, −0.06). Conclusion If replicated in ‘real‐world’ settings (e.g., social media), language patterns could provide naturalistic insights into early adolescents’ well‐being.