Social isolation and psychological distress among southern US college students in the era of COVID-19

Objective: To examine the prevalence of psychological distress and its association with social isolation among University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) students. Methods A cross-sectional survey was emailed to all students in June 2020. Students reported self-isolating none, some, most, or all of the time and were screened for clinically significant symptoms of depression (CSSD). Data were weighted to the UNC-CH population. Results: 7,012 students completed surveys-64% reported self-isolating most or all of the time and 64% reported CSSD. Compared to those self-isolating none of the time, students self-isolating some of the time were 1.78 (95% CI 1.37-2.30) times as likely to report CSSD, and students self-isolating most and all of the time were 2.12 (95% CI 1.64-2.74) and 2.27 (95% CI 1.75-2.94) times as likely to report CSSD, respectively. Conclusions: Universities should prioritize student mental health and prepare support services to mitigate mental health consequences of the pandemic.

Measures of Populism in the CHES 2017 Dataset

Populism is a fuzzy concept in world politics; it can take many shapes and colors, thus evading rigorous definition. Using expert evaluations provided in Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) 2017 data, we try to identify features that predict populism and to characterize various European parties on a populism scale. As a byproduct, we find that experts have often diverging opinions on a party’s stance on various issues. Keywords: populism, CHES 2017, EU politics