Exposure to Suicidal Behavior and Social Support Among Sexual- and Gender-Minority Youth

Internet addiction and social support in the association between learning burnout and emotional behavioral problems among returned migrant middle school students: a serial multiple mediations analysis

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this study were to explore emotional behavioral problems (EBP) associated with learning burnout (LB) among returned migrant middle school students. In addition, the mediating mechanism of internet addiction (IA) and social support (SS) in this relationship was investigated. We also verified the chain-mediating effect of IA and SS on the EBP of returned migrant middle school students and LB.

METHODS

This study used the sample data collected from the "Health Status Survey of Middle School Students in Guizhou Province, China" conducted by the research group. The baseline survey of 36 secondary schools from December 2021 to January 2022 in Guizhou Provine, China. Based on this sample data, middle school students who met the following conditions were selected as study subjects. 2020 returned migrant secondary school students were finally obtained as the subjects of this study. The Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ), Adolescent Student Burnout Scale (ASBI), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and Social Support Scale (SSS) were used to assess EBP, LB, IA, and SS among returned migrant secondary school students. Serial multiple mediation analysis and the bootstrap method were used to investigate the mediation effects of IA and SS (PROCESS model 6).

RESULTS

Prevalence of EBP was classified in the abnormal (11.9%) or borderline (17.1%) categories based on the total difficulties scores among returned migrant middle school students. A serial multiple mediation model was generated. The mediation effect of IA and SS on the pathway from LB to EBP was 31.25% (direct effect = 0.373, total indirect effect = 0.170). The association between LB and SS was partially mediated by IA (direct effect=-0.356, indirect effect=-0.065). The proposed model fits the data well.

CONCLUSION

This study found that lower IA and higher SS can effectively reduce EBP caused by LB among returned migrant middle school students. It is suggested that parents, schools, and government departments pay attention to IA and SS problems caused by LB in returned migrant middle school students, and prevent and avoid EBP. Returned migrant middle school students should take the initiative to identify the factors that harm their physical and mental health for self-regulation, and establish reliable SS, rather than meet psychological needs through IA, to reduce the occurrence of EBP.

Help-Seeking Among Children Impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation: A Scoping Review

This scoping review aims to summarize current research on help-seeking behaviors and patterns among children who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) victimization and/or are at high risk of exploitation. Because the literature on help-seeking specific to CSEC victimization is limited, the current review was expanded to summarize findings from help-seeking research for children who have experienced harms that often co-occur with CSEC, such as maltreatment and homelessness. The authors searched three large article databases (PsycInfo, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science) for articles that were (a) empirical; (b) measured or used the term "help-seeking" in their framing and/or results; (c) included children between the ages of 12 and 18; (d) primarily focused on children from the United States; (e) published in English. Ultimately, 22 articles met all inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Results suggest that cisgender white females are the most likely to seek help, followed by sexual and gender minority children. Cisgender male children were the least likely to engage in help-seeking behaviors. Universally, children were more likely to engage in informal help-seeking rather than formal help-seeking, with younger children being more likely to reach out to parents and older children more likely to reach out to friends. Importantly, ethnically diverse children were under-represented, leading to limited information about how and why these children seek help. Implications for help-seeking by children impacted by commercial sexual exploitation are discussed, providing guidance for programming and research related to CSEC prevention.

Social Support, Psychological Strain, and Suicidality: Evidence from Chinese Universities

This study aimed to apply psychological strain theory to explore the relationship between psychological strain and suicidality among Chinese young adults with a moderating effect of perceived social support. A questionnaire was administered with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), and Psychological Strain Scale (PSS) among 13,250 college students across China. The main determinants of suicidal behavior were examined with multiple linear regression. Two steps of multiple regression were employed to define the moderating effect of social support. A positive relationship between psychological strain and suicidality was reported in the study, and social support was confirmed as a moderating factor between psychological strain and suicidal behavior.

Overlap Between Exposure to Suicidal Behavior and Indirect Interpersonal Violence: Evidence for a More Integrated Approach to Violence Research

This study examines the overlap between indirect exposure to forms of interpersonal violence and suicidal behavior, and the impact of the co-occurrence of these exposures on indicators of depressed mood and substance use among adolescents. Participants were a national sample of 3,917 youth aged 14-15 years, recruited online between June 2018 and March 2020, including an oversample of sexual and gender minority youth. Eight in ten (81.3%) youth reported exposure to indirect interpersonal violence and/or suicidal behavior in their lifetimes: 39.5% reported only interpersonal violence exposure, 5.9% only suicidal behavior exposure, and 35.9% reported both. Youth who reported exposure to interpersonal violence were almost three times more likely (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.78, p < .001) to also report suicidal behavior exposure. Compared with youth having no indirect violence exposure, those with only interpersonal violence exposure were 2.25 times more likely (p < .001), those with only exposure to suicidal behavior 2.93 times more likely (p < .001), and those with both were 5.63 times more likely to report recent depressed mood. The unadjusted odds of any substance use was significantly elevated for each type of indirect violence exposure, with the highest odds seen among youth with dual interpersonal violence and suicide exposure (OR = 4.87, p < .001). For both outcomes, significant findings remained but were attenuated after adjusting for demographic characteristics, non-victimization adversity exposure, and cumulative direct victimization. Findings suggest that the combination of exposure to interpersonal violence and suicidal behavior appears to be particularly impactful. Results highlight that assessment of trauma exposure among adolescents needs to be more comprehensive and include not only direct and indirect interpersonal violence, but also knowledge of other people's suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for youth with a history of exposure to self-directed violence

OBJECTIVE

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created a sudden shift in the social lives of youth with important negative impacts on mental health. The current article aims to understand how the pandemic may have differentially impacted the mental health of adolescents and young adults with recent (1 year or less) and past (> 1 year) exposure to self-directed violence (SDV).

METHOD

Data were collected online from 990 youth and young adults, aged 13-23 years between November 27, 2020 and December 11, 2020.

RESULTS

Participants who had recently been exposed to SDV reported being more impacted by the pandemic and had poorer mental health indicators. Participants with past SDV exposure who engaged in a high number of prosocial activities (e.g., talking with friends) were less likely to report depressive symptoms (β = -.13, p = .01) than similarly engaged nonexposed participants; the same was true for recently exposed participants (β = -.14, p = .02).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young people are compounded by exposure to mental health concerns of people in their network. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Voices of Youth and Emerging Adults on Suicide Prevention: Experiences and Expectations

Self-directed violence (SDV) is a significant public health issue for adolescents and emerging adults, and yet youth exposure to prevention messaging and youth perspectives on SDV prevention needs are understudied. The current study sought to better understand the ways in which a national sample of youth and emerging adults were exposed to suicide prevention programs or conversations. A sample of 1031 young people ages 13-23 were recruited nationally through social media. Survey questions asked about SDV prevention exposure. Open-ended questions asked youth to suggest additional information they desired about SDV. A majority of participants (87%) reported that they had received prevention exposure from at least one source (i.e., family, online, attending a talk, or formal program) with few differences by demographic characteristics. However, sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth reported accessing more SDV prevention information online compared to other youth. Overall, youth had many ideas about what additional information they needed, including how to help someone at risk for SDV and how to access information about mental health. While the majority of youth are receiving some SDV prevention messages, there is variation in how they get this information, and survey participants still felt they were missing important information. Findings highlight the need to resource more comprehensive SDV prevention for youth and young adults.

Youth Characteristics Associated With Sexual Violence Perpetration Among Transgender Boys and Girls, Cisgender Boys and Girls, and Nonbinary Youth

Importance

Gender minority adults experience higher rates of sexual violence (SV) than cisgender adults. How this disparity extends to youths, including perpetration rates, is unknown.

Objective

To compare rates of experience and perpetration of SV by gender identity and investigate characteristics associated with odds of perpetration within gender identity categories.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study used baseline data from a national online longitudinal survey collected in 2018 to 2020. Eligible participants were youths ages 14 to 16 years who read English and had internet access. Data were analyzed in November 2021 and March 2022.

Exposures

Youth characteristics included stressors associated with being marginalized (eg, internalized transphobia), general stressors (eg, trauma not associated with experiencing SV), other marginalized statuses (eg, identifying as a girl), factors associated with protection (eg, social support), environmental characteristics (eg, community violence exposure), and risk factors associated with SV (eg, consumption of violent pornography).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Self-reported rates of experiencing and perpetrating SV, defined as sexual assault, rape, attempted rape, and coercive sex, among cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary youths.

Results

Among 4193 youths in the sample (mean [SD] age, 14.8 [0.7] years), 3282 participants (78.3%) were cisgender, 329 participants (7.9%) were transgender, and 582 participants (13.9%) were nonbinary. The odds of SV perpetration were not statistically significantly different for transgender boys and girls (odds ratio [OR], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.57-1.41; P = .64) or nonbinary youths (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.54-1.12; P = .18) compared with cisgender boys and girls. By contrast, transgender boys and girls (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.83-2.91; P < .001) and nonbinary youths (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.98-2.83; P < .001) were more than 2-fold as likely as cisgender boys and girls to report experiencing SV. Aggressive behavior was associated with higher odds of SV perpetration for transgender boys and girls (adjusted OR [aOR], 1.87; 95% CI, 0.75-4.65; P = .18) and nonbinary youths (aOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 0.78-3.32; P = .20). Indications of hostile masculinity were associated with higher odds of SV perpetration among cisgender youths (ie, positive attitudes for boys to engage in rape behaviors: aOR per unit increase in score, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.07-1.25; P < .001; sexual dominance: aOR per unit increase in score, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04; P < .001) but not among transgender or nonbinary youths.

Conclusion and Relevance

These findings may suggest an important foundation for the development of inclusive, research-based SV prevention programs and methods for incorporating gender identity effectively into SV research.

What Youth Think About Participating in Research About Exposure to Self-directed Violence

PURPOSE

To help reduce suicide and other forms of self-harm, research with youth and their exposure to self-directed violence is critical. Yet, we know little about how participants feel about taking part in a survey that asks about such exposure. The present article aims to understand the survey experience of youth and young adult participants in a study about exposure to self-directed violence.

METHODS

A total of 990 participants, aged 13-23 years, were recruited through study advertisements on Facebook and Instagram between November 27, 2020, and December 4, 2020. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected in the United States.

RESULTS

A total of 37.6% of participants felt somewhat upset from their survey experience, and 14.9% were upset or extremely upset with the highest levels of upset reported by cisgender sexual minority girls and gender minority youth. Lower odds of saying one's contributions were valuable were noted for cisgender sexual minority boys and gender minority youth compared to cisgender heterosexual boys, as well as youth who reported exposure to self-directed violence. Eight in 10 youth felt it was important to ask questions about self-directed violence exposure in surveys.

CONCLUSIONS

The research and practitioner communities should be particularly mindful of high-risk populations and identify innovative ways to better support and encourage their voice in research, as well as highlight the value of their participation. The results provide some guidance for those conducting research with youth on this topic.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Perceptions of Health and Well-Being Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents and Emerging Adults

Purpose: The study purpose was to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic may be differentially impacting the well-being of sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth compared with their non-SGM counterparts. Specifically, we looked at perceptions of mental and physical health impact and relevant aspects of coping with the pandemic such as engagement in prosocial activities that might ultimately promote resilience. Methods: Survey data were collected between November 27, 2020, and December 11, 2020, from 990 adolescents and emerging adults aged 13-23 years. Participants were recruited through advertisements on Facebook and Instagram with an effort to overrecruit SGM youth. Questions asked youth about their perception of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their physical and mental health, the types of prosocial activities engaged in during the pandemic, and how they felt they were doing now versus before the pandemic. Results: SGM youth reported a significantly greater impact from the pandemic than non-SGM youth. Both SGM youth and cisgender heterosexual females reported greater impact on their mental health compared with cisgender heterosexual males, with cisgender sexual minority females and gender minority youth reporting the highest mental health impact. Gender minority youth also reported feeling less connected to their families and less safe at home as a result of the pandemic. Conclusion: Health professionals, educators, and advocates need to help assess SGM youth for negative impact from the pandemic and help them connect with other youth and support resources online as they move forward. Youth may also benefit from programs connecting them to volunteer work and neighbors.

Exposure to Self-Directed Violence: Understanding Intention to Help and Helping Behaviors among Adolescents and Emerging Adults

Exposure to self-directed violence (SDV) is a public health issue. Prevention trains third parties to identify SDV risk and provide help. However, we know little about the range of help provided to those who engage in SDV. The current study used a cross-sectional online survey of 1031 adolescents and emerging adults to learn about their SDV exposure, intent and attempts to help, and barriers to helping. Most participants reported SDV exposure, commonly by a peer, and provided help. Regression analyses showed that intent to help was predicted by social norms and having knowledge of resources, and such knowledge (but not social norms) was also related to actual helping behaviors. Qualitative analysis of short open-ended questions on the survey documented a range of barriers to helping. Findings support but also encourage revision of theoretical models of helping upon which prevention programs are based.