Predictors of Personal Recovery of People with Severe Mental Illness in a Chinese Society: a Cross-Sectional Study with a Random Sample Abstract This research study aims to identify the psychosocial factors predicting the personal recovery of people with severe mental illness in a Chinese society. A cross-sectional research design was adopted that involved a random sample of 266 community-dwelling people with severe mental illness in Hong Kong. These individuals were assessed in terms of their personal recovery, self-esteem, and self-stigma by using standardized assessment scales. While personal recovery is related to and/or predicted by various psychosocial factors, the results of hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses showed that self-stigma subscales were significant predictors of personal recovery, while self-worth was the strongest predictor of personal recovery. Thus, it is important to enhance the sense of self-worth and reduce self-stigma of people with severe mental illness to facilitate their personal recovery.

Brand Knowledge, Similarity to Story Characters and Perceived Influence of Gambling Advertising Among Spanish Sports Bettors: a Survey Study Abstract The saturation of advertising stimuli to gamble has become a major source of concern in many countries, especially when it comes to sports betting. Despite the growth of advertising restrictions, very few evidence-based recommendations are readily available for policymakers. Furthermore, advertising is a cultural construct, and country-specific studies are needed to address the singularities of each market. The present paper provides empirical evidence concerning the impact of advertising gathered from a survey-based research with Spanish sports bettors (N = 659). The results indicate that those gamblers experiencing more severe gambling problems also report higher knowledge of bookmakers’ brands, higher similarity to the main story characters in sports betting advertisements and a higher perceived influence of advertising on their behaviour. The results also found no differences between age and gender in terms of advertising impact. These findings will help inform Spanish regulation that seeks to reduce the negative effects of advertising.

Stopped, Delayed or Discouraged: What Are the Barriers for Adolescents Fully Engaging in the Mental Health System? Abstract The aim of this study is to identify factors that stopped, discouraged or delayed mental health help-seeking in adolescents. An Online survey of 113 adolescents aged 14–18 years old, living in Perth, Western Australia, was conducted. For participants who had not yet accessed a mental health service, the top barrier was ‘Having no-one who could help me get professional care’ (62%). For participants who had previously accessed a mental health service, the top barrier was ‘Previous experiences with a mental health service were not helpful’ (63%). Major reported barriers in this population included financial costs, negative past experiences and having no one to help access professional care.

The Mental Health Impact of Cyber Sexual Violence on Youth Identity Abstract Cyber sexual violence (Cyber-SV) is an intentional act to control, shame, and humiliate emerging young women (EYW) and includes all forms of online gender and sexual exploitation with the potential of endangering EYW’s personal privacy and safety offline. Cyber-SV is perpetuated by both male and female who may or may not be known to EYW but who participate in recording, [re]distributing, and observing textual and graphical images/videos, with or without their consent. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative research which relied on anti-oppression and gender-transformative health promotion framework to explore mental health impacts of Cyber-SV on EYW identity. Based on our findings, schools and academic institutions are the primary spaces and places where Cyber-SV against EYW takes place. However, according to research participants, these institutions are not equipped with the knowledge and expertise to intervene, prevent, and offer support. The mental health impacts of Cyber-SY are complex and long term affecting EYW’s personal and social life. Participants recommended the need for more public education and awareness of Cyber-SV for health care professionals. There is also a need for progressive changes in criminal and privacy law that promote gender equity and prevent Cyber-SV against EYW.

Family Members’ Experiences: People with Comorbid Bipolar and Substance Use Disorder Abstract People with comorbid bipolar and substance use disorders are complex, whose families experienced challenges contributing significantly to their burden of care. The aim of the study was to explore these lived experiences of family members caring for relatives, as well as the situations or contexts in which they experience these. A qualitative phenomenological research approach with explorative, descriptive research designs was adopted. In-depth phenomenological interviews were done with six purposive selected participants. Phenomenological data analyses focusing on the textural (lived experience) and structural (the context in which it was experienced) were followed after data collection. The lived experiences of participants included feelings of helplessness and emotional and physical exhaustion, as well as the causes of these feelings. The situations contributing to these feelings included non-compliance with prescribed medicine for bipolar disorder combined with drug abuse as well as a threat to the safety of the patient and others, stigmatisation, embarrassment and shame.

Patterns of Online Activities and Related Psychosocial Factors in Adolescence: a Latent Class Analysis Abstract Special attention should be paid to the types of online activities in which adolescents engage, along with frequencies of the activities. Thus, we aimed to identify homogeneous subgroups of adolescents using five online activities and to examine differences in 12 characteristics across the subgroups we identified. We cross-sectionally analyzed nationally representative secondary data collected in Korea (N = 1827 adolescents who used a computer at the time of the survey). We performed latent class analysis, which is a person-centered approach, to understand the patterns of online activities in adolescence. A three-latent-class model best fit the data: frequent use for academics (FUA), non-frequent use for all activities (NFUAA), and frequent use for multiple activities (FUMA). In general, the FUA class differed from the other two classes. Specifically, the FUA class spent less time online and had better psychosocial conditions. Given these findings, health professionals should implement strategies aimed at assisting (a) adolescents to be aware that some types of online activities can potentially pose a risk to their psychosocial conditions and (b) parents to actively participate in guiding children’s Internet use.

Tobacco Use in South African Emergency Centre Patients: Opportunities for Intervention Abstract Tobacco-attributable deaths in South Africa have increased since 1990, yet data are scanty from healthcare settings. Internationally, emergency centre (EC) visits are increasingly utilised as opportunities for health risk behaviour screening and intervention, but this is not the case in South Africa. Effective advocacy for these services requires data on the prevalence and correlates of tobacco use among South African EC patients. The study objectives were to investigate tobacco prevalence and associated factors in ECs. Demographics, hospital presentation and substance use data were collected as part of a screening and brief intervention programme for alcohol and drugs in three ECs. We conducted descriptive statistics and utilised logistic regression to examine the associations of demographics, presenting complaint and substance use with moderate–high risk-tobacco use as the dependent variable. Of 12,522 patients screened, 37.0% used tobacco and 35.7% showed moderate–high risk for tobacco-related harms. Factors associated with tobacco-related harms included male gender and moderate–high risk for other substances. Of the patients who met criteria and received an intervention for alcohol or drugs, 65.5% were at moderate–high risk for tobacco-related harms. Given the high prevalence of tobacco use among patients attending ECs, intervening on this platform has the potential to reduce risk for non-communicable disease.

Association of Substance Use Patterns with Psychiatric Disorders in Homeless Persons with Psychiatric Disorders in Vancouver Abstract Substance use and psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent in persons experiencing homelessness. We aimed to investigate the associations between the patterns of substance use and risk behaviors with specific psychiatric disorders in homeless persons with psychiatric disorders using baseline data of the Vancouver sample (N = 494) of the At Home/Chez Soi study. Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed with the MINI Neuropsychiatric Interview 6.0, and substance use was assessed with the Maudsley Addiction Profile. In a multivariate analysis, major depressive disorder was associated with the use of stimulants and benzodiazepines, respectively. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was associated with stimulant use. Panic disorder was associated with alcohol and benzodiazepine use, respectively. Opioid use was less common in participants with a psychotic disorder. Injection use of drugs occurred more often among participants with major depressive disorder, PTSD, and mood disorder with psychotic features. Awareness of these associations will be useful for clinicians for targeted prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this population.

Sharing, Group-Buying, Social Supply, Offline and Online Dealers: how Users in a Sample from Six European Countries Procure New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Abstract Given the multiple ways of regulations and market situations for new psychoactive substances (NPS), it is of interest how NPS users procure their drugs in different countries as well as in different user groups. Data comes from a face-to-face and online survey conducted in six EU countries, covering three groups of current (12-month) adult NPS users: (1) socially marginalized, (2) users in night life, and (3) users in online communities. While the supply situation differed considerably between countries, friends were the most prevalent source for buying, followed by online shops and private dealers. Marginalized users were more likely to buy from dealers, while online respondents showed the highest rates for buying online. While buying NPS from online or offline shops was relatively prevalent, we also found high rates for social supply and buying from dealers. A considerable part of this market may be classified as “social online supply,” with private suppliers procuring their drugs online. The market features among marginalized users resemble more those of illicit drug markets than those for other NPS users.

Gender Differences in the Association Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Perpetration: The Role of Anger Rumination and Traditional Bullying Experiences Abstract Studies investigating the similarities and differences in traditional bullying and cyberbullying experiences have demonstrated considerable gender differences concerning its determinants. The aim of the present study was to provide further evidence for the differential role of determinants for males and females by investigating the moderating role of traditional bullying and anger rumination in the relationship of past cyberbullying victimization and recent cyberbullying perpetration in respect to gender. A total of 1500 Hungarian adolescents and adults (57.9% male, Mage = 28.9 years, SD = 8.7) completed an online survey on bullying experiences. Results indicated that males were more likely than females to engage in cyberbullying when they had been previously bullied online. Furthermore, high anger rumination elevated the risk of perpetration among male cyberbullying victims, while repeated victimization in traditional bullying increased the risk of cyberbullying perpetration among females. These results underline the importance of considering gender differences in intervention efforts against bullying.