Victimization Experiences and Mental Health Outcomes Among Grades 7 to 12 Students in Manitoba, Canada

Social anxiety mediates between victimization experiences and internet addiction among adolescents: results from propensity score matching

Background

Previous research has indicated that Victimization Experiences (VE) may be linked to a heightened likelihood of developing psychological symptoms and Internet Addiction (IA) among adolescents. However, the precise mechanism through which VE contributes to IA in adolescents remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate whether Social Anxiety (SA) serves as a mediation between VE and IA, utilizing the framework of General Strain Theory.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey among 11 middle schools or high schools in Macao was conducted from October to December 2022. Respondents in the victimized group and non-victimized group were 1:1 paired using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to control the potential confounding factors.

Results

A total of 1,089 questionnaires were valid for analysis and 311 pairs were generated through PSM. Respondents in the victimized group reported significantly higher IA than those in non-victimized group (23.5% vs. 12.5%, p < 0.001) after PSM treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that VE (p = 0.015, OR = 1.750, 95% CI = 1.115 to 2.746, E-value = 2.90) and SA (p < 0.001, OR = 1.052, 95% CI = 1.030 to 1.074, E-value = 1.29) were the predictors of IA. The model successfully classified 81.7% of cases overall (R 2 N = 0.133). Further analysis indicated that SA mediates between VE and IA (Z = 3.644, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This study revealed the potential mediation effect of SA on the link between VE and IA. By acknowledging the mediating influence of SA, researchers and practitioners can develop more accurate and effective strategies to mitigate Internet Addiction among adolescents.

The Differential Effects of Childhood and Chronic Bullying Victimization on Health and Risky Health Behaviors

We examine the heterogeneous effects of childhood bullying victimization and chronic bullying victimization on a wide range of outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in the United States. Bullying victimization is categorized as childhood or chronic depending on the duration of victimization. We find that bullying victimization negatively affects the physical and mental health of youths, and increases the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors, such as, smoking and marijuana use. The adverse effects tend to increase in magnitude with chronic bullying victimization. In addition, chronic bullying victimization increases the likelihood of utilizing mental health services and experiencing life-disrupting emotional problems in adulthood.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-023-00542-0.

Temperature impacts on hate speech online: evidence from 4 billion geolocated tweets from the USA

BACKGROUND

A link between weather and aggression in the offline world has been established across a variety of societal settings. Simultaneously, the rapid digitalisation of nearly every aspect of everyday life has led to a high frequency of interpersonal conflicts online. Hate speech online has become a prevalent problem that has been shown to aggravate mental health conditions, especially among young people and marginalised groups. We examine the effect of temperature on the occurrence of hate speech on the social media platform Twitter and interpret the results in the context of the interlinkage between climate change, human behaviour, and mental health.

METHODS

In this quantitative empirical study, we used a supervised machine learning approach to identify hate speech in a dataset containing around 4 billion geolocated tweets from 773 cities across the USA between May 1, 2014 and May 1, 2020. We statistically evaluated the changes in daily hate tweets against changes in local temperature, isolating the temperature influence from confounding factors using binned panel-regression models.

FINDINGS

The prevalence of hate tweets was lowest at moderate temperatures (12 to 21°C) and marked increases in the number of hate tweets were observed at hotter and colder temperatures, reaching up to 12·5% (95% CI 8·0-16·5) for cold temperature extremes (-6 to -3°C) and up to 22·0% (95% CI 20·5-23·5) for hot temperature extremes (42 to 45°C). Outside of the moderate temperature range, the hate tweets also increased as a proportion of total tweeting activity. The quasi-quadratic shape of the temperature-hate tweet curve was robust across varying climate zones, income quartiles, religious and political beliefs, and both city-level and state-level aggregations. However, temperature ranges with the lowest prevalence of hate tweets were centred around the local temperature mean and the magnitude of the increases in hate tweets for hot and cold temperatures varied across the climate zones.

INTERPRETATION

Our results highlight hate speech online as a potential channel through which temperature alters interpersonal conflict and societal aggression. We provide empirical evidence that hot and cold temperatures can aggravate aggressive tendencies online. The prevalence of the results across climatic and socioeconomic subgroups points to limitations in the ability of humans to adapt to temperature extremes.

FUNDING

Volkswagen Foundation.

Adolescent health outcomes: associations with child maltreatment and peer victimization

Background

Child maltreatment (CM) and peer victimization (PV) are serious issues affecting children and adolescents. Despite the interrelatedness of these exposures, few studies have investigated their co-occurrence and combined impact on health outcomes. The study objectives were to determine the overall and sex-specific prevalence of lifetime exposure to CM and past-month exposure to PV in adolescents, and the impact of CM and PV co-occurrence on non-suicidal self-injury, suicidality, mental health disorders, and physical health conditions.

Methods

Adolescents aged 14–17 years (n = 2,910) from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study were included. CM included physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, physical neglect, and exposure to intimate partner violence. PV included school-based, cyber, and discriminatory victimization. Logistic regression was used to compare prevalence by sex, examine independent associations and interaction effects in sex-stratified models and in the entire sample, and cumulative effects in the entire sample.

Results

About 10% of the sample reported exposure to both CM and PV. Sex differences were as follows: females had increased odds of CM, self-injury, suicidality, and internalizing disorders, and males had greater odds of PV, externalizing disorders, and physical health conditions. Significant cumulative and interaction effects were found in the entire sample and interaction effects were found in sex-stratified models, indicating that the presence of both CM and PV magnifies the effect on self-injury and all suicide outcomes for females, and on suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and mental health disorders for males.

Conclusions

Experiencing both CM and PV substantially increases the odds of poor health outcomes among adolescents, and moderating relationships affect females and males differently. Continued research is needed to develop effective prevention strategies and to examine protective factors that may mitigate these adverse health outcomes, including potential sex differences.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-13310-w.

Protective Factors for Decreasing Nicotine, Alcohol, and Cannabis Use Among Adolescents with a History of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Adolescents who have experienced adversity have an increased likelihood of using substances. This study examined if individual-, family-, school-, and community-level protective factors were associated with a decreased likelihood of substance use. Data from the Well-Being and Experiences Study (the WE Study) collected from 2017 to 2018 were used. The sample was adolescents aged 14 to 17 years (N = 1002) from Manitoba, Canada. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. The prevalence of past 30-day substance use was 20.5% among boys and 29.2% among girls. Substance use was greater among adolescent girls compared to boys. Protective factors associated with an increased likelihood of not using substances included knowing culture or language, being excited for the future, picturing the future, sleeping 8 to 10 h per night (unadjusted models only), participating in non-sport activity organized by the school, having a trusted adult in the family, frequent hugs from parent, parent saying “I love you” (unadjusted models only), eating dinner together every day, mother and father understanding adolescent’s worries and problems, being able to confide in mother and father, feeling close to other students at school, having a trusted adult at school, feeling a part of school, having a trusted adult in the community (unadjusted models only), volunteering once a week or more, and feeling motivated to help and improve one’s community. Knowledge of protective factors related to decreased odds of substance use may help inform strategies for preventing substance use and ways to foster resilience among adolescents.

The Impact of the Magnitude of the Group of Bullies on Health-Related Quality of Life and Academic Performance Among Adolescents

This study examines the consequences that physical and verbal/social victimization by peers and the magnitude of the groups of bullies have on academic performance and the psychological and social domains of Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL). 1428 secondary school students in the south-east Spain completed the Spanish version of the "Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument-Bullying" and "KIDSCREEN-52" questionnaires in order to analyse, respectively, peer victimization and the psychological and social domains of HRQoL. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and academic achievement was also collected. Findings emphasise the potential of peer victimization in all its forms as risk factors explaining poor HRQoL in psychological, social and emotional domains. The number of bullies was an imponent and significant risk factor that explains a worse HRQoL in the five socio-psychological dimensions studied (Odds Ratio 4.08, Odds Ratio 9.25, Odds Ratio 4.69, Odds Ratio 2.91, Odds Ratio 11.92). Nevertheless, peer victimization rarely seems to affect academic achievement. Results suggest that much of prevention and intervention are still needed to reduce peer victimization, focusing on large bullies' groups and their harmful impact on adolescent's HRQoL.

Adolescents' Experiences, Emotions, and Coping Strategies Associated With Exposure to Media-Based Vicarious Racism

Importance

Adolescents frequently encounter racism vicariously through online news and social media and may experience negative emotional responses due to these exposures. To mitigate potential adverse health impacts, including negative emotional health, it is important to understand how adolescents cope with these exposures.

Objectives

To examine adolescents' responses to online and media-based vicarious racism exposure and to explore coping strategies, particularly positive coping strategies, that may be used to combat negative emotions.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This qualitative study rooted in phenomenological research methods conducted 4 semistructured focus groups, with 3 to 6 English-speaking adolescents (aged 13-19 years) in each group, between November 2018 and April 2019. Focus groups were facilitated by 2 research team members. The study was conducted at community sites and youth organizations in the greater Chicago, Illinois, area. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically.

Exposures

Lived experiences of media-based vicarious racism.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Focus group participants shared their experiences with media-based vicarious racism online, including their responses to exposure and the coping strategies used.

Results

Four focus group sessions were conducted with a total of 18 adolescents. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 16.4 (1.6) years. Overall, 7 participants (39%) self-identified as Black/African American, 8 (44%) as Hispanic/Latinx, and 3 (17%) as White individuals; 7 (39%) were in grades 7 to 9, 8 (44%) in grades 10 to 12 grade, and 3 (17%) at the college or university level. Central themes emerged related to adolescents' experiences, including their emotional and coping responses to media-based vicarious racism. Many participants reported helplessness as a major negative emotion associated with these exposures. Activism was endorsed as a key positive coping strategy that participants used, including online and in-person modalities.

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings from this qualitative study suggest adolescents may experience helplessness as a primary negative emotion after exposure to media-based vicarious racism and activism may serve as a coping mechanism. Activism may represent an important and constructive means by which adolescents cope with and combat structural racism, mitigate negative emotions, and potentially prevent adverse health effects.