Violence Exposure and Mental Health of College Students in the United States

Suicide Prevention Takes a Nation: Collaborative Approaches to Universalize Suicide Prevention

Suicide is a complex public health issue impacting many children and adolescents-and their families-each year, and it requires a complex public health solution. Local, state, and national collaboratives that leverage evidence-based strategies, foster community engagement, and prioritize equity are necessary to holistically address this issue. Here, the authors discuss the necessary steps for fostering inclusive community partnerships and outline the rationale for partnering with schools, youth groups, faith organizations, parent-teacher organizations, clinical settings, and professional organizations, as well as collaborating with the juvenile justice and child welfare systems and working together to foster suicide prevention policy.

Risk factors for intimate partner violence perpetration among college students: Impact of childhood adversities

Objective Intimate partner violence (IPV) among college students is a significant problem that negatively affects their physical and emotional health. This study aimed at examining risk factors, especially childhood adversities at the individual, relationship, and community levels, of IPV perpetration among college students. Methods: The sample from seven universities in the U.S. and Canada (N = 3,725) completed an online survey. Major variables included IPV perpetration, five types of childhood adversities, alcohol and drug use, depression, and demographic information. Logistic regression was performed. Results: Peer violence victimization, witnessing parental IPV, experiencing child maltreatment, drug use, and depression were associated with a higher odd of perpetrating IPV. Conclusions: Research and practice must account for exposure to multiple risk factors when intervening with college students. An integrative approach that combines trauma-informed interventions with substance use and mental health treatment may be most successful at IPV perpetration prevention and intervention among college students.

Help-Seeking After Intimate Partner or Sexual Violence: Exploring the Experiences of International Student Women in Australia

Research suggests that many international students experience intimate partner violence (IPV) or sexual violence (SV) whilst attending tertiary institutions. Yet, little is known about how they engage in help-seeking and what types of support they need following IPV/SV. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative analysis of 30 in-depth interviews with international student women who experienced SV/IPV while studying in Australia. The findings highlight how isolation and structural factors can create significant barriers to help-seeking for international student women. Yet, the findings also highlight the agency and resourcefulness of international student women in overcoming challenges. The provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate and tailored support for international students is crucial in order to help reduce the harms of SV/IPV.

Quantitative risk assessment of college campus considering risk interactions

Because of the more emerging risks and stronger risk interactions, the risk of college campuses as well as students and staff received more and more attention. Current works on campus risk mostly focus on single-category factors, and few of them considered risk interactions. Therefore, an integrated model for assessing comprehensive risks on the campus is proposed to put forward risk reduction strategies. First, a comprehensive risk identification of the college campus is conducted by integrating the modified egg model and the fault tree. Then, DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) is applied to quantify the complex risk interactions and determine the influential causes for further modelling. Finally, the Bayesian network is established for cause diagnosis, consequence prediction, and risk reduction. The identified most sensitive cause is alcohol use. In the case of the four sensitive causes simultaneously occurring, the probability of high campus risk will increase from 21.9% of the original to 39.4%. Moreover, an efficiency analysis of different risk reduction strategies is performed to determine the most efficient risk reduction strategy. The results indicate that the proposed methodology may of great significance for the risk reduction of the college campus in the changing age.

Empirical analysis based on the related factors of college students’ mental health problems

Interpersonal relationship is one of the important factors affecting college students’ mental health. The relationship between interpersonal relationship and college students’ mental health has also become a large number of academic research topics. In order to explore whether there is a correlation between optimism and college students’ mental health, and if so, what kind of situation it presents. Based on literature review, mathematical statistics and questionnaire survey, this study optimized the iterative process of clustering algorithm. Extract valuable parts from a large amount of precipitation of students’ psychological data, establish data models, and provide decision-making guidance for managers. The results show that there are significant differences between optimists and pessimists in optimistic factors and pessimistic factors. Optimists score significantly higher on optimistic factors than pessimists, while pessimists score significantly lower than pessimists. Conclusion optimism can significantly alleviate life stress and intervene psychological crisis.

Prevalence and Impact of Academic Violence in Medical Education

Situations of mistreatment in the academic environment are prevalent worldwide, but research in this area is scarce in middle-low-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of mistreatment inflicted against Brazilian medical students. In addition, characterize these situations and analyze their consequences. Cross-sectional study conducted with 831 medical students from public and private institutions. Absolute and relative frequencies of the analyzed variables and possible associations were determined through univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Chi-square test of association with second-order Rao-Scott adjustment was also used. The response rate was 56%. Public institution pointed to a higher prevalence of mistreatment when compared to private (59% versus 43%). Female students were the most affected. Verbal and psychological aggression was more prevalent. The aggressor usually was a faculty member. Mistreatment incidence increased over the years of training, with higher rates in the internship. About 94% of the students felt affected in anyway, with 77% feeling diminished and depressed. More than 50% reported impaired academic performance. Almost 30% sought help from experts. The reporting rate was extremely low. Adequate identification of the situations by the victims, safe reporting mechanisms and, an educational system capable of maintaining an appropriate learning environment are essential to break this destructive cycle.

Sexual Victimization and Mental Health in Female University Students

Although sexual assaults on female university students are a public health concern, studies that have examined this issue have not used behaviorally specific definitions of the various types of sexual victimization. Furthermore, hardly any data exists on female Spanish university students. The objectives of this study were to analyze the prevalence of different forms of sexual assault against female Spanish university students, determine the risk factors associated with sexual assault, analyze the association between sexual victimization and mental health problems, and determine the differential risk of more serious types of sexual assault. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a random sample of 871 students from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) (mean age 20.7 years, SD = 2.8). The current study assessed various types of sexual violence (i.e., unwanted sexual contact, attempted coercion, coercion, attempted rape, rape), as well as rates of depression, anxiety, stress, eating disorders, substance abuse, suicide risk, and suicide attempts. Of the female students surveyed, 28.5% had suffered some form of sexual violence during the previous year, 22.3% reported unwanted sexual contact, 8.8% attempted coercion, 6.5% coercion, 10.4% attempted rape, and 7.9% had been raped. Lower risk was associated with having a partner and being heterosexual. Being 18 years of age and prior experiences of sexual victimization were associated with higher risk. Being the victim of attempted coercion was associated with a higher risk of depression, while victims of attempted rape were at higher risk for substance use. Rape victims were at the highest risk for all mental health conditions studied, with the exception of suicide attempts. Due to the high rates at which Spanish female university students experience sexual violence, planning and resources are needed to address their mental health needs, especially those who are victims of rape.

People who need people: the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and mental health among college students

ObjectiveThis study investigates the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health among a sample of college students. It also explores whether health behaviors and social support may help to explain the link between ACEs and mental health. Participants: Participants were students at a large public university in the Southwest (n = 404). Methods: A survey captured ACEs, diet, exercise, smoking, binge drinking, perceived social support, depression, anxiety, and demographics. Results: Respondents with four or more ACEs had significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety than respondents with lower ACE scores. We found significant differences in social support, but not health behaviors for the two groups. Finally, social support emerged as a strong predictor of depression/anxiety and a mediator between childhood adversity and mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the importance of adverse childhood experiences for college student health and indicate a need for interventions for socially isolated students.

Current of Child Sexual Abuse in Asia: A Systematic Review of Prevalence, Impact, Age of First Exposure, Perpetrators, and Place of Offence

BACKGROUND: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious global problem and challenge for all people because it increases the risk of various issues. AIM: This study investigated the CSA in Asian countries focusing on prevalence rates, impact, victim’s age of first exposure, type of CSA, perpetrator, and places of CSA offence. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Medline, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, ClinicalKey, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and manual search for studies published between January 2011 and November 2020. Only articles related to CSA in Asia were included in this review. RESULTS: The results showed that prevalence of CSA ranged from 2.2% - 94% for girls and 1.7% - 49.5% for boys. The prevalence rates for non-contact abuse were 12.6% - 56.5% for girls and 0.7% - 68.7% for boys; contact abuse was 5.3% - 67.2% for girls and 2.2% - 53.3% for boys; penetrating abuse was 0.5% - 88.24% for girls and 1.7% - 57.1% for boys. The findings reported most victims’ age of first exposure was preteen. The rate of the violation occurring in the victim’s house was 6.1% - 41.9%; most CSA perpetrators are known by victims. This study reported adverse impacts on CSA victims such as psychological, health, and physical disorders, and changes in behavior. In addition, other findings were found, including recovery, perceptions, values, causes, and expectations of victims of CSA. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CSA in Asia is still high and the age of the first victims is early adolescence. The majority of victims are women who already know the perpetrator, and taboo cultural factors are thought to play a role in increasing CSA in Asia. The results indicate the need to develop CSA prevention efforts that involve culture.

Adverse childhood experiences and neuroinflammatory biomarkers-The role of sex

Despite the growing interest in adverse childhood experiences and biomarkers, less attention has been paid to multiple biomarkers as representing interrelated systems among college students. Guided by the neuroinflammatory pathway hypothesis, the current project takes the initial step in examining the link between three types of childhood adversity and biomarkers of neuroplasticity (brain-derived neurotropic factor [BDNF]) and low-grade inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP]) in an overarching model and whether this link may differ in men and women. Undergraduate students (n = 85) were recruited through multiple departments from a state university. The participants responded to the detailed online survey questionnaire on childhood adversity and provided one blood sample via venous blood draw. Given that CRP and BDNF represent two interrelated systems, structural equation models were considered the most suitable for the analyses. The findings partially support neural and inflammatory pathways, such that childhood adversity and particularly family dysfunction have a significant positive effect on BDNF (b = 30.41, p < .01). The link between family dysfunction and CRP was stronger in female students (b = 0.57, p < .05). Results suggest that interventions for college students with family dysfunctions may need to target different physiological and behavioral outcomes for male and female students.

Subjective financial status and suicidal ideation among American college students: Racial differences

PURPOSE

The current study aimed to compare American Black and White college students for the protective effect of subjective socioeconomic status (SES) on suicidal ideation.

METHODS

This study used data from the Healthy Mind Study (HMS 2015-2017). This study included 2,983 undergraduate college students who were at least 18 years of old. These participants were either White (n=2,704) or Black (n=279). The dependent variable was suicidal ideation. The independent variable was subjective SES. Age, gender, transition status, first generation status, and social isolation were covariates. Race/ethnicity was the moderator. Logistic regressions were applied to test the effect of subjective SES on suicidal ideation in the overall sample and by race/ ethnicity.

RESULTS

In the overall sample, high subjective SES was associated with less suicidal ideation in the pooled sample of college students. A significant interaction was found between race and subjective SES on suicide risk, suggesting a larger protective effect of high subjective SES for Whites than Blacks. In race-stratified models, high subjective SES was associated with less suicidal ideation for White college students but not for Black college students.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent with the Minorities' Diminished Returns theory and in line with previous research that has documented worse mental health of high SES Blacks particularly Black men, this study showed that high SES protects White college students but not Black college students against suicidal ideation. While Whites with low SES are protected against risk of suicide, risk of suicidal ideation seems to be constant regardless of SES among Black college students.

What Predicts Stable Mental Health in the 18⁻29 Age Group Compared to Older Age Groups? Results from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort 2002⁻2014

Mental health has decreased in young people since the 1990s, and mental health promotion is an urgent matter. A first step is to identify which social determinants could be of importance for intervention. We used the Stockholm Public Health Cohort, a longitudinal population-based health survey, completed by 31,000 inhabitants in the Stockholm County. We focused on the 18⁻29 age group, n = 3373 (60% females, 40% males) and aimed at assessing which social determinants predict stable mental health, measured as scoring <3 points on the General Health Questionnaire 12 at all time points: 2002, 2007, 2010, and 2014. Forty-six percent of males and 36% of females reported stable mental health. Among the 17 predictors on sociodemographics, socioeconomics, social capital, health behavior, and victimization, six predicted stable mental health in the following order: occupation and especially employment, emotional support, male gender, being born in Sweden, absence of financial strain, and consumption of fruit and berries. In the 30⁻84 age group, 66% males and 55% females reported stable mental health. Nine determinants in the following rank predicted stable mental health: absence of financial strain, occupation and especially being self-employed, emotional support, male gender, physical activity, instrumental support, interpersonal trust, community trust, and absence of hazardous alcohol consumption. Interaction analysis showed significant difference between the younger and older group regarding physical activity and absence of financial strain with importance being higher for the older group. Our findings indicate that the determinants of health differ across the life-course with fewer predictors related to social capital and health behavior in the younger group compared to the older. We conclude that health-promoting interventions should be lifespan-sensitive.