Cross - national comparisons of attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons in university students from 12 countries

This paper reports the results of a comparative investigation of attitudes to suicide and suicidal persons in 5,572 university students from 12 countries. Participants filled out two scales measuring attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons, a measure of psychological distress together with the questions about suicidal behavior. Results showed that the highest suicide acceptance scores were observed in Austrian, UK, Japanese and Saudi Arabian samples and the lowest scores were noted in Tunisian, Turkish, Iranian and Palestinian samples. While the highest social acceptance scores for a suicidal friend were noted in Turkish, US, Italian and Tunisian samples, the lowest scores were seen in Japanese, Saudi Arabian, Palestinian and Jordanian samples. Compared to participants with a suicidal past, those who were never suicidal displayed more internal barriers against suicidal behavior. Men were more accepting of suicide than women but women were more willing to help an imagined suicidal peer. Participants with accepting attitudes towards suicide but rejecting attitudes towards suicidal persons reported more suicidal behavior and psychological distress, and were more often from high suicide rate countries and samples than their counterparts. They are considered to be caught in a fatal trap in which most predominant feelings of suicidality such as hopelessness or helplessness are likely to occur. We conclude that in some societies such as Japan and Saudi Arabia it might be difficult for suicidal individuals to activate and make use of social support systems

The Effects of Therapist Self-Disclosure of a Mental Health Condition on Client Perceptions of the Therapist

Therapist self-disclosure is a controversial intervention that is defined in numerous ways and includes a variety of content. Little is known about how therapist self-disclosure of a mental health condition affects clients’ and non clients’ perceptions of the therapist. The first goal of this study was to investigate the effects of therapist self-disclosure of a mental health condition on client perceptions of the therapist on three social influence factors (Attractiveness, Expertness, Trustworthiness) and two facilitative conditions (Empathy and Level of Regard). The second goal was to investigate if client perceptions of the therapist’s social influence factors and facilitative conditions varied by the type of mental health condition disclosed. This study used a survey method to investigate university students’ (n = 267) reactions to vignettes depicting a client-therapist interaction in which the therapist disclosed having one of three mental health conditions (AD/HD, depression, anxiety) or did not disclose any personal information. Participants rated therapist’s levels of social influence factors using Counselor Rating Form-Short (CRF-S) and perceived levels of facilitative conditions, using the Barrett Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI). The results of this study found that vignettes that featured the therapist who self-disclosed a mental health condition were rated as significantly more attractive and empathetic than the vignettes of the therapist who did not disclose any personal information. Ratings of social influence and facilitative conditions did not vary by the type of mental health condition disclosed. Limitations of the study are addressed and alternate explanations for the results are explored. Implications regarding the use of therapist self-disclosure of personal experience with a mental health condition are discussed

"Notjustgirls": Exploring Male-related Eating Disordered Content across Social Media Platforms

Eating disorders (EDs) are a worldwide public health concern that impact approximately 10% of the U.S. population. Our previous research characterized these behaviors across online spaces. These characterizations have used clinical terminology, and their lexical variants, to identify ED content online. However, previous HCI research on EDs (including our own) suffers from a lack of gender and cultural diversity. In this paper, we designed a follow-up study of online ED characterizations, extending our previous methodologies to focus specifically on male/masculine-related content. We highlight the similarities and differences found in the terminology utilized and media archetypes associated with the social media content. Finally, we discuss other considerations highlighted through our analysis of the male-related content that is missing from the previous research

The Effect of Social Media Addiction on Romantic Relationship Outcomes: Factors Associated with Social Media Addiction

Does exposure to glamorous profiles on social media evoke romantic dissatisfaction? Or is social media a refuge for unsatisfied partners? Social networking sites (SNSs) have simplified virtual interactions with strangers cum instant ‘friends’, whose embellished profiles evoke jealousy, envy, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness. SNSs also provide easy access to alternative romantic partners, which adversely affects commitment to the primary relationship. Commitment is choosing to forsake other choices. Theoretically, commitment to a romantic partner diminishes if alternative partners are readily available. Researchers argue that preoccupation with SNSs activities and monitoring romantic alternatives affect commitment by lowering satisfaction, offering alternatives, and displacing time and emotional investments. Authors of existing studies have mostly used college student populations to examine the effect of SNSs use on romantic relationships. Findings from such studies cannot be generalised to other populations because college students are less likely to be committed, cohabiting, or married. To increase the generalisability of research, I designed three independent studies to explore factors that are linked with SNSs compulsive use (addiction) in both college and non-college populations. The results showed that romantic disengagement was positively linked with Facebook addiction, and that relationship commitment alone was not enough to protect committed partners against Facebook addiction. Younger partners, irrespective of their relationship status (committed or dating), were predisposed to SNSs addiction and SNSs-related infidelity behaviours. They also experienced low commitment and were more likely to subscribe to a significantly greater number of SNS accounts than older partners. Dating partners, as opposed to committed partners, reported better quality of available romantic alternatives (especially sexual alternatives) despite reporting no difference in their SNSs-related infidelity behaviours or relationship satisfaction. There was also a significant positive relationship between SNSs addiction and SNSs-related infidelity behaviours, and this relationship was moderated by age. Additionally, neuroticism was connected with negative affect and Facebook addiction partially mediated this relationship. Finally, mental health status was also linked with SNSs addiction and this relationship was partially mediated by SNSs-related infidelity behaviours. Overall, SNSs addiction appeared to be linked with adverse personal (neuroticism, mental illness) and romantic outcomes (romantic disengagement, low commitment, SNSs-related infidelity). Relationship status (dating vs committed/married) and age also appeared to influence the connection between SNSs addiction and adverse behaviours. Future studies can build on these findings and explore other SNSs behaviours that are linked with adverse relationship outcomes. SNSs are likely to remain the main platform for virtual communications for the foreseeable future. Therefore, users should be wary of SNSs interactions that can potentially jeopardise their romantic relationships

Manifesto for a European research network into Problematic Usage of the Internet

Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The Internet is now all-pervasive across much of the globe. While it has positive uses (e.g. prompt access to information, rapid news dissemination), many individuals develop Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI), an umbrella term incorporating a range of repetitive impairing behaviours. The Internet can act as a conduit for, and may contribute to, functionally impairing behaviours including excessive and compulsive video gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour, buying, gambling, streaming or social networks use. There is growing public and National health authority concern about the health and societal costs of PUI across the lifespan. Gaming Disorder is being considered for inclusion as a mental disorder in diagnostic classification systems, and was listed in the ICD-11 version released for consideration by Member States (http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/revision/timeline/en/). More research is needed into disorder definitions, validation of clinical tools, prevalence, clinical parameters, brain-based biology, socio-health-economic impact, and empirically validated intervention and policy approaches. Potential cultural differences in the magnitudes and natures of types and patterns of PUI need to be better understood, to inform optimal health policy and service development. To this end, the EU under Horizon 2020 has launched a new four-year European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Programme (CA 16207), bringing together scientists and clinicians from across the fields of impulsive, compulsive, and addictive disorders, to advance networked interdisciplinary research into PUI across Europe and beyond, ultimately seeking to inform regulatory policies and clinical practice. This paper describes nine critical and achievable research priorities identified by the Network, needed in order to advance understanding of PUI, with a view towards identifying vulnerable individuals for early intervention. The network shall enable collaborative research networks, shared multinational databases, multicentre studies and joint publications.Peer reviewe

The Influence of Instructor Mental Illness Disclosure on the Perceptions of Mental Illness, Classroom Climate, Teacher Credibility, Homophily, and Social Attraction

This study uses the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory to analyze the impact an instructor’s depth of disclosure of their mental illness can have on mental illness stigmatization, classroom climate, as well as teacher credibility, homophily, and social attraction. Participants responded to a series of quantitative-based questions regarding a hypothetical syllabus with varied levels of a teacher disclosing their mental illness. Results indicated that none of the investigated dependent variables were negatively affected by the hypothetical instructor’s disclosure, and mental illness stigmatization was lessened. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed

How do Securities Laws Influence Affect, Happiness, & Trust?

This Article advocates that securities regulators promulgate rules based upon taking into consideration their impacts upon investors\u27 and others\u27 affect, happiness, and trust. Examples of these impacts are consumer optimism, financial stress, anxiety over how thoroughly securities regulators deliberate over proposed rules, investor confidence in securities disclosures, market exuberance, social moods, and subjective well-being. These variables affect and are affected by traditional financial variables, such as consumer debt, expenditures, and wealth; corporate investment; initial public offerings; and securities market demand, liquidity, prices, supply, and volume. This Article proposes that securities regulators can and should evaluate rules based upon measures of affect, happiness, and trust in addition to standard observable financial variables. This Article concludes that the organic statutes of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission are indeterminate despite mandating that federal securities laws consider efficiency among other goals. This Article illustrates analysis of affective impacts of these financial regulatory policies: mandatory securities disclosures; gun-jumping rules for publicly registered offerings; financial education or literacy campaigns; statutory or judicial default rules and menus; and continual reassessment and revision of rules. These regulatory policies impact and are impacted by investors\u27 and other people\u27s affect, happiness, and trust. Thus, securities regulators can and should evaluate such affective impacts to design effective legal policy