A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Gender-Sensitive Rite of Passage Program for Adolescent Males

Introduction Current gendered health disparities impacting the wellbeing of boys and young men require new early intervention-focussed approaches. Health promotion programs developed with young men’s health needs and preferences in mind commonly report positive outcomes. Male-specific rite of passage programs aim to formally acknowledge the life-stage transition from boyhood to manhood through a holistic focus on identity, community, and social responsibility. While these programs are growing in popularity, there is limited data available on their effectiveness. Methods This study undertook a pilot evaluation of the Making of Men rite of passage program in a sample of second-ary school boys (n=61, age M=16.0, SD=0.5) and their accompanying fathers or male mentors (n=47, age M=52.1, SD=5.8 years) providing non-matched pre-test, post-test, alongside follow-up data for participating boys. Qualitative interviews were also undertaken with 15 individuals (5 mothers, 6 staff members, 4 fathers). Results Quantitative program feedback indicated acceptability, with most respondents providing positive feedback, particularly from participating fathers. Exploratory quantitative effects indicated potential improvements in subjective social support and open communication among boys. Fathers appeared to report lower confor-mity to traditional masculine norms post-program, in addition to more open communication. Qualitative interviews identified three main themes: enabling relational bonds, creating a men-specific context, and supporting developmental transitions. Conclusions Positive program acceptability and promising outcome effects highlighted the present rite of passage program as a promising mechanism for supporting healthy masculine identity development among adolescent males

Spatial immune profiling of the colorectal tumor microenvironment predicts good outcome in stage II patients

This study was funded by Medical Research Scotland and Indica Labs, Inc., who also provided in-kind resource.Cellular subpopulations within the colorectal tumor microenvironment (TME) include CD3+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, CD68+ and CD163+ macrophages, and tumor buds (TBs), all of which have known prognostic significance in stage II colorectal cancer. However, the prognostic relevance of their spatial interactions remains unknown. Here, by applying automated image analysis and machine learning approaches, we evaluate the prognostic significance of these cellular subpopulations and their spatial interactions. Resultant data, from a training cohort retrospectively collated from Edinburgh, UK hospitals (n = 113), were used to create a combinatorial prognostic model, which identified a subpopulation of patients who exhibit 100% survival over a 5-year follow-up period. The combinatorial model integrated lymphocytic infiltration, the number of lymphocytes within 50-μm proximity to TBs, and the CD68+/CD163+ macrophage ratio. This finding was confirmed on an independent validation cohort, which included patients treated in Japan and Scotland (n = 117). This work shows that by analyzing multiple cellular subpopulations from the complex TME, it is possible to identify patients for whom surgical resection alone may be curative.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Determinants of anxiety in elite athletes:a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To identify and quantify determinants of anxiety symptoms and disorders experienced by elite athletes. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Five online databases (PubMed, SportDiscus, PsycINFO, Scopus and Cochrane) were searched up to November 2018 to identify eligible citations. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Articles were included if they were published in English, were quantitative studies and measured a symptom-level anxiety outcome in competing or retired athletes at the professional (including professional youth), Olympic or collegiate/university levels. RESULTS AND SUMMARY: We screened 1163 articles; 61 studies were included in the systematic review and 27 of them were suitable for meta-analysis. Overall risk of bias for included studies was low. Athletes and non-athletes had no differences in anxiety profiles (d=-0.11, p=0.28). Pooled effect sizes, demonstrating moderate effects, were identified for (1) career dissatisfaction (d=0.45; higher anxiety in dissatisfied athletes), (2) gender (d=0.38; higher anxiety in female athletes), (3) age (d=-0.34; higher anxiety for younger athletes) and (4) musculoskeletal injury (d=0.31; higher anxiety for injured athletes). A small pooled effect was found for recent adverse life events (d=0.26)-higher anxiety in athletes who had experienced one or more recent adverse life events. CONCLUSION: Determinants of anxiety in elite populations broadly reflect those experienced by the general population. Clinicians should be aware of these general and athlete-specific determinants of anxiety among elite athletes

Gender Samples in Sport and Exercise Psychology

An examination of gender balance across studies in sport and exercise psychology

The mental health of elite-level coaches: A systematic scoping review

This review aims to ascertain what is known about the mental health of elite-level coaches from peer-reviewed evidence. The review will characterise mental health as a construct that subsumes two distinct but related phenomena, including both mental health (flourishing and languishing) and mental ill-health. In addition, an exploration of the risk and protective factors that shape mental health will be conducted, as well as the impacts of high and low mental health upon coach effectiveness. The proposed study will also investigate how coach effectiveness is conceptualised from a mental health perspective

Taking Youth Suicide Prevention to the Schools: Pilot Evaluation of School-Based Clinician Outcomes and Perspectives of a Multi-Modal Program Including Post-Training Online Consultations for Management of Ongoing Suicide Risk

School-based youth-specific suicide prevention and early intervention initiatives are presently underdeveloped. The current study conducted a pilot evaluation of a multi-modal suicide prevention training program for school-based social workers, ‘Management of Youth Suicidality Training for Schools’ (MYSTS). The program comprised a two-day workshop and six fortnightly post-workshop webinar online consultations. Participants were 36 social workers (years’ experience M = 11.23, SD = 8.29) employed by the Department of Education in Tasmania, Australia. Outcomes were self-rated confidence, competence, and knowledge of self-harm in young people, and attitudes toward suicide prevention and suicide-related behaviors. Exploratory quantitative results indicated significant improvements with large effect sizes for participants’ self-reported competence (d = 1.33), and confidence (d = 1.29) to identify and respond therapeutically to youth suicidality following the workshop. Confidence remained significantly higher than baseline following the online consultations (d = 0.90). Qualitative analysis of online supervision consultations indicated key themes of accessibility, communication and information sharing, and clinical management. Participants endorsed the MYSTS package as well-presented, with relevant topics, and effective learning activities. This study highlights the need for continued supervisory or implementation support to practitioners following suicide prevention training initiatives and suggests web-based teleconference technology as a feasible strategy for this. Further evaluation of the MYSTS package, including a suitable comparison or control condition, is indicated

Social Capital and Social Justice: Critical Australian Perspectives

Social capital continues to be the subject of heated discussion and debate in social policy and social science arenas. However, there is a growing gulf between the manner and effect by which these discourses are being played out. This collection of essays brings together emerging and established scholars who have enlivened and enriched the debates about social capital in Australia. Collectively, the volume illustrates the continuing relevance of social capital in analysing Australian society and strengthening social policy and programs to promote social justice in contemporary Australia. This book is based on a workshop conducted under the auspices of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. Geoff Woolcock is Associate Professor and Research Fellow with the Urban Research Program at Griffith University. Lenore Manderson is Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.Social Capital and Social Justice in Critical Perspective /? Geoff Woolcock and Lenore Manderson -- Part I: Measuring and Applying Social Capital in Public Policy -- 1 Measuring Social Capital: New Developments in the Australian Bureau of Statistics /? Elisabeth Davis and Horst Posselt -- 2 Social Capital: The Specification and Measurement of a Concept /? John S. Western -- 3 Social Capital: The Productivity Commission's Review /? Tom Nankivell -- 4 Social Capital: The Nexus Between Community and the State /? Kate Brooks -- 5 The Public Policy of Social Capital in Australia /? David Adams -- 6 Faking Social Capital: State Intellectuals as Spin-Doctors /? Martin Mowbray -- 7 Network Capital: Borrowing on your Neighbours' Social Capital /? Robyn Keast, Kerry Brown and Chrys Guneskara -- Part II: The Application of Social Capital Discourse and Policy -- 8 Social Capital: A Meta Analysis /? Jenny Onyx, Paul Bullen and Melissa Edwards -- 9 Social Capital and the Master Planned Community: Theory and Practice /? Gabrielle Gwyther and Geoff Woolcock -- 10 The Role of Social Capital in Collaborative Natural Resource Management: Adventures in Paradox /? Peter Oliver -- 11 Social Capital, Higher Education and Policy Performance /? Ruth Wallace and Ian Falk -- 12 Cooking Alone: Social Capital and Wellbeing among Iraqi Women Refugees in Rural Victoria /? Lenore Manderson and Katie Vasey -- 13 Little Theory, Big Plans: Social Capital and Community Building in Aboriginal Australia /? Mark Brough and Chelsea BondJira Ticket : CDU-83 : Collection Development Manager made the decision that for the books that have this message " This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing to the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, by any process, without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher, Charles Darwin University Press, Charles Darwin University, Darwin NT 0909, Australia" in the front they would treat CDU NTU Press as the copyright holder based on this statement. CDU Press have given permission for these to be added to our site but no additional licencing terms provided. That is a reasonable risk management based decision