Childhood emotional trauma and cyberbullying perpetration among emerging adults: a multiple mediation model of the role of problematic social media use and psychopathology

Research suggests that a small minority of social media users experience problems as a result of their online use. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association of cyberbullying perpetration and problematic social media use with childhood emotional trauma, Cluster B (narcissistic, histrionic, antisocial, and borderline) personality traits, dissociative experiences (DEs), depression, and self-esteem in a nonclinical undergraduate sample. A total of 344 university students volunteered to complete a questionnaire that included measures on the aforementioned dimensions. Thirty-eight percent of the participants had emotional neglect and 27% had emotional abuse, while 44% of them demonstrated at least one cyberbullying perpetration behavior. Results indicated that cyberbullying perpetrators had higher scores on problematic social media use, dissociative experiences, Cluster B traits, depression and childhood emotional trauma, and lower on self-esteem. Path analysis demonstrated that, while adjusting for gender and age, childhood emotional trauma was directly and indirectly associated with cyberbullying perpetration via Cluster B traits. Moreover, depression and dissociation were directly associated with problematic social media use. The findings of this study emphasize the important direct role of childhood emotional trauma and pathological personality traits on cyberbullying perpetration

Atomic Layer Deposition of 2D Metal Dichalcogenides for Electronics, Catalysis, Energy Storage, and Beyond

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are among the most exciting materials of today. Their layered crystal structures result in unique and useful electronic, optical, catalytic, and quantum properties. To realize the technological potential of TMDCs, methods depositing uniform films of controlled thickness at low temperatures in a highly controllable, scalable, and repeatable manner are needed. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a chemical gas-phase thin film deposition method capable of meeting these challenges. In this review, the applications evaluated for ALD TMDCs are systematically examined, including electronics and optoelectonics, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis, energy storage, lubrication, plasmonics, solar cells, and photonics. This review focuses on understanding the interplay between ALD precursors and deposition conditions, the resulting film characteristics such as thickness, crystallinity, and morphology, and ultimately device performance. Through rational choice of precursors and conditions, ALD is observed to exhibit potential to meet the varying requirements of widely different applications. Beyond the current state of ALD TMDCs, the future prospects, opportunities, and challenges in different applications are discussed. The authors hope that the review aids in bringing together experts in the fields of ALD, TMDCs, and various applications to eventually realize industrial applications of ALD TMDCs.Peer reviewe

Loneliness and social media: A qualitative investigation of young people's motivations for use and perceptions of social networking sites

The democratisation of Internet access has incrementally changed every domain of activity and has created new business and economic models. From answering work emails to learning a new language, shopping, booking medical appointments or managing one’s finances, almost everything is attainable at the click of a button. The added implications of the rapid rise of social networking websites (SNSs), such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat, have further contributed to changing the way we communicate and build new friendships. Indeed most of our social relationships are now being ‘increasingly developed and maintained online’ (Nowland, Necka & Cacioppo, 2017: 1). Ostensibly, despite improved Internet access and enhanced social connectedness, modern societies are struggling to combat loneliness. It is reported to affect people of all ages, especially young adults (16-24 and 25-34 years old) who are avid Internet and social media users (see Office for National Statistics, 2018)

Childhood trauma and treatment outcome in bipolar disorder

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential influence of childhood trauma on clinical presentation, psychiatric comorbidity, and long-term treatment outcome of bipolar disorder. A total of 135 consecutive patients with bipolar disorder type I were recruited from an ongoing prospective follow-up project. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders were administered to all participants. Response to long-term treatment was determined from the records of life charts of the prospective follow-up project. There were no significant differences in childhood trauma scores between groups with good and poor responses to long-term lithium treatment. Poor responders to long-term anticonvulsant treatment, however, had elevated emotional and physical abuse scores. Lifetime diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was associated with poor response to lithium treatment and antidepressant use but not with response to treatment with anticonvulsants. Total childhood trauma scores were related to the total number of lifetime comorbid psychiatric disorders, antidepressant use, and the presence of psychotic features. There were significant correlations between all types of childhood abuse and the total number of lifetime comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. Whereas physical neglect was related to the mean severity of the mood episodes and psychotic features, emotional neglect was related to suicide attempts. A history of childhood trauma or PTSD may be a poor prognostic factor in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder. Whereas abusive experiences in childhood seem to lead to nosological fragmentation (comorbidity), childhood neglect tends to contribute to the severity of the mood episodes