The impact of mindfulness on self-stigma and affective symptoms among sexual minorities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Ka Shing Chan ◽  
Donald Chi Kin Leung
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Stigma, gay men and biomedical prevention: the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing HIV prevention landscape

Sexual Health ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Brown ◽  
William Leonard ◽  
Anthony Lyons ◽  
Jennifer Power ◽  
Dirk Sander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Biomedical Technologies ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
The Impact

Improvements in biomedical technologies, combined with changing social attitudes to sexual minorities, provide new opportunities for HIV prevention among gay and other men who have sex with men (GMSM). The potential of these new biomedical technologies (biotechnologies) to reduce HIV transmission and the impact of HIV among GMSM will depend, in part, on the degree to which they challenge prejudicial attitudes, practices and stigma directed against gay men and people living with HIV (PLHIV). At the structural level, stigma regarding gay men and HIV can influence the scale-up of new biotechnologies and negatively affect GMSM’s access to and use of these technologies. At the personal level, stigma can affect individual gay men’s sense of value and confidence as they negotiate serodiscordant relationships or access services. This paper argues that maximising the benefits of new biomedical technologies depends on reducing stigma directed at sexual minorities and people living with HIV and promoting positive social changes towards and within GMSM communities. HIV research, policy and programs will need to invest in: (1) responding to structural and institutional stigma; (2) health promotion and health services that recognise and work to address the impact of stigma on GMSM’s incorporation of new HIV prevention biotechnologies; (3) enhanced mobilisation and participation of GMSM and PLHIV in new approaches to HIV prevention; and (4) expanded approaches to research and evaluation in stigma reduction and its relationship with HIV prevention. The HIV response must become bolder in resourcing, designing and evaluating programs that interact with and influence stigma at multiple levels, including structural-level stigma.

Subjective experience of cognitive function in affective disorders

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 234-234
Author(s):  
K. Miskowiak ◽  
M. Vinberg ◽  
E.M. Christensen ◽  
L.V. Kessing
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Unipolar Depression ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Cognitive Difficulties ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
Patients Experience ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionCognitive dysfunction in unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar disorder (BD) may persist into periods of remission and affect psychosocial function. Attention and memory deficits may be more pronounced during remission in BD compared with UD. However, patients’ subjective experience of cognitive difficulties is poorly understood, and it is unclear whether this differs between BD and UD.Aims and objectivesTo examine self-reported cognitive function in remitted patients with BD and UD.MethodsPatients with BD (n = 54) and UD (n = 45) were referred to the outpatient clinic at Department of Psychiatry, Copenhagen University Hospital, following hospital discharge.Affective symptoms and patients’ experience of cognitive symptoms were assessed at their initial consultation at the clinic.ResultsPatients in remission experienced mild to moderate impairment of cognitive function with greatest difficulties in motivation, energy, attention and memory. Subjective experience of cognitive function were similar for BD and UD and were predicted by affective symptoms rather than by diagnosis, age, gender or comorbid alcohol misuse.ConclusionsThe absence of differences between UD and BD in the subjective experience of cognitive difficulties contrasts with evidence of greater objective cognitive dysfunction in BD. This highlights a potential discord between subjective and objective measures of cognitive function. The impact of affective symptoms on the subjectively experienced cognitive difficulties suggests that they reflect mood symptoms rather than objective cognitive deficits. Further investigation of the relation between objective and subjective measures of cognitive function and the influence of affective symptoms is warranted.

scholarly journals Psychological impact of Covid-19 lockdown in India: Different strokes for different folks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anupam Joya Sharma ◽  
Malavika A. Subramanyam
Keyword(s):  
Social Stratification ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
High Risk Group ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
History Of ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Study ◽  
Physical Access ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe psychological impact of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic are widely documented. In India, a family-centric society with a high population density and extreme social stratification, the impact of the lockdown might vary across diverse social groups. However, the patterning in the psychological impact of the lockdown among sexual minorities and persons known to be at higher risk of contracting Covid-19 is not known in the Indian context. We used mixed methods (online survey, n=282 and in-depth interviews, n=14) to investigate whether the psychological impact of the lockdown was different across these groups of Indian adults. We fitted linear and logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic covariates. Thematic analysis helped us identify emergent themes in our qualitative narratives. Anxiety was found to be higher among sexual minorities (β=2.44, CI: 0.58, 4.31), high-risk group (β=2.20, CI:0.36, 4.05), and those with history of depression/loneliness (β=3.89, CI:2.34, 5.44). Addiction to pornography was also found to be higher among sexual minorities (β=2.72, CI: 0.09, 5.36). Qualitative findings suggested that sexual minorities likely used pornography and masturbation to cope with the lockdown, given the limited physical access to sexual partners in a society that stigmatizes homosexuality. Moreover, both qualitative and quantitative study findings suggested that greater frequency of calling family members during lockdown could strengthen social relationships and increase social empathy. The study thereby urgently calls for the attention of policymakers to take sensitive and inclusive health decisions for the marginalized and the vulnerable, both during and after the crisis.

scholarly journals Vietnamese Civic Organisations: Supporters of or Obstacles to Further Democratisation? Results from an Empirical Survey

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Wischermann ◽  
Bui The Cuong ◽  
Dang Thi Viet Phuong
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
The State ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Asian Studies ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Policy Field ◽  
The Impact

In political science and in development cooperation, civic organisations (COs) under authoritarian rule are usually seen as supporters of processes that move towards democratisation. However, these organisations are sometimes criticised for their support of those in power. Within this context, critics refer to the fact that many COs have, for example, authoritarian intra-organisational structures. This characteristic clearly limits their potential to be supporters of democratisation processes. In this paper, we proceed from the assumption that Vietnamese COs can be both supporters of democracy and organisations that help to maintain authoritarian rule; they can sometimes even be both at the same time. COs are “polyvalent” (Kößler). More concretely, what COs are and which role(s) they play in the political system is mainly but not exclusively dependent on the impact the state has on them, and is at the same time dependent on the effects that those organisations have on the state. The results from an empirical survey, supported by the German Research Council (2013–2016) and carried out as a co-operation between the Institute of Asian Studies/GIGA Hamburg and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, suggest the following: ▪ Most Vietnamese COs are hierarchically structured, if not organised in an authoritarian way. They are not “schools of democracy”, in the sense of Tocqueville. ▪ Most Vietnamese COs that have engaged in the welfare provision sector, either willingly or unwillingly, have helped to foster the foundations of authoritarianism. ▪ In the field of economic policies, the COs invited by the state to participate in and contribute to the formulation of policies do help, overall, to secure existing power structures, even though these organisations also help change various economic policies and even though their activities produce some democracy-promoting effects. ▪ In the policy field of gender equality, women's rights, and rights of sexual minorities, the mass organisation Vietnam Women's Union supports the state's respective discourse. Some NGOs active in this policy field are doing both: They support and criticise the state's discourse on gender norms and the rights of sexual minorities. In the conclusion, we answer the question of which Vietnamese COs can be seen as supporters of further democratisation and which can be classified as obstacles.

Examining the Impact of Question Construction on Reporting of Sexual Identity: Survey Experiment among Young Adults (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J Young ◽  
Michelle Bover Manderski ◽  
Ollie Ganz ◽  
Cristine D Delnevo ◽  
Mary Hrywna
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Compared to heterosexuals, sexual minorities in the United States experience a higher incidence of negative physical and mental health outcomes. However, a variety of measurement challenges limit researchers’ ability to conduct meaningful survey research to understand these disparities. Many national health surveys only offer respondents three substantive options for reporting their sexual identities (straight/heterosexual, gay or lesbian, and bisexual) despite the prevalence of additional identities, which could lead to measurement error via misreporting and item non-response. OBJECTIVE This study compared the traditional three-option approach to measuring sexual identity with an expanded approach that offered respondents five additional options. METHODS An online survey experiment conducted among New Jersey residents between March and June 2021 randomly assigned 1,258 young adults (ages 18-21) to answer either the three-response measure of sexual identity or the expanded item. Response distributions for each measure were compared as were the odds of item non-response. RESULTS The expanded version of the question appeared to result in more accurate reporting among some subgroups and induced less item non-response. Twelve percent of participants answering the expanded version of the question selected a response that was not available in the shorter version. Females answering the expanded item were less likely to identify as gay or lesbian (2% vs.7%). Females and Non-Hispanic whites were slightly more likely to skip the shorter item (1% vs. 0%). Five percent of respondents answering the longer item were unsure of their sexual identity (a similar option was not available in the shorter version). Compared to respondents answering the longer version of the question, those answering the shorter version had substantially greater odds of skipping the question altogether (Odds Ratio 9.57, 95% CI 1.21-75.73, P=.03). CONCLUSIONS Results favor the use of a longer, more detailed approach to measuring sexual identity in epidemiological research. Such a measure will likely allow researchers to produce more accurate estimates of health behaviors and outcomes among sexual minorities.

Abstract 14345: Cardioprotective Effect of Trait Forgiveness on Elevated Heart Rates in Patients With Schizophrenia

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Villa ◽  
Ross W May ◽  
Frank D Fincham ◽  
Marcos A Sanchez-Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Rest Period ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Autonomic Modulation ◽  
Average Life Expectancy ◽  
Heart Rates ◽  
Cardiac Autonomic Modulation ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

Background: Schizophrenia (SCH), which reduces the average life expectancy by 10-25 years, is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Elevated resting HR has been associated with increased risk for the development of cardiometabolic disease, which is common in SCH patients. This association may be due in part to increased sympathovagal tone inducing elevated resting HR. However, the impact of cardioprotective positive emotions such as trait forgiveness (TF) on HR and cardiac autonomic modulation via HRV in patients with SCH is not well known. We hypothesized that TF would be a significant predictor of HR in SCH patients. Methods: A total of 250 subjects (SCH patients = 80; male = 68; healthy controls [CON] = 170; Male = 115) participated in this study. SCH patients stopped antipsychotic medications 24-hrs before the experiments and were body weight (M ± SEM) (82 ± 5 Kg), aged matched (42 ± 4 years) with CON. Standardized scales were used to measure affectivity including depression (CESD), positivity of relationships (PR), rumination, and TF. After a 10-min rest period, 5-min ECG tracings were collected for HRV analysis. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U Tests were used to evaluate the differences in HRV parameters at rest between SCH and CON. Hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) analyses were conducted to test the association between HR and affectivity to demonstrate the incremental contribution of sets of predictors in accounting for HR variance. Results: There were significant (p<0.01) differences between the groups (CON vs. SCH) in HR (72 ± 1.0 vs. 87 ± 1.4) and HRV the parameters Total Power (1822 ± 134 vs. 1183 ± 148), RMSSD (32.0 ± 1.7 vs. 19.0 ± 1.6), LF (762.7 ± 80.1 vs. 337.4 ± 45.0; surrogate of baroreflex function), and PR (26.1 ± 0.4 vs. 23.5 ± 0.7), but not TF. The HMR models showed that among affective symptoms, TF had an inverse relationship with heart rates and was the only significant predictor (p<.05) in the full model accounting for 8.1% in HR variance in the SCH group. Conclusions: These findings suggest that TF positively influences cardiac autonomic modulation in patients with SCH. Prospective studies aimed at examining TF as a cardioprotective behavioral intervention in SCH patients at increased cardiovascular risk.

scholarly journals The impact of periventricular white matter lesions in patients with bipolar disorder type I

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Serafini ◽  
Maurizio Pompili ◽  
Marco Innamorati ◽  
Nicoletta Girardi ◽  
Leonardo Strusi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
White Matter Lesions ◽  
Periventricular White Matter ◽  
Type I ◽  
Young Mania ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionWhite matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are one the most common neuroimaging findings in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). It has been suggested that WMHs are associated with impaired insight in schizophrenia and schizoaffective patients; however, the relationship between insight and WMHs in BD type I has not been directly investigated.MethodsPatients with BD-I (148) were recruited and underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Affective symptoms were assessed using Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS17); the presence of impaired insight was based on the corresponding items of YMRS and HDRS17.ResultsMultiple punctate periventricular WMHs (PWMHs) and deep WMHs (DWMHs) were observed in 49.3% and 39.9% of the cases, respectively. Subjects with lower insight for mania had significantly more PWMHs (54.6% vs 22.2%; p < 0.05) when compared to BD-I patients with higher insight for mania. The presence of PWMHs was independently associated with lower insight for mania: patients who denied illness according to the YMRS were 4 times more likely to have PWMHs (95% CI: 1.21/13.42) than other patients.ConclusionsImpaired insight in BD-I is associated with periventricular WMHs. The early identification of BD-I subjects with PWMHs and impaired insight may be crucial for clinicians.

scholarly journals Cortical-subcortical structural connections support transcranial magnetic stimulation engagement of the amygdala

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie J Sydnor ◽  
Matthew Cieslak ◽  
Romain Duprat ◽  
Joseph Deluisi ◽  
Matthew W Flounders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Fiber Density ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
Amygdala Activity ◽  
Structural Connections ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dose Dependent

The amygdala processes valenced stimuli, influences affective states, and exhibits aberrant activity across anxiety disorders, depression, and PTSD. Interventions that modulate amygdala activity hold promise for treating transdiagnostic affective symptoms. We investigated (N=45) whether transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) elicits indirect changes in amygdala activity when applied to ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), a region important for affect regulation. Harnessing in-scanner interleaved TMS/functional MRI (fMRI), we reveal that vlPFC neurostimulation evoked acute, dose-dependent modulations of amygdala fMRI BOLD signal. Larger TMS-evoked changes in amygdala fMRI signal were associated with higher fiber density in a vlPFC-amygdala white matter pathway, suggesting this pathway facilitated stimulation-induced communication between cortex and subcortex. This work provides evidence of amygdala engagement by TMS, highlighting stimulation of vlPFC-amygdala circuits as a candidate treatment for affective psychopathology. More broadly, it indicates that targeting cortical-subcortical connections may enhance the impact of TMS on subcortical neural activity and, by extension, subcortex-subserved behaviors.

scholarly journals Let’s (not) Go Outside: Grindr, Hybrid Space, and Digital Queer Neighborhoods

2021 ◽  
pp. 203-220
Author(s):  
Sam Miles
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Online Dating ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Space And Place ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Queer Space ◽  
Queer Spaces ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Valuable Role

AbstractDevelopments in mobile digital technologies are disrupting conventional understandings of space and place for smartphone users. One way in which location-based media are refiguring previously taken-for-granted spatial traditions is via GPS-enabled online dating and hook-up apps. For sexual minorities, these apps can reconfigure any street, park, bar, or home into a queer space through a potential meeting between mutually attracted individuals, but what does this signify for already-existing queer spaces? This chapter examines how smartphone apps including Grindr, Tinder, and Blued synthesize online queer encounter with offline physical space to create a new hybrid terrain predicated on availability, connection, and encounter. It is also a terrain that can sidestep established gay neighborhoods entirely. I explore how this hybridization impacts on older, physically rooted gay neighborhoods and the role that these neighborhoods have traditionally played in brokering social and sexual connection for sexual minorities. Few would deny that location-based apps have come to play a valuable role in multiplying opportunities for sexual minorities. However, the stratospheric rise of these technologies also provokes questions about their impact on embodied encounter, queer community, and a sense of place. A decade on from Grindr’s release, this chapter evaluates the impact of location-based media on gay spaces and reflects on what the increasing hybridization of online and offline spaces for same-sex encounter might mean for queer lives of the future.

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