Adolescent Gang Membership and Adverse Behavioral, Mental Health, and Physical Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood: A Within-Family Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1566-1586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Connolly ◽  
Dylan B. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Gang Membership ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Poor General Health ◽  
Sibling Pairs

Research suggests that adolescent gang membership increases the likelihood of adverse behavioral and mental health outcomes during adolescence. Less research, however, has examined whether gang membership is associated with adverse outcomes in young adulthood, and whether these associations remain after controlling for genetic and shared environmental factors that cluster within families. Data from a sample of full sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 are analyzed to test these hypotheses. Multivariate logistic regression models show that gang membership is associated with higher odds of arrest, alcohol abuse, severe anxious and depressive symptomatology, high school drop-out status, poor general health, and not seeking medical attention when needed in young adulthood. After controlling for familial confounding, siblings with a history of adolescent gang membership are more likely to report an arrest, never graduating high school, and severe anxious and depressive symptomatology. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.

An intervention for depressive symptoms using a commercial game in a mental health impatient setting. (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Rodrigo Guzman Cortez ◽  
Matias Marzocchi ◽  
Neus Freixa Fontanals ◽  
Mercedes Balcells-Olivero
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Pilot Test ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Depressive Episodes ◽  
Hamilton Rating Scale

BACKGROUND Computerized mental health interventions have shown evidence of their potential benefit for mental health outcomes in young users. All of the studied interventions available in the review and scientific literature can be classified as "serious games". Serious games are computerized interventions designed from the start with the objective of improving specific desired health outcomes. Moreover, there are reports of users experiencing subjective benefits in mental health after playing specific commercial games. These were games not intentionally made with a therapeutic objective in the design process. An example is the videogame "Journey", first released for the Playstation 3 console in 2012 which won "Game of the Year" in the 2013 D.I.C.E awards. The creator of the game describes the game as a short, 2-3-hour narrative experience in which the player goes through the "Hero's Journey" following a classic 3-part structure. There were more than 100 testimonials from players describing how the game helped them cope with psychological or personal issues. Some of them explicitly described recovering from depressive episodes through playing the game. OBJECTIVE To conduct a pilot test of the efficacy of the videogame Journey in reducing depressive symptoms in an acute impatient setting METHODS Depressive symptomatology was measured before and after the intervention using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) The intervention was conducted in an isolated room using a Playstation 3 console with the videogame "Journey" developed by Thatgamecompany. No internet access was allowed. The game was played over the course of 4 30-45 min sessions in a two week period. RESULTS The initial score in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) was 30, indicating a very severe depression. After the intervention the HRSD score was 10, showing a mild depression. CONCLUSIONS The Videogame Journey, a commercial game first available for the Playstation 3 console in 2012, was not created as a serious game with potential health benefits. Our pilot test is the first case report of a commercial game showing a potential effect in reducing depressive symptoms, which is consistent with the previous informal reports of users online.

A Longitudinal Test of Three Theories of Overconfidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean C. Murphy ◽  
Fiona Kate Barlow ◽  
William von Hippel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Intellectual Ability ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Motivation ◽  
Social Success ◽  
Over Time

This article presents a longitudinal test of three proposed functions of overconfidence. In a sample of 894 high school boys surveyed across two school years, we examined whether overconfidence in sporting ability and intelligence predicts improved mental health, motivation, and popularity. Both sporting and intelligence overconfidence showed positive cross-sectional associations with mental health outcomes, but there was little evidence that overconfidence predicted improved mental health over time. Some evidence emerged that overconfidence in sporting ability, but not intellectual ability, predicted increased effort, but neither type of overconfidence predicted improvements in ability over time. Finally, sporting but not intellectual overconfidence predicted increased popularity over time. These results suggest that overconfidence is associated with increased social success over time in at least some domains, and contradict the oft-cited possibility that overconfidence leads to increasingly deleterious outcomes over time.

scholarly journals Realizing the problem wasn’t necessarily me": The meaning of childhood adversity and resilience in the lives of autistic adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle A. Heselton ◽  
Gwen R. Rempel ◽  
David B Nicholas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Ample Evidence

Interview Data<p>There is ample evidence that childhood adversity correlates negatively with physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. Resilience results when internal and external protective factors in childhood mitigate the effects of adversity and mental and physical health outcomes are improved. However, the phenomena of childhood adversity and resilience among autistic children are understudied and not well understood. In this study, we engaged members of the autism community to advise on the research question, research design, and analysis. Following the engagement phase, three autistic young women and one nonbinary young adult, aged 19-27, participated in semi-structured interviews via phone, video conference, and online chat;. credibility checking interviews followed data analysis. Through interpretative phenomenological analysis we identified themes related to negative effects of adversity, including <i>social disconnection</i>, <i>mental and emotional well-being</i>, <i>sense of self</i>, and <i>development into young adulthood</i>. Resilience was developed in <i>places of refuge</i> and <i>identity</i>, and was evident in their <i>transitions into young adulthood</i>. These findings provide direction for fostering resilience in children and adolescents on the autism spectrum and planning and implementing mental health supports to autistic individuals across the lifespan. </p>

scholarly journals Realizing the problem wasn’t necessarily me": An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the meaning of childhood adversity and resilience in the lives of autistic adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Heselton ◽  
Gwen R. Rempel ◽  
David B Nicholas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Ample Evidence

Interview Data<p>There is ample evidence that childhood adversity correlates negatively with physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. Resilience results when internal and external protective factors in childhood mitigate the effects of adversity and mental and physical health outcomes are improved. However, the phenomena of childhood adversity and resilience among autistic children are understudied and not well understood. In this study, we engaged members of the autism community to advise on the research question, research design, and analysis. Following the engagement phase, three autistic young women and one nonbinary young adult, aged 19-27, participated in semi-structured interviews via phone, video conference, and online chat;. credibility checking interviews followed data analysis. Through interpretative phenomenological analysis we identified themes related to negative effects of adversity, including <i>social disconnection</i>, <i>mental and emotional well-being</i>, <i>sense of self</i>, and <i>development into young adulthood</i>. Resilience was developed in <i>places of refuge</i> and <i>identity</i>, and was evident in their <i>transitions into young adulthood</i>. These findings provide direction for fostering resilience in children and adolescents on the autism spectrum and planning and implementing mental health supports to autistic individuals across the lifespan. </p>

scholarly journals Suicidal behaviour in adolescence and subsequent mental health outcomes in young adulthood

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 983-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID M. FERGUSSON ◽  
L. JOHN HORWOOD ◽  
ELIZABETH M. RIDDER ◽  
ANNETTE L. BEAUTRAIS
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes
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