scholarly journals Dreaming during the COVID-19 lockdown: a comparison of Italian adolescents and adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Sommantico ◽  
Ilaria Iorio ◽  
Marina Lacatena ◽  
Santa Parrello
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Continuity Hypothesis ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
Italian Adolescents

Based on the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, we have studied the effects of lockdown measures on Italian adolescents’ and adults’ dreams during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A sample of 475 subjects (73.9% women; 48.4% adolescents; ages 12-70 years, M=25.10, SD=12.2) was recruited via the Internet between April 17, 2020 and May 18, 2020. Participants were asked to provide socio-demographic data, as well as to report their Most Recent Dream. Results indicated that adults’ dreams were the longest, as well as characterized by higher emotional intensity, predominantly negative emotions, and a higher presence of sensory impressions. Furthermore, results indicated that the participants, especially adolescents, who were most directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic reported the strongest effects on their dreams. Results also indicated that women recall dreams more often than men, in addition to reporting higher emotional intensity, predominantly negative emotions, and a higher presence of sensory impressions. Finally, results of the Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts showed that adults’ dreams seem to be centered, above all, on both pleasant memories linked to experiences that are now forbidden (i.e., traveling, meeting friends) as well as on nightmares, while adolescents’ dreams focused on relationships with others. Finally, both adults and adolescents reported dreams related to the experience of home confinement, which they described in terms of the negative emotions they experienced. In sum, the findings of this study indicate that the COVID-19 lockdown measures, understood as a contextual and traumatic event, significantly affect people’s oneiric lives, regardless of age.

Digital Technologies and Sex

2020 ◽  
pp. 240-250
Author(s):  
Shane W. Kraus ◽  
Marc N. Potenza
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Casual Sex ◽  
Sexual Practices ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Sexual Activities ◽  
Pornography Use ◽  
Adolescents And Adults

The Internet has revolutionized the way in which we consume and participate in sexual activities. Digital technologies are shaping the ways in which people interact with one another romantically and sexually. This chapter reviews some of the ways in which digital technologies are potentially shaping sexual behaviors, especially those of adolescents and young adults. Evidence suggests that technologies are facilitating increasingly more sexual activities among young people and adults, yet our understanding of these remains incomplete. The Internet has made pornography highly accessible to most individuals around the world, but the effects of frequent pornography use on individuals’ sexual beliefs and practices remain largely unknown. Sexting is also common among adolescents and adults, with some initial evidence finding that sexting was a partial mediator between problematic alcohol use and sexual hookups. More work on sexting behaviors is needed, particularly among vulnerable populations or groups at risk for exploitation. The wide use of smartphone applications designed to help users find casual sex partners are becoming more common, mirroring the increasing acceptability of having relationally uncommitted sex among young adults. More research is needed to investigate the influences of digital technologies on shaping the sexual practices of adolescents and emerging adults who may be spending increasingly more time online. Furthermore, more research is needed to examine both the potential benefits and risks associated with digital technologies that may facilitate sexual behaviors.

Animals in Dreams of Children, Adolescents, and Adults: The UK Library Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 027623662096063
Author(s):  
Michael Schredl ◽  
Mark Blagrove
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Continuity Hypothesis ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
The Uk

Animal dreams have fascinated mankind for ages. Empirical research indicated that children dream more often about animals than adults and dogs, cats, and horses are the most frequent animals that appear within dreams. Moreover, most dreamer-animal interactions are negative. The present study included 4849 participants (6 to 90 yrs. old) reporting 2716 most recent dreams. Overall, 18.30% of these dreams included animals with children reporting more animal dreams that adolescents and adults. The most frequent animals were again dogs, horses, and cats; about 20% of the dream animals were in fact pets of the dreamers. About 30% of the dream animals showed bizarre features, e.g., metamorphosing into humans or other animals, bigger than in real life, or can talk. Taken together, the findings support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming but also the idea that dreams reflect waking-life emotions in a metaphorical and dramatized way. Future studies should focus on eliciting waking-life experiences with animals, e.g., having a pet, animal-related media consumption, and relating these to experiences with animals in dreams.

scholarly journals Why do people end up buying fake medicines online? A thematic analysis of newspaper articles

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i1-i1
Author(s):  
P Donyai ◽  
N Patel ◽  
H Almomani
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Theory Of Planned Behaviour ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Control Beliefs ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Normative Beliefs ◽  
Planned Behaviour ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Indirect Measures ◽  
Newspaper Articles

Abstract Introduction The internet provides a platform for both legal and illegal online suppliers of medicines, which are sometimes difficult to distinguish between. Therefore, consumers accessing the internet are at risk of purchasing fake medicines from illegal suppliers. This is particularly problematic when people buy Prescription-Only Medicines (POMs) from the internet, despite an abundance of governmental campaigns 1. This under-researched issue has nonetheless been highlighted in news articles in the past few years which are a potential source of information, albeit informally, about how and why people end up buying fake medicines via the internet. This study is phase-1 of a larger study that aims to develop a questionnaire using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)2 to examine risky online purchasing of medicines to help focus future campaigns. Aim The aim is to identify the factors that lead people to inadvertently buy fake POMs online by examining newspaper articles covering this topic and categorising the findings according to the TPB’s indirect measures; namely, behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs. Methods Newspaper articles were collected from the electronic database “ProQuest” using a series of search words for retrieving newspaper articles covering the purchasing of fake medicines online throughout the world. The search was limited to articles published from April-2019 to March-2020 to retrieve relevant articles in this fast-developing field. Articles that did not focus on POMs or only covered the supply side (e.g. efforts to combat illegal suppliers) were excluded. After evaluating each article using the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 52 articles remained. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the newspaper articles against the TPB. The NVivo software program (version 12) was used to aid the generation of the themes. Results Using thematic analysis, 12 themes were generated and categorised according to the TPB’s indirect measures as follows. The behavioural beliefs (i.e. advantages and disadvantages of buying medicines online) included a perception of convenience, low price, privacy of the purchase, potential harmful effect, low quality, and lack of medical oversight. The normative beliefs (i.e. social factors influencing decisions to buy medicines online) included endorsement by influencers, deceptive marketing by suppliers, as well as organizations fighting the fake supply chain. The control beliefs (i.e. what encourages or stops purchasing medicines online) included encountering medicines shortages, outbreak of pandemic diseases, and accessibility issues. Conclusion This newspaper-analysis study created an initial map of ideas for why consumers might inadvertently buy fake POMs online highlighting the complexity of personal beliefs as well as a range of external circumstances. Further exploring these factors provides the basis for future campaigns for changing/controlling the purchasing of fake medicines online. Although the newspaper articles offer a wide range of data and provide different points of view, the validity of their content cannot be proven and are taken at face value. Therefore, the next step for this study is to complete semi-structured interviews with consumers purchasing medicines online (Phase-2) to verify the themes generated in Phase-1 before developing a larger questionnaire study (Phase-3). References 1. HM Government. Protect your health when buying medicines online. Accessed 08 October 2020 from: https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/ 2. Ajzen, I. The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational behaviour and human decision processes. 1991; 50 (2),179–211.

scholarly journals Multidimensional Feature Classification of the Health Information Needs of Patients With Hypertension in an Online Health Community Through Analysis of 1000 Patient Question Records: Observational Study

10.2196/17349 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. e17349
Author(s):  
Aijing Luo ◽  
Zirui Xin ◽  
Yifeng Yuan ◽  
Tingxiao Wen ◽  
Wenzhao Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Clinical Findings ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Good Doctor ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Symptoms And Signs

Background With the rapid development of online health communities, increasing numbers of patients and families are seeking health information on the internet. Objective This study aimed to discuss how to fully reveal the health information needs expressed by patients with hypertension in their questions in a web-based environment and how to use the internet to help patients with hypertension receive personalized health education. Methods This study randomly selected 1000 text records from the question data of patients with hypertension from 2008 to 2018 collected from Good Doctor Online and constructed a classification system through literature research and content analysis. This paper identified the background characteristics and questioning intention of each patient with hypertension based on the patient’s question and used co-occurrence network analysis and the k-means clustering method to explore the features of the health information needs of patients with hypertension. Results The classification system for the health information needs of patients with hypertension included the following nine dimensions: drugs (355 names), symptoms and signs (395 names), tests and examinations (545 names), demographic data (526 kinds), diseases (80 names), risk factors (37 names), emotions (43 kinds), lifestyles (6 kinds), and questions (49 kinds). There were several characteristics of the explored web-based health information needs of patients with hypertension. First, more than 49% of patients described features, such as drugs, symptoms and signs, tests and examinations, demographic data, and diseases. Second, patients with hypertension were most concerned about treatment (778/1000, 77.80%), followed by diagnosis (323/1000, 32.30%). Third, 65.80% (658/1000) of patients asked physicians several questions at the same time. Moreover, 28.30% (283/1000) of patients were very concerned about how to adjust the medication, and they asked other treatment-related questions at the same time, including drug side effects, whether to take the drugs, how to treat the disease, etc. Furthermore, 17.60% (176/1000) of patients consulted physicians about the causes of clinical findings, including the relationship between the clinical findings and a disease, the treatment of a disease, and medications and examinations. Fourth, by k-means clustering, the questioning intentions of patients with hypertension were classified into the following seven categories: “how to adjust medication,” “what to do,” “how to treat,” “phenomenon explanation,” “test and examination,” “disease diagnosis,” and “disease prognosis.” Conclusions In a web-based environment, the health information needs expressed by Chinese patients with hypertension to physicians are common and distinct, that is, patients with different background features ask relatively common questions to physicians. The classification system constructed in this study can provide guidance to health information service providers for the construction of web-based health resources, as well as guidance for patient education, which could help solve the problem of information asymmetry in communication between physicians and patients.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among School-age Adolescent

2020 ◽  
pp. 40-49
Author(s):  
Khalid Astitene ◽  
Hassan Aguenaou ◽  
Laila Lahlou ◽  
Amina Barkat
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Reaction Index ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Post Traumatic

Aim: After a traumatic event, the person can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the purpose of the study is to assess the prevalence of PTSD in adolescents in public middle schools of the prefecture of Salé in Morocco and study anxiety and depression which are the comorbid disorders of the PTSD. The survey was carried out from March to June 2017. Methods: 523 students were selected by the cross-sectional method from fifteen schools that were randomly selected, the age of the students vary between 12 and 17 years. For the survey, standardized questionnaires (the socio-demographic data, the Life Events Checklist, the CPTS-RI (Children's Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index), the STAIY (State Trait Inventory Anxiety Form Y) and the CDI (Children Depression Inventory) were used which were filled in by the students. Results: The prevalence of PTSD was 70.4% in the students who have PTSD. We found that the prevalence in boys was 46.74%, while in girls it was 53.26%. In addition to that, 81% of students found to be anxious and 51.8% of students have depression. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder among adolescents, there are practical implications for the support and care of these adolescents.

scholarly journals Institutional Drivers of Internet Voting Adoption in Ghana: A Qualitative Exploratory Studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Agbesi
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Internet Voting ◽  
Voting System ◽  
The Government

Internet voting system adoption in elections can bring enormous benefits to an electoral process. Though few countries have adopted it for their legally binding elections, others have discontinued its use because of perceived vulnerabilities. But it has been argued that the benefits the internet voting system provide outweigh the perceived vulnerabilities. The main purpose of this study is to examine the drivers of the internet voting system from the organizational context. The study is purely qualitative using semi-structured interviews. The interview participants were top management of EC staff, political parties’ executives and experts who were purposively selected, and thematic analysis was used to extract patterns from the data collected. The main themes that emerged from the thematic analysis include pressure from political parties, pressure from the government, legal framework, financial readiness of EC, EC top management support, convenience, accuracy, and increase voter turnouts. The discussion of the findings and the implication of the results were discussed in the study.

scholarly journals Online information related to childhood cancer and COVID-19 pandemic: a thematic analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (suppl 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Wernet ◽  
Aline Oliveira Silveira ◽  
Mariana Lucas Rocha Cunha ◽  
Patrícia Luciana Moreira Dias ◽  
Marisa Utzig Cossul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Functioning ◽  
Childhood Cancer ◽  
Pediatric Oncology ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Informational Support ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze online information available on the internet about COVID-19 and childhood cancer and discuss its reach potential with regard to supporting family functioning. Method: Documentary research supported by thematic analysis and the concept of family functioning and support. A total of 27 publications available on the websites of reference institutions in pediatric oncology, from March 1 to May 31, 2020, were analyzed. Results: Two themes guided the presentation of results with emphasis on language and sustainability assumptions to content, and to conveyed meanings and intentionality. The publications prospect families/people with basic knowledge about COVID-19 and have little information specific to the relationship with childhood cancer. Final considerations: Threatening circumstances require informational support. This study revealed incipient of specificity and a prescriptive tone in the online information available in early times of the pandemic, questioning the scope of support for family functioning.

scholarly journals Perception of Cyberbullying in Adolescence: A Brief Evaluation Among Italian Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Saladino ◽  
Stefano Eleuteri ◽  
Valeria Verrastro ◽  
Filippo Petruccelli
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Phobia ◽  
School Context ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Italian Adolescents

Cyberbullying is associated with the expansion of digital devices and the Internet. In Italy and other European and non-European countries, the phenomenon is growing. Young people who suffer from cyberbullying develop psychopathological symptoms of anxiety, depression, and social phobia that can lead to extreme acts, such as suicide. The pressure, the sense of isolation, and helplessness experienced by cyber-victims also affect their family and the school context. Cyberbullying is acted through digital tools, it is often anonymous, and aims to destroy and psychologically humiliate the victim. There are various forms of cyberbullying that involve different reactions and consequences. However, few studies have focused on adolescents’ perception of cyberbullying. Youths often engage in aggressive behaviors, ignoring the feelings and reactions of the victims. Based on these considerations, our article aims to provide a general overview of the spread of the phenomenon and to understand the various types of cyberbullying and its consequences on victims. We will also illustrate a brief evaluation conducted in Italian schools investigating the perception of cyberbullying in a sample of 600 Italian adolescents (11–14 years old). Our work aims to investigate the cognition and the personal perception of youths about cyberbullying and its consequences and to promote educational interventions within and outside the context of school.

Child Pornography Sentencing and Demographic Data: Reforming Through Research

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-107
Author(s):  
SpearIt
Keyword(s):  
Child Pornography ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Sentencing Guidelines ◽  
Demographic Research ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ◽  
Sentencing Reform ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sentencing Policy

This article examines demographic research on child pornography offenders and considers its utility for sentencing reform. It begins by tracing the history of the Internet and federal possession law, detailing particularly how public and political panic about child pornography evolved within a growing fear of the Internet itself. The article continues by surveying current demographic research on possession offenders. Drawing on this data and related research, the article considers what the literature can contribute to sentencing policy, simultaneously showcasing vast differences between the type of offender Congress intended to punish and those actually receiving the harsh punishment. Taken wholly, this article explains why child pornography guidelines represent a departure from the normal process of creating Federal Sentencing Guidelines; it tells how law succumbed to the forces of fear and stacked the scale against child pornography offenders.

scholarly journals "Without the Internet, I never would have sold sex": Young women selling sex online

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda S. Jonsson ◽  
Carl Göran Svedin ◽  
Margareta Hydén
Keyword(s):  
Young Women ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Sexual Communication ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Sexual Encounter ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Selling Sex

Among Swedish youth with experience of selling sex, the Internet is the most common means of contact between buyer and seller. There are few descriptions of how these contacts are established, but studies have indicated that young people under the age of 18 seldom engage in open prostitution online. This study aimed to examine what role the Internet and the use of smartphones play in young women selling sex online, focusing on the method of contact and the characteristics of the communication online between buyer and seller. The study included 15 young women between the ages of 15 and 25 (M=18.9) who had sold sex online before the age of 18. Thematic analysis was used to identify similarities and differences in the narratives.Two main themes were identified: (I) Internet use—Part of daily life, for good and bad, and Depending on mood. The young women described using the Internet on a daily basis. During periods of poorer psychological health they were more active on sites focusing on self-destructiveness and sex. During these periods, they also sold sex more frequently. (II) Patterns of contacts—Innocent/curious, Dating, and Advertising. The narratives about communication prior to a sexual encounter detailed differences ranging from being lured to direct negotiations. The results indicate that there is a group of young women who sell sex online that is not in the open prostitution. Police and other authorities working with young women selling sex need to better understand the coded sexual communication behind some of these sexual encounters and how different communication strategies might affect the young women.

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