More Than Mental Illness: Experiences of Associating with Stigma of Mental Illness for Chinese College Students

From existing empirical research, we identified that Chinese college students commonly experience stigma surrounding mental illness and found some factors that support them in resisting the stigma and achieving psychological health. However, less research provides qualitative data involving individual experiences and insights on mental illness within this group of college students. This study, based on ACE-LYNX (an internationally cooperative research-sharing project between China and Canada), was conducted in Shandong, Jinan, and aims to promote the mental health of college students by empowering interdisciplinary professionals and students. Through the research project, this study analyzed the materials from 24 focus groups, explored the understanding of mental illness and prevalence of mental illness stigma in Chinese colleges at the present time, administered a background questionnaire, and provided statistical support for some revealed themes. The final themes are as follows: mental illness is stereotyped as “severe, pathetic, and complicated”; the misconception of “visiting a psychological counselor is scary”; from public stigma to self-stigma; barriers deterring students from seeking help or accessing services; two sides of the same coin: peer support versus peer pressure.

The Causes of Anxiety in Highly Anxious Students in Japanese Communicative EFL Classes

The purpose of this study was to identify the causes of speaking anxiety in highly anxious students, of which their teachers might not have been aware, and solutions to alleviate the problem. Sixteen students from a Japanese language-oriented university participated in an interview survey. The participants’ anxiety levels were measured using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that included five items related to foreign language classroom anxiety. The results were compared to the results of interviews with their teachers, and interesting responses from the student interviews that their teachers did not raise were highlighted. The main causes of anxiety were an unpleasant classroom environment, peer pressure, and non-ideal class types. Students argued for several strategies to reduce the anxiety associated with speaking practice, increase their use of English, and improve their proficiency. To achieve these strategies, teachers need to take into account the opinions of students they did not previously focus on.

Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes

Background and aim For decades, corporations such as the tobacco and fossil fuel industries have used youth education programmes and schools to disseminate discourses, ideas and values favourable to their positions, and to pre-empt regulation that threatens profits. However, there is no systematic research into alcohol industry-funded youth education programmes. This article serves to address this important gap in the literature. Methods Using a discourse theoretical approach informed by poststructural discourse theory and critical discourse analysis, we analysed teaching materials from three school-based youth education initiatives which focus on alcohol consumption and health harms: Drinkaware for Education, The Smashed Project (funded by Diageo), and Talk About Alcohol (Alcohol Education Trust). These materials, some of which are disseminated internationally, are provided to schools through intermediary bodies in receipt of alcohol industry funding. Findings The analysis found that these materials drew from and presented discourses of personal responsibility, moderate alcohol consumption, and involved a narrowing of the problem definition and causes. The locus of the problem is located by the discourses within individuals including youth, with causes of youth alcohol consumption repeatedly presented as peer pressure and ‘poor choices’, with little or no mention of alcohol industry marketing or other practices. All programmes promoted familiarisation and normalisation of alcohol as a ‘normal’ adult consumer product which children must learn about and master how to use responsibly when older. The discourses constructed in these materials closely align with those of other alcohol industry corporate social responsibility discourses which employ selective presentation of harms, including misinformation about cancer, and ambiguous terms such as “responsible drinking”. Furthermore, the role of alcohol price, availability and access, and the impacts of alcohol and the industry on inequities were not articulated within the discourses. The research was limited to an analysis of teaching materials and further research is needed to explore their impact on youth, teachers and wider discourses and social norms. Conclusion Alcohol industry-sponsored youth education programmes serve industry interests and promote moderate consumption while purportedly educating children about harms and influences of alcohol use. There are considerable conflicts of interest in the delivery of alcohol education programmes funded by the alcohol industry and intermediary bodies in receipt of such funding. Alcohol education materials should be developed independent from industry, including funding, and should empower children and young people to understand and think critically about alcohol, including harms and drivers of consumption, and effective interventions needed to protect them and others from alcohol-related harms. Independent organisations can use this analysis to critique their materials to strengthen alignment with meeting student and public health interests. The ongoing exposure of children and young people to such conflicted and misleading materials needs urgent attention from policymakers, practitioners, teachers and parents, and resources dependent on industry support should cease being used in schools.

Gender-specific responses to multifaceted factors associated with disordered eating among adolescents of 7th to 9th grade

Background The prevalence of disordered eating is increasing among adolescents in Asia. The prevalence and predictors of disordered eating in boys have often gone unrecognized. This study examined gender-specific responses to multifaceted factors associated with disordered eating, including personal, behavioral, family, and school-related characteristics. Methods After excluding responses with incomplete information, a sample of 729 adolescents (48.97% boys) between the ages of 13 and 16 were surveyed through convenience sampling from 37 classrooms in three junior high schools in New Taipei City of Taiwan were analyzed. The Eating Attitudes Test-26 questionnaire was used to identify disordered eating. Results No difference in the prevalence of disordered eating between the genders was found. Adolescent girls exhibit a preoccupation with fatness and a desire to be thinner, whereas boys are more likely to engage in extreme dieting behaviors such as vomiting, keeping the stomach empty, and avoiding sweets. Girls engaging in disordered eating reported relatively high levels of interpersonal stress involving family member weight-teasing, low peer acceptance, and high peer pressure to control weight. High intensity of regular exercise was found in girls with disordered eating. The perception of body weight is a more critical factor of engaging in disordered eating for boys than girls. Adolescents with immigrant parents were associated with disordered eating among both genders. Conclusions Changing gender-specific weight-related norms in schools and families is essential to reduce the prevalence of disordered eating, particularly among girls. Future studies using representative samples to confirm this study’s findings are warranted.

Alcohol Drinking Patterns and Contributing Factors among Medical Students, a Systematic Review

Background:The use of Alcohol has become an important public health concern with a variety of negative consequences, it is important to understand the variables that may be risk factors for this phenomenon. Further, university students represent a group of individuals who have unique drinking patterns and different risk factors and concerns related to problematic drinking than the population in general. Legal substances like alcohol accounts for the vast majority of negative medical, economic, and social impact. Although alcohol use occurs across many age groups, young adults aged 18–24 years show the highest rates of alcohol use and have the greatest percentage of problems drinkers (Kandel & Logan, 1984). Namibia is ranked fifth on the African continent in terms of annual alcohol consumption with the average Namibian consuming 9.62 liters of alcohol per year (WHO 2011). This review addresses problematic drinking and the variables associated with it for medical students. The purpose of this systematic review is to compare the perception and attitude of alcohol consumption among medical students and weigh the factors associated with drinking habits. Methods:A qualitative and quantitative systematic review of article from multiple search engines. Five articles were within the inclusion criteria thus appraised and reviewed for this paper. The common study method used was cross sectional, with varying sample sizes. Commonly, the use of self-assessment questionnaires and objective AUDIT C and CAGE score evaluation were used frequently between these articles. Results:The review showed that there are multiple factors that influence the use of alcohol among medical students. Personal factors such as a new found sense of independence, peer pressure, inability to handle academic stressors. Socio-economic factors include high tolerance of alcohol use in the communities and monthly expenses. It was also noted that the use of alcohol in medical students is higher than the average university student. A highlighted noted is that the use of alcohol is much higher among male than female medical students. Conclusion:Findings suggested that the perceptions of alcohol use is depended on multiple factors majority being academic perceived stress. It is also noted that continuation of these maladaptive coping mechanisms may lead to dysfunction in the future. The findings of systematic review are limited by the number of articles appraised and reliant on the information provided by the authors.

Tobacco consumption patterns amongst recruits at a training centre

Background: Approximately 3 million premature deaths occur every year due to tobacco. Gaps were observed in the scientific knowledge about tobacco consumption practices among armed forces personnel in our country. Keeping in view the paucity of studies in this field workers chose to undertake the present study.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among service personnel across a training centre to determine prevalence of tobacco consumption. The sample size was calculated to estimate 95% confidence interval for prevalence of tobacco consumption with 5% absolute precision. The minimum sample size was calculated to be 250, however, 285 personnel were included in the study. “Personal interview technique” was used for data and standard statistical methods were utilized for data analysis.Results: The mean age (standard deviation) of the study subjects was 20.80 years (1.23). The overall prevalence of currently using tobacco in any form was 9.82%, mean (SD) of number of years of tobacco use was 2.33 years (1.27). Mean (SD) of number of cigarettes/bidis smoked per day was 7.52 (6.71). Average amount spent on tobacco consumption per month was Rs310.95 (2.42% of monthly salary). The commonest reasons for smoking is peer pressure, to relax and feel like hero.Conclusions: Our study has helped to fill in the existing gaps in the scientific knowledge about tobacco consumption practices among armed forces personnel in our country.

The Association Between Sports, Body Image, and Eating Disorders of Males Teens at Eastside Catholic

In the past 25 years, the number of males who are dissatisfied with their bodies increased threefold. This is prevalent especially in the athletic field, where different physique expectations are closely associated with performance. Heightened focus on dietary rules and fitness level cause males to struggle with body dissatisfaction and shame and increase the risk of them developing eating disorders (ED), some of which are the most fatal mental illnesses. Many disordered eating behaviors stem from negative self-perceptions, which start to develop as early as the beginning of grade school and intensifies during pubertal development. However, most studies that examine this issue either looks at female college athletes who have a heavy exercise load and pressure from society on their physiques or focuses on social factors of peer pressure, family influence, and beauty standard. Therefore, it is imperative to determine whether sports participation is positively correlated with the rapidly growing rate of body image issues and ED symptoms in adolescent boys to help address them promptly and prevent severe and lasting damages. This quantitative case study conducted on male teens at Eastside Catholic High School (ECHS) found positive correlations between aesthetic/strength sports, body image issues, and higher ED risks, suggesting that athletic involvement plays a greater role in a person’s physical perception and mental health than body weight does. The conclusions inform education institutions and guardians of the more effective way to detect male adolescents’ body image issues and eating disorder symptoms, helping to prevent or alleviate mental illnesses.

Online social transparency in enterprise information systems: a risk assessment method

Teleworking refers to the utilization of information and communication technologies for work done outside the workplace. The Covid-19 crisis led to increased utilisation of social networking tools within enterprises, especially when working remotely. The aim of their use is often to improve situational awareness, coordination, and collaboration amongst employees. Online social transparency, typically done through social networks or enterprise social software, refers to the voluntary sharing of personal and contextual information such as those relating to their own and team status, intentions, motivation, capabilities, goal priorities besides updates on the physical and social context, with other colleagues. An ad-hoc practice of social transparency can introduce risks such as information overload, social loafing and peer pressure. Despite recognising its adverse effects, there is a lack of systematic methods that identify and assess the risks of online social transparency. In this paper, we present a method to identify and evaluate these within enterprises. We present the method’s workflow, stakeholders, the novel artefacts and techniques devised to use and the outcomes to produce. We evaluate our proposed method by applying it in a real organisational context and assess applicability, efficiency, and effectiveness in identifying risks and supporting managers in risk assessment. The results showed that the method gives a framework of thinking and analysis and helps recognize and identify risks in a specialized manner.