Search

Background: Among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM), sexual orientation disclosure to social groups can act as a significant risk for depression. The primary goal of this research is to understand the association between disclosure and depression, the association of social support and intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences, depression, and disclosure. Methods: This project uses a secondary dataset of Thailand from a larger cross-sectional study distributed in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. This study utilized web-based answers from 1468 Thai GBM respondents between the ages of 15–24 years. Results: Prevalence of depression was over 50%. Across the social groups of interest, those who disclosed to everyone had the lowest depression prevalence. This association was statistically significant for all groups (p<0.050) except for "Family members" (p = 0.052). There was a statistically significant association illustrated between full disclosure to social groups and increased social support. Most respondents (43.9%) had low social support, and additionally this group had the highest level of depression, compared to those with high social support. There was a statistically significant association for lowered depression outcomes and increased social support. IPV experiences that occurred within the last six months had a statistically significant relationship with depression (p = 0.002). There was a notable association between those with experiences of being a victim of IPV, alone and in conjunction with experience of being a perpetrator of IPV, which was associated with increased odds of depression. However, the type of IPV experiences an individual had did not differ based on disclosure status. Discussion: This study provides strengthened evidence of the impact that differences in supportive networks can have on mental health outcomes. In addition, they provided a wider consideration for how people may have different IPV experiences, either as a perpetrator, victim, or both, and how those shapes health outcomes of depression. GBM communities still face adversity and challenges that affect their long-term health outcomes, even if they do live in what is considered an accepting country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently, early maladaptive schemas have been increasingly focused as the underlying factor of several psychopathologies. The primary objective is to systematically review and meta‐analytically analyse the evidence on the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and types of addictive behaviours. Additionally, the secondary objective was to examine potential moderators of the effect sizes. Methods: The systematic search was conducted on three databases including 'Scopus', 'Web of Science' and 'PubMed'. They were searched for quantitative studies investigating the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and addictive behaviours. The studies that were non‐English and had insufficient information to calculate effect sizes were excluded. The random‐effect model was utilized to estimate the pool effect sizes, and the meta‐regression was used for moderation analysis. Results: Thirty‐three studies with 12,577 participants were included for analyses. Most of included studies were conducted in the United States (k = 12, 36.36%). The mean ages of participants varied from 13.32 to 46.09 years. The findings indicated that all of early maladaptive schemas and schema domains positively correlated with addictive behaviours. The disconnection and rejection, impaired limits and impaired autonomy were the domains with the highest association with substance addictions (pool r = 0.338, 3.26 and 3.16, respectively). Furthermore, disconnection and rejection and impaired autonomy were the schema domains with the highest association with behavioural addictions (0.310 and 0.304, respectively). The moderation analysis demonstrated that study design was the factor affecting the effect sizes between schema domain and addictive behaviours. Limitation: All included studies were from peer‐reviewed journals in English. Moreover, the number of research examining the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and behavioural addictions was limited. Conclusion: The findings provide evidence supporting the idea that substance addictions and behavioural addictions have shared risk factors, supporting the validity of the schema model, which can be applied for targeting and preventing addictive behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to review the scientific literature on natural recovery from alcohol. The study examined and compared the methodology, alcohol use recovery variables, reasons for recovery, and maintenance factors among studies of natural recovery from alcohol. Articles published in English between 2006–2019 were systematically searched through the PUBMED, EMBASE and SCOPUS electronic databases. Three reviewers independently extracted data using a standard form. After screening 412 records, eleven studies were selected and data extracted. All eleven studies were self-reports. Five of the studies used advertisements for recruitment and sampling, three studies had control groups, and seven of eleven studies were conducted in the United States. Participants tended to be older (mean age 55.2 years), educated (mean education 14.3 years), White (76.1%), and unmarried (64.9%). Roughly half were male (62.3%) and employed (54.1%). There were 13 reasons of natural recovery, most were health-related, finance-related, and due to negative personal effects (45.5%). The most important maintenance factor was social support/change in social group (36.4%) Most studies were conducted in the United States, among older, White men. Qualitative studies where contexts and situations are assessed and critically analyzed may be important to move the field forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the scope of the published research studies on mHealth digital application interventions for youths with addictive behaviors, considering both the development and evaluation aspects. The main goal was to identify the concepts and theories underlying such applied technologies, detect any gaps, and provide recommendations. A secondary goal was to identify the components of mHealth digital application interventions that led to cognitive, emotional, and behavioral change among youths with addictive behaviors by drawing on Beck's cognitive model and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Materials and Methods: A scoping review was done based on York's five-stage framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley. Four leading databases were searched, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results: There were 16 mHealth digital application interventions being developed to help youth overcome addiction issues. Most of the existing techniques involve dealing with youth's stimuli, emotions, addictive behaviors, and physiology or physical reactions. These were the components of cross-sectional Beck's cognitive model and CBT. In addition, most of the cognitive skill components were focused on managing reflective thoughts such as planning to stop addictive behaviors, intention to stop, encouraging more of creating positive thinking, or benefits of stop doing addictive behavior. No application component focused on identifying any implicit thought influenced of specific memories on addiction outcome expectancies such as the substance or self-intermediate belief, substance or self-core belief contained in Beck's longitudinal cognitive model. Conclusion: Findings from the present scoping review suggest new routes for working with implicit thoughts. Some opportunities exist here for the development of CBT mHealth applications to raise awareness in youth concerning the implicit substance or self-concept appearing in Beck's longitudinal cognitive model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the behavioral characteristics and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalence of Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) (n=41) from a national probability sample of men (n =1861). Most MSM were partnered with females (97%) and had a low rate of consistent condom use (7%). More MSM than heterosexual men self-reported a prior STD and risky sexual behaviors. MSM may act as a bridge for HIV transmission to female partners. Targeted interventions may help prevent a generalized HIV epidemic in China. (Am J Public Health. 2009;99:1978-1981. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.150037)

Trauma experiences and the prevalence of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were assessed among children in tsunami-affected provinces in Southern Thailand. Traumatic events experienced during the tsunami on December 26, 2004, were found to be significantly associated with symptoms of PTSD and depression among children in the reported areas at 2 years 9 months posttsunami.

Next to its benefits for HIV prevention, PrEP may have psychosocial benefits relating to improved quality of sex life. The aim of the current study was to investigate the onset of changes in the quality of sex life and sexual pleasure of PrEP users in the first months of commencing PrEP use. Moreover, we investigated what factors were related to the quality of sex life of PrEP users. We recruited 145 participants via the Dutch PrEP-advocacy website PrEPnu.nl, and they received follow-up questionnaires after three and six months. We found that PrEP users reported an increase in the quality of their sex life, which was related to reduced fear of HIV since they started using PrEP but not to decreased condom use. PrEP users were more interested in experimenting with sex practices, but they did not always feel more desirable as a sex partner because of PrEP use. Health-care providers and health promotion campaigns could emphasize the positive effects of PrEP on the quality of sex life, in addition to the HIV-preventive effects of PrEP, to decrease PrEP stigma and increase PrEP uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reach its goal of ending AIDS by 2030, Thailand has adopted antiretroviral treatment as prevention and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) as its core HIV control strategy. However, in the absence of reliable epidemiologic indicators, the impact of these policies on the course of the HIV epidemic in these groups remains unknown. To help answer this question, we formulated an HIV epidemic consensus initiative for Bangkok, Thailand, to analyze epidemiologic and program data and reach agreement between experts and stakeholders on the evolving state of the HIV epidemic among MSM and TGW. A customized Delphi process was used to consult and consolidate viewpoints of experts and stakeholders. Experts presented and discussed HIV prevalence and incidence data from recent and ongoing studies among MSM and TGW in Bangkok (2014 to 2018) during a meeting with stakeholders representing government, donors, and civil society. Agreement about the course of the HIV epidemic among MSM and TGW was attained by voting consensus. Based on presented data, meeting participants agreed that HIV prevalence and incidence had decreased among Bangkok MSM from 2014 to 2018. Despite these declines, HIV prevalence and incidence were found to remain high. This was particularly the case among younger MSM. Participants agreed that there was no evidence for a decrease in HIV prevalence and incidence among Bangkok TGW. Introduction of antiretroviral treatment as prevention and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis may have contributed to these declines. However, HIV prevalence and incidence remained high, and no signs of a decrease were reported among Bangkok TGW. At the current rate of new HIV infections in MSM and TGW, Thailand will not reach its goal of ending AIDS by 2030. This HIV consensus initiative may serve as a model for building agreement and advocacy on epidemiologic and program data and their implications for a large metropolitan city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, cisgender women sex workers (CWSWs) and transgender women sex workers (TWSWs) experience increased vulnerabilities to HIV infection. Unfortunately, there is limited data on the drivers of HIV infection in these two understudied populations, particularly in Southeast Asia. To better understand factors associated with HIV infection, we evaluated correlates of newly diagnosed HIV infection in these two populations in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 469 women (CWSW: n = 283; TWSW: n = 186) were included in this study. Most participants who tested HIV+ were unaware of their infection (59.6%; n = 34/57). Separate binary and multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to identify correlates of newly diagnosed HIV in CWSWs and TWSWs. Among CWSWs, Chlamydia trachomatis (aOR = 5.66; p = 0.007) and lifetime use of ecstasy/MDMA (aOR = 5.34; p = 0.03) were associated with newly diagnosed HIV, while condomless vaginal sex with clients was associated with lower likelihood of HIV infection (aOR = 0.98; p = 0.01). Among TWSWs, being single (aOR = 6.76; p = 0.03), using mobile application to solicit clients (aOR = 25.33; p = 0.006), and having C. trachomatis infection (aOR = 88.22, p = 0.02) were associated with newly diagnosed HIV. Expansion of HIV/sexually transmitted infection screening is needed to increase detection of HIV and linkage to care for sex workers. Interventions to reduce HIV infection among CWSWs and TWSWs should be tailored to these populations' unique vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gender role non-conforming behaviors are a significant risk factor for school-related violence. The objective of this study is to describe the types, prevalence and correlates of social violence among Thai secondary school students, with a focus on gender role non-conformity. Methods: This article uses secondary data from a national study of 2070 secondary school students aged 13–20 years representing Bangkok and all four regions of Thailand. Students were asked about their gender/sexual identity, self-perception of their masculinity or femininity, and experiences of social violence. Correlates of social violence were examined using multivariable logistic regression models. Results: Prevalence of social violence victimization was high (57%). Most students considered themselves to be as masculine or as feminine as other members of their sex (82.6%), while 9.1% thought that they were less masculine/less feminine, and 8.3% thought they were more masculine/more feminine. Students who considered themselves less masculine or less feminine than others of their sex (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.25) were more likely to experience social violence, compared to students who considered themselves equally masculine/feminine. Students who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.86) were also more likely to experience social violence, compared to students who did not identify as LGBT. However, students who considered themselves more masculine or feminine than other students of their sex (AOR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.88) were less likely to experience social violence. Discussion: Students who identified as LGBT, or considered themselves to be less masculine or less feminine than other students of their sex, had higher odds of social violence victimization. Anti-bullying campaigns need to emphasize that perpetrating social violence is not tolerated, and gender-based violence needs to be included in comprehensive sexuality education curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]