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Introduction: Mental health professionals, teachers, families, and public administrators are concerned about suicide rates among young people, particularly in the university context. For every ten college students worldwide, three attempt suicide in their lifetime, and two experience suicidal ideation. Reducing these rates requires interventions that recognize the problem in terms of risk factors and protective factors. Objective: The general aim of the study was to map the protective factors for suicide among college students, as perceived by them, mental health professionals, and coordinators of undergraduate courses in a public university in the North of Brazil. Methods: The study followed an exploratory, mixed-method design. Data were collected through interviews and the application of a questionnaire with 54 participants, including college students (n = 20), mental health professionals (n = 22), and course coordinators (n = 12). Data were analyzed using Content Analysis and simple descriptive statistics. Results: The findings show that the protective factors for suicide most cited among the three groups were social support, strengthening of internal resources, institutional support, and finding meaning about the change to enter the university. Although the three audiences did not converge, the protective factors also frequently reported were psychological treatment, leisure activities, religious engagement, medical treatment, civic engagement, employability, opportunities for social ascension offered by the university, and quality family relationships. Conclusion: It is suggested that these protective factors are considered when formulating policies to promote mental health and suicide prevention in the university environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber-dating violence (cyber-DV) is a prevalent issue among adolescent girls that can have negative consequences including post-traumatic stress symptoms and suicidal ideations and attempts. In the aim to reduce its prevalence and impacts, researchers are increasingly relying on the identification of risk and protective factors associated with cyber-DV across multiple ecological contexts. The current study aimed to examine the influence of individual (e.g., dissociation), interpersonal (e.g., offline forms of dating violence) and community level (e.g., community support) factors associated with the cyber-DV victimization of adolescent girls. A sample of 456 adolescent girls (M = 16.17 years old, SD = 1.28) was recruited online to complete a survey. At the individual level, emotion dysregulation, dissociative symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms and resilience were measured. Offline forms of DV and a history of child sexual abuse were assessed at the interpersonal level. Finally, at the community level, community support, community resilience, neighborhood material and social disadvantage were evaluated. Results from a hierarchical logistic regression indicated that exposure to offline DV namely verbal-emotional DV, sexual DV, threats, as well as living in neighborhoods with lower levels of social disadvantage were significantly associated with an increased risk of cyber-DV victimization. Cyber-DV preventative intervention efforts should focus on incorporating cyber-DV specific modules and activities into offline DV prevention and intervention programs as to reduce the likelihood of adolescents suffering both forms of DV and their associated repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the success of health programs conducted within African American (AA) churches, research has been limited in understanding facilitators and barriers that exist when conducting adult health programs within AA churches. Thus, the objective of this study was to systematically review the literature to identify these facilitators and barriers. A comprehensive literature search was conducted and studies that met the eligibility criteria were divided based on their focus: disease topic or behavior, health promotion activities, or church readiness. Facilitators and barriers were also stratified using the socioecological model. Out of 288 articles initially identified, only 29 were included. Facilitators and barriers were predominantly found at the intrapersonal and organizational level for disease topic or behavior studies, and at the organizational level for studies focused on health promotion activities and church readiness. None of the articles identified facilitators and barriers at the policy level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species can either maintain a certain social organization in different habitats or show different social organizations in similar habitats. The reasons underlying this variability are not always clear but might have consequences for population dynamics, especially under changing environmental conditions. Among mammals, the primate genus Microcebus lives in small groups of closely related females, derived from female philopatry and dispersed males, as illustrated by the well-studied Microcebus murinus. Here, we studied the genetic structure of a population of the congeneric Microcebus griseorufus, inhabiting three adjacent habitats with different resource availabilities. In order to learn more about the plasticity of the species' social organization under these different conditions, we analyzed the spatial arrangement of mitochondrial haplotypes of 122 individuals. The study revealed high haplotype diversity and a pronounced difference in spatial distribution between the sexes. Females exhibited spatial aggregation of haplotypes, suggesting a system of female philopatry and matrilines, similar to M. murinus. Male haplotypes were dispersed, and males were more likely to carry rare haplotypes, indicating higher dispersal activity. These findings hint towards the unity of the social organization across the genus Microcebus, suggesting a phylogenetic origin of the social organization. Yet, with decreasing resources, the clustering of female haplotypes declined and approached a random distribution in the marginal habitat, with cluster sizes correlating with resource availability as predicted by the socioecological model. Our study supports the notion that social organization is shaped by both phylogenetic origin and ecological conditions, at least in these small primates. Significance statement: Impacts of habitat degradation are mostly described in terms of changes in population densities in relation to the reduction of resources. This neglects the possible effects of altered social organizations due to declining resources or population densities. Using a genetic sampling of three subpopulations of mouse lemurs in Madagascar along a gradient of food availability up to the limit of the species' ecological tolerance, we show that their social organization consisting of spatial clusters of closely related females and overdispersed males converges towards random spatial distributions of both sexes with declining food availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors affect an individual’s resilience. Low resilience has been attributed to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidality within the LGBTQIA + population, which is heightened compared to different populations. This study identifies predictors of resilience in the LGBTQIA + population and aims to identify predicting factors at all levels of the socioecological model. This was a cross-sectional study of data from a web-based survey that was conducted from January to February 2022. A national sample of 1033 LGBTQIA + adults was utilized for hierarchical regression analysis. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed for total resilience, which had an average score of 143.66 (SD = 33.88) and accounted for 53.4% of resiliency variance. Factors that were found to decrease an individuals resiliency score were depression, stress, suicidality, and isolation discrimination distress. Factors found to increase an individuals resiliency scores are college graduate 4 years+, married, outness, personal comfortability with being SGM, gender expression discrimination distress, and vicarious discrimination distress. Understanding the factors that influence resilience is vital to improving the resilience of the LGBTQIA + communities. Interventions that focus on decreasing depression, stress, and suicidality may be particularly impactful for all types of resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioecological theories predict that, in mammals, feeding and mating competitions affect male and female energetic conditions differently but energetic studies investigating both sexes simultaneously are rare. We investigated the effect of socioecological factors on the energetic conditions of male and female western chimpanzees, a long-lived species with high degrees of male-male competition. We used behavioural data collected on one chimpanzee community in the Taï National Park over 12 months, phenological data and urinary c-peptide (UCP) measures, a marker of energy balance. We found a positive effect of food availability on UCP levels in both sexes. Dominance rank also affected chimpanzee UCP levels. High-ranking females had higher UCP levels than low-ranking ones but only in periods when no oestrus females were present in the community. In contrast, high-ranking males had higher UCP levels than low-ranking males in the presence of oestrus females but lower UCP levels in their absence. Our results suggest that oestrus female presence lessened the competitive advantages of high-ranking females in feeding competition and that low-ranking males bore higher energetic costs related to mating competition than high-ranking ones. Yet caution should apply in interpreting these results since the statistical model was only close to significance. High-ranking male and female chimpanzees spent significantly less energy. Furthermore, all chimpanzees significantly spent less time feeding and spent more energy when food availability was high. Finally, our behavioural measure of energy intake and expenditure did not correlate with UCP levels highlighting the value of non-invasive hormonal markers for field studies. Significance statement: General socioecological theories hypothesize that the social grouping dynamic and energetics of females are highly influenced by food competition, whereas in males, competition for sexual partners is more influential for these factors. Recent studies in the non-invasive physiological assessment of energy balance in primates have begun to test the implied relationship between chimpanzee socioecology and individual energetic condition, with inconsistent results. However, only a few studies have investigated this relationship concurrently for both sexes. Here, using non-invasive measures of energy balance in wild western chimpanzees, we found that the energetics of both males and females are related to ecological factors, such as food availability. However, female energy balance appears also to be related to increased male mating competition, as this can result in increased aggression directed from males to females, with apparent energetic costs for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent and child perceived neighborhood safety predicts child health outcomes such as sleep quality, asthma, physical activity, and psychological distress. Although previous studies identify environmental predictors of parent perceived safety, little is known about predictors of child perceived safety. This study aims to identify the social and physical environmental neighborhood features that predict child and parent perceived neighborhood safety and, simultaneously, to assess the association between child and parent perceptions. Data were from the QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth (QUALITY) cohort, an ongoing study of Caucasian children (aged 8-10 years) with a parental history of obesity, and their biological parents from Québec, Canada. Measures of social and physical neighborhood features were collected using a spatial data infrastructure and in-person audits. Structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect associations between neighborhood features, child and parent perceived safety. Results suggest that among children ( N = 494), trees and lighting were positively associated with perceived neighborhood safety, whereas a high proportion of visible minorities was associated with poorer perceived safety. Parents' perceptions of safety were more strongly tied to indicators of disorder and a lack of community involvement, and to traffic. Child perceived safety was partly explained by parent perceived safety, suggesting moderate concordance between perceptions. Although associated with each other, parent and child perceived safety seemed to be determined by distinct environmental features. Though this study focused on determinants of child and parent perceived safety, future research investigating the impact of neighborhood safety on child health should consider both child and parent perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioecological models provide a framework for predicting how animals respond competitively to the abundance and distribution of food resources. Testing predictions of socioecological models requires analysis of relationships among food resource characteristics, competitive behaviors, and measures of rank-related skew in energy balance or reproductive success. A positive relationship between dominance rank and energy balance has been observed among female mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. This study examines the proximate mechanisms underlying feeding competition among those females. To assess the contestability of food resources, we measured the time a female spent feeding at a food site (food site residence time). We also examined the relationship between dominance rank and the access to resources, as well as the rate, context, and direction of aggression, and the number of neighbors in close proximity. As predicted, females had longer food site residence times and higher aggression rates with fruit and decaying wood than with herbaceous vegetation, suggesting that those resources may be contestable. Aggression was predominantly directed down the dominance hierarchy, although against expectation, rank was not significantly correlated with aggression rates or the time spent feeding on contestable foods. Higher-ranking females had significantly fewer neighbors, suggesting that lower-ranking females avoid higher-ranking ones. This study provides additional support for the claim that there is variability in how primates respond to the quality and distribution of food resources and that avoidance as a strategy to cope with feeding competition may result in similar skew in energy balance as rank-related aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cervical cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among Vietnamese American women (VAW) and Korean American women (KAW), both groups consistently report much lower rates of cervical cancer screening compared with other Asian ethnic subgroups and non-Hispanic Whites. This study aimed to explore multilevel factors that may underlie low screening rates among VAW and KAW living in a city where their ethnic communities are relatively small. The socioecological model was used as a conceptual framework. Thirty participants were conveniently recruited from ethnic beauty salons run by VA and KA cosmetologists in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The participants' average age was 44.6 years (SD = .50; range = 21-60). Most participants were married (80 %) and employed (73.3 %), and had health insurance (83.3 %). A qualitative interview was conducted in Vietnamese or Korean and transcribed verbatim. A thematic content analysis was used to identify major codes, categories, and patterns across the transcripts. The study identified several factors at the individual (e.g., pregnancy, poverty, personality), interpersonal (e.g., family responsibility, mother as influential referent), and community (e.g., lack of availability, community size) levels. The study sheds light on four major areas that must be taken into consideration in the development of culturally appropriate, community-based interventions aimed to reduce disparities in cervical cancer screening among ethnic minority women in the United States: (1) ethnic community size and geographic location; (2) cross-cultural similarities and dissimilarities; (3) targeting of not only unmarried young women, but also close referents; and (4) utilization of trusted resources within social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioecological models indicate that the group structure and female dispersal patterns of primates are determined primarily by the abundance and distribution of food, predation pressures, and infanticide risks. In response to those influences, females of folivorous primates are considered relatively free to disperse into groups with the optimal size and structure. Yet some folivores live in small groups despite a potentially higher risk of predation, an apparent inconsistency known as the folivore paradox. This paper examines the female dispersal of a folivorous primate, the Virunga mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas currently have no natural predators, but this species presents a different version of the folivore paradox: why do 50–60% of females reside in smaller one-male groups despite a higher risk of infanticide? In this study, females left one-male groups more frequently than multimale groups, but transfer destinations were not consistently biased toward multimale groups and those groups did not have higher immigration rates. We found no evidence of dispersal to avoid feeding competition within large groups, even as they have become three to five times larger than average. Thus, the lack of a consistent bias toward multimale groups was not because they are typically larger than one-male groups. Instead, the apparent inconsistencies may reflect limited female transfer opportunities, other influences on dispersal, and possibly an evolutionary disequilibrium in which current behavior does not optimize fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the occurrence of scramble competition among Colobus vellerosus at Boabeng-Fiema, Ghana. If scramble competition had an impact on feeding efficiency among females, we expected a positive relationship between group size and the proportion of time spent feeding, day journey length, or home range size assuming resource availability is similar among the groups compared. We collected focal data on the feeding behavior of adult females and males over 11 mo (September 2000–August 2001) on 2 study groups: WW ( n = 31–33 individuals) and B ( n = 8–16 individuals). We also collected ranging data on group movements at half-hour intervals. The large group (WW1) had a significantly longer day journey length than the small group (B1), and females in the large group spent a significantly greater proportion of time feeding in the wet season, a period of low food availability, which suggests it may be a bottleneck period when food resources are scarce and Colobus vellerosus is close to being energy limited. The proximity data suggested females may be able to reduce or adjust for competition by having fewer neighbors when they feed and by spreading out when in a larger group. However, we found no relationship between home range size and group size or that females spent a greater proportion of time feeding than adult males did. Our results highlight the need to factor in differences in food availability when investigating scramble competition. Though equivocal, our results suggest scramble competition occurs among Colobus vellerosus, leading us to suggest there was a match with the potential competitive regime, i.e., food distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, socioecological models have been developed to explain the relationships between the ecological conditions, social systems, and reproductive success of primates. Feeding competition, predation pressures, and risk of infanticide are predicted to influence how female reproductive success (FRS) depends upon their dominance rank, group size, and mate choices. This paper examines how those factors affected the reproductive success of female mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei) of the Virunga Volcanoes, Rwanda from 1967–2004. Reproductive success was measured through analyses of interbirth intervals, infant survival, and surviving infant birth rates using data from 214 infants born to 67 females. Mountain gorillas were predicted to have “within-group scramble” feeding competition, but we found no evidence of lower FRS in larger groups, even as those groups became two to five times larger than the population average. The gorillas are considered to have negligible “within-group contest” competition, yet higher ranked mothers had shorter interbirth intervals. Infant survival was higher in multimale groups, which was expected because infanticide occurs when the male dies in a one-male group. The combination of those results led to higher surviving birth rates for higher ranking females in multimale groups. Overall, however, the socioecological factors accounted for a relatively small portion of the variance in FRS, as expected for a species that feeds on abundant, evenly distributed foliage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]