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Extensive media coverage and potential controversy about COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic may have affected people's general attitudes towards vaccination. We sought to describe key psychological antecedents related to vaccination and assess how these vary temporally in relationship to the pandemic and availability of COVID-19 vaccination. As part of an ongoing online study, we recruited a national (U.S.) sample of young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (N = 1,227) between October 2019 and June 2021, and assessed the '4Cs' (antecedents of vaccination; range = 1-5). Overall, men had high levels of confidence (trust in vaccines; M = 4.13), calculation (deliberation; M = 3.97) and collective responsibility (protecting others; M = 4.05) and low levels of complacency (not perceiving disease risk; M = 1.72). In multivariable analyses, confidence and collective responsibility varied relative to the pandemic phase/vaccine availability, reflecting greater hesitancy during later stages of the pandemic. Antecedents also varied by demographic characteristics. Findings suggest negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on key antecedents of general vaccination and identify potential targets for interventions., Author(s): Annie-Laurie McRee [sup.1] [sup.4] , Amy L. Gower [sup.1] , Dale E. Kiss [sup.2] [sup.3] , Paul L. Reiter [sup.2] [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.17635.36, 0000000419368657, Department of Pediatrics, [...]

BackgroundGay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men experience several disparities related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, including high incidence rates of anal cancer. Although the HPV vaccine is currently recommended for young adults, HPV vaccine coverage is modest among young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YGBMSM). ObjectiveWe describe the design and methods for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to rigorously evaluate Outsmart HPV, a population-targeted, individually tailored, Web-based HPV vaccination intervention for YGBMSM. The RCT is designed to determine the efficacy of the intervention, the mechanism by which the intervention has an effect (ie, mediation), and whether efficacy varies by participant characteristics (ie, moderation). MethodsOutsmart HPV was previously developed and pilot-tested. This study is a 3-arm prospective RCT that will enroll a projected 1995 YGBMSM who are aged 18 to 25 years, live in the United States, and have not received any doses of the HPV vaccine. Participants will be recruited by means of paid advertisements on social media sites and randomized to receive (1) standard information on the Web about HPV vaccine (control group), (2) Outsmart HPV content on the Web with monthly unidirectional vaccination reminders sent via text messages, or (3) Outsmart HPV content on the Web with monthly interactive vaccination reminders sent via text messages. Participants will complete Web-based surveys at 4 time points during the study: baseline, immediately after engaging with Web-based content, 3 months after randomization, and 9 months after randomization. Primary outcomes will include both HPV vaccine initiation (ie, receipt of 1 or more doses of the HPV vaccine) and completion (receipt of all 3 doses recommended for this age range). We will examine constructs from the intervention’s theoretical framework as potential mediators and demographic and health-related characteristics as potential moderators of intervention effects. ResultsThe institutional review board at The Ohio State University has approved the study. Materials have been developed and finalized for all study groups. Recruitment for the RCT began in fall 2019. ConclusionsIf shown to be efficacious, Outsmart HPV has the potential to fill an important gap by promoting HPV vaccination among a population at increased risk of HPV infection and HPV-related disease. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04032106; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04032106 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/16294

Cyberbullying victimization and perpetration are associated with poor mental health outcomes for adolescents, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicide ideation. Although most cyberbullying occurs at home, few interventions have been developed for parents of adolescents. We examined parental connectedness and parental online monitoring in relation to cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, with the goal of understanding how parents buffer young teens from involvement in cyberbullying. We leveraged data from an existing study involving three racially and ethnically diverse middle schools in a metropolitan area in the Midwest of the U.S. (n = 570). In the spring of sixth grade, students reported on cyberbullying involvement, parental connectedness, and parental monitoring. Greater parental connectedness was related to a lower likelihood of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration in logistic regression models. Parental monitoring of online activities was not related to cyberbullying victimization but was marginally related to a lower likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration. Results suggest that cyberbullying prevention programs should consider ways to foster parent/youth connectedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men have been referred to as a "hard-to-reach" or "hidden" community in terms of recruiting for research studies. With widespread internet use among this group and young adults in general, web-based avenues represent an important approach for reaching and recruiting members of this community. However, little is known about how participants recruited from various web-based sources may differ from one another., Objective: This study aimed to determine how young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men recruited from various web-based sources differ from one another in terms of participant characteristics and study engagement., Methods: Data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial of Outsmart HPV, a web-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination intervention for young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. From 2019 to 2021, we recruited young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in the United States who were aged 18-25 years and not vaccinated against HPV (n=1227) through various web-based avenues. We classified each participant as being recruited from either (1) social media (eg, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat), (2) a dating app (eg, Grindr, Scruff), or (3) some other digital recruitment source (eg, existing research panel, university-based organization). Analyses compared participants from these 3 groups on demographic and health-related characteristics and metrics involving study engagement., Results: Most demographic and health-related characteristics differed by web-based recruitment source, including race or ethnicity (P<.001), relationship status (P<.001), education level (P<.001), employment status (P<.001), sexual self-identity (P<.001), health insurance status (P<.001), disclosure of sexual orientation (P=.048), and connectedness to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community (P<.001) The type of device used by participants during study enrollment also differed across groups, with smartphone use higher among participants recruited via dating apps (n=660, 96.6%) compared to those recruited via social media (n=318, 78.9%) or other digital sources (n=85, 60.3%; P<.001). Participants recruited via social media were more likely than those recruited via dating apps to complete follow-up surveys at 3 different timepoints (odds ratios 1.52-2.09, P=.001-.008). These participants also spent a longer amount of time viewing intervention content about HPV vaccination (3.14 minutes vs 2.67 minutes; P=.02)., Conclusions: We were able to recruit a large national sample of young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men for a web-based HPV vaccination intervention via multiple methodologies. Participants differed on a range of demographic and health-related characteristics, as well as metrics related to study engagement, based on whether they were recruited from social media, a dating app, or some other digital recruitment source. Findings highlight key issues and considerations that can help researchers better plan and customize future web-based recruitment efforts of young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04032106; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04032106., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/16294., (©Daniel J Marshall, Amy L Gower, Mira L Katz, José A Bauermeister, Abigail B Shoben, Paul L Reiter. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 03.01.2025.)