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The article discusses a study which replicated findings from Flanders, Belgium in an English context that explored how ward size and treatment approach influenced service users' expectations and experiences of stigma. A questionnaire was administered to 70 service users in 15 in-patient adult mental health settings in central England. Self-rejection correlated with age, social rejection, and stigma expectations across two models. Bivariate correlation between age and self-rejection is shown.

ABSTRACT The present study revealed age-related differences in ethnic prejudice in a heterogeneous (total N = 1,308) and a representative ( N = 800) sample, using measures of blatant and subtle prejudice. The relationship between age and blatant and subtle prejudice was found to be fully mediated by right-wing social-cultural attitudes (i.e. authoritarianism and cultural conservatism). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The Modified Reasons for Smoking Scale (MRSS) is a widely accepted scale that measures psychological functions of smoking. The scale has been translated in Dutch and has been validated, in order to be used in clinical smoking cessation practice in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. This study examined the factorial structure, reliability and validity of the scale in a sample of smokers, who are characterized by a high level of dependence and an explicit motivation to stop smoking. Method The participants were 383 smokers, who volunteered at the stop-smoking clinic of a Belgian university hospital, and completed the translated scale. They were administered the translated MRSS, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Through a clinical interview, smoking behaviour and smoking history was assessed (daily smoking consumption, years smoking, number of quit attempts, weeks stopped, alcohol and coffee consumption, CO level). Exploratory factor analysis was performed. Internal consistency was studied in order to examine the reliability. The concurrent validity was assessed by means of manova, anova and correlation analysis. Results Factor analysis identified four factors, named stimulation, pleasure of smoking, social smoking and automatism of smoking. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.65 (automatism) to 0.72 (stimulation). manova indicated the influence of the variables age, sex, daily consumption and the FTND (the latter two variables showed a dose-dependent association with each subscale). Regression analysis revealed a relationship with dependence indicators, namely: the daily consumption, the number and duration of previous quit attempts, FTND, CO level and daily coffee intake. Conclusions The Dutch translation of the MRSS identified four factors and revealed acceptable validity and reliability. The adapted version of the translated scale as a component of the psychological assessment procedure in a smoking cessation treatment in Dutch-speaking areas should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A country-specific FRAX® model was developed from the epidemiology of fracture and death in Belgium. Fracture probabilities were identified that corresponded to currently accepted reimbursement thresholds. Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate a Belgian version of the WHO fracture risk assessment (FRAX®) tool to compute 10-year probabilities of osteoporotic fracture in men and women. A particular aim was to determine fracture probabilities that corresponded to the reimbursement policy for the management of osteoporosis in Belgium and the clinical scenarios that gave equivalent fracture probabilities. Methods: Fracture probabilities were computed from published data on the fracture and death hazards in Belgium. Probabilities took account of age, sex, the presence of clinical risk factors and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD). Fracture probabilities were determined that were equivalent to intervention (reimbursement) thresholds currently used in Belgium. Results: Fracture probability increased with age, lower BMI, decreasing BMD T-score and all clinical risk factors used alone or combined. The 10-year probabilities of a major osteoporosis-related fracture that corresponded to current reimbursement guidelines ranged from approximately 7.5% at the age of 50 years to 26% at the age of 80 years where a prior fragility fracture was used as an intervention threshold. For women at the threshold of osteoporosis (femoral neck T-score = −2.5 SD), the respective probabilities ranged from 7.4% to 15%. Several combinations of risk-factor profiles were identified that gave similar or higher fracture probabilities than those currently accepted for reimbursement in Belgium. Conclusions: The FRAX® tool has been used to identify possible thresholds for therapeutic intervention in Belgium, based on equivalence of risk with current guidelines. The FRAX® model supports a shift from the current DXA-based intervention strategy, towards a strategy based on fracture probability of a major osteoporotic fracture that in turn may improve identification of patients at increased fracture risk. The approach will need to be supported by health economic analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The double-edged nature of modern technology, continuously balancing between risks and opportunities, manifests itself clearly in an emerging societal problem known as cyberbullying. To analyse the extent and nature of the issue in Belgium, 1318 adolescents were questioned explicitly about their involvement in cyberbullying, as well as implicitly about their experience with specific types of cyberbullying-related behaviour. This alternate questioning revealed higher victimisation and perpetration rates. The study also provides better insight into predictors associated with victimisation or perpetration in cyberbullying. Especially past involvement in cyberbullying and engaging in online risk behaviour increase the likelihood of victimisation; non-rejection of cyberbullying and online identity experimentation augment the likelihood of perpetration. Girls are more likely to become victims of cyberbullying, whereas boys are more inclined to engage in electronic bullying. Moreover, the incidence of cyberbullying increases slightly with age. Finally, teens spending much time on the Internet, reporting higher ICT expertise and owning a computer with privileged online access share an increased likelihood of online bullying behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past 15 years there has been an increase in the number of cross-national surveys on sports-related issues. However, in cross-national research, the quality of the conclusions always depends on the quality of each of the separate national studies. If any of these are flawed, it is possible that the observed variation in outcomes is nothing more than a methodological artefact. Unfortunately, the issue of survey quality has been seriously underdeveloped in sports research literature. Through a discussion of several components of survey quality by means of the 2007 International Social Survey Programme survey on leisure time and sports, this article addresses this lacuna. Our case study shows that the wide cross-national variation in sampling methods, modes of data collection and response rates leaves room for various forms of survey error with the potential to generate misleading or biased findings. Although it is less clear what can be done about survey error, we give some possibilities. We suggest that ignoring these methodological problems will affect the validity of cross-national research. Moreover, future research into the impact of various methodological factors related to survey quality is definitely needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]