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This study examined factors associated with the unwanted exposure to online pornography and unwanted online sexual solicitation victimization and perpetration of youth in Taiwan. A total of 2315 students from 26 high schools were assessed in the 10th grade, with follow-up performed in the 11th grade. Self-administered questionnaires were collected. Multivariate analysis results indicated that higher levels of online game use, pornography media exposure, Internet risk behaviors, depression, and cyberbullying experiences predicted online sexual solicitation victimization, while higher levels of Internet chat room use, pornography media exposure, Internet risk behaviors, cyberbullying experiences, and offline sexual harassment predicted online sexual solicitation perpetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship of media exposure and media literacy to alcohol and tobacco use among adolescents in Taiwan. A total of 2992 10th-grade students recruited from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan, completed a questionnaire in 2010. The multivariable analysis results indicated that the students with higher alcohol and tobacco media exposure were more likely to use alcohol and tobacco and have intentions to drink and smoke, while students with higher media literacy were less likely to use alcohol and have intentions to drink and smoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationships among parental beliefs about efficacy in the prevention of adolescent substance use, parenting practices, adolescent competence skills, and substance use. Data were obtained from a sample of 2015 parent-adolescent dyads recruited from 30 junior high schools in Taipei City and Taouyun County, Taiwan, 2010. Adolescent and parent self-administered questionnaires were collected. Multivariate analysis results showed that male adolescents from low SES families were more likely to use tobacco/alcohol, while adolescents with higher efficacy parents and with higher levels of competence skills were less likely to use tobacco/alcohol. In conclusion, parental efficacy plays a crucial role in enhancing parenting practices, promoting adolescents' competence skills, and decreasing adolescent substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the discrepancies between reports from parents and adolescents concerning family relationships and the use of tobacco and alcohol by adolescents. Data were obtained from a sample of 2015 parent-adolescent dyads recruited from 30 junior high schools in Taipei City and Taouyun County, Taiwan, in 2010. The results indicated that more than 90% of parent-adolescent dyads agreed to no tobacco/alcohol use by adolescents. More than half (38 parents; 68%) of responding parents were unaware of the tobacco use that was reported by 56 adolescents in this study. A high percentage (133 parents; 93.7%) of the responding parents were unaware of the alcohol use reported by 142 adolescents in this study. Parents reported higher levels of parent-adolescent attachment, communication, monitoring and teaching than was reported by their adolescent children. Multivariate logistic regression results showed that lower ratings by adolescents on questions of family attachment, poor academic performance and delinquent behaviour were associated with parental unawareness of tobacco use. Likewise, low adolescent ratings of family communication and delinquent behaviour by adolescents could be used to predict parental unawareness of alcohol use by their adolescent children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gout is triggered by high urate levels and causes inflammation, pain, and an impaired quality of life. Immersion in water at 20-30°C reduces inflammation and pain in arthritis. Yet, relationships of immersion in water at 20-30°C with urate levels and the nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 1 (NLRP1) inflammasome have never been clarified., Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of immersion in water at 20-30°C on urate levels, the NLRP1 inflammasome, pain, and quality of life among acute gout patients., Methods: A community-based randomized control trial design was used with 2 parallel-intervention groups: immersion in water at 20-30°C (20 min/day for 4 weeks) group and a control group. In total, 76 eligible participants in Tomohon City, Indonesia, were assigned using block randomization. We analyze the results (coef. β) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a generalized estimating equation model. We analyzed mediating effects using a path analysis., Results: Significant pain alleviation ( β = -2.06 [95% CI = -2.67∼-1.45]; β = -2.42 [95% CI = -2.97∼-1.87]) and improved quality of life ( β = 5.34 [95% CI = 3.12-7.57]; β = 9.93 [95% CI = 7.02-12.83]) were detected at 2 and 4 weeks of follow-up compared to the pre-test and control group. Urate levels ( β = -0.34 [95% CI = -0.52∼-0.16]) were reduced at the 2-week follow-up, but there was no significant change in the NLRP1 inflammasome compared to the pre-test and control group after immersion in water at 20-30°C. Both the NLRP1 inflammasome ( β = -0.48 [95% CI = -0.63∼-0.34]); water 0.01) and urate levels ( β = -0.11 [95% CI = -0.24∼-0.03]; p < 0.01) had partial indirect (mediating) effects on the link between immersion in water at 20-30°C and pain at the 4-week follow-up., Conclusions: Immersion in water at 20-30°C significantly decreased pain and increased the quality of life. Immersion in water at 20-30°C mediated NLRP1 and urate levels to decrease pain, although it had no significant effect on the NLRP1 inflammasome concentration after 4 weeks of follow-up and reduced urate levels only at 2 weeks after immersion in water at 20-30°C.

Background: Depression is common in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on hemodialysis. Available behavioral modalities for treating depression may not be feasible for patients who receive hemodialysis two or three times per week., Objectives: The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the efficacy of a nurse-led, in-center breathing training program in reducing depressive symptoms and improving sleep quality and health-related quality of life in patients on maintenance hemodialysis., Participants and Methods: Fifty-seven patients on hemodialysis were randomly assigned either to an eight-session breathing training group or to a control group. The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Medical Outcome Studies 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were used to assess self-reported depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life, respectively., Results: The intervention group exhibited significantly greater decreases in BDI-II scores than the control group. No significant differences in PSQI change scores were observed between the groups. SF-36 change scores for both the domain of role limitation due to emotional problems and the mental component summary were significantly higher in the breathing training group than in the control group., Conclusion: This intervention significantly alleviated depressive symptoms, reduced perceived role limitation due to emotional problems, and improved the overall mental health component of quality of life in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

The purpose of this study was to explore parents' experience and perceptions of smoking in the presence of children. Findings regarding patterns of parents' smoking in the presence of children were situation specific. When thinking of smoking with children around, parents engaged in a process of weighing the importance of the need to smoke and adverse effects from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, a consideration based mostly on their experience. A pattern of correspondence was identified between family's level of concern and promoting change among smokers. Many strategies participants used to prevent children's environmental tobacco smoke exposure were relatively ineffective and needed to be addressed.

Youth cigarette smoking is a major public health concern in Southeast Asia. A suspected determinant of youth smoking is perceived peer behavior. Previous research has suggested that the probability that a teenager will use substances increases when there is the perception that most peers engage in the substance use behavior. This study aimed to assess the perceptions of the prevalence of peer cigarette smoking in samples of high school students from three Southeast Asian countries and to examine the association of these perceptions to self-reported personal use of cigarettes. Perceptions of the prevalence of peer smoking were generally characterized by the perception that most students do not smoke. However, a significant percentage of students held the perception that most students were current smokers. Students who held this perception were at increased risk of being current smokers relative to those who believed most students were not current smokers. The results of this study imply that public health programs may benefit from health promotion interventions which focus on dispelling misconceptions that most youth smoke cigarettes.