Minority Stressors, Social Provisions, and Past-Year Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in a Sample of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression Minority People in Canada.

Purpose: Mental health disparities in sexual orientation and/or gender identity and/or expression (SOGIE) minority groups are well-documented, with research consistently showing higher levels of suicidality, even in Canada, considered one of the world's most accepting countries of SOGIE minority groups. Adverse outcomes in these groups are often framed using minority stress theory, with social support frequently studied as an integral buffer to these outcomes. This analysis explores facets of minority stress and social support associated with past-year suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Methods: A cross-sectional internet survey of SOGIE diverse people in Canada (n = 1542) was conducted. Binary logistic regression calculated bivariate and multivariate factors associated with past-year suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Backward elimination (retaining sociodemographic factors and self-rated mental health) identified salient minority stress and social support (provisions) factors. Results: Over half (56.72%) of participants had ever thought of dying by suicide, with 24.84% having attempted suicide. During the past year, 26.80% had thought of dying by suicide, with 5.32% having attempted suicide. Victimization events, and guidance (e.g., someone to talk to about important decisions) and attachment (e.g., close relationships providing emotional security) social provision subscales remained salient after backward elimination procedures. Conclusion: Our findings emphasize that a fulsome, multilevel approach considering structural, community, and individual strategies to address overt discrimination, integrating social connections and guidance, is necessary to prevent dying by suicide.

Motivating Language and Social Provisions in the Inculcation of Pharmacy Students' Professional Identity.

Professional identity formation in pharmacy students is a multifaceted, dynamic process stimulated through a variety of experiences, including those in structured classrooms, laboratories, experiential settings, and during interprofessional education. Meaningful faculty communications with students are a critical element in the development process.This commentary situates research findings from studies on communication practices within the frameworks of motivating language theory and social provisions theory to demonstrate how specific language from instructors can impact the formation of students' professional identity. Our objective is to review and extrapolate findings from professional pharmacy literature on communication, as well as literature from outside the profession, to demonstrate how specific strategies can aid in the development and reinforcement of pharmacy students' professional identity. Clear, specific, tailored, empathetic communication by instructors during pharmacy student training promotes students' ability to think, act, and feel like valued contributors during the provision of patient care and interprofessional experiences.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the 10-Item Social Provisions Scale in Chinese Populations.

This study performed a cross-cultural validation of the Chinese version of the 10-item Social Provisions Scale (C-SPS-10) in Chinese populations. Study 1 examined the factor structure, internal reliability, discrimination, criterion validity, and network structure of C-SPS-10 by utilizing a sample of disaster victims in the 2021 Henan floods. Study 2 substantiated the findings of Study 1 in a general population sample. Measurement invariances between populations and between sexes in terms of the C-SPS-10 were also tested using the network approach. Study 3 used three samples to examine the test-retest reliability of the C-SPS-10 over three different time periods. The general results showed that the C-SPS-10 has excellent factor structure, internal reliability, discrimination, and criterion validity. The C-SPS-10 was confirmed to have good psychometric properties. Although the full scale functions well, problems may exist at a domain level. Moreover, the full scale of the C-SPS-10 was varied as a useful tool to capture trait-like characteristics of individuals' perceptions of social support for the general population. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10862-023-10047-7.

Part-Time and Cofunded Pharmacy Faculty and Their Perceptions of Professional and Organizational Identity Formation.

OBJECTIVE: To gain a better understanding of professional and organizational identity formation and workplace climate issues among part-time and cofunded pharmacy faculty. METHODS: This study had a cross-sectional, prospective design using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researchers of this study. The interview guide drew themes from motivating language theory, social provisions, and previous research on professional identity. Pharmacy faculty with varying part-time and cofunded appointments, representing a cross section of demographic characteristics, and working in different types of practice sites and institutions, were invited to participate. RESULTS: Data saturation was reached at 14 participants. Participants had a variety of professional roles, namely teaching and precepting, as well as clinical, research, service, and administrative responsibilities. Three general themes emerged: (1) the struggle with having multiple aspects of professional identity, (2) facing the perception that academia is a "lifestyle" that not all faculty can fully participate, and (3) the need for properly constructed and tailored communication from peers and supervisors. CONCLUSION: A key component to mitigating the struggle with multiple aspects of professional identity and the feeling that part-time and cofunded faculty cannot fully participate in the academic lifestyle seemed to be informed, empathetic, inclusive, and tailored communication from supervisors.

Perceived social support declines after deep brain stimulation surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: The Social Provisions Scale (SPS) measures a person's perceived social support. We evaluated the perceived social support in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients before and after subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) and its impact on clinical outcomes following DBS. METHODS: We analyzed 55 PD patients who underwent STN DBS surgery and completed the SPS, PDQ-39, and MDS-UPDRS Parts I-IV before and 6-12 months after surgery. Some patients also completed global cognitive, mood and apathy scales. Caregivers completed the CBI at each visit. Linear regression models and linear mixed models evaluated the association between the SPS baseline score, MDS-UPDRS and PDQ-39 scores, the association between MDS-UPDRS, CBI and the SPS follow-up score, and the association between SPS, global cognition and other psychological variables. RESULTS: DBS implantation improved MDS-UPDRS I-IV and PDQ-39 scores. Perceived social support declined after DBS (baseline SPS total 82.55 ± 7.52 vs. follow-up SPS total 78.83 ± 9.02, p = 0.0001). Baseline SPS total score was not significantly associated with the MDS-UPDRS or PDQ-39 scores at follow-up. MDS-UPDRS scores and the CBI at follow-up had no significant association with SPS total score at follow-up. Measures of global cognition, mood and apathy were associated with the SPS before and after DBS, and the association was independent of STN DBS. CONCLUSION: After STN DBS, PD patients experienced a decrease in perceived social support, but baseline perceived social support did not impact clinical outcomes. It is important to further identify factors that may contribute to this perception of worsened social support.

From Physical Distancing to Social Loneliness among Gay Men and Other Men Having Sex with Men in Belgium: Examining the Disruption of the Social Network and Social Support Structures.

Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, levels of loneliness have increased among the general population and especially among sexual minorities, such as gay men and other men who have sex with men, who already experienced more problems with social isolation before the pandemic. We analyzed how the disruption of the social network and social support structures by containment measures impact loneliness among gay and other men having sex with men. Our sample consisted of gay and other men having sex with men who had in person communication with family as well as heterosexual friends and homosexual friends before the lockdown (N = 461). Multivariate regression analyses were performed with social provisions (social interaction and reliable alliance) and loneliness as dependent variables. A change from in-person communication with gay peers before the pandemic to remote-only or no communication with gay peers during the pandemic, mediated by change in social integration, was related to an increased feeling of loneliness during the pandemic compared with before the pandemic. There were some unexpected findings, which should be interpreted in the specific social context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. On average, social integration and reliable alliance among MSM increased during the lockdown, even though in-person communication decreased and loneliness increased. Our results show it is critical to maintain a view of social support and social loneliness as lodged within larger social and cultural contexts that ultimately shape the mechanisms behind them.

Environmental correlates of health-promoting leisure physical activity in persons with multiple sclerosis using a social cognitive perspective embedded within social ecological model.

There is abundant evidence for the benefits of physical activity (PA) among persons with multiple sclerosis, however only 20% of persons with MS engage in sufficient PA. This cross-sectional study examined features of the built environment, social environment, and individual as hierarchical correlates of PA in persons with MS from a social-cognitive theory (SCT) perspective embedded within a social-ecological model (SEM). Five hundred eighty eight persons with MS completed an online survey between September 2018-January 2019 including: demographics, Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS), abbreviated Neighborhood Walkability Scale (NEWS-A), Social Provisions Scale (SPS), Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (EXSE), and Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ). Correlation analyses were used to examine associations among NEWS-A subscales, SPS, EXSE, PDDS, Employment, Education and GLTEQ. We then conducted hierarchical, linear regression analysis whereby we regressed GLTEQ with PDDS, Education, and Employment (Step 1), NEWS-A subscales (Step 2), SPS (Step 3), and EXSE (Step 4) based on a SEM. Land-use mix diversity, land-use mix access, aesthetics, crime, SPS, EXSE, and PDDS correlated with GLTEQ. PDDS was a significant correlate of GLTEQ in Step 1 (ß = -0.37;R2 = 0.15). Aesthetics (ß = 0.08) and PDDS (ß = -0.33) were significant correlates of GLTEQ in Step 2 (R2 = 0.18). SPS (ß = 0.23) and PDDS (ß = -0.30) were significant correlates of GLTEQ in Step 3 (R2 = 0.23). The final model in Step 4 identified PDDS (ß = -0.11), aesthetics (ß = 0.07), SPS (ß = 0.09), and EXSE (ß = 0.54) as correlates of GLTEQ (R2 = 0.43). Such results may inform the design of multi-level interventions that target environmental and individual correlates of PA consistent with the SEM framework and guided by SCT.

The Social Provisions Scale: psychometric properties of the SPS-10 among participants in nature-based services.

PURPOSE: This article analyses the psychometric properties of the Social Provisions Scale 10-items version. METHODS: The Social Provisions Scale was analysed by means of the polytomous Rasch model, applied to data on 93 young adults (16-30 years) out of school or work, participating in different nature-based services, due to mental or drug-related problems. RESULTS: The psychometric analysis concludes that the original scale has difficulties related to targeting and construct validity. In order to improve the psychometric properties, the scale was modified to include eight items measuring functional support. The modification was based on theoretical and statistical considerations. CONCLUSION: After modifications the scale showed not only satisfying psychometric properties, but it also clarified uncertainties regarding construct validity of the measure. However, further analysis on larger samples are required. Implications for Rehabilitation Social support is important for a variety of rehabilitation outcomes and for different patient groups in the rehabilitation context, including people with mental health or drug-related problems. Social Provisions Scale may be used as a screening tool to assess social support of participants in rehabilitation, and the scale may also be an important instrument in rehabilitation research. There might be issues measuring structural support using a 10-items version of the Social Provisions Scale but it seemed to work well as an 8-item scale measuring functional support.

Construct Validity of the Social Provisions Scale: A Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Extant theory posits well-differentiated dimensions of perceived social support as measured using the Social Provisions Scale (SPS). However, evidence is inconsistent with this multidimensionality perspective, with SPS factor correlations near unity and higher between-factor than within-factor item correlations. This article reports on research investigating the internal structure, gender invariance, and predictive validity of SPS scores. The analyses are conducted in a novel bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) framework, which is designed to account for presumed psychometric multidimensionality in SPS items due to (a) their fallibility as pure indicators of the constructs they are purported to measure and (b) the coexistence of general and specific factors. Based on 376 item responses, evidence was obtained for a bifactor-ESEM representation of the SPS data. In addition, support was found for the invariance of item thresholds and the latent mean invariance of six of the seven SPS factors in the retained solution. Only mean levels of Social Integration were found to differ by gender, with men scoring higher than women. Finally, evidence was obtained for the predictive validity of SPS scores with respect to loneliness and psychological well-being. Quite apart from yielding evidence validating the SPS, this research demonstrates the utility of bifactor ESEM for psychological assessment.

Stress, Social Support, and Burnout Among Long-Term Care Nursing Staff.

Long-term care nursing staff are subject to considerable occupational stress and report high levels of burnout, yet little is known about how stress and social support are associated with burnout in this population. The present study utilized the job demands-resources model of burnout to examine relations between job demands (occupational and personal stress), job resources (sources and functions of social support), and burnout in a sample of nursing staff at a long-term care facility (N = 250). Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that job demands (greater occupational stress) were associated with more emotional exhaustion, more depersonalization, and less personal accomplishment. Job resources (support from supervisors and friends or family members, reassurance of worth, opportunity for nurturing) were associated with less emotional exhaustion and higher levels of personal accomplishment. Interventions to reduce burnout that include a focus on stress and social support outside of work may be particularly beneficial for long-term care staff.