An exploration of trolling behaviours in Australian adolescents: An online survey.

To understand why people "troll" (i.e., engage in disruptive online behaviour intended to provoke and distress for one's own amusement), researchers have explored a range of individual differences. These studies have primarily been conducted in adult samples, despite adolescents being a particularly vulnerable group with regards to both being trolled and trolling others. In this study we aimed to (1) explore Australian adolescents' experiences of trolling, and (2) replicate adult research that has constructed a psychological profile of the Internet troll by examining the utility of personality traits (psychopathy and sadism), self-esteem, empathy (cognitive and affective), and social rewards (negative social potency) to predict adolescents' trolling behaviours. A sample of 157 Australian adolescents (40.8% male, 58% female, 0.6% non-binary) aged 13-18 years (M = 15.58, SD = 1.71) completed the Global Assessment of Internet Trolling-Revised, Adolescent Measure of Empathy and Sympathy, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Youth Psychopathy Traits Inventory-Short Version, Social Rewards Questionnaire, Short Sadistic Impulse Scale, and a series of questions related to the experience of trolling. Results showed in the past year, 24.2% of Australian adolescents reported being trolled and 13.4% reported having trolled others. Gender, psychopathy, sadism, self-esteem, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and "negative social potency" (i.e., enjoyment of antisocial rewards) combined, explained 30.7% of variance in adolescents' trolling behaviours (p < .001). When accounting for shared variance, gender (male), high psychopathy, and high negative social potency were significant predictors of trolling, aligning with findings of adult samples. Contrary to adult samples, sadism was not a unique predictor of adolescents' trolling. For adolescents, the variance in trolling explained by sadism was nonsignificant when controlling for negative social potency. These similarities, and differences, in predictors of trolling across adult and adolescent samples may play a critical role in the development of targeted interventions to prevent or manage trolling.

Review: Recommendations for male-friendly counselling with adolescent males: A qualitative systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: There are growing calls to tailor counselling practices for adolescent males, a population reluctant to engage in psychological treatment despite concerning rates of mental illness. The objective of this systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD4202125547) was to collate and synthesise recommendations for individual counselling with adolescent males (12-18 years). METHOD: The databases Psychology and Behavioural Science Collection, PsycArticles, PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, EBSCO eBook Collection, Wiley Science Collection, Taylor and Francis Collection and ProQuest One Academic were searched for articles published between 1995 and November 2021. The quality of evidence was assessed using the JBI critical appraisal checklists, and thematic analysis was employed to synthesise findings across the literature. RESULTS: A total of 1625 texts were identified, of which 16 met the inclusion criteria. Generated themes included (a) therapist knowledge of masculinity, gender socialisation, and male-relational styles; (b) necessity of therapists to address masculinity in the therapeutic space; and (c) customising engagement and treatment practices to appeal to adolescent males. CONCLUSIONS: The themes highlighted the unique developmental, and sociocultural considerations practitioners should be aware of when working with young men. Through a multicultural counselling competency framework, masculinity and adolescent male identity are expressions of diverse sociocultural identities that psychological assessment and intervention should ideally be tailored to suit. The findings of the review suggest that empirical research focusing on the experiences of adolescent males receiving psychological treatment is sparse. Further research is needed to inform the development of practicable, gender-sensitive adaptions to counselling practice for young men.

Role of the Health Department in Tuberculosis Prevention and Control-Legal and Public Health Considerations.

Because tuberculosis is caused by an infectious organism that is spread from person to person through the air, public health measures are essential to control the disease. There are three priority strategies for tuberculosis prevention and control in the United States: (i) identifying and treating persons who have tuberculosis disease; (ii) finding persons exposed to infectious tuberculosis patients, evaluating them for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease, and providing subsequent treatment, if appropriate; and (iii) testing populations at high risk for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and treating those persons who are infected to prevent progression to disease. These strategies for prevention and control of tuberculosis are discussed in a framework containing the following important topics: historical and epidemiological context of tuberculosis control, organization of public health tuberculosis control programs, legal basis for public health authority, conducting overall planning and development of policy, identifying persons who have clinically active tuberculosis, evaluation of immigrants, managing persons who have or who are suspected of having disease, medical consultation, interjurisdictional referrals, identifying and managing persons infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, providing laboratory and diagnostic services, collecting and analyzing data, and providing training and education. This chapter describes the role of the health department in the context of these components. This discussion is primarily applicable to tuberculosis prevention and control programs in the United States.

Tuberculosis trends--United States, 2014.

In 2014, a total of 9,412 new tuberculosis (TB) cases were reported in the United States, with an incidence rate of 3.0* cases per 100,000 persons, a decrease of 2.2% from 2013. Although overall numbers of TB cases and rates continue to decline, the percentage decrease in rate is the smallest decrease in over a decade (1). This report summarizes provisional TB surveillance data reported to CDC's National Tuberculosis Surveillance System for 2014. TB cases and rates decreased among U.S.-born persons, and although the case rate also decreased among foreign-born persons, there was an increase in total number of cases among foreign-born persons. The rate among foreign-born persons in the United States in 2014 was 13.4 times higher than among U.S.-born persons. Racial/ethnic minorities continue to be disproportionately affected by TB within the United States. Asians continue to be the racial/ethnic group with the largest number of TB cases. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, the TB rate among Asians was 28.5 times higher, whereas rates among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics were each eight times higher. Four states (California, Texas, New York, and Florida), representing approximately one third of the U.S. population, accounted for half of all TB cases reported in 2014. Continued progress toward TB elimination in the United States will require focused TB control efforts among populations and in geographic areas with disproportionate burdens of TB.

Decline in tuberculosis among Mexico-born persons in the United States, 2000-2010.

BACKGROUND: In 2010, Mexico was the most common (22.9%) country of origin for foreign-born persons with tuberculosis in the United States, and overall trends in tuberculosis morbidity are substantially influenced by the Mexico-born population. OBJECTIVES: To determine the risk of tuberculosis disease among Mexico-born persons living in the United States. METHODS: Using data from the U.S. National Tuberculosis Surveillance System and the American Community Survey, we examined tuberculosis case counts and case rates stratified by years since entry into the United States and geographic proximity to the United States-Mexico border. We calculated trends in case rates over time measured by average annual percent change. RESULTS: The total tuberculosis case count (-14.5%) and annual tuberculosis case rate (average annual percent change -5.1%) declined among Mexico-born persons. Among those diagnosed with tuberculosis less than 1 year since entry into the United States (newly arrived persons), there was a decrease in tuberculosis cases (-60.4%), no change in tuberculosis case rate (average annual percent change of 0.0%), and a decrease in population (-60.7%). Among those living in the United States for more than 5 years (non-recently arrived persons), there was an increase in tuberculosis cases (+3.4%), a decrease in tuberculosis case rate (average annual percent change of -4.9%), and an increase in population (+62.7%). In 2010, 66.7% of Mexico-born cases were among non-recently arrived persons, compared with 51.1% in 2000. Although border states reported the highest proportions (>15%) of tuberculosis cases that were Mexico-born, the highest Mexico-born-specific tuberculosis case rates (>20/100,000 population) were in states in the eastern and southeastern regions of the United States. CONCLUSIONS: The decline in tuberculosis morbidity among Mexico-born persons may be attributed to fewer newly arrived persons from Mexico and lower tuberculosis case rates among non-recently arrived Mexico-born persons. The extent of the decline was dampened by an unchanged tuberculosis case rate among newly arrived persons from Mexico and a large increase in the non-recently arrived Mexico-born population. If current trends continue, tuberculosis morbidity among Mexico-born persons will be increasingly driven by those who have been living in the United States for more than 5 years.

Data harmonization process for creating the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention Atlas.

In 2009, the CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) initiated the online, interactive NCHHSTP Atlas. The goal of the Atlas is to strengthen the capacity to monitor the diseases overseen by NCHHSTP and to illustrate demographic, spatial, and temporal variation in disease patterns. The Atlas includes HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted disease, and tuberculosis surveillance data, and aims to provide a single point of access to meet the analytical and data dissemination needs of NCHHSTP. To accomplish this goal, an NCHHSTP-wide Data Harmonization Workgroup reviewed surveillance data collected by each division to harmonize the data across diseases, allowing one to query data and generate comparable maps and tables via the same user interface. Although we were not able to harmonize all data elements, data standardization is necessary and work continues toward that goal.

The David and Goliath principle: cultural, ideological, and attitudinal underpinnings of the normative protection of low-status groups from criticism.

Two studies documented the "David and Goliath" rule--the tendency for people to perceive criticism of "David" groups (groups with low power and status) as less normatively permissible than criticism of "Goliath" groups (groups with high power and status). The authors confirmed the existence of the David and Goliath rule across Western and Chinese cultures (Study 1). However, the rule was endorsed more strongly in Western than in Chinese cultures, an effect mediated by cultural differences in power distance. Study 2 identified the psychological underpinnings of this rule in an Australian sample. Lower social dominance orientation (SDO) was associated with greater endorsement of the rule, an effect mediated through the differential attribution of stereotypes. Specifically, those low in SDO were more likely to attribute traits of warmth and incompetence to David versus Goliath groups, a pattern of stereotypes that was related to the protection of David groups from criticism.

Withholding negative feedback: is it about protecting the self or protecting others?

The reluctance to deliver negative feedback to someone's face is widely documented. This research disentangles the extent to which this reluctance is motivated by a desire to protect the self as opposed to others. Participants assessed an essay written by someone with high, medium, or low self-esteem. Assessment of the essay was most positive when the feedback was to be provided face-to-face, less positive when delivered anonymously, and least positive when it was not required to be delivered at all. This effect only emerged among participants low in self-liking (but was unrelated to self-competency). The self-esteem of the essay writer had no effect on evaluations. The data lend support for a self-protection motive and modest support for an other-protection motive.

Unexpected decline in tuberculosis cases coincident with economic recession - United States, 2009.

BACKGROUND: Since 1953, through the cooperation of state and local health departments, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has collected information on incident cases of tuberculosis (TB) disease in the United States. In 2009, TB case rates declined -11.4%, compared to an average annual -3.8% decline since 2000. The unexpectedly large decline raised concerns that TB cases may have gone unreported. To address the unexpected decline, we examined trends from multiple sources on TB treatment initiation, medication sales, and laboratory and genotyping data on culture-positive TB. METHODS: We analyzed 142,174 incident TB cases reported to the U. S. National Tuberculosis Surveillance System (NTSS) during January 1, 2000-December 31, 2009; TB control program data from 59 public health reporting areas; self-reported data from 50 CDC-funded public health laboratories; monthly electronic prescription claims for new TB therapy prescriptions; and complete genotyping results available for NTSS cases. Accounting for prior trends using regression and time-series analyses, we calculated the deviation between observed and expected TB cases in 2009 according to patient and clinical characteristics, and assessed at what point in time the deviation occurred. RESULTS: The overall deviation in TB cases in 2009 was -7.9%, with -994 fewer cases reported than expected (P < .001). We ruled out evidence of surveillance underreporting since declines were seen in states that used new software for case reporting in 2009 as well as states that did not, and we found no cases unreported to CDC in our examination of over 5400 individual line-listed reports in 11 areas. TB cases decreased substantially among both foreign-born and U.S.-born persons. The unexpected decline began in late 2008 or early 2009, and may have begun to reverse in late 2009. The decline was greater in terms of case counts among foreign-born than U.S.-born persons; among the foreign-born, the declines were greatest in terms of percentage deviation from expected among persons who had been in the United States less than 2 years. Among U.S.-born persons, the declines in percentage deviation from expected were greatest among homeless persons and substance users. Independent information systems (NTSS, TB prescription claims, and public health laboratories) reported similar patterns of declines. Genotyping data did not suggest sudden decreases in recent transmission. CONCLUSIONS: Our assessments show that the decline in reported TB was not an artifact of changes in surveillance methods; rather, similar declines were found through multiple data sources. While the steady decline of TB cases before 2009 suggests ongoing improvement in TB control, we were not able to identify any substantial change in TB control activities or TB transmission that would account for the abrupt decline in 2009. It is possible that other multiple causes coincident with economic recession in the United States, including decreased immigration and delayed access to medical care, could be related to TB declines. Our findings underscore important needs in addressing health disparities as we move towards TB elimination in the United States.

Community built environment factors and mobility around senior wellness centers: the concept of "safe senior zones".

The authors investigated built environment (BE) factors in urban neighborhoods in DeKalb County, Georgia. Each volunteering, consenting senior was placed into one of two groups: walking tours outside, then discussions (n=37); and focus group discussions indoors about photographs of BE conditions potentially influencing mobility (n=43). The authors sought to identify BE factors-both real and perceived by participating seniors-related to their ability to walk around senior wellness centers in a healthy and safe manner. The authors focused specifically on available literature and pilot study data for their concept of "safe senior zones" around senior wellness centers serving urban communities in this article. They also characterized their study population regarding sociodemographic variables and doctor-diagnosed chronic diseases, and types of walking aids reported used to help prevent falls. Their results can inform future applied practice and research on traffic-related exposures and BE factors concerning seniors, and support policy and planning to benefit community environmental public health.