Digital Media and Developing Brains: Concerns and Opportunities.

Purpose of Review: The incorporation of digital technologies and their use in youth's everyday lives has been increasing rapidly over the past several decades with possible impacts on youth development and mental health. This narrative review aimed to consider how the use of digital technologies may be influencing brain development underlying adaptive and maladaptive screen-related behaviors. Recent Findings: To explore and provide direction for further scientific inquiry, an international group of experts considered what is known, important gaps in knowledge, and how a research agenda might be pursued regarding relationships between screen media activity and neurodevelopment from infancy through childhood and adolescence. While an understanding of brain-behavior relationships involving screen media activity has been emerging, significant gaps exist that have important implications for the health of developing youth. Summary: Specific considerations regarding brain-behavior relationships involving screen media activity exist for infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood; middle childhood; and adolescence. Transdiagnostic frameworks may provide a foundation for guiding future research efforts. Translating knowledge gained into better interventions and policy to promote healthy development is important in a rapidly changing digital technology environment.

Differences in Health Care Access, Utilization, and Experiences Among LGBTQ+ Subgroups in the Southern United States.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) individuals experience health inequities and barriers to accessing appropriate, affirming care. Little is known about differing health care experiences within the LGBTQ+ population, particularly among individuals living in underserved areas. This study explored health care experiences and utilization among LGBTQ+ subgroups: lesbian and gay cisgender individuals (n = 258), bisexual+ cisgender individuals (n = 71), and transgender and gender-diverse individuals (n = 80). Participants were recruited from a geographic region in South Carolina and Georgia and completed an online survey regarding negative health care experiences, barriers to care, and utilization of different health care venues and services. Results revealed significant differences between LGBTQ+ subgroups, with transgender and gender-diverse participants reporting more discriminatory experiences and greater barriers to care. Bisexual+ cisgender individuals also experienced some disparities compared with lesbian and gay cisgender individuals. Most participants endorsed a need for more competent providers. Findings and recommendations are considered within the context of the Southeastern United States for addressing access and utilization disparities among LGBTQ+ communities.

Loneliness in Sexual Minority Individuals in the Southeastern United States: The Role of Minority Stress and Resilience.

Health disparities in the sexual minority population may be exacerbated by the loneliness experienced due to minority stress. Using a minority stress framework, this study examined minority stress, protective variables, and mental health as correlates of loneliness in sexual minority individuals in a small metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. Participants (n = 273) were a subsample of sexual minority individuals from a broader sample of LGBTQ adults in the Central Savannah River area who completed a health needs assessment. Bivariate correlations were calculated to assess for degree of significant relationships between loneliness and barriers to health care, minority stress, and mental health. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted to examine the relative importance of the study variables' associations with loneliness. A multiple regression model found household income, assault victimization, depressive symptoms, and sense of community to be significant correlates of loneliness. Interventions to decrease loneliness in this population will need to consider these interconnected, multi-level influences.

Validation of the Brief Sense of Community Scale in a lesbian, gay, and bisexual sample.

Sense of community can buffer against negative mental health outcomes in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Valid measurement of this construct can better inform research, assessment, and intervention designed to promote well-being in this population. The present study aims to evaluate the validity of the Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) among sexual minority individuals. The scale was administered to 219 LGB participants within a larger assessment of health needs in a southern lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population. Validity evidence was evaluated using the Downing model. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good fit for a second-order model, supporting internal structure validity. Acceptable to excellent internal validity was demonstrated. Correlational analyses revealed negative relations with loneliness, internalized homophobia, and poor mental health. This study provides evidence for the use of the BSCS in an LGB population and demonstrates the utility in measuring the sense of community in sexual minority individuals.

The Effects of Polyvictimization on Mental and Physical Health Outcomes in an LGBTQ Sample.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) individuals are at elevated risk for violent victimization and often experience increased health disparities compared to their non-LGBTQ counterparts. The present study examined associations between polyvictimization and mental and physical health in an LGBTQ sample. Participants included 385 LGBTQ individuals involved in a larger health-needs assessment of LGBTQ individuals living in the southeastern United States. The sample primarily identified as gay/lesbian (63.4%), cisgender (78.7%), and White (66.5%), and the mean participant age was 34.82 years (SD = 13.45). A latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted on seven items assessing different types of violence exposure. The LCA identified a three-class model, with classes characterized by low trauma exposure (71.4%), nondiscriminatory violence (15.1%), and high trauma exposure (13.5%). Differences in demographic characteristics, perceptions of mental and physical health, and diagnoses of specific health conditions were assessed across classes. The high-trauma class reported poorer perceived physical and mental health compared to the other two classes, with mean differences in past-month poor health days ranging from 11.38 to 17.37. There were no differences between the classes regarding specific physical health conditions; however, the high-trauma and nondiscriminatory violence classes had significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, drug abuse, and suicidality than the low-trauma class, ORs = 2.39-23.83. The present findings suggest that polyvictimization is an important risk factor for poor health among LGBTQ individuals. These results have implications for addressing health disparities among the broader LGBTQ community.

Current Standards and Practices Within the Therapy Dog Industry: Results of a Representative Survey of United States Therapy Dog Organizations.

Organizations that deliver animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), as well as those that train, evaluate, and register therapy dogs, have proliferated in recent decades in the United States (U.S.). Each of these organizations has its own policies and procedures for screening, evaluating, and instructing dogs and their owners/handlers, but little is currently known about the range of different practices that exist nationwide. The aim of this project was to survey a representative, national sample of U.S. therapy dog organizations to investigate commonalities and differences in the types of practices in current use and to compare these to recommendations in existing published guidelines. The findings suggest the need for further research, and highlight a number of areas relating to dog welfare, human safety, and infection control in which many organizations were inconsistent in their adherence to existing guidelines. Of particular concern with regard to animal welfare was the finding that approximately half of the organizations surveyed imposed no time limit on the length of visits. Also, given the potential for zoonotic disease transmission, the finding that only a small minority of organizations prohibit the feeding of raw meat diets and treats to visiting dogs is concerning. This information will help to raise awareness among facilities with therapy animal programs and assist in the development of future best practices within the therapy dog industry.

Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Knowledge and Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in a Small Metropolitan Region of the Southeastern United States.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in the southeastern United States continue to be at high risk for HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) provides effective prevention, but PrEP awareness varies across communities. We assessed sexual risk, HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing history, health care experiences associated with PrEP awareness, provider discussions, and PrEP use in a sample of 164 MSM in the Central Savannah River Area of the South. Results revealed that 80.5% of participants were aware of PrEP, 16.4% had discussed PrEP with a provider, and 9.2% had used PrEP. Education, gay identity, HIV status, recent HIV testing, and lack of provider awareness about sexual minorities independently predicted PrEP awareness. Recent STI testing independently predicted increased odds of PrEP discussion. Recent HIV and STI testing and non-White identity were associated with PrEP use. Effective, tailored marketing, provider competence, and open communication can increase PrEP adoption by southern MSM.

Gender Minority Stress and Health Perceptions Among Transgender Individuals in a Small Metropolitan Southeastern Region of the United States.

Purpose: Transgender individuals continue to face wide-ranging health disparities, which may be due in part to unique and chronic gender identity-related stressors. The present study assessed the relationships between barriers to health care, proximal minority stress related to perceived community safety, and overall health perceptions of transgender individuals living in a small metropolitan region of the Southern United States. Methods: Participants included 66 transgender individuals who took part in a larger lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community needs assessment study. Participants completed measures of barriers to health care, inclusive of medical access barriers, psychosocial needs barriers, and personal resource barriers, perceptions of LGBTQ safety within the region, and overall perceptions of health. Results: Results revealed that psychosocial needs barriers, personal needs barriers, and perceived lack of community safety were correlated with poorer self-perceptions of overall health, with psychosocial needs barriers and perceived lack of community safety independently predictive of poor health perceptions. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the need for greater health resources and access to care, as well as improved community conditions for transgender individuals, particularly those in less populated, Southern regions of the United States, to improve health quality and ultimately reduce community health disparities.

Predictors of anxiety among sexual minority individuals in the Southern US.

Sexual minority individuals experience a disproportionate burden of mental health issues, particularly in less populous cities of the southern United States. Unique identity-related stressors may explain these disparities. The current study examines relationships between sexual minority stress, identity, and anxiety in sexual minority individuals from a small metropolitan area of the South. Sexual minority individuals (N = 249) from the Central Savannah River Area completed a survey assessing minority stress (i.e., identity-based discrimination, internalized homophobia), identity (i.e., outness comfort, community connectedness) and history of anxiety as part of a larger lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer community health needs assessment. All minority stress variables were significantly, positively associated with an anxiety history whereas community connectedness was significantly, negatively associated with anxiety history at the bivariate level. A multiple logistic regression model revealed that assault history was significantly associated with increased odds of anxiety history, whereas community connectedness was associated with decreased odds of anxiety history. These results demonstrate an influence of discriminatory experiences on anxiety in sexual minority individuals of the South and the protective value of community connectedness. Providers and advocates should work at the individual, community, and systemic levels to eliminate lesbian, gay, bisexual discrimination and facilitate community involvement, thereby reducing mental health disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Mental Health Correlates of Cigarette Use in LGBT Individuals in the Southeastern United States.

BACKGROUND: Smoking prevalence for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals is higher than for heterosexual, cisgender individuals. Elevated smoking rates have been linked to psychiatric comorbidities, substance use, poverty, low education levels, and stress. OBJECTIVES: This study examined mental health (MH) correlates of cigarette use in LGBT individuals residing in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. METHODS: Participants were 335 individuals from an LGBT health needs assessment (mean age 34.7; SD = 13.5; 63% gay/lesbian; 66% Caucasian; 81% cisgender). Demographics, current/past psychiatric diagnoses, number of poor MH days in the last 30, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) 2 depression screener, the Three-Item Loneliness Scale, and frequency of cigarette use were included. Analyses included bivariate correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression. RESULTS: Multiple demographic and MH factors were associated with smoker status and frequency of smoking. A logistic regression indicated that lower education and bipolar disorder were most strongly associated with being a smoker. For smokers, a hierarchical regression model including demographic and MH variables accounted for 17.6% of the variance in frequency of cigarette use. Only education, bipolar disorder, and the number of poor MH days were significant contributors in the overall model. Conclusions/Importance: Less education, bipolar disorder, and recurrent poor MH increase LGBT vulnerability to cigarette use. Access to LGBT-competent MH providers who can address culturally specific factors in tobacco cessation is crucial to reducing this health disparities.

Teachers' education, classroom quality, and young children's academic skills: results from seven studies of preschool programs.

In an effort to provide high-quality preschool education, policymakers are increasingly requiring public preschool teachers to have at least a Bachelor's degree, preferably in early childhood education. Seven major studies of early care and education were used to predict classroom quality and children's academic outcomes from the educational attainment and major of teachers of 4-year-olds. The findings indicate largely null or contradictory associations, indicating that policies focused solely on increasing teachers' education will not suffice for improving classroom quality or maximizing children's academic gains. Instead, raising the effectiveness of early childhood education likely will require a broad range of professional development activities and supports targeted toward teachers' interactions with children.