Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among matriculated university students in Singapore during Covid-19 pandemic: findings from a repeated cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common issue among university students and has been particularly exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, limited research has specifically focused on depression among university entrants. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression severity and identify associated factors during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic using health screening questionnaires completed by matriculated university students in Singapore. METHODS: A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted at a public university in Singapore. Data from health screening questionnaires administered in 2020 and 2021, involving 15,630 newly enrolled university students, were analyzed. The questionnaires covered students' sociodemographic information, physical health status, own and family medical history, lifestyle behaviours, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The PHQ-9 was used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms, categorizing into moderate to severe depressive symptoms (MSDS), mild depressive symptoms (MDS), or no depressive symptom (NDS). Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the sociodemographic, physical and behavioural correlates of depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of MSDS was 1% in both 2020 and 2021, while the rates for MDS were 1.93% in 2020 and 1.64% in 2021. In the 2020 cohort, male freshmen who reported better health had a lower likelihood of experiencing depression. Conversely, students of Malay ethnicity, those majoring in Engineering, those with multiple chronic diseases, monthly alcohol consumers, current smokers, and those with a family history of mental disorder had a higher likelihood of experiencing depression. Moreover, students who lived on-campus in the 2021 cohort were less likely to experience depression than those living off-campus. However, the associations between academic majors, alcohol consumption, and smoking with depression were not significant in the 2021 cohort. CONCLUSIONS: This study reported a low prevalence of both MSDS and MDS among university entrants in Singapore. The study further identified three categories of factors associated with depression: sociodemographic, physical, and behavioural. This study suggests policy interventions to enhance targeted social support that address each student group's specific requirements and susceptibilities. A more extensive and comprehensive study is warranted to assess the changes in student mental health status post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Empowering Foot Care Literacy Among People Living With Diabetes and Their Carers With an mHealth App: Protocol for a Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) cause significant morbidity affecting 19% to 34% of people living with diabetes mellitus. DFUs not only impair quality of life but may also result in limb loss and mortality. Patient education has been advocated to raise awareness of proper foot self-care and the necessity of seeking assistance when a foot wound occurs. Modern technologies, including mobile health (mHealth) interventions such as health apps, bring the potential for more cost-effective and scalable interventions. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the feasibility and usability of a newly developed mHealth app called Well Feet, which is a diabetes and foot care education app for individuals at risk of developing DFU. METHODS: Well Feet was developed using an evidence-based and expert panel cocreation approach to deliver educational content available in 3 languages (ie, English, Chinese, and Malay) via animation videos and a range of additional features, including adaptive learning. A nonrandomized, single-arm feasibility study using a mixed methods approach with a series of validated questionnaires and focus group discussions will be conducted. In total, 40 patients and carers will be recruited from a tertiary hospital diabetes clinic to receive a 1-month mHealth intervention. The primary outcomes are the usability of the app and a qualitative perspective on user experience. Secondary outcomes include changes in foot care knowledge, self-management behaviors, and quality of life. RESULTS: Patient recruitment began in July 2023, and the intervention and data collection will be completed by the end of September 2023. This study has been approved by National Healthcare Group Domain Specific Review Board (2022/00614) on February 10, 2023. The expected results will be published in spring 2024. CONCLUSIONS: Through this feasibility study, the Well Feet DFU education app will undergo a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of its usability and acceptance for future improvement in its design. With local contextualization, cultural adaptation, and its multilingual functionality, the app addresses a critical aspect of DFU health education and self-management in a multiethnic population. Findings from this study will refine and enhance the features of the app based on user feedback and shape the procedural framework for a subsequent randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of Well Feet. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05564728; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05564728. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/52036.

A Diabetes Education App for People Living With Type 2 Diabetes: Co-Design Study.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing global health concern, including in Singapore. Diabetes education programs have been shown to be effective in improving health outcomes and diabetes self-management skills. Mobile health apps have emerged as useful tools for diabetes education; however, their use and acceptance by the target population remain inconsistent. Therefore, end-user participation in the design and development of a mobile health app is crucial for designing an acceptable app that can improve outcomes for populations with a chronic disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to apply an end-user participatory approach to co-design a diabetes education app prototype for people living with T2D by exploring their perceptions, acceptance, and usability of an app prototype, as well as their diabetes experience and perspectives on digital diabetes education. METHODS: A total of 8 people with T2D, who were recruited from diabetes management Facebook groups, participated in 4 web-based surveys via Qualtrics and 2 structured interviews via Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc) between August 20, 2021, and January 28, 2022. Descriptive statistics and thematic analyses of the discussion and iterative feedback on the app prototype were used to assess the participants' perceptions of living with T2D, attitudes toward digital diabetes education, and acceptance of the prototype. RESULTS: Analyses of the surveys and interview data revealed 3 themes: challenges of living with T2D; validation, acceptability, and usability of the diabetes education app prototype; and perspectives on digital diabetes education. In the first theme, participants highlighted the importance of solitary accountability, translating knowledge into practice, and developing pragmatic self-consciousness. The second theme indicated that the diabetes education app prototype was acceptable, with information and appearance being key; revealed ambivalent and polarized opinions toward the chatbot; and confirmed potential impact of the app on diabetes self-management skills and practice. The third theme comprised the necessity of using a variety of information-seeking strategies and recommendations for desired content and app qualities, including accessibility, adaptability, autonomy, evidence-based design and content, gamification, guidance, integration, personalization, and up-to-date content. The findings were used to reiterate the app design. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a small sample size, the study demonstrated the feasibility of engaging and empowering people living with T2D to consider digital therapeutics for diabetes self-management skills and practice. Participants gave rather positive feedback on the design and content of the app prototype, with some recommendations for improvements. The findings suggest that incorporating end-user feedback into app design can lead to the creation of feasible and acceptable tools for diabetes education, potentially improving outcomes for populations with a chronic disease. Further research is needed to test the impact of the refined diabetes education app prototype on diabetes self-management skills and practice and quality of life.

Empowering Health Care Education Through Learning Analytics: In-depth Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Digital education has expanded since the COVID-19 pandemic began. A substantial amount of recent data on how students learn has become available for learning analytics (LA). LA denotes the "measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs." OBJECTIVE: This scoping review aimed to examine the use of LA in health care professions education and propose a framework for the LA life cycle. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search of 10 databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, ERIC, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ICTP, Scopus, and IEEE Explore. In total, 6 reviewers worked in pairs and performed title, abstract, and full-text screening. We resolved disagreements on study selection by consensus and discussion with other reviewers. We included papers if they met the following criteria: papers on health care professions education, papers on digital education, and papers that collected LA data from any type of digital education platform. RESULTS: We retrieved 1238 papers, of which 65 met the inclusion criteria. From those papers, we extracted some typical characteristics of the LA process and proposed a framework for the LA life cycle, including digital education content creation, data collection, data analytics, and the purposes of LA. Assignment materials were the most popular type of digital education content (47/65, 72%), whereas the most commonly collected data types were the number of connections to the learning materials (53/65, 82%). Descriptive statistics was mostly used in data analytics in 89% (58/65) of studies. Finally, among the purposes for LA, understanding learners' interactions with the digital education platform was cited most often in 86% (56/65) of papers and understanding the relationship between interactions and student performance was cited in 63% (41/65) of papers. Far less common were the purposes of optimizing learning: the provision of at-risk intervention, feedback, and adaptive learning was found in 11, 5, and 3 papers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We identified gaps for each of the 4 components of the LA life cycle, with the lack of an iterative approach while designing courses for health care professions being the most prevalent. We identified only 1 instance in which the authors used knowledge from a previous course to improve the next course. Only 2 studies reported that LA was used to detect at-risk students during the course's run, compared with the overwhelming majority of other studies in which data analysis was performed only after the course was completed.

Validation of Malay Version of the COVID-19 Burnout Scale.

Objectives: From early 2020, Malaysia had to implement nationwide lockdowns, quarantines, and other social distancing practices to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus, leading to symptoms of psychosocial burnout among the people. The aim of the present research is to develop and validate a Malay language version of the COVID-19 Burnout Scale (M-COVID-19-BS). Methods: This three-phase study was conducted among Malaysian population. Phase 1 involved forward and backward translations of the Scale to Malay language by four professional bilingual translators. In Phase 2, the new M-COVID-19-BS instrument was piloted on 30 participants who suggested minor lexical modifications. Phase 3 consisted of online recruiting of Malaysian citizens to answer a composite questionnaire comprising the M-COVID-19-BS, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF), and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Data were statistically analyzed. Results: The composite four-part questionnaire in Malay was answered by N = 225 Malaysian citizens. The M-COVID-19-BS instrument demonstrated a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.926) and had a unidimensional factor structure. M-COVID-19-BS scores positively correlated with the three CBI subscales, showing evidence of convergent validity. Negative correlation was reported between M-COVID-19-BS and WHOQOL-BREF, achieving discriminant validity. M-COVID-19-BS also exhibited moderate positive correlations with the FCV-19S, thus supporting its concurrent validity. Conclusions: Results demonstrate that M-COVID-19-BS is a valid and reliable instrument to assess burnout symptoms related to COVID-19 among Malay-speaking populations either collectively or as a self-care tool to detect burnout symptoms without needing to further burden the already overwhelmed Malaysian healthcare system.

A qualitative study of dementia caregivers' lived experiences in Singapore.

Globally, the number of people living with dementia is expected to triple by 2050 owing primarily to the aging population. Dementia is a chronic and progressive disease that affects an estimated 5-8% of the general population aged 60 and above at any given time. This qualitative study aimed to investigate caregivers' overall perceptions, challenges, and coping strategies in dementia care in Singapore. Purposive sampling was used to select the study's sample. Eight Singaporeans were interviewed in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Three themes emerged from the data analysis for each research question: overall perceptions (i.e. less freedom, strained family relationships, and improved self-competency), challenges (i.e. managing dementia symptoms, emotional drain, and decision-making), and coping mechanisms (i.e. making time for myself, religious belief, and seeking external support). Knowing about these challenges and coping mechanisms allows practitioners to help caregivers to reduce personal struggles, thus improving the patient's and caregiver's quality of life.

Positive Vibes are Not Always Easy: Examining the Association Between Covid-19 Stress and Mental Well-Being.

The virus known as Covid-19 caused a global pandemic in 2019 and was found to have a devastating impact on mental well-being. Individuals around the world had difficulty retaining positive emotions such as gratitude, mindfulness, and hope in the face of this disaster. These feelings diminished their sense of mental well-being. This study examined the mediational model of gratitude, mindfulness, and hope as parallel mediators of the relationship between Covid-19 stress and mental well-being. In total, 289 adults from the general population completed the scales of Covid stress, gratitude, mindfulness, hope, and mental well-being. Results indicated that Covid-19 stress was related to mental well-being, with mindfulness and hope acting as mediators. Gratitude, on the other hand, did not mediate the relationship. The study provides evidence that targeting gratitude, mindfulness, and hope may have a meaningful effect on Covid-19 stress as a related symptom and potentially have a negative impact on mental well-being during the pandemic.

Validation of the Malay Version of the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale in Malaysia.

Background: Malaysians are disillusioned with the increased number of COVID-19 infection cases and the prolonged lockdown period. As a result of COVID-19 mitigation measurements, Malaysians are experiencing emotional and psychological consequences such as anxiety. Thus, there is an urgent need to have an instrument that could serve as a tool to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 among Malaysians rapidly. Methods: This study aimed to adapt and validate the Malay version of the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (M-CAS) among Malaysian adults. The back-to-back translation was done to produce a M-CAS. Following face validation, M-CAS was self-administered to 225 participants from Malaysia via an online survey. The participants also completed the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7), World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale, Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Analysis of a Moment Structures. The psychometric properties of the M-CAS were examined via Cronbach alpha and confirmatory factor analysis. M-CAS scores were compared with the other tools to provide external validity. Results: The statistical analysis revealed that the M-CAS demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.890) and presented with a unidimensional factor structure. M-CAS scores were strongly correlated with GAD-7 (r = 0.511, P < 0.001) and FCV-19S (r = 0.652, P < 0.001). Lack of correlation between M-CAS and WHOQOL-BREF showed that M-CAS scores did not reflect perceived quality of life. Conclusion: The M-CAS is a valid and reliable tool in the Malay language that can be self-administered among Malaysians to assess anxiety levels induced by COVID-19. The M-CAS has only 7 items and utilised little time in real-life clinical practice.

Examining a Conceptual Model of Maternal and Paternal Warmth, Emotion Regulation and Social Competence among Preadolescent Children in Malaysia.

Although parental warmth has been shown to be related to children's social competence, the mediating role of preadolescent children's emotion regulation in this context has been less explored, particularly in Asian cultures. Thus, this study examined the role of emotion regulation as a mediator in the relationship between parental warmth (i.e., paternal and maternal warmth) and social competence among preadolescent children in Malaysia. Preadolescent children (N = 720; Mage = 10.95; SD = 0.59; 58.8% female) completed self-administered questionnaires. Results of correlation analysis showed that higher levels of paternal and maternal warmth were associated with greater emotion regulation in preadolescent children and a greater level of social competence. However, analysis of structural equation modeling revealed that emotion regulation significantly mediated only the relationship between maternal warmth and social competence. These findings underscored the importance of maternal warmth in promoting Malaysian preadolescent children's social competence as well as their emotion regulation as a mediating pathway. This study also highlights the direct effect of paternal warmth on preadolescents' social competence. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.

Prevalence of mental health conditions among people living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated many mental health problems worldwide. People living with HIV (henceforth known as PLHIV) bear a higher mental health burden in comparison with the general population. Therefore, their risk of mental health problems may be elevated during the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, psychological stress, insomnia and loneliness among PLHIV during the COVID-19 pandemic. Observational studies in four databases published from 1 January 2020 to 30 April 2021 investigating the prevalence of mental health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched, and 197 articles were retrieved. After the processes of duplication removal, eligibility screening and full-text assessment, 10 articles were included in the systematic review and six articles for meta-analyses. A random-effects model was applied to derive the pooled prevalence of mental health conditions. The risk of bias was assessed using the STROBE checklist. RESULTS: Overall, the pooled prevalence rates of (moderate-to-severe) depression and anxiety among PLHIV were 16.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8%-30.0%] and 23.0% (95% CI: 12.0%-34.0%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed to investigate the mechanism by which the pandemic affects the mental health of PLHIV. Support and programmes are needed to ameliorate the mental health problems in this marginalized population.

An Evaluation of Animal-Assisted Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Therapist and Parent Perspectives.

Although there are a variety of psychological and therapeutic approaches to coping Autism Spectrum Disorder, people with autism still face some challenges in a "normal" therapy setting. Some therapy organizations and services have proposed an alternative therapy approach, Animal-assisted therapy (AAT). The aim of this phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of the therapists and parents of individuals who choose the alternative approach, AAT. Data were collected through structured interviews with a group of three therapists and four parents. An analysis of the data revealed three main themes; the first theme named the perceived benefits of AAT with three subthemes consisting of physical benefits, sensory benefits and emotional benefits. The second theme is named the way AAT works with subthemes of client-centred therapy and mixed models, and the third theme is potential limitations of AAT. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

'Dirty foreigners' are to blame for COVID-19: impacts of COVID stress syndrome on quality of life and gratitude among Singaporean adults.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused widespread emotional distress. The current study sought to ascertain the impact of COVID stress syndrome on quality of life and gratitude. The COVID-19 Stress Scale, COVID-19 Quality of Life Scale, and Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Scale were administered to 199 Singaporeans. Data were collected online using convenience sampling between December 2020 and March 2021. Pearson correlations and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the research hypotheses. The results showed that fear of spreading SARSCoV2 by foreigners was the most stressful fear among Singaporeans (M = 2.59), while traumatic stress by COVID-19 was the least stressful fear (M = 0.16). COVID stress syndrome was positively correlated with negative quality of life (r ranged from .25 to .66) and negatively correlated with gratitude (r ranged from -.29 to -.14). Xenophobia was also found to be the most influential factor in reducing quality of life (ß = .52) and gratitude (ß = -.37) during the pandemic. Study findings demonstrate how COVID-19 increases Singaporeans' xenophobic attitudes towards foreigners, making them more vulnerable to the pandemic.

Testing a Moderated Mediation Model of Social Withdrawal and Intimacy: The Roles of Interpersonal Distrust and Retrospective Bullying Victimization.

Given that social withdrawal has been consistently linked to intimacy, an examination of the mediating effect of interpersonal distrust on the relationship between social withdrawal and intimacy could offer potential insights into a possible explanatory mechanism. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate interpersonal distrust as a mediator of the relationship between social withdrawal and intimacy, and whether retrospective bullying victimization moderates this mediation. Participants included 160 university students who completed measures of social withdrawal, interpersonal distrust, intimacy, and retrospective bullying victimization. Results indicated that interpersonal distrust mediated the relationship between social withdrawal and intimacy. Retrospective bullying victimization in primary school, however, did not moderate the mediation model. In light of these findings, appropriate implications and suggestions for interventions are discussed.

Retrospective Reports of Perceived 'Guan' Parenting: Relationships to Adult Attachment Styles, Emotion Regulation, and Self-Esteem.

To determine how parental guan is related to social-emotional development in adulthood and how demographic controls might influence the prediction of parental guan on social-emotional development, 176 adults completed a series of questionnaires. We expected that both maternal and paternal guan would be positively related to secure attachment in adulthood, emotion regulation, self-esteem, and social self-esteem, but negatively related to avoidance and anxious attachment in adulthood. Pearson correlations largely supported these expectations. Moreover, the results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that paternal guan was positively related to self-esteem but negatively related to anxious attachment in adulthood. Maternal guan, on the other hand, significantly predicted emotion regulation. Both maternal and paternal guan were significantly related to secure adult attachment and social self-esteem. Age, gender, and family structure contributed additional variance in some variables. We discuss our results in terms of the protective role of guan parenting in a child's life.

Anxiety in Malaysian children and adolescents: validation of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED).

OBJECTIVE: Use of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) has increased significantly since its publication. Although the validity of the SCARED is well established, most of the samples investigated primarily comprised Caucasian children and, where available, people from Asian cultures such as China. Furthermore, the instrument's utility for screening use in community samples has yet to be validated, although it is commonly advocated for this use. The present study addressed the psychometric properties of the SCARED in a community sample of Malaysian children and adolescents. METHOD: A total of 386 participants from an urban area, aged between 8 and 17, completed the 41-item SCARED. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed to investigate the factor structure of the SCARED. RESULTS: Internal consistency ratings for the SCARED's total and subscale scores were good, except for School Avoidance. The validity of the SCARED was further demonstrated through a significant correlation with the Internalizing subscale of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). In contrast with the five-factor structure proposed for primarily Caucasian samples, factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure for this Malaysian sample. CONCLUSIONS: These research findings support the validity of the SCARED and its utility as a screening tool in a community sample of Malaysian children and adolescents.

Anxiety in Malaysian children and adolescents: validation of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED)

Abstract Objective Use of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) has increased significantly since its publication. Although the validity of the SCARED is well established, most of the samples investigated primarily comprised Caucasian children and, where available, people from Asian cultures such as China. Furthermore, the instrument's utility for screening use in community samples has yet to be validated, although it is commonly advocated for this use. The present study addressed the psychometric properties of the SCARED in a community sample of Malaysian children and adolescents. Method A total of 386 participants from an urban area, aged between 8 and 17, completed the 41-item SCARED. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed to investigate the factor structure of the SCARED. Results Internal consistency ratings for the SCARED's total and subscale scores were good, except for School Avoidance. The validity of the SCARED was further demonstrated through a significant correlation with the Internalizing subscale of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). In contrast with the five-factor structure proposed for primarily Caucasian samples, factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure for this Malaysian sample. Conclusions These research findings support the validity of the SCARED and its utility as a screening tool in a community sample of Malaysian children and adolescents.

Attitude Toward Online Relationship Formation and Psychological Need Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Loneliness.

Our study explores the moderating role of loneliness in the relationship between attitude toward online relationship formation and psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. Participants included 1572 adolescents who completed self-report measures of loneliness, attitude toward online relationship formation, and psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. As hypothesized, attitude toward online relationship formation was positively related to psychological need satisfaction in online friendships. Results of moderation also demonstrated that lonely adolescents would report more positive attitude toward online relationship formation and higher psychological need satisfaction in online friendships compared to adolescents with nonlonely. Overall, these results extend self-determination theory's contentions regarding the critical role of socialization initiatives to increase the fulfilment of psychological needs for adolescents, regardless of whether the relationship was formed through the Internet or in-person.

Investigation of a Preliminary Mixed Method of Phubbing and Social Connectedness in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The exponential growth of smartphones has afforded many users with ubiquitous access to socialization as seen in the various mobile apps used to communicate and connect with others. The present study employed mixed-method approaches to analyse the impact of phubbing on social connectedness among adolescents in Malaysia. METHODS: A total of 568 adolescents were participated in quantitative surveys, and of these participating adolescents, 6 were further invited to join focus group interviews. FINDINGS: Quantitative findings supported the mediating role of communication disturbance in the relationships between phone obsession and familial connectedness, school connectedness, and self-connectedness, but not for friendship connectedness. Qualitative findings further elucidated the detrimental effect of phone obsession on their sense of belonging from the perspectives of adolescents. CONCLUSION: This study reaffirms that phubbing behaviour is predictive of social disconnectedness. Therefore, preventive and treatment interventions should be developed to avoid and control a potential risk of social disconnectedness epidemics attribute to phubbing.

A comparison study of meat eaters and non-meat eaters on mind attribution and moral disengagement of animals.

This study aims to investigate how the distinction between animals that humans consume (AHCs) and pet animals influence meat eaters' and non-meat eaters' perceived mind attribution on animals and moral disengagement. Following this, a two-way mixed ANOVA with repeated measures on the type of animals being slaughtered and type of eaters was conducted. For meat-eaters, perceived mental capacity ratings for AHCs were lower than pet animals. For non-meat eaters, the difference between these animals was negligible. In addition, meat eaters had higher levels of moral disengagement in comparison to non-meat eaters. Further analysis showed that meat eaters who reported lower perceived mental capacities of AHCs appeared to feel such animals were more edible and were less likely to perceive killing them for food as morally wrong. Moral disengagement was also negatively associated with mental capacity of AHCs as food, suggesting that there was a higher moral disengagement among meat eaters who tend to view AHCs as lacking in mental capacities.

Shyness, Loneliness Avoidance, and Internet Addiction: What are the Relationships?

Given that shyness has been consistently linked to Internet addiction in youth, an examination into the mediating effect of a desire to avoid loneliness on the shyness-Internet addiction link could offer potential insights into a possible explanatory mechanism as well as directions for Internet addiction prevention and intervention in young adulthood. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of loneliness avoidance in the relationship between shyness and Internet addiction among 286 youth Internet users. Shyness was significantly and positively correlated with loneliness avoidance and Internet addiction. In addition, loneliness avoidance was significantly and positively correlated with Internet addiction. Most importantly, loneliness avoidance may predispose shy youth to become addicted to the Internet. Theoretical and practical implications of the research findings for youth wellness are addressed in this study.