Suicidal Behavior in Nepali motion pictures of three decades (1990-2020): A content analysis.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of the depiction of suicidal behavior in motion pictures would reveal the social representation of suicide that would foster suicide prevention in a country. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess how suicidality has been depicted in Nepali movies by scrutinizing their contents against the sociodemographic checklist and WHO media guidelines for suicidal reporting. METHODS: This is a narrative quantitative analysis of suicidal behavior portrayals in the Nepali motion pictures that are publicly and freely accessible. RESULTS: Overall, out of the 573 scrutinized movies, we found ten movies consisting of 11 characters (i.e., the prevalence is 1.75%) showing suicidal behavior. The majority of suicidal behavior was seen in males 6 (54.5%), and the majority of attempters were students 3 (27.3%) or homemakers 2 (18.2%). Suicidal behavior was mostly observed in unmarried people 6 (54.5%). Hanging was the most prevalent method (45.5%), and home (36.4%) and public places (36.4%) were equally the most frequent places of attempt. The consequential risk factors for the attempts were found to be marital problems/premarital affairs (50%), followed by unfulfilled demand/conflict (30%). While all 11 items depicted the method and place of the attempt, two also depicted the complete scene of the attempt. One item used language that normalized suicide as a constructive solution to the problem. None of the pictures publicized any mental health messages or educated the public about suicide prevention. CONCLUSIONS: The minimal adherence of the Nepali motion pictures on the depictions of suicidality with WHO media guidelines indicates urgent need to create awareness among the Nepali film fraternity.

Newspaper reporting of suicide in Nepal: Quality assessment against World Health Organization media guidelines.

Background: Sensible media reporting of suicide is a population-based suicide prevention strategy. However, the quality of media reporting of suicide has not been assessed in Nepal. Objectives: We aimed to assess the newspaper reporting status of suicide in Nepal with reference to World Health Organization (WHO) media guidelines for suicide reporting. Method: We retrospectively searched eight major newspapers in Nepal between January 2020 and May 2021 and assessed 167 news reports against WHO suicide reporting guidelines. Results: Potentially harmful characteristics were found to be reported in both the title and main text of the reports. About half of them mentioned sex (48.5%) and 38.3% mentioned the location of suicide in the title. Of the 167 reports, 74.3%, 95.2%, 34.7%, 92.2%, 98.8%, and 52.7% mentioned the name, sex, occupation, method of suicide, the location of suicide, and life events, respectively, in their main content. On the other hand, only 6% and 2.4% of reports mentioned linkage of suicides with mental illness and substance abuse, respectively. While lesser than 1% of reports narrated educative information regarding suicide prevention, none mentioned contact information for help-seeking for the vulnerable. Conclusion: Newspaper reporting of suicide in Nepal poorly adheres to WHO guidelines, substantiated by the high presence of potentially harmful characteristics and negligible presence of potentially helpful characteristics.

Social support, emotion regulation and mindfulness: A linkage towards social anxiety among adolescents attending secondary schools in Birgunj, Nepal.

There has been a growing burden of anxiety among Nepalese adolescents. Social anxiety in particular is one of the commonly reported symptoms indicating mental health problem among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to assess social anxiety, and identify how social support, emotion regulation and mindfulness uniquely contribute to social anxiety among adolescents in Birgunj, Nepal. The study was conducted by using a self-administered questionnaire among 384 adolescents (65.4% boys; M = 16.05 years, SD = 1.39) studying at secondary schools of Birgunj. Results show that there was a positive correlation between social anxiety symptoms and age, and girls reported more symptoms. Traits such as non-acceptance of emotions, lack of clarity and lack of awareness of emotions were related to increased social anxiety; while acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and better ability to describe emotions was related to decreased social anxiety. Finally, more social support from close friends was related to lower social anxiety. These results suggest that improving emotion regulation, dispositional mindfulness, and social support may be helpful for adolescents who are at risk of, or are suffering from, social anxiety.

Resilience In Nepalese Adolescents: Socio-Demographic Factors Associated With Low Resilience.

BACKGROUND: Resilience can be viewed as the potential to deal with stress positively. Resilient adolescents are likely to enter adulthood with a greater capacity to cope well in difficult circumstances. The purpose of this study was to measure resilience and the socio-demographic characteristics of Nepalese adolescents with low resilience. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 4 randomly selected secondary schools in Lalitpur, Nepal, was conducted with 416 adolescent students (54.8% girls; M=16.1 years, SD=1.5). Resilience was measured using the Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire (ARQ) in Nepali. Socio-demographic factors investigated included personal (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, religion, birth order, and participation in exercise), family (e.g. type of family, parents' relationship status, employment and literacy) and community factors (e.g. living in an urban area). RESULTS: Mean resilience score was 311.7 (95% CI 308.6-314.5; SD=32.1) with 17.5% of adolescents classified as having low resilience. Socio-demographic factors associated with having low resilience included female gender (OR=1.73, 95% CI=1.03-2.95), attending a private school (OR=1.77, 95% CI=1.06-2.98), higher birth order compared to first born (OR=4.79, 95% CI=2.46-9.32), living in an urban area (OR=2.18, 95% CI=1.28-3.71); and being physically inactive (OR=3.0, 95% CI=1.77-5.08). CONCLUSION: This first investigation of resilience in Nepalese adolescents using a standardised measure of resilience identified a number of socio-demographic factors as being associated with low resilience. While most socio-demographic factors are not modifiable, they can be used to guide educators and health professionals working with adolescents to identify those who may need greater support to achieve positive outcomes in the often challenging transition through adolescence and into adulthood.

Psychometric properties of Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire among Nepalese adolescents in Lalitpur.

BACKGROUND: Although the need of measuring resilience among adolescents has gained attention in recent decades, there is no availability of an appropriate tool designed yet to assess resilience among Nepalese adolescents. This paper describes the psychometric properties of Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire (ARQ) among Nepalese adolescent students in Lalitpur which could be a possible tool for measuring resilience. METHOD: The ARQ was translated into Nepali and back translated in English. The Nepali ARQ was self-administered in 512 adolescent students with 46.7% boys between the age of 13 and 19 years (M = 16.07 years, SD = 1.49) enrolled in six secondary schools in Lalitpur, Nepal. Test-retest reliability was assessed among 52 adolescent students within an interval of two weeks. RESULTS: Findings confirmed 12 scales and 5 domain factor structure of adolescents' resilience. Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α) for the scales and domains ranged between 0.64-0.86 and 0.71-0.86. The values of Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) showed that test-retest reliability of the scales and domains ranged between good and excellent with an overall ICC 0.95 (95% CI 0.92-0.97). CONCLUSION: The Nepali version of the ARQ can be used to measure resilience among adolescents in Lalitpur, Nepal. Further studies are recommended to assess adolescents' resilience using the ARQ in diverse settings including communities of various provinces and regions of Nepal.

Community knowledge, attitude, and perceived stigma of leprosy amongst community members living in Dhanusha and Parsa districts of Southern Central Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Though Nepal declared leprosy elimination in 2010, its burden is constantly rising in Terai communities for the past 2 years with 3000 new leprosy cases being diagnosed annually. Community's perception is important for prevention and control of leprosy and enhancing quality of life of leprosy patients. Poor knowledge, unfavorable attitude and stigma create a hindrance to leprosy control. The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and stigma of leprosy amongst the community members living in Dhanusha and Parsa districts of Southern Central Nepal. METHODS: A total of 423 individuals were interviewed using a structured questionnaire in Dhanusha and Parsa districts. Data was analyzed using both descriptive (frequency, percentage, median) and statistical inferences (Chi-square test, Kruskal Wallis H test, Mann Whitney U test, binary logistic regression) using SPSSvs20. RESULTS: All respondents had heard about leprosy. Source of information on leprosy was mainly found to be health workers/hospitals (33.1%). Only 62.6% reported bacteria being its cause followed by other myths such as bad blood/curse/heredity/bad deeds (36%). Only 43.8% responded that leprosy is transmitted by prolonged close contact with leprosy patients and 25.7% reported religious rituals as the treatment. Only 42.1% had good knowledge and 40.9% had favorable attitude. Good knowledge of leprosy was highly associated with favorable attitude towards leprosy (P<0.001). The outcome variables- knowledge, attitude and EMIC score were found to have highly significant association with age, sex, ethnicity, religion, education and occupation of the respondents (P<0.001). Having knowledge on leprosy transmission was positively associated with favorable attitude towards leprosy (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Strategizing the awareness programmes according to socio-demographic characteristics for enhancing the knowledge regarding leprosy cause, symptoms, transmission, prevention and treatment, can foster the positive community attitude towards leprosy affected persons. Enhancing positive attitude towards leprosy affected persons can reduce the community stigma, thus may increase their participation in the community. Positive attitude may further increase their early health seeking behaviour including their quality of life.