El papel de la impulsividad en la orientación al suicidio de universitarios con antecedentes de conducta autolesiva / The role of impulsivity in suicidal orientation of university students with a history of self-injurious behavior

El objetivo de esta investigación fue describir el efecto de la depresión, la desesperanza y la impulsividad sobre la orientación al suicidio y el papel de la impulsividad como mediador de la orientación suicida en universitarios con antecedentes de conductas autolesivas. Participaron 1.645 jóvenes entre los 18 y 29 años, de dos ciudades colombianas. Se seleccionaron 218 jóvenes (M= 21,00; DT= 2,99) que informaron de al menos un intento de suicidio en el último año, quienes contestaron el “Inventario de orientación suicida”, la “Escala de desesperanza de Beck”, el “Inventario de depresión de Beck” y la “Escala de impulsividad de Barratt”. La depresión, la desesperanza y la impulsividad explicaron el 63% de la variación de la orientación al suicidio (R2= 0,635; IC 95% [0,555; 0,713]; p= 0,001). La impulsividad medió con depresión en aquellos casos en los que la orientación suicida era alta, cuyos efectos totales, directos e indirectos, fueron estadísticamente significativos (p< 0,001). La impulsividad desempeña un papel mediador entre la depresión y la desesperanza en la predicción de la orientación suicida.(AU)

The aim of this research was to describe the effect of depression,hopelessness, and impulsivity on orientation to suicide and the role of impulsivityas a mediator of suicidal orientation in university students with a history of self-injury behaviors. 1645 young people between 18 and 29 years old participated,from two Colombian cities. 218 young people were selected (M= 21.00; SD= 2.99)who reported at least one suicide attempt in the last year, who answered the“Suicidal Orientation Inventory”, the “Beck Hopelessness Scale”, the “BeckDepression Inventory” and the “Barratt Impulsivity Scale”. Depression,hopelessness, and impulsivity explained 63% of the variation in suicidal orientation (R 2 = .635, IC 95% [.555, .713], p= .001). Impulsivity mediated with depression inthose cases in which suicidal orientation was high, whose total, direct and indirecteffects were statistically significant (p< .001). Impulsivity plays a mediating rolebetween depression and hopelessness in predicting suicidal orientation.K EY WORDS : depression, hopelessness, impulsivity, suicidality, college youth.(AU)

Effectiveness of Health Promotion Curriculum in Enhancing Non-communicable Diseases Health Literacy in Indian Youth.

Background There is a theory-praxis gap related to health literacy interventions focused on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among young people. We designed an NCD curriculum and investigated its' effect on health literacy in non-medical, non-nursing college students in India. We deliberately selected non-medical and non-nursing college students (age 17 to 22 years) as we hypothesized, they would have a minimum baseline knowledge of NCDs. Methods We initially carried out a pilot study on 85 students in a four-day-long workshop (32 teaching hours) using empirically developed health literacy instrument. We administered the curriculum to 120 randomly selected students in four colleges, while 50 students were assigned to the comparison group. The curriculum was given over four days for a total of 32 hours. Approval was sought to give four credits for completion of the course. Each lecture comprised didactics, followed by discussion, and skills testing of measuring blood pressure and blood sugar. Health literacy was measured using a specifically designed tool at baseline and endline. The difference in health literacy scores between the two time-points (timepoint 1: before delivering the curriculum, time-point 2: at the end of four days of training) was analyzed using the t-test. Multiple linear and Poisson regression models were used to account for covariates. Results The average difference between the intervention and the control group in baseline scores was 0.05% points (unpaired t-test statistics: -1.36, degrees of freedom 103.15, p>0.05). The same at endline was 20.59% points (unpaired t-test statistics: -11.31, degrees of freedom 138.14, p<0.001). The endline to baseline difference in health literacy scores was 18.54% points higher in the intervention group versus the control group (unpaired t-test statistics: -10.88, degrees of freedom 161.32, p<0.001). The difference-in-difference scores remained significant after accounting for college setting and baseline score (Multivariable linear regression model, ß: 19.62% points, p<0.001). None of the socio-economic characteristics were significantly associated with the difference in the difference scores, independent of the intervention effect. The proportion of participants scoring 40% or above on the health literacy measure at endline was significantly higher in the intervention versus the control group (p<0.001). Conclusions We provide empirical data to support the incorporation of NCDs as a credit course in college curricula in low- and middle-income countries. Our findings showed that a theory-driven skills-focused curriculum may be a tool for enhancing NCD health literacy in Indian youth from diverse academic and socio-economic backgrounds.

Knowledge and Acceptance of COVID-19 (SARS CoV2) Vaccination among Foundation students in a College in Kedah, Malaysia

@#Introduction: To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia started vaccination of front-liners and adults in the community. The latter group might have insufficient knowledge to accept COVID-19 vaccination, therefore this research was to assess the knowledge and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among youths, specifically students in a Malaysian college. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 481 foundation students in Kolej MARA Kulim (KMKU). The minimum sample size, using Epi Info was 214. Students answered an online questionnaire using google form which included demographic data (age, gender) and ten questions on knowledge and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. For knowledge questions, students answered “yes”, “no” or “don’t know”, correct answer scoring 1. For acceptance questions, a 5-point Likert scale was used ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. EXCEL and SPSS version 23 were used for analysis with Chi-square test done to test association (significant for p-value <0.05). Results: The response rate was 65.1% with 313 students, (45.4% males, and 54.6% females) aged 18-19 years. The majority (83.7%) had satisfactory to excellent knowledge scores (mean = 6.66 (SD=2.299, 95% CI 6.40-6.91), median = 7 (± IQR =3), while 16.3% obtained poor scores (≤ 4). The majority (90%) accepted vaccination. Higher knowledge scores were associated with higher acceptance rates in both genders (p-value= 0.000). Significantly more females (90.6%) than males (80.3%) had positive attitude towards vaccination (p-value = 0.009). Conclusions: The majority of the foundation students in KMKU were knowledgeable on COVID-19 vaccination and willing to receive the vaccination against the novel coronavirus.

Decreasing Depression and Anxiety in College Youth Using the Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment Program (COPE).

BACKGROUND: College is a time of major transition in the lives of many young adults. Roughly 30% of college students have reported that anxiety and depressive symptoms negatively affect their lives and academic functioning. Currently, anxiety has surpassed depression as the reason college students seek help at counseling centers. Unfortunately, only one third of students receive treatment for anxiety and only 25% of students receive treatment for their depression. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this pilot project were to (a) assess levels of depression and anxiety in identified "at risk" college students who present to the college Student Health Services (Primary Care), (b) implement a new cognitive behavioral therapy-based intervention titled "Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment" (COPE), and (c) evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on students' levels of depression and anxiety as well as satisfaction with the intervention. DESIGN: A one group pre- and post-test design was used. RESULTS: Students who received COPE demonstrated clinically meaningful improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. CONCLUSION: COPE is an effective brief program for reducing depression and anxiety in college-age youth. Implementation of evidenced-based programs into the college experience could lead to less severe depression and anxiety and better academic performance, ultimately increasing the likelihood of students successfully completing their academic programs.

Aprendizaje basado en problemas como recurso pedagógico en el cambio de la conducta sedentaria en jóvenes universitarios / Problem- based learning as a pedagogic resource to change the sedentary behavior among college youth

INTRODUCCIÓN: El sedentarismo es considerado un problema de salud pública por sus implicaciones para la salud física y emocional afectando a entre un 85 y un 90% de los jóvenes universitarios. OBJETIVO: Conocer el efecto de la implementación de la metodología del Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP) como recurso pedagógico en el cambio de la conducta sedentaria en jóvenes universitarios del curso Actividad Deportiva de la Universidad de Costa Rica. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Participaron 96 universitarios (48 hombres y 48 mujeres), promedio de edad de 18±2,3 años. Se utilizó como recurso pedagógico la metodología del ABP para propiciar el cambio de la conducta sedentaria. El cambio de la conducta sedentaria se evaluó por medio del aumento de la actividad física (AF) realizada durante la semana. Se realizó el Pre-test, para conocer la cantidad de días a la semana que los universitarios dedicaban a la práctica de AF. Se implementó el método ABP durante 12 semanas, posteriormente se realizó el Post-test, para conocer la cantidad de AF que realizaron durante la semana posterior a la implementación del recurso pedagógico. Se aplicó un ANOVA de dos vías con el fin de identificar diferencia significativa entre mediciones. RESULTADOS: Se identificaron cambios significativos en la cantidad de AF entre la medición Pre-test y Post-test; sin embargo, no se identificó diferencia significativa en las mediciones obtenidas entre hombres y mujeres. CONCLUSIÓN: La implementación de la estrategia de enseñanza ABP permitió un cambio en la conducta sedentaria en un grupo de jóvenes universitarios, propiciando un aumento significativo en la práctica de AF realizada durante la semana. Se identificó que la estrategia del ABP tuvo el mismo efecto positivo en los hombres como en las mujeres.

INTRODUCTION: Sedentary behavior is considered to be a public health problem due to its effect on people's physical and emotional health. It affects between 85% and 90% of college youth. OBJECTIVE: To implement the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methodology as a pedagogic resource to change the sedentary behavior among college youth. METHODS AND MATERIAL: A total of 96 college youth participated (48 males and 48 females), average age 18 ± 2.3 years. The pedagogic PBL methodology was the resource used to promote a change in sedentary behavior. This was screened through the increase of physical activity (PA) performed during the week. Students had a pre-evaluation that determined the amount of days in the week that they were doing PA. The PBL method was implemented for 12 weeks; afterwards, a post-evaluation determined the amount of PA that they had performed during the week following the implementation of the pedagogic resource. A two-lined ANOVA was applied so that the significant difference between measurements could be identified. RESULTS: There were significant changes in the amount of PA between the pre-test and the post-test measurements; however, no significant differences between measurements obtained among men and women were identified. CONCLUSION: The implementation of the PBL strategy allowed a change in the sedentary behavior among a group of college youth. It promoted a significant increase in the performance of PA done during a week. The PBL strategy had the same positive effect in both men and women.

Risk patterns among college youth: identification and implications for prevention and treatment.

PURPOSE: This study identified underlying subgroups among college students in terms of lifestyle characteristics and health risk behaviors and then investigated how demographic factors were associated with the underlying risk patterns to bolster health promotion efforts and interventions. METHOD: College students (N = 996) enrolled at Indiana University during 2009-2010 participated in a multidimensional online survey. Latent class analysis was used to identify underlying risk patterns based on seven lifestyle and health behaviors, including frequent alcohol use, binge drinking, smoking, low physical activity, low vegetable intake, low fruit intake, and poor sleep. RESULTS: Four distinct risk behavior patterns were identified for both males and females including a "healthy" class, "low substance use but poor other health behaviors" class, "high substance use" (males)/"high alcohol use" (females) class, and a risk class characterized by elevated probability of all seven indicators. The highest risk class included 34% of the males and 22% of the females; they tended to be older or in more advanced undergraduate classes. Among males, compared with the "healthy" class, the "high substance use" class was more likely to contain non-Hispanic White students and students in advanced classes. Among females, the "low substance use but poor other health behaviors" class was associated with racial/ethnic minority status and lower levels of parental education. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that risky health behaviors may tend to cluster in some students and that health promotion techniques might effectively be targeted to identifiable student subgroups.

Reconceptualizing prevention of violence against women on college campuses: response to Victoria Banyard's actualizing the potential of primary prevention: a research agenda.

Research is clear that violence against college women is a problem that warrants alternative prevention approaches to addressing and reducing its prevalence and creating safer campuses for women and men. Banyard's presentation gave us food for thought as we consider what such novel approaches may look like. New and innovative approaches that are multifaceted, comprehensive, and informed by theory are key. The ecological model can inform our understanding of the issue, the risk and protective factors associated, and the design and implementation of prevention efforts. It is critically important to engage college students in these efforts to create interventions that are culturally appropriate for college students. We must also meet students where they are, utilizing social marketing campaigns and capitalizing on social media and the use of communication technologies. Together, such efforts will facilitate our ultimate goal of reducing, if not eliminating, violence against women on college campuses.