Coping and Suicide in College Students.

Background: Transitioning to college life in young adulthood can represent a challenging developmental period and college students are at heightened risk for engaging in suicidality. Aims: We aimed to investigate the roles dispositional optimism and coping strategies play in suicide risk (viz., suicidality) and suicide protection (viz., reasons for living) in college students. Method: A sample of 252 American college students were surveyed using anonymous questionnaires and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data. Results: Coping strategies, as a set, played an important role in both suicidality and reasons for living, after controlling for demographic factors (age and sex). When dispositional optimism was entered into the model, it was found to account for a significant amount of additional unique variance in both suicidality and reasons for living, even after accounting for coping. Limitations: It is unknown whether optimism remains meaningful in its association with suicide risk and protection beyond coping in other populations. Conclusion: Effective coping and optimism are associated with decreased suicide risk and increased suicide protection. Our findings point to the consistent role of dispositional optimism, over coping, in both suicide risk and protection.

Perceived Social Support Protects Lonely People Against COVID-19 Anxiety: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study in China.

The isolation necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can give rise to anxiety, especially for lonely people who often feel upset without others' company. Although isolated from others, people can still receive support from others, which might lower their COVID-19 anxiety. To examine the relationship between loneliness, perceived social support, and anxiety, we measured 222 Chinese participants' (54.50% female, M age = 31.53, SD = 8.17) trait loneliness, chronic anxiety before the outbreak, COVID-19 anxiety at the peak and decline stages of COVID-19, and their perceived social support across the three time points. The results showed that people's perceived social support dramatically increased from the pre-pandemic to the peak COVID-19 stage, and remained stable during the decline of COVID-19 stage. In contrast, COVID-19 anxiety decreased from the peak to the decline stage. Further, perceived social support consistently moderated the relationship between loneliness with both chronic anxiety and COVID-19 anxiety. The current study provides initial evidence that perceived social support provides protection for lonely people in daily life as well as during unexpected disasters, which will contribute to finding ways to alleviate lonely people's anxiety during this global health crisis.

Topical eutectic mixture for premature ejaculation (TEMPE): a novel aerosol-delivery form of lidocaine-prilocaine for treating premature ejaculation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in a phase II study, the efficacy and safety of a topical eutectic mixture for premature ejaculation (TEMPE), a metered-dose aerosol spray containing a eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine, as a treatment for PE. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Men with PE (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV definition) aged 18-75 years were randomized into a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the UK and the Netherlands. Efficacy variables included the mean change in intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) from baseline and the proportion of patients who achieved an IELT of > or = 4, > or = 3 or > or = 2 min on two occasions, and the effect of TEMPE on the index of ejaculatory control (IEC) and sexual quality-of-life (SQoL) scores of patients and their partners. Safety and adverse event data were also collected. Fifty-four patients were randomized and received study treatment. RESULTS: The observed mean change in IELT from baseline to the end of the treatment period was 3.8 min in the TEMPE group and 0.7 min in the placebo group, and when adjusted for baseline and centre was 2.4 times higher in the TEMPE than the placebo group (P < 0.01). The efficacy of TEMPE in increasing IELT was further supported by positive trends in the other efficacy endpoints. The proportion of men who had an IELT time > or = 2, > or = 3 or > or = 4 min on two occasions after treatment was 11/20 (55%), 8/20 (40%) and 5/25 (20%) in the TEMPE group, and 8/23 (35%), 3/23 (13%) and 3/23 (13%) in the placebo group, respectively, although these differences were not statistically significant. Improvements in IEC and SQoL (male and female) scores also showed trends towards greater efficacy for TEMPE than placebo. In all, 35 of 42 (83%) patients considered the spray easy to use. Mild to moderate local numbness occurred in three (12%) of the TEMPE-treated patients but did not lead to discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Topical treatment with TEMPE produced a statistically and clinically significant increase in IELT compared with placebo, and resulted in positive trends in ejaculatory control and SQoL. TEMPE was considered easy to use and was well tolerated. The data support the conduct of further large-scale studies to establish the utility of TEMPE as a first-line treatment for PE.

Evaluation of the Sexual Assessment Monitor, a diagnostic device used to electronically quantify ejaculatory latency time: findings from three studies.

OBJECTIVE: To validate the Sexual Assessment Monitor (SAM), a novel apparatus designed to collect electronic data on ejaculatory latency time (ELT) for diagnosing premature ejaculation (PE), and for accurately measuring treatment outcomes in clinical trials. PATIENTS, SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Men with PE, and healthy volunteers aged 18-75 years, were enrolled in three open-label studies, conducted in the UK. The SAM, which consists of a control box with two front attachments, a vibrator and sensor, was attached to the penis. The vibrator, which provides stimulation, was positioned at the frenulum using a soft cuff; the vibrator intensity was set at 80 units for most subjects. The sensor is an indium-gallium elasticated loop, which was positioned around the base of the penis to detect ejaculatory pulses. These pulses were transmitted to a data recorder in the control box. The data, which are displayed graphically as traces, were automatically classified by a computer-generated algorithm to quantify ELT. RESULTS: In all, 53 healthy volunteers and 58 men with PE provided 213 and 195 evaluable records, respectively. Most were complete records (99% and 96%). The pooled data showed that the ELT was much higher for healthy volunteers than for men with PE (geometric means: 687 vs 169 s, respectively), with a healthy volunteer to PE patient ratio of 2.87 (P < 0.001). Only 6.3% of subjects reported mild adverse events, which were unrelated to the SAM. CONCLUSIONS: These open-label studies show that the SAM can consistently and safely measure times to erection (from the start of vibration) and ejaculation, and ELT in healthy volunteers and men with PE. These findings show that the SAM has the potential to become the 'gold standard' in the diagnosis of PE and in clinical trials design.