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Three decades have passed since South Africa's formal transition from apartheid to liberal democracy. This milestone signified a triumph of hope over despair for a country that had struggled under a suffocating system of racist, dehumanising oppression since its colonisation in the seventeenth century. Reflecting this zeitgeist, divisions, and complicities that had characterised the study, practice, and organisation of psychology within South Africa's racist structures were disassembled. The discipline committed to social justice, inclusive science, liberatory praxis, and global well-being. From a 30-year vantage point that many imagined would represent a clearer picture of a maturing and free rather than an emerging and new South African democracy, this article assesses the discipline's progress in achieving the socio-political, economic, health and psychological imperatives it set for itself in 1994. Through grounding this analysis in the 10 contributions that constitute this Special Issue, the article pits the promises of struggle and hope against the yields of democracy and its imagined freedoms. It argues that despite the unmistakable continuities of despair that define South African life and the discipline's response thereto, there are several discernible legacies of hope that psychology has recuperated in its journey thus far, and that these may offer fault lines for a hopeful future. These moments of hope are most powerful when the discipline seeks solidarity rather than solipsism, transcends rather than polices its epistemic and political boundaries, and embraces ordinariness through disavowing the exceptionalism that forecloses its connectedness to several overriding movements that prioritise planetary justice for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, suicide is a leading cause of death in prisons and jails, with incarcerated individuals being nine times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. Identifying vulnerabilities at each stage of custody (prebooking, jail, prison) and factors that increase suicide risk can improve prevention efforts. A hierarchical binary logistic regression was conducted on data from the Texas Justice Initiative's Deaths in Custody Report. Variables included race/ethnicity, sex, age at death, days in custody, classification of crime as violent or nonviolent, and custody type of prebooking, jail, or prison. Among main effects, when compared to suicide rates in prison, jail suicide deaths were over three and a half times more likely (OR = 3.61), and the period of prebooking emerged as a period of staggering risk of suicide death, with suicides being over 5,000% more likely than at other stages of custody (OR = 50.86). When interactions were entered, Latinx individuals were at a particularly increased risk of suicide death (OR = 10.46), likelihood of suicide death decreased with each year of age (OR =.89), nonviolent offenders were just under three and a half times more likely to die by suicide when compared to violent offenders (OR = 3.45), and each stage of custody was shown to affect the relationship between age-related rates of suicide in different ways. Results call for further investigation into suicide among understudied populations in corrections, such as Latinx individuals, juveniles in the prison system, and nonviolent offenders, to identify the groups at the highest risk of premature death in correctional systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the COVID-19 epidemic was linked to movement limitations and a sense of risk among the general public, changes in lifestyle and mental health were not examined among Palestinians. The study aimed to investigate changes in a group of Palestinians' lifestyles and mental health. Methodology: A translated questionnaire about demographics, mental health difficulties, and lifestyle choices was created using Google Forms and distributed over social media and academic platforms. SPSS 21 was used to analyze the data. Results: The participants' mean age was 25 9 years, 67% were women, and 47% were city dwellers. About 82% had a bachelor's degree. Infection with COVID-19 was present in 13% of study group, COVID-19 infection caused the death of a relative in 13% of study group, and commitment to limits was present in 14% of study group. Negative emotions like despair, hopelessness, and worry were extremely common. Despite eating a few fruits and vegetables and drinking a lot of soft beverages, study participants were generally active. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a negative impact on lifestyle and mental well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the phenomenon of organ donation between rivals in time of war when a significant gift such as organ donation is given not just to a "stranger" but to a stranger who may be considered an enemy. This is a case study of a unique organ donation event that occurred in Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021. It involved a Palestinian boy killed by a Jewish policeman and a Jewish man killed by Palestinian youths. Both victims, lacking organ donor cards, had their organs donated by their families with the awareness that recipients could come from the "opposing" group. We ask: (1) How do families from rival groups construct meaning in their decision to donate organs? (2) How do they construct meaning in their experience of loss? The findings reveal that bereaved families imbue their actions with political and religious significance, framing the organ donations as a "universal gift" guided by religious commandments to save lives. While these acts initially transcend cultural and national boundaries, a lack of recognition and gratitude afterward can lead to disillusionment, reinforcing "us" versus "them" boundaries. This study underscores the intricate dynamics in organ donations during political conflict and the pivotal role of religious authorities in shaping perceptions and meaning. Moreover, it highlights the potential for organ donations to foster reconciliation and coexistence amidst conflict, provided mutual recognition in cases where compassion and understanding of loss are prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined early adolescent predictors of later distress and adaptive coping in early adulthood, using data from a prospective longitudinal cohort study (n = 786). In early adolescence (age 13), we assessed indicators of mental health (internalizing symptoms), stressor exposure (cumulative stressful life events), and family socialization (supportive parent–child interactions). In early adulthood (age 22), during the first COVID-19-related Swiss national lockdown, we assessed cumulative pandemic-related stressors, distress (poor well-being, hopelessness, and perceived disruptions to life) and adaptive coping. Early adolescent internalizing symptoms predicted lower well-being, more hopelessness, and perceived lifestyle disruptions in early adulthood, during the pandemic. Cumulative stressful life events during early adolescence moderated the association between cumulative pandemic-related stressors and perceived lifestyle disruptions. Supportive parent–child interactions fostered subsequent engagement in adaptive coping, which, in turn, predicted less hopelessness and better well-being. Findings reveal that early adolescent development is linked with distress and adaptive coping in later periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I propose a novel theoretical phenomenon, neonihilism, which follows a historical and theoretical trajectory from 19th-century nihilism and is distinguishable from another contemporary phenomenon, described as fashionable nihilism. Neonihilism is contextualized to a North American neoliberal capitalist social matrix, with meaning and mental health crises as defining features. I argue that neonihilism produces a sense of hopelessness in tackling the mental health and meaning crises when our neoliberal social matrix internalizes systemic inequities as personal moral responsibilities. Furthermore, neoliberalism has the potential to commodify the darkness of nihilism and transform it into fashionable nihilism, which further obfuscates the possibilities for resistance. I suggest a set of strategies for overcoming neonihilism by shifting from a science of nihilation to an art of nihilation as an ars nihil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined mental adjustment to breast cancer, that is, coping strategies. Participants were 130 women undergoing breast cancer treatment in two medical settings in Accra, Ghana. They completed questionnaires assessing mental adjustment to cancer, psychological distress (anxiety and depression), negative religious coping, body change stress, and illness perceptions. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Results showed that patients who reported higher depression were more likely to engage in anxious preoccupation (worry and thinking about breast cancer). Higher depression was associated with a greater sense of helplessness/hopelessness. Moreover, patients higher in negative religious coping were more likely to experience a greater sense of helplessness/hopelessness. Illness perception facets of personal control and emotional response were positively associated with fatalism and anxious preoccupation, respectively. The results suggest that screening breast cancer patients for psychological morbidity could help identify patients with increased risks for maladaptive adjustment to the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an introduction to the Special Issue 'Leadership and the Future of Humanity.' We appraise the concept of leadership in the context of several major world crises, including the rise of populism, an increased number of conflicts, and the climate crisis. In observing the current conflicts in Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, we define hopeless leadership as the leadership of those who exploit despair and uncertainty to manufacture fear in order to move their followers into action against particular outgroups. We also look at how hope is often born from despair. In adopting Freire's ontology of hope, we theorise hopeful leadership as the continuous belief in and search for possible and better futures, even if they are imperfect. In this sense, hopeful leadership has a strong element of stewardship towards the future of humanity. The Special Issue contains papers that tap into these themes, and develops them in their own way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the role of sense of coherence, social support, satisfaction with life, and resilience, as resources in the association between fear of COVID-19, perceived vulnerability to disease, and depression. Data from 804 students were collected at three South African universities in 2022 and 2023 by means of an electronic survey and analysed using structural equation modelling. We found that higher levels of fear of COVID-19 and hopelessness were associated with depression among the sample. Satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, and perceived social support had significant negative relationships with depression, indicating that these represent potential protective resources. Perceived vulnerability to disease had a positive relationship with perceived social support. While fear of COVID-19 significantly impacted depression, it did not show a significant relationship with other mental well-being measures, such as satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, resilience, or social support. Hopelessness showed a strong negative correlation, not only with resilience but also with satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, and perceived social support, making it a critical factor in mental well-being. Perceived social support acted as a mediator between both hopelessness and perceived vulnerability to disease and depression. Satisfaction with life mediated the relationship between hopelessness and depression, and sense of coherence mediated the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease and depression. While higher levels of fear related to COVID-19 and pervasive feelings of hopelessness were robust predictors of depressive symptoms, factors such as satisfaction with life, sense of coherence, and perceived social support emerged as protective resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric overweight and obesity is a complex chronic medical condition with a multitude of contributing factors. Rates are now nearly double what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic and if the current trajectory holds it is anticipated that by 2050 one in every two US children will experience obesity before the age of thirty-five. Pediatric obesity guidelines emphasize referral to intensive health behavior and lifestyle therapy programs, but these are difficult to access. Front line providers caring for children can use a lifestyle medicine approach within the medical home to make lifestyle changes easier. Lifestyle Medicine can promote a family-oriented, weight-neutral approach by (1) Educating and equipping providers to assess readiness to change and providing high-quality motivational interviewing and lifestyle counseling, (2) Equipping patients and their families with tools involving the six lifestyle interventions to optimize health starting an early age, and (3) Offering a longitudinal uniform office approach to effectively prevent, manage and often reverse obesity and related comorbidities through healthy habit change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the current feelings of Finnish low-income working lone mothers and their views on what it means to be poor in the welfare state of Finland. This is done by analyzing written accounts of lone mothers through a qualitative content analysis. The data was collected in 2015 and 2021. The analysis reveals that mothers' feelings of poverty have similarities to those described in data collected in a different context over 20 years ago. The article is inspired by an article published in Affilia in the year 2003 by Lynn McIntyre, Suzanne Officer, and Lynne M. Robinson. In their paper, McIntyre et al. analyzed the feelings of poor Canadian lone mothers. While the welfare regime and services influence how life is organized, it is evident that self-sacrifice for the children caused by poverty is very much a part of the written accounts of Finnish mothers. We show that while there are a few cultural differences in the feelings that lone mothers undergo on account of their low-income status, feelings such as loneliness are persistent and often shared regardless of time or geographical location. Therefore, we suggest that low-income mothers should be given greater support by society and governments to be able to feel hopeful and empowered rather than poor and alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women in heavily policed and incarcerated communities face extremely high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV)—but how criminal legal system contact affects such violence remains poorly understood. This study explores the social ecology of IPV by fitting structural equation models to longitudinal, dyadic data from households in contact with the criminal legal system (N = 2,224) and their local communities. Results suggest that a complex of factors at multiple social-ecological levels—including adverse local conditions, dysfunctional couple conflict, and men's behavioral health and perceptions of their neighborhoods—may put women at heightened risk of IPV victimization in a time of mass incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of middle-aged and older adults, this research explores associations between generativity and two key risk factors for suicide: thwarted belonging (T.B.) and perceived burdensomeness (P.B.). These variables are typically studied as predictors of suicide; the current study is unique in examining their psychosocial correlates. Erikson described, generativity as a psychosocial construct that characterizes adult well-being in mid-life, conceptualized as the sense one has successfully guided and contributed to the younger generation through mentoring. Using the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS), the current analyses indicate that generativity is associated with lower levels of P.B. and T.B., even after accounting for measures of hopelessness, depressive symptoms, financial stability, perceived neighborhood quality, chronic health conditions, and respondent's demographic characteristics including gender and age. Results are discussed in terms of applications for suicide-risk prevention, and with regard to the promotion of positive psychosocial development across the lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In looking back over 3 decades since the development of his interest in developing a unitary conceptualization of despair, nurse scholar W. Richard Cowling, III, had new insights and revelations. The purpose of this dialogue article is to re-envision this journey as one of unfolding, seen with the gift of new eyes. Revisiting this journey allowed him to understand and appreciate it anew. Horizons of possibilities of this conceptual journey are explained in terms of conceptual-theoretical development, inquiry, and the advancement of discipline-specific knowledge, and improving the lives of women in despair. It is his sincere hope, as with all meaningful scholarly endeavors, that a wider discourse occurs with the persistent inclusion of women's voices and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many facets of outdoor adventure and experiential education (OAEE) programs. Using past literature, four variables represent important student outcome variables associated with OAEE programs. Purpose: This study examined the effects of participation in an OAEE program on levels of anxiety, depression, hope, and resilience. Methods: This study used online data collection software with a 30-item inventory to measure the selected variables. Using a retrospective predesign, data were collected and analyzed using repeated measure t -tests. Findings: Results suggest that OAEE programs can effectively enhance an individual's ability to cope with anxiety and hopelessness while enhancing their levels of resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a qualitative case study consisting of interviews with Danish police trainees, patrol officers, and police detectives, this article explores police endorsement of myths surrounding male-perpetrated intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and its influence on police response to IPVAW incidents. The findings show that police officers begin to believe in the myths to cope with negative emotions arising from repeated exposure to IPVAW victims, who do not behave according to expected norms of being cooperative, responsible, and innocent. This makes police officers meet victims with skepticism, low spirit, and hopelessness, making them refrain from initiating further criminal investigations, opening criminal cases, and pursuing arrests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My key objective in this article is to explore the history of the concept of utopia and its application in really existing social, political, economic and cultural forms. Starting with a consideration of what I call the economy of utopia, I theorise the desire for the ideal society in terms of a deeply human drive to seek to overcome vulnerability, limitation and finitude that is set upon failure and the fall towards dystopia by virtue of the fact that it is this very lack that defines the being of the human animal. Following this section of the article, in the second part of my piece, I move on to trace the history of utopia from the visions of Ancients, through the idealism of the Moderns, up to the champions of the theory of the end of history and a utopian version of capitalism. Finally, in conclusion, I focus on the catastrophic impacts of this global utopia of capitalism realised in the form of the Anthropocene and imagine a truly human, tragic utopia founded upon a recognition of our constitutive lack, vulnerability and finitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the longitudinal relationships among self-concept clarity (SCC), hope, and subjective well-being (i.e., emotional well-being and cognitive well-being). Specifically, we tested both the between-person and within-person associations of SCC with subjective well-being among 2,001 Chinese adolescents (age range 11–24 years, 42.9% males) during the first year. In addition, we examined the longitudinal mediating role of hope. Results showed that SCC had positive correlations with hope and subjective well-being both at one time point and over time. Multilevel mediation analysis indicated that hope could serve as a mediator in the association between SCC and subjective well-being, at both the between-person and within-person levels. Moreover, the model of longitudinal multilevel mediation was found to be moderated by gender and age. Our results indicated that hope could be an underlying mechanism for the longitudinal relationship between SCC and subjective well-being among Chinese adolescents, which provides a potential intervention target for improving adolescents' well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dany Laferrière has demonstrated a continuous engagement with Japan, beginning with the novel Éroshima in 1987 and continuing to his most recent publication in 2021, Sur la route avec Bashō. The aim of this article is to understand what role Japan plays within Laferrière's writing and how it helps us understand the complex network of sex, power, and race in his work. Between the cosmopolitanism of the network of nation-states and the despair of identity politics, I situate Laferrière's use of Japan as a fantasy that empowers the writer beyond the impasse of a white-black racial imaginary. Reading Laferrière this way allows us to understand how his writing uses the fantasy of the Orient, often to the detriment of Asian women. As such it contributes to comparative work between Asian and French literatures, debates in Francophonie, and critical understandings of race in the Francophone sphere of the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychological state of people during the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted significant interest from researchers and the general public alike. The aim of this study is to examine the stress, burnout, hopelessness, and depression levels of university students toward the end of the pandemic. A survey model, as a quantitative research method, was applied in this study. The analysis revealed that 70% of the participating university students had moderate to high stress levels, and levels of stress among female students were found to be higher than those among male students. When the students' hopelessness levels were examined, it was seen that 81% of them felt hopelessness at medium or high levels. Hopelessness and burnout were seen to be associated with grade point average. A total of 61% of these students had moderate or high levels of depression symptoms, constituting an at-risk status. The results indicate that factors such as gender, year of study, and grade point average had varying effects on stress, burnout, hopelessness, and depression levels. Additionally, strong relationships were found among the four considered psychological variables, suggesting that they may influence one another and highlighting the need for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is of vital importance to explore its impact on the psychological wellbeing of the students in higher education. Accordingly, this research investigated hopelessness among students at a state university in Turkey throughout the pandemic. The research was conducted in two separate studies, one cross-sectional and the other longitudinal. Study I examined students' hopelessness level in relation to gender, job or income loss, social media use, academic unit, and grade. Study II compared students' hopelessness level during the distance and hybrid education periods. The data were collected online through Personal Information Form and Beck Hopelessness Scale in both studies. The findings of Study I indicated significantly higher hopelessness scores in females, students who experienced job or income loss, and seniors at faculties. It was also found that the level of hopelessness increased as the duration of social media use rose. In addition, Study II revealed that students' hopelessness scores significantly decreased during the hybrid education in contrast to the distance education. Based on these findings, we suggest that during distance education in times of crisis, psychological counseling and career guidance interventions should be planned and coordinated according to the characteristics of risk groups, and e-learning models offering the highest social interaction should be preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic fatigue is a distressing symptom for endometriosis patients but is not widely investigated in the literature. Our aim was to explore patients' lived experiences of chronic fatigue and how they make meaning of it. We analysed a subset of data from seven severely fatigued endometriosis patients, drawn from a broader qualitative study in South Africa, using an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Three superordinate themes and eight subordinate themes were developed. The three superordinate themes were powerlessness, which was a core aspect of the chronic fatigue experience among participants; struggle and anguish, as their lives had become a daily struggle resulting in feelings of despair and anger; and otherness, as they felt different from their peers due to the fatigue. The findings demonstrate the far-reaching effects that chronic fatigue has in the lives of endometriosis patients, including on their self-perception, and highlights the critical need for fatigue management strategies within treatment protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpersonal theory of suicide hypothesizes that suicide ideation (SI) emerges specifically in the context of hopelessness about the immutability of thwarted belongingness (TB) and perceived burdensomeness (PB; i.e., interpersonal hopelessness). The psychometrics of the Interpersonal Hopelessness Scale (IHS), which could be used to test this hypothesis directly, have not been rigorously evaluated. Participants (U.S. adults reporting past-year SI) completed online self-report assessments at Waves 1 (W1; N = 595) and 2 (W2; N = 215), 1 week apart. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor structure, IHS-TB and IHS-PB. Correlations indicated strong concurrent validity. Hurdle negative binomial regressions indicated that W1 IHS-TB and IHS-PB scores were associated with SI presence and severity at both waves, but this was inconsistent when adjusting for other W1 variables. IHS-TB and IHS-PB demonstrated excellent internal consistency and moderate to good test–retest reliability. The IHS could improve theory testing and suicide risk assessment and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to examine the moderator effect of organ transplant waiting time on hopelessness and death anxiety. The study was conducted in a descriptive and correlational design with 378 patients on the transplant waiting list (Agust 2021- March 2022). Multiple linear regression and PROCESS macro-Model 1 were used in the analyses. In this study, the STROBE checklist was followed. According to the results of the regression analysis, waiting for a transplant for 6–10 years reduced death anxiety by 9.38 times and waiting for a transplant for 16–20 years increased death anxiety by 31.3 times. The predictors in the regression analysis explained 33% of the model. The moderator effect constituted 6.4% of the explained part of the model, which was 25.4%; the R2 change was 3.4% and significant. We found that the longer the waiting period for organ transplant recipients, the higher the hopelessness and death anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There are many burgeoning treatments, and a large range of therapeutic options for 21st century psychiatry. This paper briefly comments upon considerations for balancing treatment to suit the patient, their illness, and their milieu. Conclusions: Therapeutic equipoise, for psychiatric care, is an aspiration rather than a position easily achieved. In day-to-day clinical practice, there will be unexpected demands and barriers that cannot always be accommodated or surmounted. Psychiatrists can work collaboratively with patients, carers, and colleagues in conceptualising and care-planning to avoid extremes of therapeutic hubris and despair, and to adapt evidence-based care more effectively so that it is suited to the patient and their circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate anxiety, one of the negative emotions created by climate change, is particularly prevalent among climate activists and young individuals who hold a more serious concern for environmental issues. Aim: This study aims to determine the effects of climate change awareness on the mental health of young people in Turkey. Methods: Designed as a descriptive and two-group comparative study, the target population of this study comprises young individuals aged 15 to 24 who are climate activists and those who are not. The study data was collected through e-questionnaires administered between March 15 and May 10, 2023, using a demographic characteristics form, a climate change anxiety scale and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. The study was completed with a total of 306 participants, including 103 young individuals who are climate activists and 203 young individuals who are not climate activists. Results: We determined that young individuals who are climate activists have a high level of climate change anxiety, while those who are not climate activists have a moderate level of climate change anxiety. We found that the levels of hopelessness in both groups are at a mild level. Additionally, within the group of climate activists, we observed that individuals with a higher level of knowledge about climate change tend to exhibit greater levels of hopelessness. Conclusions: We identified that as awareness and knowledge about climate change increase, climate change anxiety, and hopelessness also increase. There is a need for studies to determine youth-specific mental health interventions to address mental health issues related to climate change awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witnessing interparental conflict in childhood predicts psychological dating violence victimization (PDVV) in adulthood. As found in previous studies, PDVV and hopelessness are associated with depression. However, the associations among these four variables have not been explored in detail. The present study, therefore, examined the association between perceived interparental conflict and depression in adulthood and whether PDVV and hopelessness might operate as sequential mechanisms accounting for the association. Participants (N = 283; M age = 23.37 years, SD = 4.04 years) in romantic relationships completed measures of perceived interparental conflict, PDVV, hopelessness, and depression. The perceived interparental conflict was related to PDVV and depression but not to hopelessness in adulthood. Moreover, the association between witnessing interparental conflict and depression was serially mediated via PDVV and hopelessness. The results are discussed in regard to previous research, and their implications for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the academic progress and wellbeing of many students, resulting in a greater sense of hopelessness and despair. These consequences are particularly devastating for many children living in urban communities, where poverty and a lack of resources prevent them from accessing high-quality learning, health care, and social programs. To understand the enormity of the problems associated with the growing hopelessness of our school-aged children, this article describes the factors affecting hope, how schools can foster hope, the skills and mindsets educators need to instill hope, and the positive outcomes of producing more hopeful students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Objectives: Some rheumatology patients use or contemplate using cannabis, however, may not be transparent about use with their providers. The objective of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe beliefs, perceptions, and learning needs of adults with rheumatic conditions regarding the use of cannabis products. Methods: Purposive sampling was conducted through a rheumatology clinic and sought participants who were using or thinking about using cannabis. Two online focus groups based on cannabis use patterns (non-users and users) were conducted separately. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Three research team members read the transcripts independently to identify initial codes and themes. Data saturation was reached with the interviews. Results: We recruited 12 participants between 52 and 85 years old. The first theme was pain and desperation. Stigma was the second theme with a perception of physician opposition to cannabis, and the reluctance of many participants to discuss cannabis use with physicians. The final theme was a need for information and a general lack of trustworthy and credible sources. Users were willing to try cannabis even if they still had questions. Conclusion: Rheumatology patients are open to using cannabis due to the burden and suffering associated with pain. They remain silent on the topic, however, because of stigma and lack of engagement from health care professionals, particularly physicians. Patients voiced a strong need for information regarding cannabis and want healthcare providers to initiate discussion. These findings are clinically relevant to the management of rheumatic conditions and the promotion of therapeutic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outbreaks caused by environmental effects such as COVID-19, MERS, SARS, or Ebola cause problems such as fear, anxiety, loneliness, depression, and hopelessness for people with or without a high risk of illness. This study aims to determine the levels of hopelessness and anxiety experienced by nursing students during the COVID-19 outbreak. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with students of a state university. In the collection of the data, Descriptive Characteristics Form prepared by the researchers, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Test (GAD-7), and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) were used. The mean GAD-7 score of the students participating in the study was 6.65 ± 5.03 and the mean BHS score was 6.11 ± 4.91. It was determined that the score of GAD-7 and BHS were a significant positive high relationship between them (p < 0.001). Anxiety and hopelessness levels were found to be statistically significantly higher for those whose sleep and eating patterns affected negatively due to the pandemic, those who feared the pandemic and its economic effects, and those who did not want to work in the hospital during the pandemic period. There was a relationship between anxiety and hopelessness levels of nursing students participating in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many developed countries have introduced strict measures designed to deter people seeking asylum. Measures such as held detention, insecure visas, restrictions work and services all impact the mental health of asylum seekers. In 2014 Australia introduced a 'fast track assessment' (FTA) system of processing refugee claims for asylum seekers who arrived by boat, those found to be refugees were only eligible for temporary residence. Legal professionals play a pivotal role in protecting the rights of asylum seekers and gain unique insight into the impact of the legal system has on clients mental health. Aim: To investigate how legal professionals in Australia perceived the impact of the FTA process on their clients. Methods: Mixed methods comprising of two phases – (i) an online survey and (ii) follow-up focus groups and interviews with legal professionals involved in assisting asylum seekers in the FTA process. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Survey results were obtained from 38 legal professionals. Follow up in depth qualitative focus groups and interviews were conducted with 16 survey participants. The data demonstrate that legal professionals encounter clients in complex seemingly insurmountable mental health crises including deepening mental distress and deterioration, feelings of hopelessness, defeat and entrapment. Interviewees shared compelling examples of what they believed constituted a direct connection between asylum seekers experiencing uncertainty and deteriorating mental health over time with fluctuations in hopelessness, anger, withdrawal and suicidality. These negative impacts were often compounded by separation from family. Conclusions: The legal framework for determining whether an asylum seeker is a refugee can have a detrimental impact on the mental health of asylum seekers. The mental distress of asylum seekers and refugees is exacerbated by uncertainty linked to both delays in processing accompanied by sustained and ongoing uncertainty of legal status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative emotions are known risk factors for physical health, psychological distress (e.g. hopelessness and feeling worthless), and mood disorders (e.g. depression and anxiety). Thus, it is important for athletic coaches, one of the most stressful occupations, to understand how to cope with their negative emotions. This study aimed to examine the moderating roles of four different coping strategies (emotion-focused, problem-focused, proactive, and emotive suppression) on the relationship between negative emotions and psychological well-being. Online survey data were collected from 162 athletic head coaches working in NCAA Division I through questionnaires that assessed the proposed variables. The results reported that proactive coping strategy and emotive suppression strategy negatively and significantly moderated the negative emotional–psychological well-being relationship. The findings of this study contribute to understanding the coping strategies that should be avoided in response to negative emotions among coaches. The results also highlight the need to consider adopting existing proactive coping intervention programs for coaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the wages (costs) of contempt. It argues that the social and political division and dysfunction caused by contempt and imagined content undermines political discussion and creates terrible costs for contemned and contemner in the burdens of shame and guilt they must bear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are limited data on loneliness and its correlates in patients with schizophrenia. Objective: To evaluate prevalence and correlates of loneliness in patients with schizophrenia, currently in clinical remission. Methodology: A total of 160 patients of schizophrenia in clinical remission were assessed on UCLA Loneliness Scale, Positive and Negative syndrome scale, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Brief COPE, Beck's Hopelessness Scale, Brief Dyadic Scale of Expressed Emotions, and Self-report Quality of Life Measure. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 34.99 (SD = 9.13) years. The prevalence of loneliness in the study sample was 80%, with mean total UCLA-loneliness scale score of 30.04 (16.9).Compared to participants without loneliness, those with loneliness had had higher CDSS score, had poor quality of life, lower self-esteem, experienced higher level of stigma, more often used maladaptive coping strategies such as self-blaming and reported a higher level of hopelessness. In the correlation analysis, higher level of loneliness was associated higher severity of depression, higher level of stigma (except for stigma resistance) and discrimination, poorer quality of life, lower self-esteem, perception of a higher level of expressed emotions, higher use of maladaptive coping in the domains of behavioral disengagement, and self-blaming, and a higher level of hopelessness. In regression analysis, the maximum variance of loneliness was explained by quality of life score (29%), followed by hopelessness score (8.8%) and discrimination score (2%). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of loneliness in patients with schizophrenia, and there is a need to routinely evaluate the patients of schizophrenia for loneliness and address the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on feelings of loneliness and hopelessness in which COVID-19 was created. The research addresses the following questions: (a) How does trust in government or media affect loneliness and hopelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic? (b) How does trust in interpersonal information affect loneliness and hopelessness? (c) What is the mediating role of perceived personal sensitivity, hand hygiene, and social distance in the effect of trust in government or media on loneliness and hopelessness? (d) What is the mediating role of perceived personal sensitivity, hand hygiene, and social distance in the effect of trust on interpersonal information on loneliness and hopelessness? Trust in government or media information (β : 0.200) positively affects Situational Awareness variables. While Trust in interpersonal information (β : −0.106) affects negatively. Situational Awareness creates a negative effect on Loneliness (β : −0.129) and Hopeless (β : −0.155), while Health Protective Response affects positively. Finally, Health Protective Response negatively affects Loneliness (β : 0.245) and Hopeless (β : 0.253). Interpersonal information, on the other hand, causes individuals to feel both hopeless and lonely. And, when the relationship between individuals' health protective response with hopelessness and loneliness is examined, it is understood that both health protection responses negatively affect these two emotional states, even if they have different effect levels. As individuals display health protection responses, they have higher hopes for the future and the loneliness felt decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many have begun to despair that climate justice will prevail even in a minimal form. The affective dimensions of such despair, we suggest, threaten to make climate action appear too demanding. Thus, despair constitutes a moral challenge to individual climate action that has not yet received adequate attention. In response, we defend a duty to act in hope for a more just (climate) future. However, as we see it, this duty falls differentially upon the shoulders of more and less advantaged agents in society. From arguments by Black thinkers like Derrick Bell, we draw a set of distinctions between two types of hope: one for ideal justice, and one for more modest change; and between two types of hopeful actions, those undertaken through formal political channels and those we call 'extra-political' actions; and between two sites of differential moral burdens, those of the privileged and those of the oppressed. Ours is a case for facing even bleak realities, demanding otherwise, and acting in hope to achieve a better future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa (SA) has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment and youth who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), even higher among Black South Africans. SA's NEET rates are 3 times those of UK; 5.4 times of Germany; 1.3 times of Brazil; and 2.5 times of Malaysia. Given that youths between 15 and 24 years of age make up 24% of the total population, these are significant challenges for the economy and further fuel the cyclical, pervasive and enduring nature of poverty. We hypothesised that rural youth who are NEET would have a greater prevalence of mental disorders and higher rates of substance use compared to their non-NEET counterparts. The objective of the study is to determine the differences in rates of psychological distress and substance use between NEET and non-NEET rural African 14- to 24-year-old young men. Methods: The study took place in a remote and rural district municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We divided the district's five sub-municipalities into two clusters (large and small) and randomly selected one from each cluster for inclusion in the study. We further randomly selected wards from each sub-municipality and then rural settlements from each ward, for inclusion in the study. We recruited young men as part of a larger study to explore sociocultural factors important in gender-based violence in rural SA. We compared 15- to 19-year old and 20- to 24-year old youth NEET and non-NEET on rates of psychological distress symptoms (depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, hopelessness and worthlessness) and substance misuse (including alcohol, cannabis, other recreational drugs) using a Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) statistics at p <.005 level of significance level. Results: About 23% of the 355 male participants were NEET. There were no statistically significant differences in psychological distress or substance use between youth NEET and non-NEET, controlling for age. Conclusion: The study highlights difficult transitions to post-secondary education and work for Black youth in rural SA where opportunities for employment are limited. Education, training and employment appear to offer limited benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To measure symptoms of anxiety, depression and hopelessness in a sample of young Pacific adults living in Auckland, New Zealand during the 2020/2021 COVID-19 pandemic and identify protective factors. Methods: Participants were 267 Pacific adults (58% female) who completed a survey online. Analyses included descriptive statistics, correlations, linear regression and symptom network analysis. Results: Around 25% of the sample scored in the range for moderate to severe anxiety and 10% for moderate to severe depression on standard measures. Almost 40% indicated that they found the first lockdown very stressful and 55% noted that some members of their family found it stressful. Only 16% worried about COVID-19 and their future quite a bit or constantly, while another 25% worried sometimes. Self-compassion and Pacific Identity had moderate, negative correlations, and Worry about COVID-19 had weak positive correlations, with anxiety, depression, hopelessness and perceived stress. Conclusion: These results suggest that, while the prevalence of depression and anxiety are quite high among this population, fostering ethnic identity and self-compassion in Pacific children and adolescents might protect against developing depression and anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the legacy of John Bowlby, Attachment theory has often portrayed separation from a caregiver as likely to provoke protest, despair, and ultimately detachment in infants and young children. Indeed, the emotional challenge of separation is built into a key measurement tool of Attachment theory, the Strange Situation. However, James Robertson, one of Bowlby's leading collaborators, voiced dissent. He argued that young children can cope with separations—even when they last for several days or weeks. They are able to keep the absent person in mind provided an alternative, familiar caregiver remains available. Observational and experimental findings lend support to Robertson's claim. Recent analyses of natural language provide further support. Although young toddlers (ranging from 20 to 26 months) often make contact- or attachment-related comments about absent caregivers, such comments become less frequent with age whereas reflective references to absent caregivers—comments that do not express contact-related concerns about their absence—are often produced by young toddlers and remain frequent throughout early childhood. Children's early-emerging ability to keep an absent attachment figure in mind raises intriguing questions about their responses to the permanent absence of an attachment figure—as in the case of death. Consistent with contemporary research showing that many grieving adults report continuing bonds to a deceased attachment figure—rather than a gradual process of emotional detachment—children also report such continuing bonds. By implication, children and adults are prone to construe the death of a loved one not just as a biological endpoint that terminates the possibility of any continuing relationship but instead as a departure that can be bridged by a continuation of the earlier bond in an altered form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic created an environment of disruption and adversity for many adolescents. We sought to establish the prevalence of non-dating sexual violence, sexual dating violence, and physical dating violence victimization among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate whether experiences of disruption and adversity placed adolescents at greater risk for these forms of interpersonal violence. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Adolescent Behavior and Experiences Survey, collected January to June 2021 from a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students (N = 7,705). Exposures included abuse by a parent; economic, housing, and food and nutrition insecurity; interpersonal connectedness; and personal well-being. Among female students, 8.0% experienced non-dating sexual violence; 12.5% experienced sexual dating violence; and 7.7% experienced physical dating violence. Among male students, 2.2% experienced non-dating sexual violence; 2.4% experienced sexual dating violence; and 4.9% experienced physical dating violence. Among female students, both emotional and physical abuse by a parent was related to non-dating sexual violence, emotional abuse was related to sexual dating violence, and physical abuse was related to physical dating violence. Among males, emotional abuse by a parent was related to physical dating violence and physical abuse by a parent was related to sexual dating violence. Hunger was associated with sexual and physical dating violence among female students and homeless was associated with physical dating violence among male students. Although there were differences by sex, abuse by a parent, hunger, and homelessness created precarity that may have increased the likelihood that adolescents would be exposed to risky peer or dating relationships. Adolescents need support that stops and prevents experiences of non-dating sexual and dating violence connected to interventions that address adversities experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Born on December 23, 1945, in the village of San Basilio de Palenque, Antonio Cervantes, aka Kid Pambelé, epitomizes the extreme nature of the marginalization of the population of African descent in Colombia. His career evinces the extent to which social and cultural conditions inhibit sustained prosperity among Afro-Colombians, condemning them to structural poverty. Cervantes was the first Colombian boxing international champion, successfully defending his title 16 times while keeping it for almost eight years throughout the 1970s. Following the writings of Ignacio Ellacuría, this text argues that Cervantes's experience embodies the structural failings of a system bent on violence against Afro-descendants. His story is one of martyrdom, sacrificed for the sake of a society unwilling to address underlying inequities and collective prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools in the United States increasingly incorporate social–emotional learning (SEL) as a part of comprehensive youth suicide prevention programs in schools. We reviewed the literature to investigate the inclusion of SEL in youth suicide prevention efforts. We identified several known risk factors to youth suicide, namely, hopelessness, anxiety, substance use, and child sexual abuse, then cross-walked that review to SEL competencies shown to mitigate each of those known risk factors. We found all SEL competencies, to some extent, across all the evidence-based, school-based youth suicide prevention programs we identified. Further, we found that all five SEL competencies are shown directly to address and mitigate the major, known risk factors for youth suicide. These findings suggest that SEL can play a productive role in upstream youth suicide prevention. State-level policy makers and school administrators should consider the inclusion of evidence-based SEL in efforts to address youth suicide prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the role of military culture in defense policymaking. It focuses on Russia's post-Soviet civil–military relations and military reform attempts. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia's armed forces were in a state of despair. Despite having relative institutional autonomy, the military neither made itself more effective before minister Serdyukov nor tried to overthrow the government. The paper uses the advocacy coalition framework's belief system approach to analyze data from military memoirs, parliamentary speeches, and 15 interviews. The research shows that the military's support for institutional autonomy, combined with its elites' self-serving bias, critically contributed to what I term an "imperfect equilibrium" in Russian civil–military relations: the military could not reform itself and fought back against radical, though necessary, changes imposed by civilian leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important gap in the literature is how clinicians feel about patient-centered technologies and how clinicians experience patient-centered technologies in their workflows. Our goal was to identify clinician users' perspectives on facilitators (pros) and barriers (cons) to using 1 digital texting innovation to promote family centered care during patients' hospitalizations. This qualitative study was conducted at a tertiary care center in Houston, consisting of 7 hospitals (1 academic hospital and 6 community hospitals), involving analyzation of 3 focus groups of 18 physicians, 5 advanced practice providers, and 10 nurse directors and managers, as well as a content analysis of 156 real-time alerts signaling family dissatisfaction on the nursing unit/floor. Thematic analysis methods were used. We selected these participants by attending their regularly scheduled service-line meetings. Clinician feedback from focus groups resulted in 3 themes as facilitators : (a) texting platforms must be integrated within the electronic medical record; (b) texting reduces outgoing phone calls; (c) texting reduces incoming family phone calls. Clinician feedback resulted in 3 themes as barriers : (a) best practice alerts can be disruptive; (b) real-time alerts can create hopelessness; and (c) scale-up is challenging. The analyzation of facilitators (pros) and barriers (cons) pertains only to the clinician's feedback. We also analyzed real-time alerts signaling family dissatisfaction (defined as "service recovery escalation" throughout this manuscript). The most common selection for the source of family dissatisfaction, as reflected through the real-time alerts was, "I haven't heard from physicians enough," appearing in 52 out of 156 alerts (33%). The second most common selection for the source of dissatisfaction was "perceived inconsistent or incomplete information provided by team members," which was selected in 48 cases (31%). Our findings indicate that clinicians value inpatient texting, not only for its ability to quickly relay updates to multiple family members with 1 click, but also because, when used intentionally and meaningfully, texting decreases family phone calls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In August 2014, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacked the Sinjar district and destroyed several villages and towns and killed several individuals. Aim: In this study, the Yazidi young women who survived the ISIS attack were encouraged to express their lived experiences through paintings following participation in a 6-month art-based intervention program. Methods: A total of 13 Yazidi Kurdish females aged 18 to 25 years (Mean: 21.7 years) were invited to participate in an art-based (drawing and painting) course for 6 months in 2018. They were invited to draw or paint images that portrayed their lived experiences of attack and capture by the ISIS. Qualitative research situated within feminist methodology was used with the young women in this study. The interviews were analyzed using the descriptive content analysis method. Results: The paintings and narratives of the participants were constructed into three main themes: fear and traumatic experiences; feeling of hopelessness; and freedom and hope. During the attack and capture, due to the escape, rape, and horrific treatments by the ISIS fighters, the young women were traumatized severely. They were sold as a sex slave by the ISIS fighters. The participants still had severe anxiety and psychological challenges after being free from the capture. However, despite their traumatic experiences and feeling of hopelessness, most of them were hoping for freedom and a better future. Conclusions: This study showed that the Yazidi young females still experienced psychological challenges burdens even 3 years after the traumatic day. However, the participants showed their resilience through feeling hopeful for freedom and a better future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphones have become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, and attachment to these devices is a felt reality for many Americans. This paper describes the link between smartphone attachment and the pursuit of meaning and purpose in life. Analyses reveal meaning-seeking as a positive correlate of smartphone attachment. However, while interaction effects suggest that meaning-seeking through heavy social media and Internet use decreases the odds of smartphone attachment, meaning-seeking is strongly related to attachment at lower levels of daily media use. Also, having a satisfying life purpose decreases the odds of smartphone attachment, though this protective effect is not as strong as meaning-seeking in the final models. We conclude that smartphone attachment, within a context of latent anomie, could be anomigenic, inadvertently exacerbating feelings of despair while simultaneously promising to resolve them. Findings provide a sociological link between smartphone attachment and the negative psychosocial outcomes described in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]