Search

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a significant global concern, profoundly affecting physical, psychological, sexual, and financial well-being. Its prevalence is notably high in conservative societies including Saudi Arabia (SA). Given the limited research on the role of social support in IPV within SA. This study aimed to assess IPV victimization and its association with the psychological state of abused women in SA, and the effects of social support on the women's experience of IPV., Methods: A total of 128 women participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected from September 2022 to March 2023 using the World Health Organization Multi-Country Violence Against Women, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support., Results: One-quarter of women experienced at least one type of IPV, with more than half of them experienced financial (65.6%), sexual (53.9%), emotional (57.8%), controlling behavior (43.8%) and physical (39.8%) abuse. IPV victimization, be it physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and IPV frequency were positively correlated with psychological distress (M = 15.05, SD = 6.82, p = .009), anxiety and depression (M = 6.29, SD = 2.57, p = .004), and loss of confidence (M = 2.57, SD = 1.90, p < .001). Social support was negatively associated with physical and controlling behavior abuse (p = .01) as well as IPV frequency (p = .024). The risk factors of IPV were unemployed women, employed husbands, history of child abuse for wives and husbands, financial struggle and arranged marriage., Conclusions: The conclusion was that IPV can cause psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and loss of confidence and can be buffered by social support. Given its prevalence and impact on mental health, it is crucial to establish strict policies and regulations to prevent IPV and provide effective interventions and support for abused women., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of King Saud University, with ethics approval reference [KSU-HE-22–460]. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. This study adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Suicidal ideation among college students and adolescents represents a significant public health issue worldwide. Research has indicated that emotional difficulties may mediate the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. However, insights from Thomas Joiner's interpersonal theory and Klonsky's The Three-Step Theory suggest that suicidal ideation arises not merely from emotional distress but from the interplay of hopelessness along with these emotional challenges. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether variouse affective problems mediated the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation among college students., Methods: In this study, we utilized a convenience sampling method to collect data from 2717 college students (mean age = 19.81 years, 22.49% male) in South China. We examined the relationships between variables using Spearman's correlation analysis. To analyze potential mediation effects, we employed PROCESS model 4 within SPSS., Results: Our findings revealed that different forms of bullying victimization can predict experiences of depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. However, these emotional responses did not significantly influenced suicidal ideation among college students. Additionally, while different forms of bullying victimization did not directly correlate with feelings of hopelessness, hopelessness was closely associated with the prevalence of suicidal ideation. Furthermore, our results highlighted a significant mediating role of psychiatric prodromal experiences in the relationship between different forms of bullying victimization and suicidal ideation., Conclusions: The results suggested that affective problems may not serve as a significant mediating factor in the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. We proposed an integrated emotion-response model that enhances understanding of suicidal ideation among college and offers a framework for more effective prevention strategies., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Psychology, South China Normal University, with ethical approval number: SCNU-PSY-2022-217. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication: All authors have contributed to and have approved the final manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Younger people are more likely to report cybercrime than older people. As older people spend more time online, this may change. If similarly exposed, risk factors including social isolation and poor health could make older adults disproportionally susceptible. We aimed to explore whether cybercrime risks and their predictors vary between age groups., Methods: We analysed responses from 35,069 participants aged 16+ in the 2019/20 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). We investigated, among people who have used the internet in the past year, risks of experiencing any cybercrime, repeat victimisation and associated financial loss across age groups., Results: Despite being at lower risk of reporting any cybercrime in the past year, people aged 75+ were more likely to report financial loss resulting from cybercrime victimisation (OR 4.25, p = 0.037) and repeat cybercrime victimisation (OR 2.03, p = 0.074) than younger people. Men, those from Mixed or Black ethnic groups, more deprived areas, managerial professional groups, and with worse health were at greater cybercrime risk., Discussion: While younger adults are more at risk from cybercrime, older adults disclosed more severe cases (repetitive victimisation and associated financial loss), perhaps due to lesser awareness of scams and reporting options. As most people experience declining health as they age, greater understanding of why poor health predicts cybercrime could inform prevention initiatives that would particularly benefit older age groups and mitigate risks of growing internet use among older adults. Health and social care professionals may be well positioned to support prevention., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Havers et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is most prevalent in young adults, yet scarce evidence is available regarding South Korean young adults' experience of IPV and culturally tailored IPV prevention programs. To address this gap, this study aimed to holistically assess IPV victimization and perpetration rates and the related risk and protective factors among Korean young adults. Using online survey data from 600 Korean young adults using simple random sampling, this study found that the lifetime prevalence of both IPV victimization and perpetration was about 30%. Both IPV victimization and perpetration had affected over 20% in the past 12 months. Independent variables in multiple logistic regression models explained 18% and 23% of variances in lifetime IPV victimization and perpetration, respectively. Korean young adults who reported more depressive symptoms were more likely to report IPV victimization. Those who reported more alcohol consumption, traditional attitudes about gender roles, being more tolerant of IPV, and poorer physical health status were also more likely to commit IPV. However, those who had experienced family neglect were less likely to report IPV perpetration. The findings of this study highlighted that childhood adverse experiences minimally explained IPV and that alcohol consumption, mental health, and attitudinal variables should be targets of IPV prevention among Korean young adults., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 An et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objectives. To examine levels and temporal changes in the frequency of defensive gun use by US crime victims. Methods. We computed national-level counts of criminal incidents involving firearm defense during 3 periods: 1993 to 2005, 2007 to 2015, and 2016 to 2021. We also considered earlier national estimates for 1987 to 1990. The data came from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). We counted firearm defenses as incidents in which victims used a gun to threaten or attack an offender. Results. Over the 4 periods, for all crimes, victims reported gun defenses in an average range of between 61 000 and 65 000 incidents per year. This included between 38 000 and 53 000 personal (violent) incidents and between 12 000 and 23 000 household (property) incidents. Conclusions. Firearm defenses occurred at a relatively low and nearly constant level over the 35-year period. Although some victims use guns for defense, these uses are infrequent compared with the incidence of crime. Public Health Implications. The continuing relative rarity of NCVS armed defenses suggests that claims about the protective benefits of widespread firearm ownership may be overstated. ( Am J Public Health . 2024;114(12):1384-1387. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307838).

Background: The link between school bullying and eating disorders is a complex issue that is poorly understood globally, and is further complicated by the distinct cultural nuances within China. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the association between different types of bullying and the risk of eating disorders among college students in Shantou City, China. Additionally, this study explores the mediating role of body dissatisfaction in the relationships between bullying roles and the risk of eating disorders., Methods: The present study employed a convenience sampling technique to recruit college students aged 16 years or older from a university in Shantou. The survey encompassed socio-demographic data, as well as measures of bullying and the risk of eating disorders. Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test, logistic regression, chi-square test, and mediation analysis were used to analyze the results., Results: A total of 1643 students were investigated in this study, revealing a prevalence of the risk of eating disorders at 29.21%. Additionally, the prevalence of bullying was found to be 5.78% for bullies, 24.83% for victims, and 28.36% for bully-victims. Furthermore, all types of bullying showed a significant positive correlation with the risk of eating disorders. Notably, gender differences were observed in the associations among social manipulation, cyber victimization, cyber perpetration, and the risk of eating disorders, with males exhibiting stronger correlations. Body dissatisfaction plays a mediating role between bullying-victims and the risk of eating disorders., Conclusions: A positive association has been observed between the type of school bullying and the risk of eating disorders among college students in Shantou. Additionally, gender and body dissatisfaction have been identified as significant factors that contribute to the relationship between school bullying and the risk of eating disorders., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Shantou University Medical College (SUMC-2023-001). All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants and their guardians. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Technology-facilitated sexual violence and abuse (TFSVA) encompasses a range of behaviors where digital technologies are used to enable both virtual and in-person sexual violence. Given that TFSVA is an emerging and continually evolving form of sexual abuse, it has been challenging to establish a universally accepted definition or to develop standardized measures for its assessment., Objective: This study aimed to address the significant gap in research on TFSVA within the Chinese context. Specifically, it sought to develop a TFSVA measurement tool with robust content validity, tailored for use in subsequent epidemiological studies within the Chinese context., Methods: The first step in developing the measurement approach for TFSVA victimization and perpetration was to conduct a thorough literature review of existing empirical research on TFSVA and relevant measurement tools. After the initial generation of items, all the items were reviewed by an expert panel to assess the face validity. The measurement items were further reviewed by potential research participants, who were recruited through snowball sampling via online platforms. The assessment results were quantified by computing the content validity index (CVI). The participants were asked to rate each scale item in terms of its relevance, appropriateness, and clarity regarding the topic., Results: The questionnaire was reviewed by 24 lay experts, with a mean age of 27.96 years. They represented different genders and sexual orientations. The final questionnaire contained a total of 89 items. Three key domains were identified to construct the questionnaire, which included image-based sexual abuse, nonimage-based TFSVA, and online-initiated physical sexual violence. The overall scale CVI values of relevance, appropriateness, and clarity for the scale were 0.90, 0.96, and 0.97, respectively, which indicated high content validity for all the instrument items. To ensure the measurement accurately reflects the experiences of diverse demographic groups, the content validity was further analyzed by gender and sexual orientation. This analysis revealed variations in item validity among participants from different genders and sexual orientations. For instance, heterosexual male respondents showed a particularly low CVI for relevance of 0.20 in the items related to nudity, including "male's chest/nipples are visible" and "the person is sexually suggestive." This underscored the importance of an inclusive approach when developing a measurement for TFSVA., Conclusions: This study greatly advances the assessment of TFSVA by examining the content validity of our newly developed measurement. The findings revealed that our measurement tool demonstrated adequate content validity, thereby providing a strong foundation for assessing TFSVA within the Chinese context. Implementing this tool is anticipated to enhance our understanding of TFSVA and aid in the development of effective interventions to combat this form of abuse., (©Sharon Hoi Lam Pak, Chanchan Wu, Kitty Wai Ying Choi, Edmond Pui Hang Choi. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 19.11.2024.)

Introduction: Problematic gaming (PG) is a serious issue among adolescents worldwide, and there is evidence suggesting that school bullying behaviors may be associated with increased rates of PG. This study aimed to examine the associations between school bullying behaviors and PG among adolescents, with a focus on sex effects., Methods: A total of 20,197 participants were recruited from the 2023 School-based Chinese Adolescents Health Survey. Information about school bullying behaviors and PG was measured. Sampling weights were utilized to estimate the prevalence, and weighted logistic regression models were executed. Stratified analyses by sex were performed., Results: Among Chinese adolescents, the weighted prevalence of PG was 4.2%, 8.1% were identified as victims, 1.8% as bullies, and 3.4% as bully-victims. A higher frequency of school bullying behaviors corresponds to a higher prevalence of PG. After adjusting for covariates, victims (AOR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.03-1.73), bullies (AOR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.39-3.11), and bully-victims (AOR = 2.75, 95% CI = 2.09-3.61) were associated with PG. Moreover, the severity of PG tended to increase with the number of involved in school bullying behaviors. The interaction terms of bully-victims and sex were significant. Further stratified analyses by sex indicated that the association of school bullying behaviors with PG was stronger for females than males, especially those identified as bully-victims., Conclusion: School bullying behaviors are associated with PG among adolescents, with a stronger association found in female adolescents, particularly those identified as bully-victims. These findings suggest that implementing prevention and control measures for school bullying could help reduce PG among adolescents., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate The study was conducted by the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Sun Yat-sen University School of Public Health Institutional Review Board. The participants provided written informed consent to participate in this study. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aims: Exposure to multiple forms of victimisation in childhood (often referred to as poly-victimisation) has lifelong adverse effects, including an elevated risk of early-adulthood psychopathology. However, not all poly-victimised children develop mental health difficulties and identifying what protects them could inform preventive interventions. The present study investigated whether individual-, family- and/or community-level factors were associated with lower levels of general psychopathology at age 18, among children exposed to poly-victimisation. Additionally, it examined whether these factors were specific to poly-victimised children or also associated with fewer mental health difficulties in young adults regardless of whether they had been poly-victimised., Methods: We used data from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a population-representative cohort of 2,232 children born in 1994-1995 across England and Wales and followed to 18 years of age (with 93% retention, n = 2,066). Poly-victimisation (i.e., exposure to two or more of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, physical neglect, bullying by peers, and domestic violence) and nine putative protective factors (intelligence quotient, executive functioning, temperament, maternal and sibling warmth, atmosphere at home, maternal monitoring, neighbourhood social cohesion, and presence of a supportive adult) were measured prospectively between ages 5 and 12 years from interviews with mothers and children, surveys of neighbours, child-protection referrals, and researchers' observations. Early-adulthood psychopathology was assessed in interviews with each twin at age 18 and used to construct a latent factor of general psychopathology., Results: Approximately a third (n = 720) of participants were prospectively defined as exposed to poly-victimisation (53% male). Poly-victimised children had greater levels of general psychopathology at age 18 than non-poly-victimised children (adjusted [adj.] β = 4.80; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 3.13, 6.47). Presence of a supportive adult was the only factor robustly associated with lower levels of general psychopathology among poly-victimised children (adj.β = -0.61; 95% CI -0.99, -0.23). However, this association was also evident in the whole sample regardless of poly-victimisation exposure (adj.β = -0.52; 95% CI -0.81, -0.24) and no significant interaction was observed between the presence of a supportive adult and poly-victimisation in relation to age-18 general psychopathology., Conclusions: Having at least one adult to turn to for support was found to be associated with less psychopathology in early adulthood among both poly-victimised and non-poly-victimised children. This suggests that strategies to promote better availability and utilisation of supportive adults should be implemented universally. However, it may be beneficial to target these interventions at poly-victimised children, given their higher burden of psychopathology in early adulthood.

Background: Bullying and victimization have been studied in many contexts and classified as peer victimization in school settings and parental or sibling victimization within family settings. Yet, current research is scarce on whether victimization occurring within family settings is specific to parental or sibling victimization. Thus, the current study aims to develop a scale assessing victimization conducted by relatives and provide support for its psychometric properties., Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal data were collected from university students (1622 and 1045 students, respectively) and participants responded to questionnaires via an online survey., Results: EFA and CFA results demonstrated the unidimensionality of the Relative Victimization Scale (RVS) consisting of eight items. In terms of convergent validity, RVS scores were correlated with the scores on parental, sibling, and peer victimization scales and several psychological health outcomes including depression, anxiety, social anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, negative and positive affect, life satisfaction, and resilience. Moreover, RVS explained a significant amount of variance beyond the contribution of parental, sibling, and peer victimization in those psychological health outcomes for the support of incremental validity., Conclusions: The findings of the study indicated the potential utility of the RVS in assessing the experience of relative victimization through offering support for internal consistency reliability and construct, longitudinal predictive, and incremental validity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: No comprehensive analysis has yet been published regarding global trends in childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and bullying victimization (BV). The present study offers a longitudinal perspective on their prevalence worldwide., Methods: CSA and BV rates were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study, spanning the years 1990 to 2019 across 204 countries. Trends by gender, region, and human development index (HDI) were examined., Results: For both boys and girls, and in both high-HDI and low-HDI countries, CSA rates did not significantly change from 1990 to 2019 (p>0.05). However, BV rates increased significantly in high-HDI and low-HDI countries for both genders (p<0.001). Subsequently, we analyzed trends separately by gender across all countries, without considering development level. In this analysis, CSA rates among girls decreased from 1990 to 2000, followed by an increasing tendency after 2000; overall, an upward trend was evident between 1990 and 2019 (p=0.029). In contrast, no significant pattern was observed for boys. Notably, BV demonstrated an increasing trend across all regions when HDI was not considered (p<0.05), with African populations experiencing the most pronounced rise (p<0.001). Globally, boys consistently exhibited higher BV rates than girls., Conclusions: Our research indicates that, on a global scale, rates of CSA among girls have been rising. Additionally, BV rates have increased in all regions for both boys and girls. Notably, this trend in BV rates is occurring irrespective of HDI. These findings underscore the necessity for targeted interventions in areas with high rates of CSA and BV.

Background: Despite the implementation of antibullying policies, schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed an increase in bullying prevalence. The aim of our study was to assess bullying victimization in schools in the UAE, types of bullying, and factors and outcomes related to bullying behavior., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in randomly selected private and public schools in Al Ain City. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from students in grades 6-8 (Ages 10-15). We adapted the US CDC 'Bully Survey' for cultural relevance in the UAE through feedback from focus group meetings with teachers. Data analysis, conducted using R software, involved stratified analysis by school type and utilized Chi-Squared and Fisher's exact tests to identify factors associated with school bullying., Results: The study sample consisted of 723 students of whom 68% were males, and 58% were Emirati nationals. The overall prevalence of bullying victimization in schools was 37%, with 40% in private schools and 35% in public schools. Cyberbullying was more prevalent in private schools (37%). Physical bullying was reported by 20% and verbal bullying by 12%, with a higher prevalence of physical bullying in private schools (24%) and among males (23%). The study's findings showed significant emotional and academic impacts of bullying, including feelings of sadness and learning difficulties, contributing to a rise in school absenteeism., Conclusions: The study reveals widespread bullying victimization in UAE schools, mainly in classrooms, with group exclusion and verbal abuse as key forms. It underscores bullying's psychological impact and the greater awareness of parents compared to teachers. The effective intervention strategies should not only involve students, teachers, and school staff, but also actively engage parents by fostering stronger communication channels between schools and families, and providing parents with resources and training to recognize and address bullying. These strategies should aim to create a cohesive network involving the entire school community, thus fostering a safer and more inclusive environment for students. The findings stress the need for inclusive antibullying programs involving the entire school community to foster a safer environment., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Recognized as a public health threat, cyberbullying victimization (CV), or bullying experienced through digital technologies, is mostly studied among adolescents, but evidence among college students suggests that it is prevalent and linked with negative outcomes. One protective factor that might reduce the impact of CV is mattering, which involves feeling significant and valued by others. In this study, we explored five hypotheses, including examining the moderating role of mattering in four CV-outcome relationships (self-esteem, life satisfaction, depression, and academic performance). Data were collected across two time-points from 134 college seniors using online surveys. Mattering moderated the CV-life satisfaction relationship and the CV-self-esteem relationship, such that, at low levels of mattering, there was no relationship, but, at average/high levels of mattering, there were negative CV-outcome relationships. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the role of mattering in relation to CV among college students and paves the way for additional research examining mattering as a moderator of other CV-outcome relationships. The fact that college students in the current study who did not feel that they mattered were seemingly unaffected by cyberbullying victimization highlights the need for both additional research and interventions, particularly with these individuals.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of cyberbullying and its association with depression, anxiety and stress among female adolescents attending higher secondary schools in Deumai Municipality, Nepal., Design: Cross-sectional survey study., Setting: The survey was conducted at all available higher secondary schools of Deumai Municipality, Ilam District, Nepal, from February to April 2022., Participants: A total of 501 female adolescents enrolled in grades 11 and 12 were included in the study. All eligible participants available on the day of data collection were approached until the calculated sample size was reached., Outcome Measures: The study assessed the prevalence of cyberbullying victimisation, along with the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their associated factors. The level of psychological distress was explored using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Pearson's χ 2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to determine the association between psychological distress and related variables, including cyberbullying victimisation, at 95% CI and 5% level of significance., Results: Nearly a third (32.5%) of the female adolescents included in the study had experienced cyberbullying. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 46.5%, 52.7% and 34.9%, respectively. Cyberbullying victims were observed to have increased odds of experiencing depression (adjusted OR (aOR): 1.64, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.42), anxiety (aOR: 2.49, 95% CI 1.67 to 3.70) and stress (aOR: 2.59, 95% CI 1.74 to 3.86) in comparison with non-victims., Conclusion: Cyberbullying victims are significantly more likely to experience psychological distress. There is an urgent need to strengthen cybersecurity and to have strong legislative measures to address cyberbullying in order to safeguard the mental health of adolescents in the digital age., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Associations between violent victimisation and psychiatric disorders are hypothesised to be bidirectional, but the role of violent victimisation in the aetiologies of psychiatric disorders and other adverse outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to estimate associations between violent victimisation and subsequent common psychiatric disorders, suicidal behaviours, and premature mortality while accounting for unmeasured familial confounders., Methods and Findings: Using nationwide registers, we identified a total of 127,628 individuals born in Finland (1987 to 2004) and Sweden (1973 to 2004) who had experienced violent victimisation, defined as either hospital admissions or secondary care outpatient visits for assault-related injuries. These were age- and sex-matched with up to 10 individuals in the general population (n = 1,276,215). Additionally, we matched those who had experienced violent victimisation with their unaffected siblings (n = 132,408). Outcomes included depression, anxiety, personality disorders, alcohol use disorders, drug use disorders, suicidal behaviours, and premature mortality. Participants were followed from the victimisation date until the date of the outcome, emigration, death, or December 31, 2020, whichever occurred first. Country-specific associations were estimated using stratified Cox regression models, which also accounted for unmeasured familial confounders via sibling comparisons. The country-specific associations were then pooled using meta-analytic models. Among 127,628 patients (69.0% male) who had experienced violent victimisation, the median age at first violent victimisation was 21 (interquartile range: 18 to 26) years. Incidence of all outcomes was larger in those who were exposed to violent victimisation compared to population controls, ranging from 2.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) [2.2; 2.4]) per 1,000 person-years for premature mortality (compared with 0.6, 95% CI [0.6; 0.6], in controls) to 22.5 (95% CI [22.3; 22.8]) per 1,000 person-years for anxiety (compared with 7.3, 95% CI [7.3; 7.4], in controls). In adjusted models, people who had experienced violent victimisation were between 2 to 3 times as likely as their siblings to develop any of the outcomes, ranging from adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.7 (95% CI [1.7; 1.8]) for depression to 3.0 (95% CI [2.9; 3.1]) for drug use disorders. Risks remained elevated 2 years post-victimisation, ranging from aHR 1.4 (95% CI [1.3; 1.5]) for depression to 2.3 (95% CI [2.2; 2.4]) for drug use disorders. Our reliance on secondary care data likely excluded individuals with milder assault-related injuries and less severe psychiatric symptoms, thus suggesting that our estimates may be conservative. Another limitation is the possibility of residual genetic confounding, as full siblings share on average about half of their co-segregating genes. However, the associations remained robust even after adjusting for both measured and unmeasured familial confounders., Conclusions: In this longitudinal cross-national cohort study, we observed that those who had experienced violent victimisation were at least twice as likely as their unaffected siblings to develop common psychiatric disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety, personality disorder, and alcohol and drug use disorders), engage in suicidal behaviours, and to die prematurely. Importantly, these risk elevations remained 2 years after the first victimisation event. Improving clinical assessment, management, and aftercare psychosocial support could therefore potentially reduce rates of common psychiatric disorders, suicidality, and premature mortality in individuals experiencing violent victimisation., Competing Interests: SF is an Academic Editor on PLOS Medicine’s editorial board. HL reports receiving grants from Shire Pharmaceuticals; personal fees from and serving as a speaker for Medice, Shire/Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Evolan Pharma AB; all outside the submitted work. HL is the editor-in-chief of JCPP Advances. Shire/Takeda and Evolan were not involved in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review or approval of the manuscript., (Copyright: © 2024 Sariaslan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Previous studies have shown the positive effects of bullying cognition on school bullying behavior among young people, but the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 5,903 primary school students in grades 3-5 in Luzhou city. Hayes' PROCESS macro was used to test the mediating effect of psychological resilience and the moderating effect of sex on the relationship between bullying cognition and school bullying after controlling for grade., Results: Psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between school bullying cognition and victimization ( β  = -0.0174, 95% CI: -0.0219 to -0.0132) and between perpetration ( β  = -0.0079, 95% CI: -0.0104 to -0.0055). This study revealed that sex moderated the relationship between school bullying cognition and perpetration ( β  = 0.0383, p  < 0.001) and victimization behavior ( β  = 0.0400, p  < 0.001)., Conclusion: These findings suggest that it is crucial for education regulators, schools, and families to cultivate students' school bullying cognitions and psychological resilience, which may help to decrease the prevalence of school bullying. Especially for boys, improving their bullying cognition may largely decrease its perpetration., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Fei, Li, Li, Liao, Li, Chen and Zhang.)

Background: Suicide and its associated risk factors are of public health importance across the globe. The affected persons are mostly the youth. Empirical research in this crucial area of public health is generally lacking, especially among undergraduate university students in Ghana. This study sought to determine the prevalence of suicide ideation, and its associated risk factors that statistically predict suicide ideation among undergraduate students., Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted. A structured online questionnaire was used to elicit information on the prevalence of suicide ideation and its correlates. A systematic sampling technique was used to sample 400 respondents. Of this number, 53.25% were male and 46.75% were female. Data were analyzed using SPSS v26. Results were presented in charts, tables, and cross-tabulations. A regression analysis was also done to model suicide ideation with socio-demographic variables., Results: The prevalence of suicide ideation among participants was 24.5%. Significant risk factors for suicide ideation found in the study were academic stress and victimization. Suicide ideation was predicted with statistical significance by the presence of victimization (OR = 3), and academic stress (OR = 2)., Conclusion: The prevalence of suicide ideation among participants is real and will need combined efforts of university management and, the counseling unit to put in place interventions that will help avert suicide ideation and its dreaded squeal of completed suicide., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Social media has become a pervasive presence in everyday life, including among youths. In 2023, for the first time, CDC's nationally representative Youth Risk Behavior Survey included an item assessing U.S. high school students' frequency of social media use. Data from this survey were used to estimate the prevalence of frequent social media use (i.e., used social media at least several times a day) among high school students and associations between frequent social media use and experiences with bullying victimization, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and suicide risk. All prevalence estimates and measures of association used Taylor series linearization. Prevalence ratios were calculated using logistic regression with predicted marginals. Overall, 77.0% of students reported frequent social media use, with observed differences by sex, sexual identity, and racial and ethnic identity. Frequent social media use was associated with a higher prevalence of bullying victimization at school and electronically, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and some suicide risk among students (considering attempting suicide and having made a suicide plan), both overall and in stratified models. This analysis characterizes the potential harms of frequent social media use for adolescent health among a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students. Findings might support multisectoral efforts to create safer digital environments for youths, including decision-making about social media policies, practices, and protections., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Background: Online and offline identity-driven harassment disproportionately affects minoritized college students, contributing to poorer academic performance and attrition. Because victims are often hesitant to formally report incidents, additional research is needed to understand the genuine prevalence of these experiences as well as the responses victims engage in following the incidents., Methods: A large undergraduate sample ( N = 2000) from a Midwestern university responded to an anonymous survey assessing the frequency of identity-driven behavior occurring on-campus and beyond, in addition to how they responded to harassment., Results: The results unveiled that perpetrators most often targeted an individual's sex and gender, followed by their sexual orientation and race. Specific behaviors ranged from more frequent, mild forms of harassment (i.e., verbal harassment, invading space) to less frequent, severe forms of harassment (i.e., physical and sexual assault). Victims reported engaging in informal activities following harassment, such as relying on social support or ignoring the perpetrator., Conclusions: The current study unveiled patterns of identity-driven behaviors experienced by college students as well as how they respond to victimization. Future directions and practical implications are discussed.

Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a topic of growing social concern in recent years. Despite this, few empirical studies carried out in Spain have analysed the phenomenon from a preventive approach. The aim of this study, in addition to providing new evidence on DFSA, specifically in minors, was to identify possible associated variables, thus contributing to a better understanding of the problem and to the design of more effective prevention policies. To this end, a survey was carried out among minors in the autonomous community of Galicia. A total of 7,181 students aged 12 to 17 (M = 14.79; SD = 1.57) participated. Data collection was carried out by means of a self-administered questionnaire on paper. Data concerning DFSA were collected by means of specific items, piloted beforehand. Screening instruments for problem drug use (AUDIT, CAST, CRAFFT and EUPI-a) were also used. The results allow us to estimate the rate of victimisation by DFSA in Galician minors at 1.7%, of which only 11.4% would have reported it. Beyond the socio-demographic profile of the victims (females in 2 out of 3 cases), they present different patterns with regard to the pattern of problematic consumption of alcohol and other substances and the pattern of problematic use of the Internet and social networks, with a significantly higher prevalence of online risk behaviours. This suggests that this phenomenon goes far beyond sexual violence, so it is necessary to address it at a preventive level from a comprehensive perspective, including educational and public health perspectives.

Background: School bullying, a serious problem for the physical and mental health of adolescents, is presently a significant issue in China. It is essential to recognize and comprehend potential risk factors and establish efficient preventive strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between childhood maltreatment and school bullying in adolescents and to assess the mediating role of peer relationships., Methods: Between March and April 2024, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2119 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years in Guangdong Province, China. Self-report questionnaires were employed to collect data on childhood maltreatment, school bullying, and peer relationships. Subgroup analyses and mediating effects modeling were employed to analyze the data., Results: The results indicated that adolescents who had experienced maltreatment were more at risk of bullying victimization (OR: 2.92, 95% CI: 2.34-3.64, P < 0.001), bullying perpetration (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.99-4.05, P < 0.001), and bully-victimization (OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.95-4.41, P < 0.001), compared to adolescents who have not. Sexual abuse showed the most significant connection with all forms of bullying. The mediating effect of peer relationships was found to mediate the association between child maltreatment and bullying behaviour. The results indicated that worse peer relationships may exacerbate the adverse effects of maltreatment experiences and increase the risk of adolescents becoming bullies, either perpetrators or victims of bullying., Conclusions: Child maltreatment has been identified as one of the most significant influences on bullying behaviour in adolescents. The quality of peer relationships has been demonstrated to play an important role in preventing and reducing the occurrence of bullying. The results underscore the crucial role of early intervention in cases of child maltreatment and the fostering of positive peer relationships in schools., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Sexual violence among higher education students is a global public health problem. Identifying the characteristics of students who report victimization can serve as basis for programmes that target vulnerable students., Methods: The study was conducted among 30,114 Nigerian higher education students. They were selected from 18 institutions comprising universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The purpose of the study was to assess the characteristics of students who reported sexual violence (rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment) and to determine the association between reporting and their characteristics., Results: Our findings showed that 37% of the students reported experiencing sexual violence. Regression analysis showed that the odds of reporting among female students were two times greater than that of the male students (CI = 1.58-1.78; P < 0.001). The students who were traditionalists (aOR = 2.65, p < 0.001) or from other religious groups (aOR = 3.28, p < 0.001) had higher odds of reporting than those who were Christians. All the age groups represented in the study had significantly higher odds of reporting except those between 25 and 29 years (aOR = 1.03; p = 0.616). Non-final year students had significantly 7% lower odds of reporting (p = 0.037) than the first-year students. The students in the arts and humanities-related programmes significantly had higher odds of reporting than those in the science-related programs (aOR = 1.08; p = 0043). In addition, polytechnic and colleges of education students were two times more likely to report sexual violence than university students (p < 0.001). Also, the students from other regions were two times more likely to report sexual violence than those from Southwest region., Conclusion: The study concluded that sexual violence reporting by higher education students differ by their types of schools, sex, religion, level of education and geographical location., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between bullying victimization and health risk behaviors in adolescents., Methods: A representative sample of 1020 adolescents participated in the study. The variables such as bullying, health risk behaviors (tobacco, drugs, alcohol, sedentary behavior, smartphone use, level of physical activity, and sleep), and economic status were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were obtained using binary logistic regression and ordinal, gross, and adjusted logistic regression (p<0.05)., Results: Victims of bullying were more likely to smoke (OR 1.75; 95%CI 1.28-2.40), consume alcohol (OR1.43; 95%CI 1.05-1.94), have worse sleep quality (OR 1.94; 95%CI 1.28-2.91), and more sedentary behavior (OR 1.43; 95%CI 1.08-1.89) than those who were not bullied. However, victims were more likely to have high levels of physical activity than their non-bullied peers (OR 1.66; 95%CI 1.22-2.27)., Conclusions: Bullying victimization was associated with an increased predisposition for the adoption of health risk behaviors. Interestingly, victims were also more prone to participate in physical activity.

Sexual minority men of color report intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use at elevated rates compared to heterosexual peers, but little is known about how types (physical/sexual, controlling, monitoring, emotional) of perpetration and victimization are connected to types of substance use. Associations between past-6-month IPV experiences and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, poppers, cocaine) were examined among sexual minority men (N = 414; 18-27 years). IPV victimization and perpetration were reported by 22% and 14% of the sample. Any victimization and controlling victimization were positively correlated with tobacco use, physical victimization was positively correlated with cocaine and poppers use, and monitoring victimization was negatively correlated with cannabis and poppers use. Any perpetration was positively correlated with tobacco use and binge drinking, and emotional perpetration was positively correlated with binge drinking. Understanding and addressing IPV victimization and perpetration experiences are critical for understanding risk conferred by IPV in this population., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Rusow et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Abuse is an ongoing public health issue that results in increased morbidity and mortality rates. Abuse against individuals with disabilities is a pervasive and deeply concerning issue, often compounded by factors of vulnerability and dependence. The majority of disabled individuals experience abuse, with the majority enduring it repeatedly. Identifying the problem is the first step towards preventing abuse. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of people with disabilities among abused victims and the victim's associated risk factors in Saudi Arabia., Methods: This cross-sectional study obtained data from the National Family Safety Registry. All registered children and adults between April 2017 and December 2022 from 93 centers across 13 regions of Saudi Arabia were included. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between independent variables and victim-related risk factors such as the onset of abuse complications, the victim being an adult or child, the victim's gender, and whether they had been previously abused., Results: Individuals with disabilities comprise 1.4% (n = 199) of all reported cases of abuse (n = 14,004), and the trend of violence against people with disabilities has decreased during the 6-year study period. Of the abused people with disabilities, 72.4% were children, 57.8% were males, 45.2% were previously abused, and 65.3% had complications from the abuse. Caregiver type, perpetrator gender, perpetrator age, and previous abuse status were significant factors., Conclusions: This study highlights the disability prevalence among reported abuse cases and evaluates victim's risk factors in Saudi Arabia, which demonstrates an urgency for targeted intervention and support. People with disabilities constitute a vulnerable demographic who require increased support and resources. Comprehensive data collection can be utilized for effective violence prevention strategies. Further research should explore qualitative methods and survey the rates of abuse among people with disabilities in the community to gain deeper insights., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Today, addressing issues related to the use of virtual space is of paramount importance due to its significant impact on mental well-being. This is especially crucial when the research community consists of teenagers who are cyber bullies or their victims who have higher vulnerability. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between cyberbullying and psychotic experiences in adolescents., Methods: The research method employed in this study was correlational, and the study population consisted of all male and female middle school students in Tehran during the 2022-2023 academic years. As for data collection, the Cyber-Bullying/Victimization Experiences questionnaire, Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, and the Toronto Alexithymia scale were applied. A total of 602 samples were gathered by using multi-stage cluster sampling from Tehran in Iran. Four selection of the sample, the regions in Tehran were selected randomly according to the geographical directions of them and then some schools and classes were chosen randomly. Sample was included in the analysis after data entry into SPSS software and subsequent structural equation modeling using AMOS software., Results: According to the findings, cyberbullying (β = 0.11,p < 0.05) and cyber victimization(β = 0.41, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of psychotic experiences. Alexithymia partially mediated the relationship between cyberbullying and psychotic experiences with the mediation effect of 0.28 and cyber victimization and psychotic experiences with the mediation effect of 0.18., Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of identifying cyber victims or cyberbullies in order to prevent alexithymia and psychotic experiences in future, in order to prevent more serious problems and becoming psychotic., Trial Registration: The goals and conditions of this research were investigated and approved by the Ethics Committee of Alzahra University in Tehran (code: ALZAHRA.REC.1402.055) on 13th September 2023., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Using data from a nationwide survey among high school students in Denmark, the aim of the current study is to measure the prevalence of online bullying and online sexual harassment and assess gender and age differences in exposure., Methods: We used data from the Danish National Youth Study 2019, which is a nationwide web survey among high school students, including general, commercial, preparatory and technical high schools. Data were collected from January to April 2019 through a self-administered questionnaire in the classroom. A total of 29,086 students participated (response rate: 66%). The survey included questions about online sexual harassment (victimization and perpetration) and online bullying., Results: Approximately 11% of students reported receiving sexually offensive inquiries online, and about 10% received a sexual image/video of others without the subjects' consent. Additionally, 4% experienced that other people shared a sexual image/video of them without their consent within the last 12 months. The most common type of online bullying was feeling ignored by others online (25%), followed by someone spreading rumors or writing nasty things about them (13%), and receiving threats/unpleasant messages (12%). Gender results were mixed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Nielsen, Pisinger, Kusier and Tolstrup.)

Sexual assault cases typically involve intense physical contact between victim and perpetrator, resulting in a high chance of trace transfer. In addition the victim's, and sometimes the suspect's, declaration is available, and can help direct the forensic investigation. However, many cases are still closed because of insufficient proof or an unknown perpetrator.Previously in Belgium, the forensic analysis strategy was often limited to the detection of human sperm fluid and if not found, the forensic part of the case was closed.Therefore, the Forensic Advice service from the Belgian National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) together with the public prosecutor's office of the Judicial district Antwerp, department Antwerp started "Project code 37". In Belgium every type of crime receives a code and sexual assault cases are categorized under code 37. Because a forensic advisor focuses on the potential of forensic examination on physical objects, the project focused on cases with samples taken on the victim or clothing available.The goal of the project was to perform a contextual analysis in order to go beyond the standard sperm fluid-orientated approach and evaluate if this had a positive impact on the conviction rate. The project also aimed to evaluate the impact of the consistent use of toxicological analyses on conviction rates. Through this systematic contextual analysis, it became clear that four clear categories could be defined: (1) cases with an unknown perpetrator, (2) cases where the suspect denies all contact, (3) cases where the suspect denies (part of) the sexual contact, and (4) cases where only the consent of the victim is disputed. These categories all assumed one female victim and one male perpetrator. Together with the NICC's DNA, trace evidence and toxicology lab, an analysis strategy was drafted for the four categories. All cases that do not fit this description were gathered in a fifth category (custom-made cases), as the victim's/perpetrator's sex has a significant effect on the forensic analysis strategy. At the end of the project, a comparison was made with the same set of cases from another judicial year where the standard analysis strategy was used. For all the categories for which data was available, there was a rise of the conviction rate and a decrease in the number of dismissed cases., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest I hereby declare that the disclosed information is correct and that no other situation of real, potential or apparent conflict of interest is known to me., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence, age and gender differences, and psychological outcomes (anxiety, depression and self-esteem) related to being a victim of different forms of online gendered violence (OGV), namely: digital sexual harassment; physical appearance-based violence; gender role-based violence; and anti-feminism violence., Method: 2,471 respondents (71.1 % women) aged 18-79 years (M = 27.28, SD = 10.08) completed self-report measures., Results: The results showed that 82.6 % of respondents had experienced at least one form of OGV in the last 12 months. The most frequent form of OGV was digital sexual harassment (66.7%), followed by physical appearance-based violence (60.7%), anti-feminism violence (60.7%) and gender role-based violence (25.4%). OGV was significantly higher among women (88%) than men (68.6%), as well as among younger adults. Finally, the results showed that these forms of violence were associated with worse psychological outcomes, especially for younger respondents and for women., Conclusions: OGV is a common phenomenon that may be related to lower psychological well-being. This study provides relevant information that can shape the design of prevention and intervention programs for this form of digital violence.

Violence against women is a significant public health concern, with femicide as its most extreme manifestation. This crime is often perpetrated by current or former intimate partners, thus taking the name of intimate partner femicide (IPF). Although international comparisons are essential for prevention policies, cross-country comparative studies are scarce in this context. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare clinical, epidemiological and medico-legal characteristics of IPF autopsy cases investigated at the Institutes of Legal Medicine of two Western European cities, in order to identify a potential medico-legal pattern of IPF. Autopsy and police reports of IPF cases occurred in the judicial district of Freiburg (Germany) and Padova (Italy) from 2000 to 2022 were analyzed. Data relating to victims, perpetrators, relationship context, and circumstantial and pathological-forensic characteristics of the homicide were collected. Statistical analyses were performed to explore potential relationships between the data collected. Additionally, a review of the literature dealing with autopsy-based studies on IPF was performed. Overall, 82 cases of IPF were analyzed, 39 from Freiburg and 43 from Padova. A total of 6 papers fulfilled the review inclusion criteria. Our study identified a medico-legal pattern of IPF and demonstrated that it did not vary substantially between the two European Countries considered, suggesting that certain IPF characteristics are shared at the European level. However, a significant finding emerged regarding the higher prevalence of firearm-related IPFs in Italy compared to Germany. Forensic pathology research might contribute to developing targeted prevention policies to protect women from this lethal form of violence., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous studies have identified the association between classroom social status and bullying victimization, but it remains unclear how different victimization trajectories relate separately to social status dimensions: preference (acceptance and rejection) and popularity (popular and unpopular), and whether there are differences between victimization trajectory groups. This study assumed a longitudinal approach to explore these research questions., Method: A total of 3.182 (50% girls; M = 12.55 years at wave 1) students participated in the study., Results: Four bullying victimization trajectory groups were found: high, decreasing, increasing and low in victimization. Multigroup analyses showed that high in victimization group had the worst acceptance, rejection, and unpopularity indexes. The decreasing victimization group increased in acceptance and popularity, whereas the increasing victimization group increased in rejection and popularity., Conclusions: These results underline the importance of considering the different dimensions of social status and their association with victimization trajectories when anti-bullying programs are proposed.

Background: A significant number of referrals to the emergency departments is due to violence and conflict leading to serious injuries and death. The increasing number of such cases highlights the urgent need for investigating victimization of physical violence., Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of demographic and clinical characteristics in victims of violence and classify them based on penetrating or blunt trauma., Methods: The data of the patients who had been the victims of violence in 2020 were extracted from the Trauma Registry System(TRS) of the Guilan Road Trauma Research Center(GTRC). All analyses were performed using SPSS software version 24. The significance level was considered less than 0.05., Results: There was a significant difference in the type of violence-related trauma in different age groups (P < 0.001), based on sex (P = 0.002), and marital status (P = 0.012). A significant difference also existed between the trauma type and clinical variables including smoking (P = 0.032), history of alcohol drinking (P = 0.005), and other substance use (P = 0.002), the anatomical location of injury (P < 0.001) and therapeutic interventions (p < 0.001(., Conclusion: Most of the clients of the violence suffered from blunt trauma, the severity of which was mild, and they were treated supportively without the need for surgery. Blunt trauma was seen more in women, divorcees, over 40 years and non-smokers. Penetrating trauma was observed more in lower limb injuries and alcohol and amphetamine users. Prevention programs and educational interventions should be programmed for the society long before men alcohol and amphetamine abusers reach their fourth decade of life. Accurately recording the type of physical violence, and the weapon used, and determining the injury severity score in TRS can lead to more reliable results in researching the field of violence issues., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: In 2021, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency established a support service to provide additional assistance to victim-survivors involved in complaints related to sexual boundary violations. This study evaluates the first stages of service delivery to understand participants' experiences with the service, gauge the service's reception, and improve support provided in future., Design: Programme data was analysed descriptively to understand uptake and participant engagement since inception. Semistructured interviews with a purposive convenience sample of participants who had recently completed service engagement were conducted over 6 months and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings were triangulated to judge the effectiveness of the support provided by the service and highlight learning and development opportunities., Results: During the study period, 275 participants were referred to the programme and 175 (64%) of those referred had engaged with the service. At the time of analysis, less than a quarter (21%) had refused support or disengaged following referral. Participants reported appreciation of and satisfaction with the support they received from the service and strongly reiterated the need for support in this context. Flexibility and quality communication as part of the service model was associated with participants feeling supported through three main themes: safety and connection, guidance and process navigation and representation and advocacy., Conclusion: Good uptake of the service and positive feedback from participants suggests that the programme has been a valuable and well-received initiative. Exploration of engagement trends as well as a more nuanced analysis of the benefits of support provided would augment these findings., Competing Interests: Competing interests: All authors were current employees of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency at the time of submission, and declare no further competing interests., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

School bullying represents a widespread expression of violence in the peer context. Guided by the social-ecological model, this study investigated the longitudinal and transactional pathways linking domestic and neighborhood/community violence exposure (through direct victimization and witnessing), self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs), and school bullying perpetration. Furthermore, consistent with the previous literature, we tested the cognitive desensitization process that could develop in response to chronically violent contexts. Two four-wave cross-lagged panel mediation models were tested in a sample of 778 high school students (28.1% males; M age [Time 1; T1] = 14.20, SD = 0.58). The results showed differential effects of multiple contexts and forms of violence exposure, with domestic violence victimization and community violence witnessing being associated with self-serving CDs and bullying perpetration over time. Moreover, significant associations between CDs and bullying perpetration over time were found, with bidirectional effects for each of these longitudinal patterns. Finally, self-serving CDs significantly mediated the relationships between both domestic violence victimization and community violence witnessing and school bullying perpetration. These findings highlight the need to consider school bullying as a social phenomenon stemming from a complex and bidirectional interplay between individuals and the environments they inhabit, confirming a basic postulate that "violence breeds violence".

Introduction: Interpersonal violence is a phenomenon that can occur with different people and conditions. However, people with intellectual disabilities have increased vulnerability to this problem, with potential risks to their health and well-being. The aim of this study was to identify the sociodemographic characteristics of people with disabilities who have been victims of interpersonal violence, the profile of the perpetrators and the measures taken after the victims have been cared for., Methods: This is an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study using the Interpersonal Violence Notification Forms entered into the Brazilian Ministry of Health's Notifiable Diseases Information System. The city of São Paulo was chosen as the setting because it is the largest city in Latin America and has a faster data processing system than other cities. The period covered notifications made between 2016 and 2022. The information was collected between October and November 2023 and a univariate statistical analysis was carried out. Fisher's exact test was used, with a significance level of 5% (α = 0.05)., Results: There were 4,603 notifications against people with intellectual disabilities in the period. The forms of physical violence, neglect/abandonment and psychological/moral violence were more frequent in the 15-19 age group, while sexual violence was more frequent in the 10-14 age group (p < 0.001). The sex most often attacked was female in all the forms investigated (p < 0.001) and the skin colors of the most victimized people were black and/or brown, except in cases of neglect/abandonment (p = 0.058). Most of the victims had little schooling (p = 0.012). The aggressions were committed by one person (p < 0.001), known or related to the victim, such as mother or father, except in cases of sexual violence, where strangers were the main perpetrators (p < 0.001). The sex of the perpetrator was male, except in cases of neglect and/or abandonment (p < 0.001), and the age was between 25 and 29 (p = 0.004). In cases of sexual violence, rape was the most frequent and the procedures carried out were blood collection followed by prophylaxis for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) were the main procedures carried out by health professionals (p = 0.004). The majority of referrals made after receiving care were to the health and social assistance network, with few referrals to bodies such as the human rights reference center, guardianship council and police stations (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: People with intellectual disabilities are highly vulnerable to the forms of violence studied, especially children and adolescents, black or brown, with low levels of education. The perpetrators are usually close people, male and older than the victims. The referrals made by health professionals did not prioritize the victim's safety and the guarantee of human rights. Lines of care for the health of victims of violence should be implemented, taking into account special aspects, such as people with intellectual disabilities, whose search for help can be difficult., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

An overrepresentation of stepchildren as victims of filicide has been explained as a consequence of 'discriminative parental solicitude'. The idea being that Darwinian selection has favoured parental love and concern only for biological children, and when such parental feelings are absent, as in stepparents, conflicts with a child could easier escalate to lethal violence. An alternative explanation for this overrepresentation of stepchildren is that risk factors for filicide, such as criminal behaviour and mental health problems, are more prevalent in stepparents. This study focused on paternal filicide in Sweden and investigated (i) if stepchildren are overrepresented as victims of filicide compared with biological children, (ii) if filicides are committed in a context that implies a 'conflict with the child victim' and (iii) if stepfathers and biological fathers differ in characteristics associated with filicide risk. The analyses showed that stepchildren were overrepresented as victims compared with children of fathers in families with two biological parents and this overrepresentation was even higher in young children. Children of single biological fathers and children of non-residential biological fathers were also overrepresented as victims of filicide. Less than 20 percent of the filicides were committed in the context of a 'conflict with the child' and in these cases only stepchildren were overrepresented as victims. In the population at large, both stepfathers and single biological fathers had higher rates of mental health problems, violent criminality and illegal possession of drugs compared with fathers in families with two biological parents., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections are the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. These STIs are frequently asymptomatic, which often delays diagnosis and treatment with the risk of serious long-term complications. Current French recommendations call for targeted screening of populations considered to be at risk, including victims of sexual assault. However, no recent data on the prevalence of these STIs in this population are available in France. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the prevalence of CT/NG infections among victims of sexual assault attending three Clinical Forensic Units (CFUs)., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the forensic records of patients aged over 12 years reporting a sexual assault and referred between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 to the CFU of Montpellier, Angers or Saint-Denis de La Réunion. Patients who had been screened for CT and NG infections were included., Results: 341 alleged victims of sexual assault (324 women, 17 men, median age = 23 years) were screened for CT/NG STIs during the inclusion period (Montpellier, n=196; Angers, n=63; Saint-Denis, n=82). The median time between the sexual assault and the examination was 1 day. CT and NG were detected in 28 patients (8.2 %) and 8 patients (2.3 %) respectively, with no men tested positive. Positive results concerned genital samples, except for two CT-positive anorectal samples and one NG-positive oropharyngeal sample. Two patients (0.6 %) were co-infected with CT/NG. The overall prevalence of CT/NG STIs was 10.0 % and was higher in the 18-24 age group, reaching 13.2 % for CT., Conclusions: This multicenter study confirms the high prevalence of CT/NG STIs in victims of sexual assault, and the vulnerability of the youngest age groups to these infections. Systematic screening for CT/NG STIs at the time of the forensic examination is the key to early diagnosis and effective treatment to prevent transmission and subsequent complications in these patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Prevalence estimates of sibling bullying indicate it occurs more frequently and with more negative consequences than peer bullying, yet many countries do not track or investigate the phenomenon. University students from Argentina, Estonia, and the United States were surveyed to investigate their retrospective experiences involving sibling bullying, how often it occurred, the roles held, and the forms communicated. In the aggregated data, roughly 50 % of the sampled emerging adults (N = 3477) reported experience with sibling bullying, with the dual role of bully-victim being the most frequently reported role held by males and females, with the second role being bully for males and victim for females. Verbal forms of bullying were most frequently reported by males and females, with physical, relational, and technological forms occurring less frequently, indicating the importance of studying the messages conveyed during bullying incidents. Variations between biological sex, bullying role and form were detected that indicate siblings experience bullying in ways that are unique from peer bullying. Country comparisons revealed bullying frequencies varied among males and females, suggesting sibling bullying experiences are likely to be culturally influenced. More research is warranted to examine the negative impact bullying has on sibling psycho-social development and the potential transfer to non-familial relationships and contexts. Discussion of these findings and the implications for academics and practitioners alike is provided., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Until relatively recently, the study of victimization has been largely outside the purview of behavioral geneticists and evolutionary psychologists. Recent victimology research, however, has shown that genetic and evolutionary forces are connected to the risk of victimization. The current study expands on these findings by examining whether genetic influences differentially explain victimization in males and females. To do so, we use a sample of sibling pairs drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N  = 4,244). The analyses revealed no significant quantitative sex differences in the etiology of adult victimization. However, the results of this study do highlight the importance of accounting for genetic factors when studying the etiology of specific types of adult victimization. We conclude by discussing the implications of the current study for future research., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Existing research has documented the association between bullying perpetration and bullying victimisation. However, it is still unclear how different sources of social support moderate the association between bullying perpetration and bullying victimisation at a cross-national level. Using multilevel binary logistic regression models, this study examined the moderating role of public health care spending and perceived social support (i.e., family and teacher support) in the association between traditional bullying perpetration and victimisation by traditional bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents across 27 European countries. Country-level data were combined with 2017/18 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey data from 162,792 adolescents (11-, 13-, and 15-year-olds) in 27 European countries. Results showed that adolescents who perpetrated traditional bullying had a higher likelihood of being victimised by traditional bullying and cyberbullying than adolescents who did not bully others. Results also indicated that the magnitude of the positive association between traditional bullying perpetration and victimisation by traditional bullying and cyberbullying was mitigated among adolescents with more family, teacher, and public health care support. These findings support the notion that multilayered systems of social support could play a vital role in bullying prevention and intervention strategies to address bullying among adolescents.

Objectives: This study examines the 12-month prevalence rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, including psychological, physical, and sexual forms, in women and men. It also aims to identify changes in IPV victimization during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore factors associated with the occurrence of any IPV victimization during this period., Methods: Data from the DREAMCORONA study in Germany collected from May 2020 to February 2021 included 737 participants, i.e., (expectant) mothers (64%) and fathers (36%). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2S) short form was used to assess the 12-month IPV victimization. Prevalence of IPV victimization as well as changes in IPV victimization during the pandemic were analyzed descriptively, with results stratified by sex. Multiple logistic regression was employed to identify risk factors for IPV., Results: Psychological IPV was found to be the most prevalent form of violence, with the occurrence of any psychological IPV affecting 48.5% of women and 39.4% of men, while 2.6% of women and 3.3% of men reported the occurrence of any physical IPV victimization, and 2.8% of women and 1.5% of men reported the occurrence of any sexual IPV victimization. Of those who experienced the occurrence of any IPV in the last 12 months, 89.7% of women and 89.8% of men were victimized by one single act of violence. The majority of affected participants reported no change in psychological and physical IPV victimization during the pandemic. Nevertheless, for certain IPV behaviors on the psychological and physical IPV victimization subscales, both affected women and men also reported higher frequencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple logistic regression revealed that higher levels of relationship satisfaction were negatively associated with the occurrence of any IPV victimization for women and men, whereas greater levels of own anger-hostility symptoms were positively associated with the occurrence of any IPV victimization., Conclusions: Psychological IPV was present in almost every second (expectant) couple. The majority of affected women and men reported no change in their psychological and physical IPV victimization, suggesting that they continued to experience IPV during the pandemic. This underlines the importance of promoting healthier relationship dynamics, coping strategies, and emotional well-being to reduce the risk of IPV, even in times of crisis. Our study sheds light on the early stages of the pandemic and highlights the ongoing need for research into the temporal dynamics of IPV., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Mojahed et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: The pervasive use of technology, especially among adolescents, has enabled cyber communication and brought many advantages but also led to potential violence. The issue of cyber interpersonal violence (CIV) impacting young individuals is increasingly recognized as a matter of public health; however, little is known about adolescents' perspectives of the phenomenon. This study explores adolescents' perspectives on CIV. It seeks to understand their interpretations of abuse, victim impact and reactions, violence escalation, gender issues, victimization and perpetration patterns, and bystander roles., Methods: This qualitative study used fifteen focus groups to gather elementary school participants' perspectives on cyber interpersonal violence. From four Portuguese schools, 108 participants ( M = 12.87 and SD = 0.31) participated in the study. A thematic analysis uncovered three themes. The results evidenced adolescents' perspectives about CIV. Due to the amount of time spent online, adolescents regularly encounter cyber harassment and recognize the importance of help-seeking. Mental health problems and their influence on the social and educational lives of adolescents is arising as a CIV problem., Conclusions: Parents play a crucial role in mitigating CIV as well as bystanders. Future programs should promote healthy relationships, raise CIV awareness, involve stakeholders, guide parents, integrate perpetrators into programs, and foster effective networking.

Background: We sought to determine whether the Good School Toolkit-Primary violence prevention intervention was associated with reduced victimisation and perpetration of peer and intimate partner violence four years later, and if any associations were moderated by sex and early adolescent: family connectedness, socio-economic status, and experience of violence outside of school., Methods: Drawing on schools involved in a randomised controlled trial of the intervention, we used a quasi-experimental design to compare violence outcomes between those who received the intervention during our trial (n = 1388), and those who did not receive the intervention during or after the trial (n = 522). Data were collected in 2014 (mean age 13.4, SD 1.5 years) from participants in 42 schools in Luwero District, Uganda, and 2018/19 from the same participants both in and out of school (mean age 18, SD: 1.77 years). We compared children who received the Good School Toolkit-Primary, a whole school violence prevention intervention, during a randomised controlled trial, to those who did not receive the intervention during or after the trial. Outcomes were measured using items adapted from the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse Screening Tool-Child Institutional. We used mixed-effect multivariable logistic regression, with school fitted as a random-effect to account for clustering., Results: 1910 adolescents aged about 16-19 years old were included in our analysis. We found no evidence of an average long-term intervention effect on our primary outcome, peer violence victimization at follow-up (aOR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.59-1.11); or for any secondary outcome. However, exposure to the intervention was associated with: later reductions in peer violence, for adolescents with high family connectedness (aOR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.99), but not for those with low family connectedness (aOR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.6; p-interaction = 0.06); and reduced later intimate partner violence perpetration among males with high socio-economic status (aOR = 0.32, 95%CI 0.11 to 0.90), but not low socio-economic status (aOR = 1.01 95%CI 0.37 to 2.76, p-interaction = 0.05)., Conclusions: Young adolescents in connected families and with higher socio-economic status may be better equipped to transfer violence prevention skills from primary school to new relationships as they get older., Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01678846, registration date 24 August 2012. Protocol for this paper:  https://www.researchprotocols.org/2020/12/e20940 ., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Childhood victimization has been associated with long-term psychological effects and an increased risk of being victimized in later life. Previous research has primarily focused on sexual abuse during childhood, and a wide range of consequences have been identified. However, a significant gap remains in our understanding of the complex interaction between different forms of childhood abuse and violence in later life, particularly in the context of broader social stressors such as armed conflict and displacement., Methods: This study examines the association between exposure to different types of childhood maltreatment in the context of family and intimate partner violence (IPV) among displaced women living in refugee camps in northern Iraq. Structured interviews were conducted by trained female psychologists with 332 women aged between 20 and 62 years., Results: Results indicated that over one-third of the participating women reported experiencing at least one occurrence of IPV by their husbands within the past year. In addition, participants reported experiences of different types of maltreatment (physical, emotional, and sexual violence and physical and emotional neglect) perpetrated by family members in their childhood. While all forms of childhood maltreatment showed an association with IPV within the past year, only emotional childhood maltreatment was found to be a significant predictor of IPV in a multivariate analysis., Conclusion: The study highlights the ongoing impact of child maltreatment and its contribution to increased vulnerability to IPV victimization in later life. In addition, this study describes the specific cultural and contextual elements that contribute to IPV in refugee camps., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Childhood exposure to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can lead to major short- and long-term effects on the victim. Despite this, there is no accepted measure for children's experiences, with most existing measures being validated only in high income countries and not in low- and middle- income countries. As a result, international statistics are not comparable. This paper seeks to critically appraise existing measures and discuss whether any are fit-for-purpose on a global scale., Method: The COSMIN PROMs approach was followed to critically appraise and compare the appropriateness of measures. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken in seven journal databases for measures mentioned in formally peer-reviewed articles exploring childhood exposure to DVA., Results: A literature search resulted in the identification of 10 measures and, following criteria to only keep original measures and remove modifications, four measures which have been validated cross-culturally are discussed in detail in line with the COSMIN PROMs criterion: The Child Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale, Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale, Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and The Violence Exposure Scale for Children. Strengths and limitations of each are discussed, along with any validations undertaken not in the country of origin., Conclusion: Despite childhood exposure to DVA being an urgent research priority worldwide, the current measures to explore the extent of the issue are not validated cross-culturally, leading to concerns about comparisons across different population groups. The development and implementation of interventions to reduce the levels and effects of exposure relies heavily on cross-cultural comparisons, which may indicate different strategies are needed in different contexts. The lack of these validated comparisons is constraining advances, and the paper advocates for further efforts to be made in this regard., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Harris, Channon and Morgan.)

Introduction: Adolescents are experiencing an unprecedented cyber-saturated environment where the disclosure of private information should be approached with caution. This study aims to investigate the effects of school environment, including student support, teacher support, and opportunities for autonomy, on students' disclosure of private information and their experiences with cyberbullying., Methods: In September 2022, a total of 1,716 students (mean age = 14.60, SD = 1.35) from three regular and vocational schools in China participated in the survey., Results: The results showed that 35.6% of the participants had experienced victimization by cyberbullying, and 12.6% had perpetrated cyberbullying. Vocational school students reported significantly higher rates of cyberbullying and lower levels of perceived school climate than students from regular school. Student support in the school environment was found to negatively affect both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, with this impact appearing to be stronger in regular schools as compared to vocational schools. Opportunities for autonomy and the disclosure of private information were positively correlated with experiences of cyberbullying., Discussion: This study introduces a novel perspective that perceived school climate influences adolescents' disclosure of private information and their involvement in cyberbullying. The findings could provide implications for future research and practices aimed at child protection in cyberspace., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Tang, Zhu and Chan.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown varying effects on adolescents' mental health, psychosocial functioning, risk behaviours, and victimisation. This study aims to examine the changes reported by a sample of Swedish adolescents ( N = 1607) at the end of the first year of the pandemic in relation to these factors. Data were collected with an electronic survey between September 2020 and February 2021, targeting upper-secondary high school students (aged 15-19 years). The results indicate a relatively low overall impact of the pandemic on Swedish upper-secondary school students, with notable gender differences. Compared to adolescent women, a higher percentage of adolescent men reported experiencing elevated levels of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, anger, and increased illicit drug use as consequences of the pandemic. In contrast, women demonstrated an increase in several salutogenic behaviours. Victimisation rates generally decreased during this period. These findings underscore the importance of heightened awareness among professionals within schools, social services, and healthcare settings regarding the distinct challenges encountered by a larger portion of adolescent men during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.

Aims: The aim was to examine how loneliness was associated with bullying victimization at school and online., Methods: We used data from the Danish arm of the international Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study from 2022. The study population was a nationally representative sample of 11-15-year-olds who completed the internationally standardized HBSC questionnaire at school, n = 5382. Multilevel logistic regression was applied to study the associations between bullying victimization and loneliness., Results: The prevalence of reporting loneliness often or very often was 9.0%; 6.3% of the sample experienced habitual bullying victimization at school, and 4.8% incurred cyberbullying. There was a strong and graded association between loneliness and bullying victimization at school and cyberbullying. The associations were significant for boys and girls, and the association between exposure to bullying at school and loneliness was steeper for boys than girls. The gradients were steeper for physical bullying than for cyberbullying. Students exposed to habitual bullying in both contexts had an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 11.21 (6.99-17.98) for loneliness., Conclusion: Exposure to bullying at school and cyberbullying are strongly associated with loneliness. It is important to reduce bullying at school and on the internet and to promote effective interventions to reduce continuing loneliness.

Background: The present study analyzes factors of adolescents' ecological-relational contexts in relation to suicidal behavior. In particular, it examined the role of peer bullying and cyberbullying, classroom climate, violence and partner victimization, parental socialization styles, and child-to-parent violence., Method: The participants are 2,977 Spanish adolescents attending seven secondary schools. They were aged 11-17 (M = 14.0, SD = 1.40; 51.5% girls). Multivariate logistic regression analyses and a two-step cluster analysis were applied to analyze the data., Results: Findings showed a prevalence of suicidal thoughts in 43.3% of the sample, with 7.7% reporting suicide attempts. Adolescents experiencing high/low victimization (ORa = 3.10, p < .001) and high cybervictimization (ORa = 1.67, p < .001) were at risk. However, high cyberbullying involvement (ORa = 0.55, p < .001) and not having a partner (ORa = 0.61, p < .001) emerged as protective factors. Sex-specific analyses underscored distinct interaction effects, with suicidal behavior in girls being significantly related to maternal negative socialization (ORa = 1.57, p = .05)., Conclusions: An ecological-relational and sex approach is needed to understand and prevent suicidal behavior in adolescents.