Search Results (8)

Introduction: Mpox emerged as a multi-country outbreak in 2022 and disproportionately affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Stigma is known to exacerbate health crises by discouraging testing, treatment, and vaccination. This review aimed to explore stigma associated with Mpox among GBMSM from July 2022, when mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern. Methods: The PICO framework guided this narrative review. A search was conducted across the following databases from inception to June 2025: PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science. The literature had to be empirical, peer-reviewed research that focused on mpox-related stigma in GBMSM. Results: Forty-seven studies were included in this review. The following themes were derived: (1) healthcare experiences, (2) media influence, (3) internalised and anticipated stigma, (4) public health messaging, (5) community responses, and (6) psychosocial impact. Healthcare experiences were marked by anticipated discrimination; many GBMSM delayed testing or vaccination for fear of being disclosed or labelled promiscuous. This was especially apparent in contexts where same-sex relationships are criminalised, leading some men to self-medicate or seek clandestine services. Media analyses revealed that social and traditional platforms often amplified blame and homophobia, though community-led counter-messaging helped shift narratives. Internalised and anticipated stigma resulted in shame, concealment of symptoms, avoidance of care, and heightened anxiety. Public health messaging that framed mpox as a behaviour-linked rather than identity-linked risk was more acceptable, and flexible vaccination strategies (e.g., offering less conspicuous injection sites) increased uptake. Stigma contributed to psychosocial distress and may have impeded outbreak control. Conclusions: Mpox-related stigma among GBMSM operates at individual, community, and structural levels, echoing patterns from the HIV era. Effective mitigation requires rights-based, destigmatising communication, culturally competent care, and collaboration. Addressing stigma is vital to controlling future outbreaks and ensuring equitable healthcare access. Full article

Past studies of urbanization in the United States have found that college-educated (power) couples migrate to metropolitan areas at higher rates than both educated single persons and other couples with less education. A common explanation is that power couples receive disproportionately high co-location benefits from cities and therefore migrate to urban areas more than other groups. This study leverages the Public Use Microdata Sets to understand urban residence rates for couples between 2007 and 2022, with a focus on couples attaining degrees beyond the bachelor’s level. The data allows couples to be classified into nine different power status categories based on joint educational attainment, along with categories for their sexual orientation and racial composition. Results from fixed-effects logit models reinforce previous work showing that couples at the highest levels of educational attainment reside in urban areas at higher rates than their otherwise equal peers. Urban residence rates are even stronger for more advanced degree holders generally, though the effect is disproportionately higher for black and Asian couples, while it is disproportionately weaker for some same-sex couples. The added nuance of these results provides important insight into the relationship between urban residency, educational attainment, and demographic characteristics. Full article

Background/Objectives: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, often persisting into adolescence and adulthood, with significant impacts on social, academic, and occupational functioning. Emerging research highlights the role of personality traits in ADHD, suggesting their influence on symptom presentation, functional impairments, and treatment adherence. This study aims to investigate maladaptive personality domains and traits in adolescents with ADHD using the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) framework and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Short Form (PID-5-SF), with a particular focus on the differences among same-sex peers and differences from typically developing peers. Methods: This study included 30 ADHD and 25 TD adolescents aged 11–17 (12.6 ± 2.1 vs. 14.9 ± 1.7; p < 0.001), recruited at IRCCS Centro Neurolesi “Bonino Pulejo”. Participants underwent clinical assessments, cognitive evaluation, and standardized rating scales, with maladaptive personality traits measured using the PID-5-SF. Chi-squared and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare the two groups, as appropriate. Results: ADHD adolescents showed significantly higher scores than TD peers in restricted affectivity (p = 0.007), distractibility (p = 0.001), impulsivity (p = 0.049), irresponsibility (p = 0.036), hostility (p = 0.046), perseveration (p = 0.010), submissiveness (p = 0.023), and risk-taking (p = 0.032). Among personality domains, disinhibition was significantly higher in the ADHD group (p = 0.002), while detachment approached significance. Female ADHD participants scored higher than TD females in restricted affectivity, distractibility, and risk-taking. Conclusions: These findings suggest that maladaptive personality traits play a key role in ADHD during adolescence, highlighting the need for tailored interventions. Integrating personality assessment into clinical practice may enhance diagnostic accuracy and support more effective, individualized treatment strategies. Full article

Adolescent classical ballet dancers are nutritionally vulnerable, as they try to retain a lean body shape during a life period of high nutritional requirements due to rapid growth. Studies conducted on adult dancers have indicated a high risk for the development of disordered eating behaviors (DEBs), but research on adolescent dancers remains scarce. The aim of the present case-control study was to compare the body composition, dietary habits, and DEBs of female adolescent classical ballet dancers and their non-dancer same-sex peers. Self-reported questionnaires, namely the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) and a 19-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), were used for the assessment of habitual diet and DEBs. The assessment of body composition included the measurements of body weight, height, body circumference, and skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The results indicate that the dancers were leaner than the controls, with lower weight, BMIs, and hip and arm circumferences, leaner skinfolds, and less fat mass. No differences were observed between the two groups regarding eating habits and the EAT-26 scores, but almost 1 out of 4 (23.3%) participants scored ≥ 20, indicative of DEBs. Participants with an EAT-26 score ≥ 20 had significantly higher body weight, BMIs, body circumferences, fat mass, and fat-free mass than those with a score < 20. Adolescents must be educated on nutrition and healthy methods to control body weight through evidence-based information and programs, and whenever appropriate, also through individual counseling by the appropriate health professionals. Full article

Many teens report experiencing anxiety in school, which can negatively impact their well-being. Considering that adolescents tend to adopt the same behaviors as their classmates with whom they spend, on average, 923 h every year, the current exploratory study (1) assessed whether an association exists between a student’s state anxiety score and his/her classmates’ average trait anxiety scores and (2) examined whether this association differed between boys and girls, as well as between elementary school and high school students. During two consecutive school years, 1044 Canadian students (59% girls) from six elementary schools (aged 10–12) and seven high schools (aged 15–17) completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Multilevel analyses revealed a same-sex peer effect of classmates’ anxiety in girls only (β = 0.40, p < 0.001). This effect was similar for elementary and high school girls (β = 0.07, p = 0.27). Interestingly, no association was found for boys, same-sex peers (β = 0.11, p = 0.25), or opposite-sex peers (β = −0.01, p = 1.00). Our results suggest that factors related to sex may reinforce anxiety in school settings. Future studies should confirm these results and explore the mechanisms involved in this sex-specific difference. Full article

The main goal of the analysis presented in this paper is to examine the dynamics of including other-sex peers in the peer networks of early adolescents, aged 11 (at T1) and 13 (at T2), and the relationship between sex heterophily and changes in the sense of peer integration. The analysis was conducted using the Latent Difference Score (LDS) model with data from a representative nationwide longitudinal study in Poland (n = 5748). With reference to the dynamics related to the heterophilic process, the research confirmed that at the beginning of grade 5 of primary school, heterophily is still relatively rare, yet towards the end of early adolescence, there is a gradual shift, more strongly in girls, towards breaking through the strictly same-sex segregation and embarking on heterophilic relationships. Importantly, the LDS model—even when controlling for different measures of peer network—showed significant and positive (among both girls and boys) relations between establishing cross-sex relationships and the sense of peer integration. The results indicate that the appearance of the opposite sex in the peer network between grades 5 and 6 will improve the sense of peer integration. The findings are discussed in relation to results from other studies in the field. Full article

Same-sex parents face substantial stressors due to their sexual orientation, such as experiences of prejudice and prohibitive legal environments. This added stress is likely to lead to reduced physical and mental health in same-sex parents that, in turn, may translate into problematic behavioral outcomes in their children. To date, there are only a few nationally representative studies that investigate the well-being of children with same-sex parents. The current study takes a closer look at children’s behavioral outcomes, reported by a parent, using an adapted version of the emotional, conduct, hyperactivity, pro-social, and peer problems subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We take advantage of unique data from the Netherlands based on a probability sample from population registers, whereby findings can be inferred to same-sex and different-sex parent households with parents between the ages of 30 and 65, and with children between the ages of 6 and 16 years (62 children with same-sex, and 72 children with different-sex parents). The findings obtained by coarsened exact matching suggest no significant disadvantages for children with same-sex parents compared to different-sex parents. We contextualize these findings in their wider cultural context, and recommend a renewed focus in future research away from deficit-driven comparisons. Full article

This study examined the factors related to the preference about laws to legalize same-sex relationships in participants of the first wave of a survey (Wave 1, 23 months before the same-sex marriage referendum) and the second wave of a survey (Wave 2, 1 week after the same-sex marriage referendum) in Taiwan. The data of 3286 participants in Wave 1 and 1370 participants in Wave 2 recruited through a Facebook advertisement were analyzed. Each participant completed an online questionnaire assessing their attitude toward the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, preference about laws to legalize same-sex relationships (establishing same-sex couple laws outside the Civil Code vs. changing the Civil Code to include same-sex marriage laws), belief in the importance of legalizing same-sex relationships, and perceived social attitudes toward the legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The results revealed that those who did not support legalizing same-sex relationships were more likely to prefer establishing same-sex couple laws outside the Civil Code than those who supported the legalization. The form of law preferred to legalize same-sex relationships significantly changed between Wave 1 and Wave 2. Multiple factors, including gender, age, sexual orientation, belief in the importance of legalizing same-sex relationships to human rights and the social status of sexual minorities, and perceived peers’ and families’ attitudes toward the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, were significantly associated with the preference of laws, although these associations varied among heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants and at various stages of the survey. Full article