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1 – 10 of 283
Article
Publication date: 28 August 2009

Tiong‐Thye Goh and Yen‐Pei Huang

Social networking sites have in recent years become an increasingly popular avenue for young people to express and to share their thoughts, views, and emotions. When young people

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Abstract

Purpose

Social networking sites have in recent years become an increasingly popular avenue for young people to express and to share their thoughts, views, and emotions. When young people are emotionally distressed for instance, instead of the traditional channel of consulting friends, parents or specialists, social networking blogs may provide a channel to share and release their emotions and intentions. The objective of the paper is to explore the use of text mining and data warehousing technologies to identify and monitor bloggers who are depressed and may be at risk of suicide, self harm or harming others.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first provides a literature review on relevant work in affective and emotional content text mining and relevant suicide research. An algorithm based on a weighted dictionary text search algorithm was developed to identify at risk bloggers to illustrate the viability of the system. An example that compares the percentage of at‐risk bloggers of three different countries – Australia, the UK and New Zealand‐– from a sample blog population is provided.

Findings

The results show that it is possible to use text mining technologies to identify depressed bloggers. However, there is a need for future research to improve identification and remove false alarms.

Practical implications

The ability to identify at‐risk bloggers and to provide appropriate interventions could be critical in avoiding tragic consequences. Such a system could provide an e‐monitoring service for various social agencies to engage with potentially at‐risk bloggers.

Originality/value

The current research represents pioneer work in monitoring depression risk in weblogs – research on monitoring at‐risk bloggers is rather limited.

Details

VINE, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-5728

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2015

Stephen Kline

This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to draw together research which links the moral panic about the “adipose” body during the first five years of the millennium to the worsening mental health of US teens. Noting the way medical advocacy biased the news coverage in the quality press in the UK, the USA and Canada through its emphasis on weight gain in child and youth populations, it reviews evidence of a relationship between eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and the mental health of teens.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on research which suggests that teens ' misperception of their body can impact their mental health, the paper proposes reflexive embodiment, defined as the way an individual interprets and evaluates their own body morphology in relationship to the medical profession’s articulation of norms for weight classes, as a new construct for exploring the impact of the medical debates about obesity.

Findings

Using data sets from the US Youth Risk Behavior Survey gathered in 2001 and 2007 to compare both weight status and weight class accuracy, the study finds evidence that teens ' perceptions of their bodies have changed more than their actual weight. Noting a complex relationship between teens ' misperception of their weight status and mental health risks associated with depression and suicide, the paper explores ways that the medical stigmatization of the adipose body, and the ensuing consequences of gendered weight bias, have consequences for teen well-being.

Research limitations/implications

This case study only provides an exploratory analysis of an hypothesis suggested by the theory of reflexive embodiment.

Practical implications

Refocus health professions on the mental health of teens.

Social implications

Evidence of health implications of reflexive embodiment adds to a growing critique of medicalization of adipose body morphology.

Originality/value

The analysis of data contributes to a growing concern about medical stigmatization of “fat” bodies as unhealthy.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2021

Saba Javed and Khadeeja Munawar

The purpose of this paper is to provide an educational overview of suicidal behavior and the factors related to suicidality among students between the ages of 18 and 30 years.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an educational overview of suicidal behavior and the factors related to suicidality among students between the ages of 18 and 30 years.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature related to suicide among students were identified through various electronic database searches. The databases searched included: PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC/ProQuest, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar and PMC using the following search terms and their derivatives: suicide/self-harm, suicide risk and students, mental health issues and suicide, substance use and suicide, childhood adversities and suicide, recent life stressors, help-seeking attitude and elevated suicidal risk, help-seeking behavior and suicide and subjective factors and suicide.

Findings

Suicide is an important public health problem. Several factors influence suicide (including suicidal ideation and taking life or dying by suicide) such as genetics, family functions, socioeconomic status, personality and psychiatric comorbidity. The main themes that were investigated included: mental health issues, childhood adversity and recent life stressors, barriers toward seeking professional help and subjective factors (psychache risk of suicidal behavior, impulsivity, aggression).

Originality/value

This review focuses on several modifiable psychological factors that have been shown to contribute toward suicidal ideation in youth, especially among university students.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2022

Lacey Nicole Wallace

This study aims to investigate patterns in adolescent gun access and household gun storage in 2021 and 2022.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate patterns in adolescent gun access and household gun storage in 2021 and 2022.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from two cross-sectional surveys of Pennsylvania parents with a teenage child at home.

Findings

The results indicated that about 20% of gun owners in each survey stored their guns loaded; a similar percentage stored their guns unlocked. Very few gun owners reported that their children could access their guns without adult supervision. This study found no change in gun storage practices between 2021 and 2022, but higher rates of gun ownership in 2022. The factors associated with gun storage behaviors did change between the two time points. COVID-related uncertainties and transitions in the household were linked to gun ownership and less safe storage practices in 2021, but not in 2022.

Originality/value

This study identified factors associated with teen gun access at distinct points during the pandemic. This study found little evidence of any association between child mental health and household firearm storage.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2021

Nakyung Kyung, Sanghee Lim and Byungtae Lee

Past literature offered competing predictions of the effect of broadband Internet on suicide. The Internet facilitates suicide by providing suicide-related information and ruining…

Abstract

Purpose

Past literature offered competing predictions of the effect of broadband Internet on suicide. The Internet facilitates suicide by providing suicide-related information and ruining mental health. In contrast, Internet prevents suicide by offering social interaction and online mental treatment. This study aims to solve this tension by empirically examining the effect of broadband Internet on suicide with large-scale panel set.

Design/methodology/approach

This study takes instrument approach with the US county-level panel set for the period 2013–17. This study uses the number of household broadband Internet subscriptions as the measure of broadband and leverages the number of telecommunication carriers as an instrument to address concern for endogenous relationship.

Findings

There exists a positive and significant association between broadband Internet adoption and suicide on average. This study provides empirical evidence that this association is attributable to the Internet's role in leading to a general decline in the mental well-being and in providing suicide-relevant information. This association is more evident in areas with high poverty and low social capital.

Originality/value

This study contributes to literatures that address the dark side of information systems in general and that address how Internet adoption can influence public health and well-being in particular. Results of underlying mechanisms why Internet affects suicide, and heterogeneous effect of Internet by poverty and social capital provide insight for governments to enact proactive regulations to address continuing rise of suicide.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2013

Paul Best, Una Foye, Brian Taylor, Diane Hazlett and Roger Manktelow

Little research has focused on the quality and availability of interactive online support services retrieved through search engines. The purpose of this paper is twofold; first…

Abstract

Purpose

Little research has focused on the quality and availability of interactive online support services retrieved through search engines. The purpose of this paper is twofold; first, to review and assess the availability and accessibility of interactive online support available to individuals in suicidal crisis. Second, to field test a new tool developed specifically to evaluate both the quality of online information and the quality of interactive support.

Design/methodology/approach

A collection of six terms relating to suicidal distress were generated and inputted across three major search engines (Google, Yahoo and Ask). Following initial exclusions, the remaining web sites were analysed using the SPAT (Site, Publisher, Audience and Timeliness) tool and recently developed COSAT (Crisis and Online Support Appraisal Tool) tool.

Findings

The quality of web sites retrieved was variable, with only 1.9 per cent deemed as high-quality interactive support resources. Google had the greatest precision of searching, but ease of access through search engines was generally limited. No significant difference was found in the quality of web sites located on pages 1 or 2 of search engine results. Overall, community and voluntary sector web sites averaged higher quality and interactive support rating's compared to publicly funded web sites.

Research limitations/implications

The newly developed COSAT tool may provide a positive first step towards a standardised measure of online quality and interactive support, although further testing and validation is required with a larger sample size.

Originality/value

To the authors knowledge little research has focused on the quality and availability of interactive online support services retrieved through search engines.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1999

Paulette M. Rothbauer and Lynne E.F. McKechnie

The purpose of this study was to determine if young adults, or others interested in literature for teens, have access through public libraries to novels with homosexual content. A…

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if young adults, or others interested in literature for teens, have access through public libraries to novels with homosexual content. A random sample of 40 English language young adult novels with gay/lesbian content was checked against the holdings of 40 medium and large Canadian public libraries having remotely accessible catalogs. The average number of titles held by all libraries was 16.2 (40.4 percent). There was no significant relationship found between library size and number of titles held (r = 0.302; CV0.05 (38) = 0.311). The results of this study suggest that, while some libraries seem to be doing a good job of providing these potentially controversial titles, others are not. Suggestions for further research are included.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1994

Mahmood Yousefi and Ken McCormick

The news is full of stories about business impropriety, employee theft and drug use, government scandals, teenage pregnancies, welfare scams, and a host of other problems…

Abstract

The news is full of stories about business impropriety, employee theft and drug use, government scandals, teenage pregnancies, welfare scams, and a host of other problems associated with a lack of morals and ethics. The cumulative effect of this barrage of bad news has led some to raise the question, “Is America experiencing a moral decline?”

Details

Humanomics, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0828-8666

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Shubhasheesh Bhattacharya and Sonali Bhattacharya

The purpose of this paper is to determine the type and severity of domestic violence faced by Indian women. An attempt has also been made to analyze and interpret demographic…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the type and severity of domestic violence faced by Indian women. An attempt has also been made to analyze and interpret demographic variations of domestic violence. The authors have highlighted steps taken by several government, community and private organizations on issues of domestic violence.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-III data (2005) was used for determining the socio-economic factors, which are predictors of domestic violence against spouses and children. Logistic Regression Technique was applied.

Findings

Results suggest that increased formal education for women, increase in family wealth, and financial independence may decrease spousal violence. Younger women and those who belong to a nuclear family are more vulnerable to spousal violence.

Research limitations/implications

The research paper only limits its focus on women in India in the age group of 15-49. A cross-country comparison and a longitudinal study would have given better idea on the issue. Besides in India, there are serious issues of concerns of violence against children and elders which have not been part of discussion on this paper.

Practical implications

The paper not only discusses causes of domestic violence but also on its effects on physical and psychological well-being of women and children.

Originality/value

The uniqueness of the study lie in on not only extracting out from NFHS survey-III data, the socio-economic factors which are determinants of domestic violence but also analyzing the politico-religious-cultural factors which play major role on the issue. The authors have also thrown light on consequences of domestic violence.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2001

Primoz Juznic, Jose Urbanija, Edvard Grabrijan, Stasoa Miklavc, Damijana Oslaj and Sonja Svoljsak

Reports the findings of an investigation carried out in Slovenian public libraries, which was designed to determine whether librarians would be reluctant to provide information or…

1971

Abstract

Reports the findings of an investigation carried out in Slovenian public libraries, which was designed to determine whether librarians would be reluctant to provide information or materials on ethically disputed topics. The three topics used in the test were: suicide, necrophilia, and photographs or pictures of corpses. The conclusions were that the issue was a matter of quality of reference services,

Details

Library Management, vol. 22 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

1 – 10 of 283