Experience Of Social Adversity Research Articles

Disentangling Support for Violent and Non-violent Radicalization among Adolescents: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Although support for violent and non-violent radicalization can co-occur, only a few adolescents who support non-violent radicalization also support or engage in violent acts. Yet, little is known about what factors are associated with adolescents' paths towards or away from violent and/or non-violent radicalization. Within a socio-ecological and positive youth development framework, this study investigates profiles of support for violent and non-violent radicalization among adolescents attending high schools in Quebec (Canada) and whether such profiles are differently associated with experiences of social adversity, school-, family- and peer-related factors and psychological distress. Adolescents (N = 1911; Mage = 15.7; SDage = 0.98; 48.7% girls) completed an online survey during school hours. A Latent Profile Analysis on scores of support for violent and non-violent radicalization was conducted. A multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the associations between profiles and variables of interest. We identified six profiles of adolescents. The heterogeneity of profiles suggested multiple and complex combinations of support for violent and non-violent radicalization as well as their co-existence in some but not all profiles. Adolescents who reported less discrimination, more positive school experiences and more family support were less likely to belong to profiles that supported violence. Primary prevention efforts in the field of support for violent radicalization must adopt a socio-ecological and social justice approach and consider the diversity of adolescents' profiles, attitudes and experiences.

Images that speak: A Portuguese Photovoice study on the psychosocial experience of a migrant population from Cape Verde after a first episode of psychosis.

Several migrant populations have been identified worldwide as high-risk groups for psychosis because of their experience of social adversity. Recent evidence suggests that the local contexts in which these populations live should be addressed in their complexity to take into account individual and larger societal environmental aspects. This study aimed to assess the lived experiences of a group of migrant Cape Verdean patients, who had been recently hospitalized for a first episode of psychosis in a mental health service on the outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal. The study used Photovoice, a qualitative participatory research method in which people's experiences are documented through photography. Six individuals were recruited, and five weekly sessions were conducted to collect data that were analyzed thematically. Emergent themes addressed two main categories of well-being and illness. Participant concepts of well-being were rooted in a definition of freedom encompassing cultural expression, conveyed by familiar environments and supporting communities. Cultural differences may be experienced as important obstacles for well-being and can be associated with feelings of oppression and guilt. Participants' accounts focused on positive aspects of life despite illness and on personal concepts of recovery. The study findings contribute to knowledge of the dynamics of migrants' social experience and underscore the importance of socially and culturally informed mental healthcare institutions.

A comparison of two measures to screen for mental health symptoms in pregnancy and early postpartum: the Matthey Generic Mood Questionnaire and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales short-form

The Matthey Generic Mood Questionnaire (MGMQ) provides a rapid screen of clinically significant emotional difficulties in adults. This study aimed to investigate associations between the MGMQ and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales short-form (DASS-21) and how well the MGMQ detects women scoring high on the DASS-21 in pregnancy and 1 and 2 years postpartum. Pregnant Australian, English-speaking women were recruited from 10 maternity hospitals across two states (for the "right@home" trial, N=729). Prioritized for their experience of social adversity (2 or more of 10 risk factors), they completed the 2-item MGMQ and 21-item DASS-21 in pregnancy and at 1 and 2 years postpartum. DASS-21 Total and subscale scores were classified "high" based on (a) normed percentiles for top 15% and (b) clinical cut-points. The MGMQ and DASS-21 were completed within 7 days of each other by 296 (41%) women in pregnancy, 625 (86%) at 1 year and 573 (79%) at 2 years. Associations between the measures were weak-to-moderate in pregnancy and moderate-to-strong in the postpartum years. Most women scoring "high" on the DASS-21 could be identified with various thresholds of the MGMQ. Pregnant women with 0 or 1 risk factor were excluded; the DASS-21 is not a perinatal specific measure nor a gold standard diagnostic tool. The MGMQ and DASS-21 appeared to assess overlapping but distinct constructs of mental health. These findings can help clinicians and researchers decide whether to use the MGMQ, and which balance of sensitivity, specificity and correct classification will suit their needs.

Patterns of Exposure to Socio-structural Stressors and HIV Care Engagement Among Transgender Women of Color.

Transgender women are disproportionately affected by HIV and experiences of social adversity that may interfere with engagement in care and viral suppression. We used latent class analysis to examine patterns of social adversity and their impact on HIV care continuum outcomes in an urban sample of transgender women of color. Participants (n = 224) were median age 29 and 86% non-Hispanic Black. Lack of resources, unemployment, and housing instability were reported by over 50%, and 41% reported history of incarceration. Latent class analysis identified 2 distinct classes representing higher and lower levels of social adversity. In latent class regression, membership in the higher social adversity class was associated with statistically significantly lower odds of viral suppression and HIV care engagement in univariate analysis; when adjusted for age, race, and recruitment site the association remained statistically significant for viral suppression (aOR 0.38, 95% CI 0.18-0.79; chi-square = 6.681, d.f. = 1, p = 0.010), though not for HIV care engagement. Our findings highlight the impact of socio-structural barriers on engagement in the HIV care continuum among transgender women.

Sexual minority status and symptoms of psychosis: The role of bullying, discrimination, social support, and drug use - Findings from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007.

ObjectiveSexual minorities have an increased risk of psychosis, potentially explained by experiences of social adversity. Sexual minorities may also have a specific risk of paranoid symptoms. The current study aimed to determine whether sexual minorities have increased risk of psychosis, whether they have a specific increased risk of paranoia when compared to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs), and whether social adversity such as bullying, recent discrimination, lack of social support, and drug use can explain this risk.MethodsThe study used data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007 (n = 7,403), exploring both sexual identity and past sexual behaviour. Associations between sexual minority status and probable psychosis, paranoia, and AVH were analysed using logistic regression. Mediation analysis was also conducted using the Karlson–Holm–Breen method, with bullying, recent discrimination, social support, and drug use as mediators assessing pathways between sexual minority status and paranoia/AVH. Socio‐demographic confounders were included in analyses.ResultsSexual minority status did not significantly predict probable psychosis. Findings generally indicated a specific association between sexual minority status and paranoia when contrasted with AVH. However, sexual behaviour remained significantly associated with AVH in logistic regression models. Bullying, lack of social support, and drug use partially mediated the association between sexual minority status and paranoia.ConclusionsSexual minority status appears to have a specific association with paranoia symptoms, which may be partially explained by experiences of social adversity. However, the cross‐sectional nature of the study limits direct inference about causality of such symptoms.Practitioner points Sexual minority groups may be more likely to experience symptoms of paranoia.It may be important to consider experiences of social adversity such as bullying, lack of social support, and also history of drug use in the context of paranoia within these groups.

Additive Interaction Between Cannabis Use and Social Adversity On Predicting Psychosis: Beyond the Main Effects

A number of studies have suggested that age of cannabis use (Arseneault 2002), type of cannabis used (high potency cannabis preparations such as skunk) and frequency (Di Forti 2009) might be more important than the use of cannabis per se in increasing risk of psychosis. We investigated the interaction between pattern of cannabis use and social adversity. We hypothesised that the combined effect of skunk/every day use of cannabis and the experience of social adversity in adulthood would increase the likelihood of a diagnosis of psychosis over and beyond the main effects of cannabis use and social adversity alone. Detailed data on patterns of cannabis use and socio-demographic information have been collected as part of the GAP study and the on-going EU-GEI study of first episode psychosis being conducted in London, UK. A sample of 406 cases and 407 controls was recruited. To assess interaction on an additive scale, Interaction Contrast Ratios [ICR] were calculated. The regression model indicated that, compared with controls, cases were around 16 times (OR 16.2, 95% CI 7.4-35.1) more likely to report both social adversity and skunk and/or everyday use of cannabis. A significant additive interaction was found between pattern of cannabis use and social adversity (ICR 9.82, 95% CI 0.80-18.83, p=0.03). In essence, this suggests there were some people who developed psychosis who would not have developed it if either social adversity or heavy pattern of cannabis use had been absent.

The far-reaching effects of believing people can change: implicit theories of personality shape stress, health, and achievement during adolescence.

The belief that personality is fixed (an entity theory of personality) can give rise to negative reactions to social adversities. Three studies showed that when social adversity is common-at the transition to high school--an entity theory can affect overall stress, health, and achievement. Study 1 showed that an entity theory of personality, measured during the 1st month of 9th grade, predicted more negative immediate reactions to social adversity and, at the end of the year, greater stress, poorer health, and lower grades in school. Studies 2 and 3, both experiments, tested a brief intervention that taught a malleable (incremental) theory of personality--the belief that people can change. The incremental theory group showed less negative reactions to an immediate experience of social adversity and, 8 months later, reported lower overall stress and physical illness. They also achieved better academic performance over the year. Discussion centers on the power of targeted psychological interventions to effect far-reaching and long-term change by shifting interpretations of recurring adversities during developmental transitions.

Social environmental effects on gene regulation

Social environmental conditions, particularly the experience of social adversity, have long been connected with health and mortality in humans and other social mammals. Efforts to identify the physiological basis for these effects have historically focused on their neurological, endocrinological, and immunological consequences. Recently, this search has been extended to understanding the role of gene regulation in sensing, mediating, and determining susceptibility to social environmental variation. Studies in laboratory rodents, captive primates, and human populations have revealed correlations between social conditions and the regulation of a large number of genes, some of which are likely causal. Gene expression responses to the social environment are, in turn, mediated by a set of underlying regulatory mechanisms, of which epigenetic marks are the best studied to date. Importantly, a number of genes involved in the response to the social environment are also associated with susceptibility to other external stressors, as well as certain diseases. Hence, gene regulatory studies are a promising avenue for understanding, and potentially developing strategies to address, the effects of social adversity on health.

Ethnic minority position and risk for psychotic disorders

This article reviews the recent literature about migration, ethnic minority position and the risk of psychotic disorders. A meta-analysis found that both first and second-generation migrants have on average a two-fold increase in risk for psychotic disorders. In the Netherlands, the risk was most elevated for individuals who migrated in early childhood. Several studies investigated diagnostic ethnic bias and reported greater likelihood of schizophrenia diagnosis in ethnic minority patients at the cost of diagnosis of affective psychotic disorders. Neighbourhood ethnic density was related to prevalence of psychotic experiences in ethnic minority populations in the UK. Perceived discrimination was associated with severity of psychotic and depressive symptoms in ethnic minority patients. Both weak and strong ethnic identification, as well as experiences of social adversity, were related to risk for psychosis. Low neonatal vitamin D was associated with adult risk for psychosis and vitamin D levels in childhood were associated with nonclinical psychotic experiences. The risk for psychotic disorders is increased among ethnic minority populations. Experiences of social adversity and having a disadvantaged outsider status may explain the excess risk. More research is needed into potential biological mechanisms, including vitamin D.

Auditory hallucinations in childhood: associations with adversity and delusional ideation

Previous work suggests that exposure to childhood adversity is associated with the combination of delusions and hallucinations. In the present study, associations between (severity of) auditory vocal hallucinations (AVH) and (i) social adversity [traumatic experiences (TE) and stressful events (SE)] and (ii) delusional ideation were examined. A baseline case-control sample of children with and without AVH were re-assessed on AVH after 5 years and interviewed about the experience of social adversity and delusions. A total of 337 children (mean age 13.1 years, S.D.=0.5) were assessed: 40 children continued to hear voices that were present at baseline (24%, persistent group), 15 heard voices only at follow-up (9%, incident group), 130 children no longer reported AVH that were present at baseline (remitted group) and 152 never heard voices (referent group). Both TE and SE were associated with both incident and persistent AVH, as well as with greater AVH severity and delusional ideation at follow-up. In addition, the combination of AVH and delusions displayed a stronger association with TE and SE compared with either AVH or delusions alone. Early childhood AVH are mostly benign and transitory. However, experience of social adversity is associated with persistence, severity and onset of new AVH closer to puberty, and with delusional ideation.

P03-174 - Risk factors of auditory hallucinations in childhood: adversity and the formation of psychotic-like ideation

Auditory vocal hallucinations (AVH) in general had limited functional impact in 7–8 year old children. However, transitory developmental expression of psychotic symptoms may become more persistent (and clinically relevant), depending on the degree of exposure to environmental risk factors. Therefore, in a five-year follow-up study of a case-control sample associations of (severity of) AVH with social adversity (traumatic experiences and stressful events) and the formation of delusional ideation were examined. In total 337 children (mean age 13.1 years; SD = 0.5) were reassessed. Forty children had continued to hear voices (24%, persistent group), 15 had heard voices for the first time (9%, incident group), 130 children no longer reported AVH (remitted group) and 152 never heard voices (referent group). Early social adversity was strongly associated with both incident and persistent AVH, and predicted greater AVH severity at follow-up. Children with both AVH and delusions were more likely to have experienced traumatic or stressful events than children with either symptom alone. AVH severity was shown to be a mediator in the association between TE (but not SE) and delusion formation. These results suggest that, although hearing voices in 7–8 year olds is in most cases benign, experience of social adversity can predict persistence and onset of new AVH closer to puberty. Given evidence for the association with delusion formation, they do pose a significant clinical risk.

Symptoms at first contact for psychotic disorder: Comparison between native Dutch and ethnic minorities

The incidence of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders is very high among several ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands, and is most increased for Moroccans. This study compared symptoms at first treatment contact for a psychotic disorder between 117 native Dutch and 165 ethnic minority patients from Morocco, Surinam, Turkey, other non-Western countries and Western countries, using data from an incidence study for psychotic disorders over 4 years in The Hague, the Netherlands (1997–1999 and 2000–2002). Patients were examined using the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH), which includes the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and a section on DSM-IV mood disorders. Differences between native Dutch and ethnic minorities in SAPS, SANS, total psychopathology (SAPS plus SANS), proportions of patients meeting the criteria for a current manic or depressive episode, and differences in individual symptoms were investigated using regression analyses. Moroccans had higher total psychopathology and total SANS scores than native Dutch, and particularly presented more often with persecutory delusions. Moroccans and Turks more often met the criteria for a depressive episode. The other ethnic groups did not differ from native Dutch in levels of psychopathology. These results suggest that Moroccans not only have the highest risk of schizophrenia of all ethnic groups in The Hague, but that they are also more severely ill at first treatment contact. Experiences of social adversity, which have been associated with persecutory delusions, and cultural factors may contribute to the observed differences in severity and content of psychopathology between Moroccans and native Dutch.

Social Adversity, the Serotonin Transporter (5-HTTLPR) Polymorphism and Major Depressive Disorder

Recent evidence has suggested that the short allele of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR of the human serotonin gene [SLC6A4]) is associated with increased risk of depressive disorder but only among individuals exposed to social adversity. We report an investigation designed to replicate this finding. Data were available from a non-clinical sample of 4,175 adult men and women, ages 41-80 years, selected from participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk, United Kingdom) study. Evidence of past-year prevalent episodic major depressive disorder (MDD), defined by restricted DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, was assessed through questionnaire. Adverse experiences in childhood and in adulthood (during the five years preceding assessment) were also assessed through self-report. The 5-HTTLPR variant was genotyped according to published protocols. One-year prevalent MDD criteria were met by 298 study participants. The experience of social adversity (both in childhood and adulthood) was strongly associated with increased rates of past-year prevalent MDD. No gene by environment (GxE) interactions between the 5-HTTLPR genotype, social adversity, and MDD were observed. This study has not replicated a previous finding of a GxE interaction between the 5-HTTLPR genotype, social adversity, and depression.

P.4.024 Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism as a possible modifying factor of individual response to stress

Recent evidence has suggested that the short allele of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR of the human serotonin gene [SLC6A4]) is associated with increased risk of depressive disorder but only among individuals exposed to social adversity. We report an investigation designed to replicate this finding.Data were available from a non-clinical sample of 4175 adult men and women, ages 41–80 years, selected from participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk, United Kingdom) study. Evidence of past-year prevalent episodic major depressive disorder (MDD), defined by restricted DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, was assessed through questionnaire. Adverse experiences in childhood and in adulthood (during the five years preceding assessment) were also assessed through self-report. The 5-HTTLPR variant was genotyped according to published protocols.One-year prevalent MDD criteria were met by 298 study participants. The experience of social adversity (both in childhood and adulthood) was strongly associated with increased rates of past-year prevalent MDD. No gene by environment (GxE) interactions between the 5-HTTLPR genotype, social adversity, and MDD were observed.This study has not replicated a previous finding of a GxE interaction between the 5-HTTLPR genotype, social adversity, and depression.