Harmful Behaviors Research Articles

Gamification to Engage Healthy Habits in Socially Deprived Secondary School Students

A sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, and substance abuse are increasingly prevalent among adolescents, necessitating effective interventions within educational environments. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a fifteen-week gamified intervention to promote healthy habits among 314 secondary school students residing in socially deprived areas. The gamified PBL (Points-Badges and Leaderboard) approach offers a promising strategy to engage students, enhance their knowledge, and influence their physical activity, nutrition, and substance consumption behaviors. Employing a pre-post-test design with a control group, data were collected through Kimed and IPAQ questionnaires evaluating participants' habits. Results revealed statistically significant differences between pretest and post-test scores in the experimental group and significant differences favoring the experimental group. Participating students exhibited improved physical activity and nutrition, alongside a reduction in harmful substance consumption behaviors. These findings suggest that the gamified PBL intervention holds promise in promoting healthier habits among secondary school students, specifically in socially deprived areas, emphasizing the importance of integrating such interventions into educational curricula. Keywords: Gamification; Balanced nutrition; Harmful substance consumption; Secondary school students

“When people who use drugs can’t differentiate between medical care and cops, it’s a problem.” Compounding risks of law Enforcement Harassment & Punitive Healthcare Policies

BackgroundCommunity-based harm reduction programming is widely recognized as an effective strategy for reducing the increased risks for and spread of HIV, HCV, and for reducing the growing rate of overdose deaths among people who use drugs (PWUD). PWUD in the United States (US) are a highly justice-involved population, also at increased risk for law enforcement interaction, arrest, and incarceration. These risks compound and interact in the context of criminalization and law enforcement surveillance. Justice involvement increases risks for overdose and for riskier injecting behavior among PWUD, in turn increasing HCV and HIV risks. In Central and Southern Appalachia specifically, PWUD have identified fear of law enforcement harassment and arrest as a barrier to engaging in harm reduction behavior, and a deterrent to seeking help at the scene of an overdose. Moreover, stigmatizing and punitive treatment in healthcare settings can deter PWUD from seeking care, with life or death consequences. This evaluation research study assessing the successes and impacts of a grant-funded project to increase access to safer drug consumption supplies and overdose prevention education for PWUD, including justice-involved participants of a syringe access program (SAP), in public housing and beyond in a South-Central Appalachian setting used key informant and opportunistic sampling. Mixed-methods data were compiled and collected including secondary program data; primary interview and participant-observation data.ResultsThe evaluation research identified that grant deliverables were largely achieved, despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, SAP participants and staff reported larger themes surrounding grant-funded activities, in which they perceived that widespread local law enforcement harassment of PWUD increased participants’ risks for overdose death and infectious disease risks and that punitive local healthcare settings and policies acted as deterrents to care-seeking for many PWUD.ConclusionsOverall, the evaluation research found that participants’ experiences with and perceptions of local law enforcement harassment combined with their understandings and experiences of local punitive healthcare settings and policies; together compounding and increasing overdose risks and negative health consequences for local justice-involved PWUD.

The psychological and legal dimensions of cyber violence in the digital game perspective: The case of league of legends

With the developing technology, individuals have begun to work and carry out all kinds of transactions through digital platforms. In parallel, digital environments have also begun to meet individuals' entertainment needs, with games becoming digitized and gaming habits evolving in a different direction. This situation has brought with it both the benefits and the online risks of the digital world. Cyber violence, defined as any harmful behavior towards an individual or group through cyberspace, is one of these online risks. As a preliminary study, this paper aims to examine the extent and methods of cyber violence experienced by male and female users in the online game League of Legends, which is one of the most popular online games in Turkey, and to analyze the psychological and legal aspects of cyber violence in digital games. In this experimental, descriptive study with blended research methodology, both male and female users played the game alone and as a team at regular intervals for one month. Participants were asked to use their usernames and behavior in the game, indicating their gender. The reactions received by both participants when playing the game well or poorly were analyzed to examine cyber violence from legal and psychological perspectives. As a preliminary result of the study, it was found that female participants received the most flirtatious offers and were subjected to verbal abuse and insults, even when playing the game well. Male participants, on the other hand, were subjected to verbal abuse and insults when playing the game both well and poorly. When the participants played the game together, it was found that female participants were subjected to cyber violence the most. This violence is most commonly expressed in the form of verbal abuse and insults. It is believed that examining cyber violence in digital games from legal and psychological perspectives will raise awareness about cyber violence.

Physical activity, sports participation and school exclusion: An analysis of the millennium cohort study.

Physical activity and modes of sport are widely adopted to promote health, wellbeing, behavioural outcomes and educational attainment in young people excluded from education. However, little is known about the physical activity or sports involvement of excluded young people or the role of participation on predictors and outcomes associated with exclusion. The study aimed to understand (i) how active excluded young people are, (ii) whether predictors of school exclusion are influenced by participation in physical activity or sport and (iii) if physical activity or sports participation moderates the relationship between school exclusion and health, behavioural and educational outcomes. Millennium Cohort Study Wave 6 data were analysed using linear multiple regression models. Participants were 11,066 young people. Dependent variables were physical activity or sports participation. Independent variables included school exclusion, body composition and physical health, cognitive and educational outcomes, crime, anti-social and harmful behaviours, mental health and individual demographic predictors. Multiple regression analysis of Millennium Cohort Study Wave 6 data indicates young people excluded from education participate in more (+20.71 ± 9.72, p = .03) minutes of physical activity but less (-22.38 ± 32.52, p = .49) minutes of sport than non-excluded participants. Physical activity or sport did not influence predictors or outcomes associated with exclusion. Findings indicate young people excluded from education participate in 8% more MVPA, but 13% less sport than peers not excluded from education. These findings highlight concerns related to the provision of school sports and physical education opportunities for young people excluded from education. Moreover, these findings question the role of physical activity or sport as a silver bullet within UK educational policy.

The role of social support in suicidal behavior: A literature review

Suicide is a harmful behavior and a public health problem. Suicide has been associated with negative stress coping. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of social support on suicidal behavior or intention. This study used a literature review method, sourced from national and international scientific journal articles. Articles were obtained through Google Scholar, PUBMED, Science Direct, and SAGE. This results of this study indicate a relationship between social support and suicidal behavior.

Collaborative Governance In The Rehabilitation Of Drug Abuse Victims In Medan City

This research examines collaborative governance in the rehabilitation of drug abuse victims in Medan City, North Sumatra Province. The drug phenomenon in this area is a serious problem with a high number of cases and suspects of drug crimes. Data from the Research, Data and Information Center of the National Narcotics Agency in 2021 recorded 41,084 cases of drug abuse and 53,405 suspects throughout Indonesia. North Sumatra became one of the provinces with the highest number of cases, reaching 6,077 cases, and Medan City accounted for 2,416 cases, the highest among other areas in the province. Collaborative actions were taken to prevent the development of drug abuse cases involving several key components. Medan Plus Foundation provides adequate rehabilitation facilities, including safe housing, specialized therapy rooms, and medical facilities. Regular education and counseling programs are implemented using lectures, group discussions, and visual presentations to raise awareness among victims and the community. In mentoring and counseling, Medan Plus Foundation applies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to change harmful mindsets and behaviors. Regular monitoring and evaluation are conducted with predetermined tools, including reports involving various relevant parties for transparency and accountability. Although collaborative efforts have been made, this study shows the need for further efforts to improve the effectiveness of the CBT program

Konseling Sebagai Metode Pemulihan PTSD Pada Anak Korban Pelecehan Seksual

This research discusses counseling as a method of PTSD recovery in child victims of sexual abuse. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological disorder that arises as a result of a traumatic event experienced or witnessed by an individual, which creates a sense of helplessness, resulting in serious disruption to one's quality of life. Recently, the phenomenon of sexual harassment has become increasingly rampant in society. Perpetrators are not only targeting adult victims, but also children. Sexual abuse experienced by a person can trigger the birth of PTSD. Victims of sexual abuse in children will cause physical and psychological trauma where psychological trauma will be heavier than physical trauma because it affects their social life. Significant psychological impacts, such as difficulties with various traumatic experiences, stigmatization, and even the potential risk of harmful behaviors such as self-mutilation or the tendency to become a perpetrator of sexual abuse in the future. Therefore, this issue needs to be addressed with behavioral counseling. This counseling assists children in learning to change problematic behaviors into applicable rules and norms. The purpose of counseling is to solve the client's problems or increase their strength to cope with life. This research uses a library research method, which is a method of collecting data by studying theories from various relevant literature.

Pandangan Terhadap Pendidikan Seksual Pada Remaja: Literature Review

Sex education holds significant importance for teenagers from an early age due to their vulnerability to misinformation about sex. This dissertation aims to (1) explore teenagers' perceptions of sex education and (2) identify the sources they rely on for obtaining information about sex. Furthermore, sex education plays a crucial role in enlightening teenagers about various harmful sexual behaviors, enabling them to steer clear of such practices. The research employs a literature review methodology to unearth diverse information on adolescent sex education. Firstly, understanding adolescents' perception of sex education is deemed essential and advantageous in addressing their developmental challenges during this transitional phase from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence entails significant biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes, making sex education a pertinent tool to assist them. Secondly, teenagers predominantly turn to mass media, encompassing print media like newspapers, magazines, and books, as well as electronic media such as television and gadgets, for their sexual education. The mass media, along with peers, serves as the primary source of sexual information and knowledge for teenagers, as opposed to receiving such education from family or school environments.

Negative emotionality downregulation affects moral choice but not moral judgement of harm: a pharmacological study

Previous neuroscientific research has expounded on the fundamental role played by emotion during moral decision-making. Negative emotionality has been observed to exert a general inhibitory effect towards harmful behaviors against others. Nevertheless, the downregulation of negative affects at different levels of moral processing (e.g. impersonal versus personal moral dilemmas) alongside its possible interactions with other factors (e.g. perspective taking) hasn’t been directly assessed; both of which can assist in predicting future moral decision-making. In the present research, we empirically test (Study 1, N = 41) whether downregulating negative emotionality through pharmacological interventions using lorazepam (a GABA receptor agonist), modulate the permissibility of harm to others –i.e. if participants find it more morally permissible to harm others when harm is unavoidable (inevitable harm moral dilemmas), than when it may be avoided (evitable harm moral dilemmas). Furthermore, using another sample (Study 2, N = 31), we assess whether lorazepam’s effect is modulated by different perspective-taking conditions during a moral dilemma task –e.g. “is it morally permissible for you to […]?” (1st person perspective), relative to “is it morally permissible for [x individual] to […]?” (3rd person perspective)–, where the outcome of the different scenarios is controlled. The results of both studies converge, revealing an emotion-dependent, rather than an outcome-dependent, pharmacological modulation. Lorazepam only influenced interpersonal moral judgments when not modulated by the evitable/inevitable condition. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between perspective-taking and drug administration, as lorazepam exerted a larger effect in modulating moral choices rather than moral judgements.

Pathways of depressive symptoms to self-harm and suicide warning signs during COVID-19 pandemic: The role of anxiety and related distress, dysfunction and somatization

BackgroundEarly in the COVID-19 pandemic, concern about widespread waves of depression and suicide emerged worldwide. Clarity on the relationship between mental health symptoms and warning signs of current self-harm or suicide thoughts and behaviors (ShSTB) in Mexican adults could be useful for designing effective public health policies and preventive strategies during health emergencies. ObjectiveThe present study uses a path model to explore the relationship between depressive symptoms, anxiety, and related distress, dysfunction, and somatization with ShSTB warning signs in Mexican adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also describes the relative risks of these mental health variables for men and women, and for those who were seeking psychological care versus those who were not. MethodThe study was conducted with 18,449 Mexicans (M = 33 years, SD = 11.00, range = 18–59), including 12,188 women (66.10 %) and 2706 (14.67 %) who were seeking psychological care. A web-based application included two multidimensional screening scales to evaluate depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms and related distress/dysfunction, as well as past and current ShSTB. Based on the participants' sex, the entire sample was randomly divided into two sub-samples to compare and replicate the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results, getting evidence of the multidimensionality of the scales. With the two sub-samples, we also tested the nested models from a structural equation model (SEM) to suggest a relationship between mental health and self-harm/suicide variables. FindingsOur findings suggest that 31 % of participants were at risk for depression, 42.30 % for anxiety, 38.30 % for Marked Distress, Dysfunction and Somatization (MDDS), 33.30 % for at least one ShSTB, and 4.20 % for Previous Self Harm Thoughts and Behaviors (PShTB) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A greater percentage of women and participants seeking psychological care showed high levels of mental health symptoms, PShTB, MDDS, and ShSTB. The path model suggested a direct influence of PShTB and MDDS on ShSTB. Depression symptoms lead to ShSTB in three possible ways: through PShTB, PShTB affecting MDDS, and generalized anxiety affecting MDDS. Discussion and outlookThe pandemic was accompanied by a high prevalence of depression-anxiety, marked distress, dysfunction and somatization and self-harm/suicide thoughts and behaviors. The findings of this study suggest evidence over the well-known association between depression and anxiety, and between depression, previous self-harm thoughts and behaviors, and self-harm/suicide. The evidence suggests to distinguish when participants were suffering from MDDS and anxious depression from those only suffering from depression. The methodological conditions of the study suggest a comprehensive model of ShSTB prevention. Findings also suggest the need to care for Mexicans with depressive symptoms and PShTB as well as those suffering from anxious depression with MDDS to prevent suicide, by implementing effective public health policies and preventive strategies to reduce the mental health gap during health emergencies. LimitationsThis research was a cross-sectional study, suggesting that future analyses should focus on the evaluation of its consistency with confirmed diagnoses of mental health disorders, self-harm/suicide risks, and the effect of remote psychological help to address these problems.

Marijuana use and its correlates among school-going Jamaican adolescents: a finding from a national survey.

The recent data indicate almost a fifth of Jamaican adolescents used marijuana in the past 30 days. To ensure the optimal allocation of resources, a country-specific understanding of factors associated with marijuana use among adolescents is essential. Therefore, this study aimed to address this gap among adolescents aged 13-17 years in Jamaica. We analyzed data from the recent Jamaica Global School-Based Student Health Survey conducted in 2017. The sample consists of school-going Jamaican adolescents of 7th-12th grades. The prevalence of recent marijuana use was assessed and compared across different demographics, substance use, and risk behaviors using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Older adolescents and men had a higher likelihood of recent marijuana use. Psychosocial risks, such as loneliness, frequent worry, suicidal ideation, physical attacks, and school absenteeism, were associated with higher marijuana usage. Parental smoking increased the odds, whereas strong parental support and awareness decreased it. Other substance uses, especially amphetamine and tobacco products, had strong associations with marijuana use. Early initiation of substances was associated with a higher risk of marijuana use. Sexually active adolescents, especially those initiated before the age of 14 years, had higher rates of marijuana use. The intricate link between harmful and supportive psychosomatic and risk behaviors with recent marijuana use highlights the importance of holistic interventions and policies focusing on emotional health, parental guidance, substance education, and sexual activity implications.

ПРОФИЛАКТИКА ВРЕДНЫХ ПРИВЫЧЕК И ДЕВИАНТНОГО ПОВЕДЕНИЯ СТУДЕНТОВ СРЕДСТВАМИ ФИЗИЧЕСКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ

This article examines the potential of physical education to prevent bad habits and deviant behavior in students. It discusses the role of physical activity in promoting positive physical, mental and social well-being, and how these effects can help reduce the likelihood of engaging in harmful behaviour. The article highlights the importance of integrating physical education as a core component of school programs to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent problem behavior. Research focuses on the importance of sports, travel and relaxation in nature for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and abstaining from harmful habits, behaviors and addictions.

Reflection-in-Action: Hate Speech and Discrimination towards Disability, Chronic Illness, and Mental Health Conditions

The complicated issues of hate speech and discrimination against people with disabilities, long-term diseases, and mental health conditions are discussed in this paper as a reflection-in-action. The study investigates how these harmful behaviors appear in diverse social contexts and their significant consequences on the psychological and social well-being of persons affected by them by engaging in a process of ongoing reflection and reaction. Donald Schön’s notion of reflection-in-action serves as a framework for analyzing in-the-moment reactions to discrimination and hate speech. This method emphasizes how crucial it is to identify and comprehend these problems right away in order to guide sympathetic and successful actions. The study analyzes examples of discrimination and hate speech through reflective practice, looking at the short- and long-term effects on people with disabilities, mental health conditions and chronic illnesses. In order to minimize harm and promote inclusivity, the process include understanding the wider social ramifications, acknowledging the emotional and psychological effects on victims, and modifying responses. The reflection’s main conclusions show that exposure to hate speech aggravates mental health conditions and has a detrimental effect on social engagement and emotional wellness. The aforementioned findings underscore the imperative for professionals to cultivate an elevated consciousness of these patterns and react with tact and well-informed strategies to foster restoration and equitable society. The paper also considers the ethical and societal obligations that communities and people have when it comes to combating prejudice and hate speech. In order to protect vulnerable populations, it need more robust legal frameworks and regulations, highlighting the crucial role that reflection-in-action may play in forming successful lobbying and policy-making. The final section of the study provides insightful analysis of the continued difficulties in preventing hate speech and prejudice, as well as solutions for policy, activism, and education. In the end, it promotes the continuous application of reflective practice by community members and professionals in order to improve understanding, assist those who are impacted, and encourage the development of a more just and inclusive society. This comprehensive reflection-in action highlights how timely responses and critical examination of hate speech and discrimination can lead to meaningful social change and positively impact the lives of individuals subjected to such harmful behaviors.

A Hybrid Learning-Architecture for Mental Disorder Detection Using Emotion Recognition.

Mental illness has grown to become a prevalent and global health concern that affects individuals across various demographics. Timely detection and accurate diagnosis of mental disorders are crucial for effective treatment and support as late diagnosis could result in suicidal, harmful behaviors and ultimately death. To this end, the present study introduces a novel pipeline for the analysis of facial expressions, leveraging both the AffectNet and 2013 Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) datasets. Consequently, this research goes beyond traditional diagnostic methods by contributing a system capable of generating a comprehensive mental disorder dataset and concurrently predicting mental disorders based on facial emotional cues. Particularly, we introduce a hybrid architecture for mental disorder detection leveraging the state-of-the-art object detection algorithm, YOLOv8 to detect and classify visual cues associated with specific mental disorders. To achieve accurate predictions, an integrated learning architecture based on the fusion of Convolution Neural Networks (CNNs) and Visual Transformer (ViT) models is developed to form an ensemble classifier that predicts the presence of mental illness (e.g., depression, anxiety, and other mental disorder). The overall accuracy is improved to about 81% using the proposed ensemble technique. To ensure transparency and interpretability, we integrate techniques such as Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) and saliency maps to highlight the regions in the input image that significantly contribute to the model's predictions thus providing healthcare professionals with a clear understanding of the features influencing the system's decisions thereby enhancing trust and more informed diagnostic process.

Антисоциальная креативность и личностные характеристики юношей в разных социально-политических условиях: связь и взаимодействие

Background. The relevance of the study is associated with the activation of malevolent creativity at the macro level in the form of information wars and isolation of Russia, which create threatening socio-political conditions, against the background of the special military operation in Ukraine. Objectives. Objective of the study was to find out whether there are differences at the micro-level in different socio-political conditions in malevolent creativity as well as to identify its connections with personal characteristics: hostility, the trait of “Agreeableness”, and moral identity. The following hypotheses were formulated: 1. The level of antisocial creativity varies in different contexts and will be higher in threatening socio-political conditions and 2. the relationship between such personal characteristics as hostility, Agreeableness, moral identity, and malevolent creativity will be different in different socio-political conditions. Study Participants. The study is a cross-sectional one. The first stage was carried out in 2019 with the participation of 81 young students from one of Moscow universities (mean age 19.2, SD = 1.2). 152 young students of the same Moscow university took part at the second stage in 2023 (mean age 19.1, SD = 1.29). Methods. Participants filled out forms with the questionnaires “NEO-FFI” (a shortened version of the questionnaire “NEO PI-R”), BRAQ-24, moral identity questionnaire, “Behavioral features of antisocial creativity”. Results. It is shown that there are differences in variables at the microsystem level in different sociopolitical conditions: MC and hostility are significantly lower, and moral identity and cooperation are significantly higher in the sample of 2023. The predictors of MC in the sample of 2023 were the traits of Agreeableness and hostility. In the sample of 2019, the trait of Agreeableness alone predicted MC. Differences in the strength of the relationship between the variables were revealed: in the sample of 2023, the relationship of hostility with antisocial creativity and the trait of Cooperation was significantly stronger than in the sample of 2019. Conclusions. In threatening socio-political conditions, young people with high hostility and low level on the “Agreeableness” trait fall into the risk group, due to the high probability of the realization of creativity in behavior that harms other people, while realization of MC in behavior may be restrained through actualizing moral identity. In a calm and peaceful period, moral identity and hostility are less relevant for the implementation of MC in harmful behavior, since the development of “Agreeableness” is important in this case.

AdversaFlow: Visual Red Teaming for Large Language Models with Multi-Level Adversarial Flow.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are powerful but also raise significant security concerns, particularly regarding the harm they can cause, such as generating fake news that manipulates public opinion on social media and providing responses to unethical activities. Traditional red teaming approaches for identifying AI vulnerabilities rely on manual prompt construction and expertise. This paper introduces AdversaFlow, a novel visual analytics system designed to enhance LLM security against adversarial attacks through human-AI collaboration. AdversaFlow involves adversarial training between a target model and a red model, featuring unique multi-level adversarial flow and fluctuation path visualizations. These features provide insights into adversarial dynamics and LLM robustness, enabling experts to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively. We present quantitative evaluations and case studies validating our system's utility and offering insights for future AI security solutions. Our method can enhance LLM security, supporting downstream scenarios like social media regulation by enabling more effective detection, monitoring, and mitigation of harmful content and behaviors.

Effect of socioeconomic status on life expectancy From the population to patients

Life expectancy exists along a social gradient, where those with a high socioeconomic status (SES) live longer. The effect of SES can be explained via behavioral, material, and psychosocial pathways, which can be modified through social and public health policies. The behavioral pathway states that harmful health behaviors, like smoking, are more common among those of lower SES. The material pathway states that SES give access to different health-beneficial resources, like safe housing or healthy food. Finally, the psychosocial pathway states that a low SES causes a lack of autonomy leading to chronic stress. Understanding how SES affects life expectancy has clinical implications and is important to reduce socioeconomic health inequalities at the population level.

Flora Nwapa's Efuru and toxic masculinity in Igbo Nigerian society

This work focuses on the concept of toxic masculinity in Igbo society, in relation to the two major male characters in Flora Nwapa's 1966 novel, Efuru, set in Igbo Nigerian society. The methodology applied in the study is the qualitative content analysis, using the theoretical tool of toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is viewed here in much the same way as it was viewed in the earlier years of its coinage (1980s). It describes the behaviour of “troubled” or “troubling” men who are labeled as “toxic” and needing therapy because of violence, or lack of engagement in family life, and employment (Harrington, 2020). This analysis reveals how the underachieving, non-committal and harmful behaviours of Adizua and Gilbert, the two leading male characters in Efuru, are indicative of toxic masculinity. Nwapa's Efuru therefore seems, at the time of its writing, a foreshadowing of the issue of toxic masculinity which has now become topical in the present day society of Nigeria. This paper reveals the urgent need for all stakeholders to devise sustainable means of breaking the incidence of toxic masculinity in real society. Literature reveals the paucity of works in the discussion of Nwapa's Efuru and indeed other African literary works from the angle of toxic masculinity. These factors collectively underscore the significance of this study.

Geographic pattern of the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women in Zanjan (Iran).

Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a serious public health issue and refers to physically, sexually and psychologically harmful behaviors as well as emotionally controlling behaviors and financial abuse that occur in the form of marriage or cohabitation. Knowing the current situation of the IPV prevalence against women and high-risk areas in the Zanjan city, Iran, can help policymakers to establish better health programs for risk reduction. This population-based cross-sectional study consisted of married women aged 18-55 years living in Zanjan city in 2021. 760 married women covered by 19 urban comprehensive health service centers (UCHSCs) were selected by the stratified systematic random sampling method. The prevalence of IPV against women was measured in four types: psychological, physical, sexual, and economic. Mean (SD) age of the women was 35.49 (8.76) years. 606 women (79.7%) experienced one type of IPV. The highest and lowest IPV prevalence against women were psychological (76.6%) and economic (12%), respectively. The highest and lowest prevalence of psychological violence were observed in CUHSCs 2 and 17, physical violence in CUHSCs 1 and 14, sexual violence in CUHSCs 2 and 17, and economic violence in CUHSCs 2 and 8, respectively. The severity of violence was higher among self-employment or workers husbands, with low monthly household income, and among younger women. The IPV rate in the target population is high, and the highest rate is related to psychological violence. These results highlight the need to intervention in the society and high-risk women for policymakers of the health system.

Effectiveness of Parental Behavioral Training on Distress Tolerance, Family Cohesion, and Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy in Mothers of Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms

Objective: Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is one of the behavioral disorders classified under destructive and harmful behavior disorders. Children with this disorder tend to destroy objects around them and defy the commands of parents and school authorities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of parental behavioral training on distress tolerance, family cohesion, and maternal parenting self-efficacy in mothers of children with symptoms of ODD. Methods and Materials: This study employed an experimental method. It was designed as a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, p1-10ost-test, follow-up, and control groups. The population of this study included all mothers of children with symptoms of ODD under the coverage of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee in Sari city during the academic year 2021-2022. Thirty individuals were selected through purposive sampling from among mothers of children with ODD and divided into two groups of 15 (one experimental and one control group). The experimental group received parenting training based on Choice Theory in eight 90-minute sessions, while the control group was placed on a waiting list. Measurement tools included the Distress Tolerance Scale by Simons and Gaher (2005), the Family Cohesion Scale by Olson (1999), and the Parenting Self-Efficacy Questionnaire by Dumka. Descriptive statistics (such as frequency tables, mean indexes, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (univariate analysis of covariance and Bonferroni post-hoc test) were used for data analysis, with SPSS-22 software facilitating the analysis process. Findings: The F-value of univariate analysis of covariance for the distress tolerance variable in the post-test (F=59.57, P=0.001) and follow-up (F=57.85, P=0.001), family cohesion in the post-test (F=45.52, P=0.001) and follow-up (F=47.13, P=0.001), and finally for the parenting self-efficacy variable in the post-test (F=39.48, P=0.001) and follow-up (F=41.14, P=0.001) were significant. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that parental behavioral training is effective in improving distress tolerance, family cohesion, and maternal parenting self-efficacy in mothers of children with symptoms of ODD.