Yok-Fong Paat

Mental health, which encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, not merely the absence of mental disorders, is a core human right

Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases continue to pose significant threats to lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in Africa, where h

Introduction: The innate desire to belong and form emotionally supportive bonds is a fundamental human need and a cornerstone of human existence. When the need for belonging is left unfulfilled, feelings of isolation can prevail. Objective: Using data from the 2021 Monitoring the Future study, a nationally representative dataset, this article investigated factors associated with two forms of youth disengagement—social disconnectedness and educational disengagement—among U.S. adolescents in 8th and 10th grades ( N = 23,238), focusing on the empirical link with remote learning, media usage, and familial, educational, and peer influences. Method: Data were analyzed using multiple regression analyses, with the Full Information Maximum Likelihood as the estimation procedure. Results: Overall, this study found a significant association between social disconnectedness and educational disengagement. Specifically, when youths disengaged from school, they also became socially disconnected. Further, remote learning was linked to increased social disconnectedness, but not educational disengagement, while media usage was connected to both forms of disengagement. The relationship between educational disengagement and social disconnectedness was more pronounced in males than females, while high media usage appeared to buffer the effects of social disconnectedness on educational disengagement. Additionally, parental involvement, education-related factors, and youths’ social engagement were significantly associated with both forms of youth disengagement. Discussion: This study underscores the need for purposeful interventions to support youths’ social and academic well-being in the post-pandemic era, especially in light of increasing digital media consumption.

There is a critical shortage of early intervention (EI) professionals who work with families of infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. Research suggests that many EI professionals are dissatisfied with pay and opportunities for career advancement and face stress due to overwork or lack of training. To inform efforts to retain EI professionals, we surveyed 427 EI professionals consisting of EI specialists, service coordinators, therapists, administrators, and staff to examine the relationship between various facets of job satisfaction (e.g., compensation, work, supervisors, management, co-workers, culture, training/mentoring), work-related factors (e.g., job roles, years of experience, program turnover/shortages, intent to leave), and socio-demographics (e.g., age, Hispanic ethnicity, educational attainment). Our findings suggested that respondents’ dissatisfaction with work was most closely associated with their intent to leave in the next year. In addition, respondents working in programs with high levels of turnover were more dissatisfied with management, while respondents working in programs with staff shortages were more dissatisfied with EI work. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Optimism and pessimism are psychological constructs that reflect individuals’ generalized expectations for future outcomes, often manifesting as positive or negative anticipations of outcomes across diverse life scenarios. The study of optimism and pessimism among veterans is particularly pressing due to the distinctive challenges and experiences they face both during and after military service. Using a sample of veterans in the United States ( n = 1,495), this study examined predictors of loneliness among veterans, focusing on the role of life outlook (optimism versus pessimism) on their post-military well-being. Overall, results from multiple regression analyses showed that respondents who displayed higher levels of optimism exhibited lower levels of loneliness ( B = −0.017, p < 0.001), whereas higher levels of pessimism were associated with higher levels of loneliness ( B = 0.021, p < 0.001). Furthermore, respondents who placed a high value on serving others and experienced higher levels of guilt reported higher levels of loneliness. Additionally, respondents’ levels of pessimism were linked to how their guilt levels influenced their levels of loneliness, underscoring the complexity of these relationships in shaping loneliness. In the realm of mental health, respondents who reported negative emotions, substance misuse, and suicidal thoughts experienced higher levels of loneliness than those who did not, but these effect sizes were attenuated when accounting for their levels of optimism and pessimism, suggesting that optimism and pessimism cannot be understood as a simple construct along a single continuum. Furthermore, respondents’ levels of satisfaction with their living conditions were negatively linked to their levels of loneliness. When their sociodemographics were considered, Black, Hispanic, and married respondents were less lonely than their White and unmarried counterparts, respectively. Understanding the risk and protective factors shaping veterans’ health ecologies is critical to informing effective health promotion initiatives and improving practice outcomes.

Effective community health initiatives are grounded in strategic collaboration among community-based organizations and local residents to ensure the interventions are responsive to the community’s unique needs. Drawing on insights from community partners and project participants, this study explored key factors that facilitated, hindered, and strengthened community engagement, collaboration, and sustainability in health promotion efforts for underserved populations on the U.S.-Mexico border. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to gather the perspectives and insights of community partners and participants regarding effective health promotion strategies developed through our collaborative project. Data were collected from 15 community partners who have collaborated with our project and 15 participants who had attended our project events (n = 30). Our study identified four major themes: (1) key attributes and perceived value of effective health promotion activities, (2) tailored approaches for engaging underserved populations, (3) strategies for successful partnerships, and (4) ways to enhance health promotion and barriers to overcome. Practice implications are discussed.

Youth violence—the deliberate use of physical force or harm by young people between the ages of 10 and 24 to intimidate or cause harm to others, both online and offline—is a critical public health issue in the United States. Yet, successfully predicting future violent offenders is a complex and challenging task, as the question of why some youths resort to extreme violence while others refrain from it—despite facing similar risk factors—remains widely debated. This article highlights both risk and protective factors of youth violence through a socio-ecological lens to offer a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted factors driving youth violence in the United States. To understand the interconnectedness between individual factors and the broader environments in which individuals are embedded, we outline the risk and protective factors related to youth violence across five socio-ecological levels: (1) individual, (2) interpersonal, (3) neighborhood, (4) cultural, and (5) life course. Approaching youth violence from a holistic lens offers a greater opportunity to mitigate contributing factors and to address the deleterious impacts of this complex issue. Practice and research implications are discussed.

Drawing from the insights of community partners, this study explored the roles and benefits of arts-based approaches to foster civic learning, critical media literacy, and community engagement. It also uncovered approaches to promote kindness, prevent violence, and combat online extremism, offering insights into strategies that may enhance community engagement and create a positive impact. We presented our model framework, a detailed case study of our project, and qualitative methods incorporating 15 interviews with our community partners to capture a broad range of perspectives and experiences. Interviewees were community partners who collaborated with our project in organizing events and activities using an arts-based approach to promote kindness, awareness, and violence prevention since the inception of the project. Data were analyzed using thematic data analysis. We categorized the community partners’ responses into four key themes: (1) the inherent benefits of the arts, (2) promoting kindness and preventing violence through artistic expression, (3) teaching civic responsibility through the arts, and (4) practical strategies for collaborating with community partners. The practice implications and lessons learned were discussed.

Background: Seeking mental health care is crucial for supporting effective reintegration among veterans. The U.S.–Mexico border presents a compelling and urgent case for study due to its proximity to economically marginalized and medically underserved areas, where the availability and accessibility of services are often limited. Objective: This study explored veterans’ mental health challenges and factors that hindered their adjustment to civilian life on the U.S.–Mexico border. Methods: A total of 36 veterans were recruited using purposive sampling from a mental health agency located in Southwestern Texas on the U.S.–Mexico border between November 2023 and May 2024 to complete an in-depth semi-structured interview and a brief survey. Results: Using thematic analysis, we found six themes associated with our study: (1) mental health struggles, (2) enduring military-influenced mindset, (3) adjustment to civilian life, (4) strained family relationships, (5) past victimization and discrimination, and (6) barriers to opportunities and mental health care. Conclusion: Understanding veterans’ mental health well-being and their prospects for integration into the civilian world is critical for identifying risk and protective factors that can inform the development of targeted health promotion initiatives, strengthen the implementation of equitable health care efforts, and support strategies for enhancing treatment access that address the unique needs of veterans in the border region. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Drawing from the socio-ecological model, this study examined the relationships between child, family, and neighborhood/community factors and self-regulation among five subgroups of adolescents aged 12–17 years with developmental challenges and delays (Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder, developmental delay, learning disability, and intellectual disability). Data for this study came from the 2019 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally representative dataset (n=3,181). Using multiple regression analyses, we found that not all five subgroups of adolescents shared similar experiences. In sum, having good health and health insurance was positively associated with self-regulation, while adverse childhood experiences and being bullied were negatively linked to self-regulation. Family and neighborhood/community-related variables that were positively related to adolescents’ self-regulation consisted of parent-child closeness, having college-educated parents, household food security, and parents’ knowledge of where to obtain help in their neighborhood. Family variables negatively associated with adolescents’ self-regulation included living in two-parent households and receiving public assistance, but only for adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Socio-demographic variables significantly linked to adolescents’ self-regulation were biological sex, age, Hispanic ethnicity, and race. Future research and practice should focus on identifying and addressing the diverse ecological factors influencing adolescents’ social-emotional development to improve behavioral outcomes and support their transition to adulthood.