Martie P. Thompson

Evidence demonstrates that individual and contextual factors are critical predictors of poor health outcomes at key life stages, including youth and young adulthood. Little is still known how the unprecedented COVID‐19 pandemic affected health outcomes like substance use and how this varied across key demographics and community characteristics. This analysis aims to examine how individual and community contexts interact to predict the risk of substance use outcomes among young people (ages 24 and younger) with additional consideration of the COVID‐19 pandemic. We employ generalized logistic mixed models to examine the main and interactive effects of individual and community context in predicting substance use‐related emergency department (ED) visits. We assess effect modification of this association by key individual variables (age, race, sex, income—using insurance as proxy), community variables (community economic deprivation—derived from principal component analysis), and the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results show low‐income youth are associated with higher risks of substance use compared to their higher income peers (OR _Uninsured :1.82, CI:1.81–1.83). Community context moderated risk, particularly for children in low‐income communities (OR _Alcohol :3.39, CI:1.94–5.93). Findings further demonstrate a higher risk of substance use ED visits during the pandemic among low‐income youth (OR _{PublicInsurance} :1.09, CI:1.07–1.10) and youth in low‐income communities (OR:1.03, CI:1.01–1.05), those 18 and younger (OR _Adolescents :1.25, CI:1.23–1.27), and Black (OR:1.32, CI:1.30–1.33), Indigenous (OR:1.17, CI:1.12–1.22), and Hispanic youth (OR:1.13, CI:1.11–1.15). Results emphasize the ongoing need for substance use resources targeted to young people in low‐income and median‐income communities, particularly younger youth and youth of color, who are associated with marked increases in substance use in recent years.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide risk is higher among those who have experienced more adverse childhood events (ACEs). Yet the impact of ACEs on suicide risk could potentially be buffered by individual-level psychological characteristics. The purpose of this study was to test whether resiliency moderated the association between ACEs and suicide attempts. Using prospective data from a large, nationally representative sample of 8,671 respondents surveyed over 30 years, we found that although each additional ACE increased the odds for making a suicide attempt by 56%, these odds were significantly lower when resilience was high. Post hoc probing of the significant interaction term indicated that when ACEs were high, but resiliency was low, the probability that a participant had made a suicide attempt was 4.4%, compared to 1.6% when ACEs were high, but resiliency was also high. Our findings on the importance of resiliency in promoting mental health indicate the need for programs designed to promote resiliency across different settings.

An important aspect of conducting peer observation of teaching (POT) is the observational form that guides the observation process. Although several published POT forms are available for faculty to use, these forms tend to be unique to the academic discipline, with none originating from the perspective of faculty in the field of public health. As such, the purpose of this study was to create a new POT form grounded in the published literature that could be used for in-person classes for a newly established Department of Public Health. This study used a modified Delphi method with 10 faculty experts in the department, ranging in academic title and years of experience in teaching, observing others’ teaching, and being observed as a teacher. A foundation of 657 relevant items found in 33 published POT forms were used for six phases of anonymous surveys, group discussions, and pilot testing. The final POT form consisted of 22 new items that represented over 30 categories of established, observable teaching practices, and a dichotomous measurement scale with open ended text boxes. The study underscored previous research regarding the utility of the Delphi method, which included allowing for instructor buy-in on the items that would be used to evaluate their own teaching practices.

Sexual violence is a significant concern on college campuses in the USA, where approximately 5% of men and 25% of women experience victimisation during their time at college. Sexuality minority women in particular are at higher risk for experiencing sexual violence than their cisgender counterparts. Bisexual women (46.1%) are particularly vulnerable, experiencing higher rates of sexual violence than both their lesbian (13.1%) and heterosexual peers (17.4%). Set against this background, the aim of this study was to understand the increased vulnerability to sexual violence and the factors that impact disclosure among LGBTQ+ women in college. The study revealed the following findings: current education surrounding sexual assault is entrenched in heteronormativity; traditional definitions of rape do not encompass LGBTQ+ experiences; and inclusive community support and resources are instrumental in helping LGBTQ+ individuals feel they can disclose. Study findings can help inform intervention strategies to support students on US college campuses who are part of sexuality and gender minority groups.

Sexual violence is a significant problem on college campuses, affecting approximately one in four women.1,2 National estimates indicate that approximately one in four college women experience sexua...

The pandemic contributed to an ongoing youth mental health crisis, though mental health burdens are disproportionately distributed within youth populations. The objective of this study was to identify latent trajectories of youth suicide risk during the COVID‐19 pandemic and examine differential risk by demographic subgroups. We leverage a national crisis dataset ( n = 6741 youth in crisis) and employ latent Markov models and multinomial logistic regression to identify suicide risk classes and model within‐person suicide risk trajectories from pre‐pandemic to the extended pandemic response period (2019–2022) among a cohort of young people (ages 24 and younger). This analysis identified three suicide risk classes: low risk (sample ranges from 4831 to 5199 texters across periods), high risk (sample ranges from 1246 to 1030 texters across periods), and very high risk (sample ranges from 664 to 506 texters across periods). Overall, suicide risk declined during the pandemic (e.g., low risk class +5.4 percentage points). Yet, person‐centered results emphasize variable risk for younger youth, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth, and Black/African American youth across pandemic periods. Specifically, younger youth (i.e., 13 and under) were associated with 50% higher odds than youth 18–24 years to transition from low to very high (OR: 1.50, CI: 1.05–2.15) and 93% higher odds to transition from very high to low risk (OR: 1.93, CI: 1.44–2.61). TGD youth were associated with the highest odds of transitioning to high‐risk classes during the early pandemic (OR _{Low_VeryHigh} : 1.79, CI: 1.33–2.41), compared to girls/women. Black/African American youth were associated with 122% higher odds of transitioning to very high risk during the extended pandemic period (OR: 2.22, CI: 1.24–3.97), compared to White youth. Gender identity, race, and age were significantly associated with changing suicide risk among youth during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results emphasize the immediate and prolonged need for effective suicide risk reduction efforts among young people.

Background: Prioritising the mental health of adolescents and young adults during climate change is essential to their overall wellbeing. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) included preventing and treating non-communicable diseases and mental health conditions as part of the 10 global health issues to track. Evidence regarding the effect of climate change on mental health conditions in Southern Africa is lacking. Aim: This scoping review aims to document the influence of climate change on adolescents and young adults’ mental health. Setting: The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Methods: There were 14 electronic bibliographic databases that were searched together with a grey literature search. Two reviewers independently screened and appraised identified articles. All relevant data were extracted and mapped according to three categories: (1) type of climate change, (2) impact and loss experience and (3) health promotion interventions. Results: We identified seven studies showing the influence of climate change on adolescents and young adults’ mental health in Southern Africa. Three (n = 3), 50%, of the studies appear to indicate the influence of climate change on mental health as being more long-lasting signified by symptoms of traumatisation. Conclusion: Higher rates of depression were associated with the type of climate disaster such as those found in those who experienced drought and floods. Contribution: Our review also highlighted a gap for future studies indicating health promotion interventions as being mostly social support and minimal indication of health system interventions. Future research may be necessary to provide multi-sectorial interventions of support.

Background: The mental health of youth represents a critical public health issue and has worsened over the course of the pandemic, partially attributed to social isolation and school closures. Methods: This analysis leveraged data on school learning modality (COVID‐19 School Data Hub), emergency department (ED) visits (North Carolina SHEPS data), and school‐district characteristics (National Center for Education Statistics) to investigate how school learning modality predicts mental health‐related ED visitation in the state of North Carolina. Generalized linear mixed models were employed to quantify how the odds of mental health ED visitation varied with school learning modality. Models adjust for school‐level covariates (e.g., broadband, student:teacher ratio) and patient‐level characteristics (age, sex). Patient and school data are nested within counties, which were included as a random effect to address potential clustering within the data. Results: In‐person (odds ratios [OR]: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85–0.99) and hybrid (odds ratios: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93–0.98) modalities were associated with lower ORs for ED visits due to mental health compared to a virtual learning modality. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: School districts should consider increasing the provision of mental health services for students during circumstances in which a virtual learning modality is utilized and consider adopting hybrid learning rather than virtual learning when feasible. Conclusions: School administrators should seek to balance students' mental health and learning needs in times of crisis.