GPS: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Sexual Health Counseling for Gay and Bisexual Men Living With HIV

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) continue to have high rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis. GBM have therefore been identified by public health agencies as a high-priority population to reach with prevention initiatives. Despite the importance of mental health in preventing HIV and related infections, there is a shortage of credentialed mental health professionals to deliver behavioral Counseling interventions. The current study evaluated the efficacy of GPS, a community-based and peer-delivered sexual health promotion motivational interviewing–based intervention for HIV-positive GBM who engaged in condomless anal sex (CAS) in the past 2 months. GPS prevention counseling demonstrated a 43% relative reduction at 3-month follow-up in CAS with serodiscordant partners and significant reductions in sexual compulsivity. The study demonstrated that community-based counselors can administer an efficacious motivational interviewing program, and suggests a continued benefit of counseling methods to promote the sexual health of higher risk populations.     

Doxing Racists

The Journal of Value Inquiry -     

Theorizing the Temporal Aspect of Ikigai or Life Worth Living among Japanese University Students: a Mixed-Methods Approach

Although cross-cultural and non-Western studies have advanced our knowledge on well-being, many studies have adopted English words including ‘happiness’ as their guiding concepts, which may have limited and biased their insight. The current study is part of a larger mixed-methods project that theorizes how Japanese university students pursue ikigai or a life worth living. The first qualitative study, based on 27 photo-elicitation interviews, generated a grounded theory of houkousei, or life directionality. Our qualitative findings suggested that when students formed explicit associations among the past, present, and future, they gained strong ikigai feelings. These associations were developed either cognitively by mentally associating existing present experiences with the past or future, or behaviourally by strategically choosing current experiences more pertinent to the past or future than alternatives. These actions resulted in two subjective states: life legacy and life momentum. Life legacy was the perception that one’s past had meaningfully contributed to his or her present experiences, life, and self. Life momentum meant the belief that one’s present experiences were helping him or her achieve the desired future. Lastly, having defining past experiences and setting clear goals both facilitated the associative actions. To further validate this theory, we collected online survey data from a national sample of 672 Japanese students. Our quantitative results, based on partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), largely supported our theoretical model. Our findings are discussed in light of the ikigai and eudaimonic well-being literatures.

     

The quality of sucking in infants with colic

Feeding problems have been reported in infants with colic. The purpose of this study was to examine the nutritive sucking pattern of infants identified as having colic. Twenty-nine infants (16 with colic and 13 controls) between the ages of 1 to 3 months, being bottle-fed by their mothers, were observed by a blind examiner. We hypothesized that infants with colic would show greater disorganization in nutritive sucking and show greater variability in sucking rate than infants without colic, as assessed by the revised Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS). Infants with colic were found to present a disorganized sucking pattern; namely, a lack of rhythmical movement and a difference in amount of sucks per burst than infants without colic. Methods of intervention are suggested.