ABSTRACT
Background: Cyberbullying is a major health issue across the globe as it affects the mental health and well-being of the victims, especially children and adolescents, since there is a dearth of studies in the Indian setting. This study aimed to understand the predictors, patterns, prevalence, mental health problems, and coping of cyberbullying among adolescents. Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional explorative design with 484 adolescents studying in 8th to 12th standards recruited through convenient sampling. The Cyberbullying Online Aggression Survey Instrument (COASI), Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Coping with Cyberbullying Questionnaire (CWCBQ), and Internet usage pattern were administered to collect the data. Multinomial logistic regression was used to find the predictors of the only cyber-victim, only cyber-offending, and both cyber-victim and cyber-offending. Results: The findings showed that 14.5% of teenagers were victims of cyberbullying, 5.8% were offenders, and 13.8% were both victims and offenders. The predictors for "cyber-victimization" were father's education and religion. The predictors of "cyber-offenders" were grade, Internet usage, and father's occupation. Adolescents identified as both cyber-victims and cyber-offenders were predicted by gender, grade, religion, and father's employment. Conclusion: The study indicated a high prevalence of cyber-victimization and cyber-offending among adolescents with many psychosocial risk factors. The findings highlighted the need for a school-based cyberbullying intervention program to address the issues using a whole-school approach.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Many psychiatric patients continue to stay for longer duration in psychiatric institutions. Community reintegration and rehabilitation of such patients needs to be explored to ensure appropriate bed occupancy rates and access to in-patient care for newer patients in need of the same. OBJECTIVES: The aim is to identify the risk and protective factors leading to long-term admission of mentally ill patients in tertiary care hospital. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted with all patients in the long-stay ward between May 2018 and February 2023. A retrospective chart review followed by cross sectional assessment of risks and disability was carried out with all the patients living in a long-stay psychiatric ward (N = 101) at a tertiary hospital in Bangalore, India, between May 2018 and February 2023. RESULTS: The hospital's average length of stay (LOS) was 5.70 ± 8.30 years. The risk and protective factors for LOS in psychiatric hospitals were analyzed using the Poisson Regression model. The results revealed that the male gender, diagnosis of schizophrenia or psychosis, clinicians' knowledge of family information, good clinical improvement, and higher participation in ward activities are the protective factors for a shorter hospital stay. While higher age, family history of mental illness, being married and employed, absence of children, and/or having family members rarely visiting the patient at the hospital were some factors that increased the risk of LOS. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the importance of possible LOS predictors in the tertiary care psychiatric hospital. The multi-disciplinary team may utilize risk and protective factors for delayed LOS to introduce comprehensive psychosocial interventions and policies that reduce the risk of delays or length of stay in mental health hospitals.
