The evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practices towards an emerging disease is an essential component of public health preventive measures during an outbreak. In October 2022, an outbreak of cholera was reported in Lebanon, which is the first to be reported in the Middle Eastern country for 30 years. This study aimed to explore the level of knowledge as well as attitude and practice of the general public in Lebanon towards cholera. A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed via an online link to individuals living in Lebanon during October–November 2022. The survey instrument comprised items to assess the sociodemographic data; questions on knowledge about cholera symptoms, transmission, and prevention; as well as attitude and practice questions. Our study involved 553 participants, with a median age of 24 years and a majority of females (72.5%). The results showed that the majority of respondents correctly identified diarrhea as a symptom of cholera and recognized the spread via contaminated water and food. Having a university level education compared with secondary school or less (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.09), being married compared with single (aOR = 1.67), and working in the medical field compared with unemployed (aOR = 4.19) were significantly associated with higher odds of having good cholera knowledge. Having good knowledge compared with having a poor level of cholera knowledge (aOR = 1.83) and older age (aOR = 1.03) were significantly associated with higher odds of having a good attitude towards cholera. The current study showed an overall high knowledge score on cholera among the Lebanese population. Nevertheless, gaps in cholera knowledge were identified and should be addressed, particularly among workers in the medical field. Thus, we recommend targeted health education to the general population that aims to strengthen the health resilience in the community.
Background The Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (IEQ) is an 11-item instrument designed to evaluate the behavioural and psychological components of inflexible eating. However, the psychometric properties of the instrument have been infrequently examined, and no previous work has examined its utility in the context of the Middle East. Methods A total of 826 Lebanese citizens and residents completed a novel Arabic translation of the IEQ, as well as previously validated measures of body appreciation, functionality appreciation, and disordered eating. Results The unidimensional factor structure of the IEQ was upheld through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, with all 11 items retained. We obtained evidence of scalar invariance across gender and found that there were no significant differences in observed IEQ scores between men and women. IEQ scores were also found to have adequate composite reliability and adequate patterns of concurrent validity. Conclusion The present findings provide support for the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the IEQ in examining inflexible eating in Arabic-speaking adults in Lebanon. Plain English Summary Inflexible or rigid dietary restraint reflects an all-or-none approach that encompasses feeling compelled to obey a set of self-imposed dieting rules (e.g., avoiding high-calorie food, calorie counting, fasting to lose weight and/or skipping meals), having a sense of self-control and feeling empowered when adhering to these rules, and not respecting or following internal/external cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite. Therefore, the inflexible eating construct is composed of two dimensions, the first one is behavioural (i.e., obeying restrictive dietary rules) and the second one is psychological (i.e., the belief that following these rules is a consistent must). Until recently, the measures designed to assess inflexible eating focused on the behavioral dimension, while omitting to account for the psychological processes underlying the construct. To bridge this gap, the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (IEQ), an 11-item self-report measure, was developed to assess both the behavioural and psychological components of dietary restraint. To date, the IEQ is not yet validated in Arabic. Through the present study, we aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the IEQ, which would in turn facilitate improved research and clinical practices related to dietary restraint in Arabic-speaking nations. Overall, findings provided support for the good psychometric qualities of the Arabic version of the IEQ, which suggests its utility for detecting inflexible eating in Arabic-speaking adults.
(1) Background: The purpose of the present study was to validate the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) and the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form (BPAQ-SF) and test whether repetitive negative thinking plays an indirect role in the relationship between bullying victimization and aggression among Lebanese adolescents. (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2022 and included 379 Lebanese adolescent students (64.9% females, mean age 16.07 years). (3) Results: The three-factor solution of the PTQ and the four-factor solution of the BPAQ-SF showed excellent model fit. PTQ mediated the association between bullying victimization and physical aggression, verbal aggression, hostility, and anger. (4) Conclusions: This study expands on previous research by showing that repetitive negative thinking, an impactful socio-cognitive factor for students’ mental health, has a mediating (indirect) effect on the cross-sectional relationship between bullying victimization and aggression. This suggests that interventions aiming to prevent aggressive behaviors among adolescent students may be more effective if focused on repetitive negative thinking.
(1) Background: Bullying victimization has been associated with several behavioral outcomes, particularly loneliness. Similarly, an increase in social network use has been identified in recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been shown to be associated with bullying and loneliness. Investigating the mediating factors of loneliness among bullied adolescents is useful for taking preventive measures in the Lebanese population. This study aims to examine the association between bullying victimization and loneliness among Lebanese adolescents while considering the indirect effect of problematic social network use. (2) Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study, between January and April 2022, that enrolled 379 adolescent Lebanese students (64.9% females, mean age 16.07 ± 1.19 years) who were current residents of Lebanon (15 to 18 years), and were from the five governorates of Lebanon (Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North, South and Bekaa). The snowball method was applied to select our sample; an electronic copy of the questionnaire was created using the Google Forms software and an online strategy was designed to collect the data. (3) Results: Negative social comparison and addictive consequences of problematic use of social network mediated the association between bullying victimization and loneliness. Higher bullying victimization was significantly associated with higher negative social comparison and addictive consequences of problematic use of social network, which in turn were significantly associated with more loneliness. Finally, higher bullying victimization was directly significantly associated with more loneliness. (4) Conclusions: Studying the mediating factors of loneliness in bullied adolescents can improve our understanding of this topic, allowing us to propose new interventions to prevent psychological problems in adolescents. Future studies are needed to further clarify the physiological processes that underlie the associations between social triggers and loneliness during adolescence.
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