Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who are subjected to social stigma. This study tested the protective role of LGB-tailored social media uses and gratifications in promoting LGB group membership, which we hypothesized to reduce LGB stigma and enhance mental health among LGB individuals in Hong Kong. Based on a sample of 233 Chinese LGB individuals in Hong Kong, structural equation modeling showed evidence for our hypotheses, χ(df=62)(2)= 88.20, GFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.98, NNFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.04. Community surveillance, identity expression, and emotional support on social media may promote mental health by instilling a sense of group membership and reducing stigma. Social media may build camaraderie and bolster resilience among LGB individuals that may otherwise be difficult in conservative regions.

The present study applied the common sense model (i.e., cause, controllability, timeline, consequences, and illness coherence) to understand public attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking intention and to examine the mediating role of perceived controllability between causal attributions with public attitudes and help seeking. Based on a randomized household sample of 941 Chinese community adults in Hong Kong, results of the structural equation modeling demonstrated that people who endorsed cultural lay beliefs tended to perceive the course of mental illness as less controllable, whereas those with psychosocial attributions see its course as more controllable. The more people perceived the course of mental illness as less controllable, more chronic, and incomprehensible, the lower was their acceptance and the greater was mental illness stigma. Furthermore, those who perceived mental illness with dire consequences were more likely to feel greater stigma and social distance. Conversely, when people were more accepting, they were more likely to seek help for psychological services and felt a shorter social distance. The common sense model provides a multidimensional framework in understanding public's mental illness perceptions and stigma. Not only should biopsychosocial determinants of mental illness be advocated to the public, cultural myths toward mental illness must be debunked.

There is little data on whether school discipline or juvenile justice sanctions are directed disproportionately toward sexual minority youth (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning; LGBQ) compared with heterosexual youth and even less on factors that may relate to such disparities. We tested for sexual orientation-based disparities in school suspension and juvenile justice system involvement, and tested a model linking students' sexual orientation to victimization, punishable infractions (substance use, truancy, weapon carriage on school property), and disciplinary actions. Using cross-sectional data from the 2012 Dane County Youth Assessment, we compared 869 LGBQ youth to 869 heterosexual youth (a comparison sample selected through propensity score matching) in Grades 9 to 12 (60.6% female; 74.7% White). LGBQ youth were more likely to report school suspension and juvenile justice system involvement than heterosexual youth. We documented minimal support for a differential behavior explanation: sexual orientation-based differences on discipline were only weakly mediated through victimization and punishable infractions. Instead, a multiple group comparison showed that the paths from infraction engagement to discipline sanctions were not invariant for LGBQ and heterosexual youth: With higher rates of infractions, the odds were greater for LGBQ youth to have experienced punitive discipline than for heterosexual youth. Our findings underscore the need for psychologists, educators, and juvenile justice professionals to give attention to discipline disparities faced by sexual minority youth.

Objective: As budgets tighten and demand grows, domestic violence (DV) programs are facing enormous pressure to demonstrate the impact of their work. A critical challenge to doing so is the absence of outcome measures that reflect DV programs’ missions and survivors’ goals for themselves. Academic-community partnerships are critical to developing such measures. The 2 aims of this study were to (a) develop and validate a measure—the Measure of Victim Empowerment Related to Safety (MOVERS)—that taps a key goal shared by DV program staff and program participants, and (b) draw on and model the benefits of community-based participatory research. Method: We evaluated the factor structure, reliability, and validity of MOVERS through a 2-stage process in which we developed a university-community partnership with 17 DV programs across the Northeast and administered a survey to 230 help-seeking survivors. Results: A scree plot and parallel analysis supported a 3-factor solution, with subscales assessing the extent to which a survivor (a) has developed a set of safety-related goals and a belief in her ability to accomplish them, (b) perceives that she has the support she needs to move toward safety, and (c) senses that her actions toward safety will not cause new problems in other domains. Each subscale demonstrated good internal reliability and construct validity. Conclusion: MOVERS provides a tool for assessing a key dimension of survivors’ experience and enables the evaluation of domestic violence program practices in ways that are consistent with core program and survivor goals.

Numerous studies have assessed risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) among heterosexual couples around the globe. Nevertheless, few have addressed the same issue among same-sex couples, especially in cultures where same-sex intimate relationships have gained little acceptance. This exploratory study evaluated the substantial risk and protective factors for same-sex IPV based on gender-neutral theories. Three hundred and six Hong Kong residents who have been in a same-sex romantic relationship completed a web-based questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses indicated that relationship conflict and poor anger management were risk factors both of psychological and physical perpetration. Dominance and substance abuse were respectively associated with psychological aggression and physical battering despite their small effect sizes. Psychological aggression was also found to mediate the relationship between conflict and physical assault, and that between anger management and physical assault. Interventions related to the array of risk and protective factors were discussed and recommended.