BackgroundPostpartum depression (PPD) has a 20% 3-month prevalence rate. The consequences of PPD are significant for the mother, infant, and the family. There is a need for preventive interventions for PPD, which are effective and accessible; however, many barriers exist for women who attempt to access perinatal depression prevention programs. Internet interventions for the treatment and prevention of depression are widely accepted as efficacious and may overcome some of the issues pertaining to access to treatment barriers perinatal women face. However, internet interventions offered without any human support tend to have low adherence but positive outcomes for those who do complete treatment. Internet support groups often have high levels of adherence but minimal data supporting efficacy as a treatment for depression. Taken together, these findings suggest that combining the treatment components of individual interventions with the support provided by an internet support group might create an intervention with the scalability and cost-effectiveness of an individual intervention and the better outcomes typically found in supported interventions.ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe the development of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) internet intervention with peer support to prevent PPD and examine preliminary depression and site usage outcomes.MethodsUser-centered design groups were used to develop the internet intervention. Once the intervention was developed, women who were 20 to 28 weeks pregnant with symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8 scores of 5-14) but who had no major depression diagnosis were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare 8 weeks of a CBT-based internet intervention with peer support to an individual internet intervention designed to prevent PPD. Assessments took place at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks (end of treatment), and then 4 weeks and 6 weeks postpartum.ResultsA total of 25 women were randomized. Of these, 24 women completed the RCT. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores at 6 weeks postpartum remained below the clinical threshold for referral for treatment in both groups, with depression measures showing a decrease in symptoms from baseline to postpartum. At 6 weeks postpartum, only 4% (1/24) met the criteria for PPD. There was no difference between groups in adherence to the intervention, with an average of 14.55 log-ins over the course of treatment.ConclusionsResults suggest women were responsive to both peer support and individual internet interventions to prevent PPD and that peer support may be a useful feature to keep participants adherent.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02121015; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02121015 (archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/765a7qBKy)

Men’s perceptions of women’s sexual interest were studied in a sample of 250 male undergraduates, who rated 173 full-body photos of women differing in expressed cues of sexual interest, attractiveness, provocativeness of dress, and the social-environmental context into which the woman’s photo had been embedded. Environmental context significantly influenced men’s judgments of sexual interest, independently of the affective cues of sexual interest themselves and of provocativeness of dress and attractiveness. Cue usage was moderated by men’s risk for sexual aggression, as measured by a rape-myth inventory, with higher-risk men (relative to lower-risk men) relying significantly less on affective cues, relying significantly more on attractiveness, and showing a non-significant tendency to rely more on environmental cues. Men exhibited a moderate degree of insight into individual differences in their cue usage. Analysis of individual differences in cue usage suggested that men’s judgments of women’s momentary sexual interest varied along two dimensions: (1) men who relied more on affective cues were less likely to rely on women’s attractiveness (r = −0.73); and (2) men who were influenced more by provocativeness of dress were also likely to rely more on environmental context (r = 0.49). Results suggest that variation in contextual variables should be included in cognitive-training programs designed to improve the accuracy of men’s judgments of women’s affective responses. Ultimately, such training programs may prove useful as an adjunct to prevention programs for sexual aggression.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to argue that substance use is a real risk for people who experience disaster, and especially so for socially vulnerable populations; second, to incorporate questions that help measure substance use during the disaster life cycle in pre-existing data sets. Design/methodology/approach -The authors provide a critical review and discussion of what is missing from current drug use data sets, and how they could incorporate collection techniques for disaster stricken populations. The manuscript is not based on research but helps develop and test hypotheses. The authors are more discursive, and review philosophical discussions and comparative studies of other pre-existing data sets that collect substance use information. Findings -Although it would take some effort to change these pre-existing national surveys, it could be done, which would allow researchers to collect much more extensive and informative data with regard to substance use during the disaster life cycle. Research limitations/implications -This manuscript is a commentary/discussion piece that proposes ideas for improved data collection. Ideally, the authors would be able to test these updated surveys. Practical implications -Improved data collection methods, and improved emergency response and recovery. Social implications -Having the ability to collect these data will ultimately make communities more resilient. Originality/value -The authors argue that the overlap of crime and disaster, in which substance use during the disaster life cycle falls, is an extremely understudied area. As the field of disaster studies continues to grow, the methodological and theoretical challenges of studying crime and disaster have prevented this sub-field from advancing. The authors wish to advance the discipline by pushing toward improved data collection during substance use during the disaster life cycle.

The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to examine the outcomes and acceptability of a spiritual intervention for moral injury led by veteran peers in a Veteran Service Organization (VSO), called "Heroes to Heroes." From baseline to 1-year follow-up, 101 veterans who participated in the intervention completed the evaluation surveys at four time points assessing psychological outcomes (moral injury, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms, and life satisfaction), spiritual outcomes (spiritual struggles and spiritual transcendence), and their perceived helpfulness of the program. In addition, we conducted four focus groups with six to eight alumni to more fully understand veterans' views and experiences of the program. Focusing on the longitudinal surveys, latent growth modeling analyses revealed veterans generally improved across the psychological and spiritual outcomes in the study. Specifically, veterans reported steady decreases in moral injury outcomes, PTSD symptoms, and spiritual struggles along with increased life satisfaction and spiritual transcendence over the 1-year period. An inductive content analysis of veterans' responses to open-ended items in the surveys and focus group interviews revealed four possible mechanisms or facilitators of these outcomes: (a) social connectivity and belonging (e.g., shared vulnerability and camaraderie); (b) behavioral engagement in core aspects of their spirituality (e.g., sacred practices and visiting sacred places); (c) spiritual transformation and growth (e.g., closeness with God and divine forgiveness); and (d) appreciation for diversity (e.g., religious and military). Overall, these findings affirm the potential effectiveness and acceptability of the VSO's peer-led spiritual intervention for promoting the holistic healing among veterans who are contending with emotional and spiritual wounds of war. Impact StatementMilitary veterans who participated in the peer-led spiritual intervention, on average, improved on psychological and spiritual outcomes assessed over the 1-year period. In addition, qualitative findings suggested that these improvements might be attributed to increased social connectivity and belonging, behavioral engagement in core aspects of spirituality, spiritual transformation and growth, and appreciation for cultural diversity.

Objective Religious beliefs and practices may augment a sense of meaning in life that could support quality of life (QOL) in physical, social, and emotional domains amid mental health crises. However, these associations have not been thoroughly tested among persons with serious mental illness (SMI). Methods Focusing on 248 adults who had recently enrolled in a spiritually integrated acute psychiatric hospitalization program, we incorporated structural equation modeling to examine whether (1) religiousness would be associated with better overall QOL; and (2) inpatients’ sense of meaning in life would at least partially account for the religiousness‐QOL link. Results Religiousness was linked indirectly with QOL at the time of admission: religiousness was associated with greater meaning in life, and a higher degree of meaning in life was associated with QOL. Conclusions Findings underscore the crucial role of religiousness for meaning and wellness among many individuals with SMI who seek stabilization and healing.