Although research has shown positive associations among post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation, the nature of these relations is unclear, especially in African American women. This study examined the associations among these comorbid psychological difficulties in a sample of 136 low-income, African American women. Specifically, the goal of this investigation was to ascertain if overall depressive symptoms, as well as both the cognitive-affective and somatic components of depression, mediated the PTSD-suicidal ideation link. Results from bootstrapping analyses revealed that overall depressive symptoms and the cognitive-affective components of depression, but not the somatic components, mediated the PTSD-suicidal ideation link.

Newspaper media are a major source of information about mental illness in the United States. Previous research has shown that some printed material has been both negative and stigmatizing, which can have a detrimental impact on individuals with mental illnesses. Such perceptions represented in the media may cause those with mental illnesses to internalize a negative and stigmatizing stereotype and hinder the public's understanding of mental illness. In recent years, advocacy groups have increased their efforts to combat stigmatization of those with mental illnesses. This study focused specifically on the use of stigmatizing language concerning schizophrenia in U.S. newspapers. Because advocacy to decrease stigmatization of mental illness has increased in recent years, this study compared media depictions of schizophrenia in 2000 and 2010 to determine if there had been a reduction in reporting of dangerousness and perpetration of crime by people with schizophrenia or in stigmatizing language. All articles published in five high-circulation newspapers from diverse urban geographical regions between January 1 and June 1 in 2000 and 2010 that contained the words "schizophrenia" or "schizophrenic" were reviewed. Articles were categorized under the categories of education, incidental reference, medical and pharmaceutical news, metaphorical use, charity, obituary, medically inappropriate, and human interest. Human interest articles were further subcategorized into advocacy, crimes committed by people with schizophrenia, crimes committed against those suffering from schizophrenia, and issues related to poor mental health care. There was a statistically significant decrease in reporting of crime committed by people with schizophrenia in 2010 compared with 2000. However, no significant difference was found in metaphorical usage of the terms schizophrenia and schizophrenic between 2000 and 2010.

Aims The prevalence of heroin use among nonmedical prescription opioid (NMPO) users has increased in recent years. Identifying characteristics associated with heroin use in this population can help inform efforts to prevent heroin initiation and maintenance. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in perceived risk of heroin among NMPO users with and without histories of heroin use, and to examine temporal trends in perceived risk of heroin among this population. Methods Data are from the 2002–2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and included all past-year NMPO users (N=49,045). Participants reported perceived risk of trying heroin once or twice and regular heroin use. Responses were coded dichotomously (great risk vs. other risk) and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between lifetime heroin use and perceived risk of heroin, and to determine temporal changes in perceived risk. Results Results indicated a significant association between lifetime heroin use and lower likelihood of reporting great risk of trying heroin (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.44, p < .001), and of regular use of heroin (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.48, p < .001). There was a significant, yet modest, trend toward decreasing perception of great risk from 2002–2013. Conclusions Findings from this analysis of nationally representative data indicate that NMPO users with a history of heroin use perceive heroin to be less risky. Perception of risk has decreased from 2002–2013 in this population, consistent with increasing rates of heroin initiation.