AbstractThis study explores the characteristics of young female and male adults (mean age 26.3 years) reporting a low sexual desire. A 2017 Swiss national survey was carried out among young adults. Participants were divided into two groups based on their level of sexual desire: Low and High. Overall, 17.2% of females and 5.7% of males reported a low sexual desire. At the multivariate level, compared to females in the High group, females in the Low group had higher odds of being dissatisfied with their social life and with their sexual life in the past 4 weeks, having no current relationship and having accepted several times sexual intercourse without really wanting. Compared to males in the High group, males in the Low group had higher odds of reporting a non-heterosexual attraction (trend), having no current relationship and having accepted several times sexual intercourse without really wanting. The prevailing idea that young people, particularly males, always have high levels of sexual desire may not be accurate and warrants further consideration. These results show that sexual desire encompasses social aspects and underscore importance of addressing how stereotypes and social norms may influence our sexuality.
PurposeAdolescence is an important life stage including physical, emotional and social changes that make adolescents vulnerable to mental health issues. To face these emotional and behavioral problems, adolescents may use various coping strategies. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to better understand the coping strategies when adolescents face mental health difficulties, the reasons why some adolescents find it difficult to seek social support and/or professional care and which interventions they would find efficient to improve adolescents' mental health.Design/methodology/approachThe study included 28 participants aged between 12–19 years old. Four online focus groups (FGs) separated by gender and age were performed between March and April 2021, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.FindingsThe results show that several strategies put forward by participants did not include talking about their problems with others. Reducing the stigma and taking the adolescents' mental health seriously would make it easier for adolescents to talk about their problems to other people. Overall, participants considered that doing leisure-time activities and going out with friends were the best way to reduce stressful situations and mental health problems. For all aspects of health, including the mental one, it is important that policies promote the access to sports and arts activities for all the adolescents.Originality/valueThis study explored adolescents' coping strategies and their opinions on intervention for dealing with potential mental health problems, an issue that is still taboo for some adolescents.
PurposeMental disorders are the main cause of morbidity among 10–19 year-olds and current research indicates that youth mental health problems are rising, especially with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to gather the opinions of adolescents in Switzerland on the emotional and behavioral problems the adolescents may currently face.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' study included 28 participants aged between 12 and 19 years-old. Four online focus groups (FGs) separated by gender and age were performed between March and April 2021, during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.FindingsThe concept of mental health was very vague for the participants. School was reported as a major source of stressors and may have negative effects on participants' mental health. This distress has been amplified with the COVID-19 pandemic and the perceived instability of participants' future. Furthermore, participants reported that poor body image was a major issue threatening the mental health of adolescents, especially among females and on social media. Finally, participants considered that social relations, more particularly friendships, were one of the main protective factors for mental health, even if peer pressure was also considered as a stress factor. Given the fact that the concept of mental health was very abstract for the participants, increased levels of mental health literacy are needed.Originality/valueThis study collects adolescents' opinions on current emotional issues adolescents may face without restricting the domains discussed and considering the particular pandemic and post-pandemic periods.
Jusqu'à présent, la littérature étudiant le lien entre les médias numériques et les jeunes s'est surtout centrée sur les effets négatifs. Les aspects positifs d'Internet chez les jeunes sont peu connus. Pourtant, un des objectifs politiques dans le canton de Vaud est de développer davantage l'éducation numérique des jeunes, actuellement déjà présente dans la thématique Médias, Images, Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (MITIC) du plan d'études romand afin de favoriser la prévention mais également l'accès aux outils numériques et à la culture média. En plus du manque d'études portant sur les éventuels effets positifs de l'utilisation d'Internet et des médias numériques chez les jeunes, de nouvelles pratiques en ligne sont apparues ces dernières années telles que la pratique du sexting ou les jeux d'argent et de hasard en ligne (gambling-gaming). Les objectifs de cette étude menée durant l'année scolaire 2019-2020 sont (1) évaluer le niveau d'utilisation des médias numériques par les jeunes de 10ème année HarmoS (~13-14 ans) et leurs possibles effets positifs tels que perçus par les jeunes et leurs parents ; (2) déterminer les éventuelles mesures et règles mises en place par les parents par rapport à l'usage des écrans et leurs éventuels effets sur l'usage des médias de leurs enfants ; (3) comparer l'évolution des pratiques en lien avec Internet avec l'étude menée dans le canton de Vaud en 2012 (ado@internet) auprès de jeunes âgé·e·s de 14 ans lors de la première vague. La Direction Générale de l'Enseignement Obligatoire (DGEO) nous a fourni un échantillon initial de 32 écoles et 4138 élèves de 10ème année de scolarisation obligatoire dans le canton de Vaud. Les analyses présentées se rapportent à un échantillon de 3006 (78.8%) élèves. Le questionnaire était en ligne du 28 octobre 2019 au 14 février 2020. Comme nous avions également pour objectif d'explorer le rôle des parents dans la gestion et l'utilisation des médias numériques chez les jeunes, nous avons proposé aux parents de participer à un ...
Introduction Sexting has attracted the interest of researchers, media, and public opinion, but its definition still does not reach consensus. This gap may lead to diverging prevention messages. This study investigated the opinions of adolescents on a set of sexting-related preventive measures. Methods In 2018, 48 adolescents (27 females) aged 13 to 18 years participated in the study. To assess opinions of adolescents on sexting-related prevention, we conducted a Q-methodology study, a mixed methods research, in Lausanne (Canton of Vaud, Switzerland). The final Q-set constituted 58 statements reflecting a wide range of key messages, key actors, and materials. Each participant was asked to rank-order the 58 cards using a grid ranging from - 5 (completely disagree) to + 5 (completely agree). Results Five different profiles of considering sexting-related prevention were identified: Focus on consequences, sex education, and testimonies, focus on guidelines, focus on training/information, and peer prevention. The typical scenario used in many prevention campaigns illustrating a girl who is victim of a non-consensual sharing perpetrated by a boy was not appreciated. The topic of the Internet was not considered an appropriate gateway to discuss sexting. Pressure and bullying issues as topics to discuss in a sexting-related prevention were the most consensual statements. Conclusions This study highlighted the need to offer a multi-disciplinary, multi-resource and multi-concept approach in sexting-related prevention. Broader values such as respect and consent must be integrated. Consensual sexting must be clearly differentiated from non-consensual dissemination. Policy implications and future directions, including prevention strategies, are discussed.
Abstract Due to the Syrian civil war, millions of Syrians have fled the country since 2011. Several issues have inhibited their successful resettlement, but few studies have examined the development of the healthcare needs of Syrian forced migrants in Europe. This study examined Syrian forced migrants' healthcare needs in Switzerland, and whether migration type and family functioning affect their mental health. Our sample included 108 individuals from 14 families from the usual asylum process and 19 from the Swiss Resettlement Program (SRP). Each family member was surveyed thrice in 1 year. Several participants reported symptoms of major depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, their general mental health was similar to that of the Western populations. Swiss Resettlement Program participants reported higher overall mental health scores than non-SRP participants, while the two groups showed different progression over time. Children and fathers reported similar levels of mental health, whereas mothers' mental health scores worsened over time. Family functioning was important for mental health in both groups. Overall, considering the structural and family contexts is important when studying forced migrants' mental health.
Abstract. Aim: To summarize published findings in peer-reviewed journals of the first two waves of the Swiss Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF), a longitudinal study assessing risk and protective factors of 5,987 young men during the phase of emerging adulthood (20 years at baseline, followed-up 15 months later). Methods: Included were 33 studies published until November 2014 focusing on substance use. Results: Substance use in early adulthood is a prevalent and stable behavior. The 12-month prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription drugs (10.6 %) lies between that of cannabis (36.4 %) and other illicit drugs such as ecstasy (3.7 %) and cocaine (3.2 %). Although peer pressure in the form of misconduct is associated with increased substance use, other aspects such as peer involvement in social activities may have beneficial effects. Regular sport activities are associated with reduced substance use, with the exception of alcohol use. Young men are susceptible to structural conditions such as the price of alcohol beverages or the density of on-premise alcohol outlets. Particularly alcohol use in public settings such as bars, discos or in parks (compared with private settings such as the home) is associated with alcohol-related harm, including injuries or violence. Being a single parent versus nuclear family has no effect on alcohol use, but active parenting does. Besides parenting, religiousness is an important protective factor for both legal and illegal substance use. Merely informing young men about the risks of substance use may not be an effective preventive measure. At-risk users of licit and illicit substances are more health literate, e. g., for example, they seek out more information on the internet than non-at-risk-users or abstainers. Discussion: There are a number of risk and protective substance use factors, but their associations with substance use do not necessarily agree with those found outside Europe. In the United States, for example, heavy alcohol use in this age group commonly takes place in private settings, whereas in Switzerland it more often takes place in public settings. Other behaviors, such as the nonmedical use of prescription drugs, appear to be similar to those found overseas, which may show the need for targeted preventive actions. C-SURF findings point to the necessity of establishing European studies to identify factors for designing specific preventive actions.
