International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Volume:12 Issue: 3, Sep 2023

Context: 

The routine implemented by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on people’s lives has had several consequences. Children have also been involved in this crisis. Concerning pediatric oral health, dental workers also reduced working load and postponed treatments. Therefore, the present review aimed to assess related articles and discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on pediatric dentistry and pediatric oral health status.

Evidence Acquisition: 

Electronic search was performed using the following keywords: “Coronavirus, COVID-19, Dental Care for Children, Dental Health Services, Pandemics, and Pediatric Dentistry.”Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochran Library, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Google databases were searched from the beginning of the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a preliminary search, 156 articles were retrieved, finally reduced to 13. Both reviewers carried out screening and selection of articles independently.

Based on the scientific articles (n = 13) included in our study, pediatric dentistry was severely impacted during the outbreak. Some factors included quarantine, reduced professional workload, fear of COVID-19 in families, the possibility of carrying the virus by children, accompanying children to the clinic by adults, and the impossibility of tolerance by the children to perform strict personal protective protocols and altered intake habits during the pandemic. Moreover, dental professionals can prevent the further spread of COVID-19 by adhering to guidelines, including conducting primary triage, keeping the office not overcrowded, regular disinfection, and distance education.

Policymakers must find a biosafety solution for vulnerable pediatric populations. Telecommunications and distance education are the solutions for promoting oral health during this period.

Excessive use of cell phones in adolescents is associated with injuries and behavioral deviations. Cyberbullying is one of these behavioral deviations which involves deliberate and repeated aggression. Family and parenting factors are considered to have an essential role in cyberbullying. Among these factors, the cohesion and flexibility of the family have garnered considerable attention.

The present study examined the relationship between family adaptability, cohesion, and cyberbullying and the mediating role of parenting styles in this relationship.

Cross-sectional design and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used in this study. The statistical population included students using mobile phones in Tehran. A sample of 220 students was selected via convenience sampling. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, Cyber-Bullying/Victimization Experiences Scale, and the Parental Authority Scale were used to collect data. Statistical data analysis was done using the Pearson correlation test and structural equation path analysis in SPSS 26 and AMOS 26.

The results showed that There was a significant correlation between family cohesion and cyberbullying (r =- 0.246) (P < 0.01), family adaptability and cyberbullying (r = -0.167) (P < 0.01), family adaptability and cohesion and parenting styles (r = 0.433) (P< 0.01), authoritarian, indulgent, authoritative parenting style and cyberbullying (r = 0.289) (r = 0.124) (r = -0.143) (P< 0.01). These direct and indirect effects were created through the mediation of parenting styles.

Generally, the results showed that family adaptability and cohesion significantly negatively correlate with cyberbullying. The model showed family adaptability and cohesion, and cyberbullying did not have a direct relationship. However, perceived parenting styles can play a mediating role in this relationship.

Excessive and inappropriate use of the internet and related technologies is a severe problem in Iranian society. Extensive evidence demonstrates that parenting styles and bullying increase the risk of internet addiction in teenagers. However, moreresearch is required to improve the existingknowledgeabout the impact of parenting stylesandbullyingonstudents’ internet addiction.

This study aimed to investigate specific and common effects of parenting styles and bullying on female high-school students’ internet addiction.

This was a descriptive-correlational study. The population comprised all female high-school students in Yasouj (Iran) in the academic year 2020-21, of whom 357 were selected by convenience sampling. The data collection instruments, distributed online, included Young Internet Addiction Questionnaire, Baumrind’s Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, and the Illinois Bully Scale. The data were analyzed by the analysis of variance based on structural equation modeling.

The explained variance (R2) of internet addiction for the specific effect of parenting style and bullying was 0.12 and 0.20, respectively. Moreover, the explained variance (R2) of internet addiction for the common effect of bullying and parenting style was 0.25.

The results emphasize the importance of the specific andcommoneffects of parenting styles and bullyingoninternet addiction. Therefore, programs should be developed to prevent internet addiction and other familial and social harms.

Coronary artery disease has recently increased from 20 to 45%. Previous studies emphasize a wide range of risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis. The role of inflammatory factors has been proven in the development of coronary artery atherosclerosis. Drugs are effective in coronary artery atherosclerosis by stimulating inflammatory factors.

This study evaluated the heart status regarding the history of drug and psychotropics use in corpses referred to Birjand Legal Medicine Center from 2011 to 2018. Materiald and

In this case-control study, corpses referred to forensic medicine with a history of substance abuse (case group) and no history of substance abuse (control group) were selected. The data included pathological and toxicological autopsy results. Data analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests and Spearman correlation coefficient.

Of 193 corpses, 126 were in the case group and 67 in the control group. The mean age was 41.82 ± 16.84. The Mann-Whitney test showed that heart weight was significantly higher in cases than in controls (P = 0.018). Mean heart dimensions in the case and control groups were 13  10  7 and 13  9  6, respectively, with a significant difference in one dimension (P = 0.014). Coronary artery stenosis results showed mean RC = 52.49, LC = 55.97, CX = 61.84, and LAD = 69.90. There was no significant positive correlation between drug abuse and atherosclerosis (r = 0.119, P = 0.09). Also, a higher prevalence of atherosclerosis was seen in males.

Drug use can be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in people with substance abuse by changing the physical characteristics of the heart. Further studies must investigate the effect of drug use on coronary artery disease development and the factors intensifying these effects.

 Adolescents are vulnerable to addictive behaviors such as digital game addiction, and mothers’ cognitive avoidance can play a key role in initiating and intensifying these behaviors.

 The present research tends to review the mediating role of anxiety in the relationship between mothers' cognitive avoidance and adolescents' digital addiction.

 The current research was a correlational-descriptive study. The sample consisted of 199 high school students in the city of Zahedan, along with their mothers between 2020 and 2021, who were selected by a convenience sampling method. Students answered the Digital Addiction Scale for Children (DASC) and the youth anxiety measure for DSM-5 (YAM-5), and their mothers answered the Sexton and Dagas Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ). Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient test and path analysis in SPSS and AMOS-24 software.

 The results of Pearson's correlation test indicated that adolescents’ digital game addiction had a significant positive relationship with the dimensions of mothers' cognitive avoidance and adolescent anxiety (P < 0.001). The results of the path analysis test indicated the positive and significant direct effects of mothers’ cognitive avoidance dimensions, including suppression (P < 0.05, β = 0.19), substitution (P < 0.001, β = 0.29), and avoidance (P < 0.05, β = 0.20), on adolescent anxiety, and the positive and significant indirect effects of suppression (β = 0.04), substitution (β = 0.06), and mothers’ cognitive avoidance (β = 0.04) on digital game addiction. Also, the findings indicated that the direct effects of adolescent anxiety (P < 0.01, β = 0.22) and mothers’ cognitive return attention (P < 0.001, β = 0.34) on children's digital game addiction were positive and significant. In addition, mothers' cognitive avoidance and adolescent anxiety explained 24% of the variance of digital game addiction in adolescents.

 The findings of the present study are consistent with the hypothesis of the importance of family factors in adolescents’ digital game addiction. Conducting such research can provide important practical approaches concerning prevention and intervention by providing essential information on the role of individual and family factors in the occurrence of digital addiction.

Service providers have tried to reduce harm reduction and objectively improve health and infectious indicators caused by the consumption of illegal drugs for years. However, some disappointment has happened to these people. On the other hand, policymakers and society still need to remember the efforts of harm reduction service providers or have more and higher expectations in this regard. This article looks at the services and achievements of harm reduction from the past to the present. Also, it discusses the new harm reduction methods that align with today’s needs of the global community. Today, a new mission is needed for harm reduction and other goals, such as mediation and human rights issues related to disease and addiction. The undeniable success of harm reduction in curbing and controlling many infectious aspects has caused policymakers and harm reduction service providers to become weak and need clarification. It has plunged harm reduction into a halo of uncertainty. There is a need to give new life to this dynamic thinking by redefining harm reduction.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a global phenomenon that can negatively impact various aspects of an affected individual’s life. A thorough knowledge of the etiology of this disorder and its contributing factors can help us manage and prevent it more effectively.

In this research, we aimed to investigate the possible association between substance use disorder, attachment styles, and defense mechanisms. Patients and

This case-control study was conducted on 120 participants divided into two groups; a group of 60 subjects diagnosed with substance use disorder and 60 participants without substance use disorder. The participants were evaluated using the Revised Collins, the Read Adult Attachment Scale, the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40), and a checklist consisting of questions regarding age, sex, marital status, job, income, level of education, and history of psychiatric illnesses. The Shapiro-Wilk test, the student’s t-test, the chi-square test, fisher’s exact test and the multilevel logistic regression was used. Data were gathered and analyzed using SPSS v. 26 software.

Neurotic defense mechanisms were significantly higher in the SUD group than in non-SUD participants. No significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding mature and immature defense mechanisms. Anxious and avoidant attachment styles were significantly more common in the SUD patients compared to the control group. Secure attachment style was significantly more common in the non-SUD group. Marital status was associated with attachment style. The probability of having an anxious attachment style for unmarried people was 4.5 times higher than for married people. Other variables had no significant relationship with any attachment style types (P-value < 0.05).

These findings suggest a higher prevalence of neurotic defense mechanisms and avoidant and anxious attachment styles in people suffering from substance use disorder. These findings, if proven, can help plan more effective psychological treatments for SUD patients and preventive measures to reduce the prevalence and burden of this disorder.