Tobacco harm perceptions are associated with tobacco use for both youth and adults, but it is unknown how these harm perceptions have changed over time in a changing tobacco product landscape.
Data from Waves 1–5 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study were analyzed to examine perceptions of harm of eight non-cigarette tobacco products compared to cigarettes. Perceptions of harm were assessed with the questions, “Is smoking/using [product] less harmful, about the same, or more harmful than smoking cigarettes?”.
The share of participants who perceived non-cigarette combustible products as posing similar harm to cigarettes increased over time, while the share of participants who perceived non-combustible products as less harmful than cigarettes decreased over time.
Tobacco harm perceptions are changing over time, along with the tobacco product marketplace and regulatory environment.
Anxiety and problematic smartphone use (PSPU) are prevalent issues among college students, and traditional research has tended to focus on cross-sectional data and grounded only in overall levels, thereby ignoring the complex interactions between the two over time. The development of network analysis methods has provided a new perspective for in-depth exploration of the relationship. This study aimed to explore the complex longitudinal interactions and specific pathways between problematic smartphone use and anxiety among Chinese college students from an internal specific symptom perspective. This study constructed a cross-lagged network model using longitudinal data on problematic smartphone use and anxiety symptoms in two waves of college students collected from 2022 to 2023 (N=741, Mage = 18.49, SD=0.81, 45.6 % male). The study found that anxiety symptoms and problematic smartphone use interacted with each other and had a vicious cycle of symptoms over time, with the effects of anxiety symptoms being more pronounced. “Feeling afraid” and “Uncontrollable worrying” had the most significant effects on the other symptoms, with “Impatient without the phone” and “Can’t stand not having a phone” were more likely to be influenced by other symptoms. “Feeling afraid” may be a bridge symptom in the network to connect the anxiety and problematic smartphone use communities. The findings suggest that accurately intervening in the intrinsic link between problematic smartphone use and anxiety symptoms can combat the exacerbation of both problems simultaneously, resulting in more effective and comprehensive treatment.
Internet addiction (IA) has gradually emerged as a significant public health concern, especially among college students. This study aims to systematically investigate and quantitatively analyze the effects of exercise interventions on IA among college students and provides an objective assessment of the available evidence. For this study, IA is defined as compulsive, excessive Internet use, including via mobile phones, that disrupts daily life and causes significant distress, and we combine Internet addiction and mobile phone addiction in our analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon.
The search for eligible studies was conducted from inception until May 2024 across various databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wan Fang. The risk of bias within the included studies was assessed utilizing the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias tool, while methodological quality was evaluated using the modified Jadad Scale.
A meta-analysis of 19 pairwise comparisons showed that exercise interventions significantly reduced the total IA scores (g = −1.25). Furthermore, the interventions resulted in significant reductions in anxiety (g = −1.30), loneliness (g = −1.57), stress (g = −0.77), inadequacy (g = −1.77), mental health (g = −1.08), fatigue (g = −0.66), and depression (g = −0.56).
Exercise interventions showed efficacy in decreasing levels of IA and alleviating psychological symptoms in college students with IA. The optimal types of exercise for college students suffering from IA are open motor skill and the combination of both open and closed skill. However, future work is needed given the limited randomized controlled trials and the high heterogeneity of the included studies.