Self-reported suicidal behavior and attitudes toward suicide and suicide prevention among psychology students in Ghana, Uganda, and Norway

Self-reported suicidal behavior and attitudes toward suicide in psychology students are reported and compared in Ghana, Uganda, and Norway. Small differences only were found in own suicidal behavior. However, experience of suicidal behavior in the surroundings was more common in Uganda than in Ghana and Norway. Although differences were found between the three countries in attitudes toward suicide, which emphasizes the need for culture-sensitive research and prevention, many of the differences were not as big as expected. The most pronounced difference was that the Norwegian students were more reluctant to take a stand on these questions compared to their African counterparts. Some differences were also found between the two African countries. The implications of the results for suicide prevention in Africa are discussed.     

Emotion and the Framing of Risky Choice

One of the most noted phenomena in social and political decision-making is the occurrence of a framing effect. For example, on problems involving risky choices, individuals tend to act risk-averse when the problem is framed in terms of gains (e.g., saving lives, making money) and risk-seeking when the same problem is instead framed in terms of losses (e.g., deaths, losing money). Scholars have begun to identify the processes underlying framing effects as well as the conditions under which framing effects occur. Yet, extant work focuses nearly exclusively on cognitive processes, despite growing recognition of the importance of emotion in general decision-making tasks. In this paper, we explore the impact of emotional states on risk attitudes and framing. We find that emotions significantly influence both individuals’ tendencies to take risks and the impact of a frame on risky choices (e.g., emotions amplify or depress a frame’s impact). The precise role of emotions depends on the problem domain (e.g., a life-death or a financial decision), and the specific type of emotion under study. Moreover, in contrast to much work in political science, we show that emotions need to be distinguished beyond their positive or negative valence, as different negative emotions exert opposite effects. Our results accentuate the importance of integrating emotions into research areas traditionally dominated by more cognitive perspectives.

Stakeholder Orientation vs. Shareholder Value—A Matter of Contractual Failures

This article analyzes the conflict of interests between shareholders and other stakeholders, including when such conflicts of interests may arise. It is argued that shareholder value cannot be justified simply by referring to any prerogative property rights of the shareholders. Instead, shareholder value coincides with the efficient hypothetical perfect contract. However, due to contractual failures in certain bargaining situations, management may be unable to internalize the firms externalities. This means that in these situations there is a tradeoff between a broad duty of loyalty for management in listed firms and other traditional remedies. The theoretical insights are applied on a case from the Danish Supreme Court (Louis Poulsen A/S) where the interests of the stakeholders were decisive. It is shown that the verdict may instead harm the relevant stakeholders illustrating how cautious the legal system should use a doctrine based on the company's interests. In addition, the notion of a firm's social responsibility is critically evaluated together with the associated pitfalls of accepting this concept.     

Professional regulation

Recent years have witnessed an increase in interest in professional regulation. The extent to which the professions should control professional regulation and the provision of professional services is the issue at stake. The strengthening of societal forces and attitudes on either side has intensified matters. Forces on the side of professional dominance include tradition, expertise, and politics. Opposed are individual liberty and individualism, theories of free enterprise, and egalitarianism. The controversy has also been influenced by recent political developments involving the emergence of two antiregulatory movements: the “control” movement, and the “antigovernment” movement. The former involves an attempt to control government regulatory power. The latter is a more broad-based political attack on regulation aimed at less government in general. The most significant impact of the current controversy is that professional regulation has become an important public issue.     

Mental Health and Educational Experiences Among Black Youth: A Latent Class Analysis

Disproportionately lower educational achievement, coupled with higher grade retention, suspensions, expulsions, and lower school bonding make educational success among Black adolescents a major public health concern. Mental health is a key developmental factor related to educational outcomes among adolescents; however, traditional models of mental health focus on absence of dysfunction as a way to conceptualize mental health. The dual-factor model of mental health incorporates indicators of both subjective wellbeing and psychopathology, supporting more recent research that both are needed to comprehensively assess mental health. This study applied the dual-factor model to measure mental health using the National Survey of American Life—Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), a representative cross-sectional survey. The sample included 1170 Black adolescents (52% female; mean age 15). Latent class analysis was conducted with positive indicators of subjective wellbeing (emotional, psychological, and social) as well as measures of psychopathology. Four mental health groups were identified, based on having high or low subjective wellbeing and high or low psychopathology. Accordingly, associations between mental health groups and educational outcomes were investigated. Significant associations were observed in school bonding, suspensions, and grade retention, with the positive mental health group (high subjective wellbeing, low psychopathology) experiencing more beneficial outcomes. The results support a strong association between school bonding and better mental health and have implications for a more comprehensive view of mental health in interventions targeting improved educational experiences and mental health among Black adolescents.