Objective: College students experience a variety of stressors that can increase the risk for mental health concerns, like depression. It is crucial for practitioners working on college campuses to understand the relationship among stressful life events, depression, and coping strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore life stressors’ impact on reported depressive symptoms and how adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies moderate that relationship in college students. Participants: Data was used from a comprehensive health behavior survey. Participants included 969 college students. Methods: Multivariable logistic models were used to examine the association between stressful events, depression, and coping strategies. Results: Results from multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that college students who experienced life stressors and participated in more negative than positive coping strategies were 2.49 (95% CI = 1.34, 4.63) times more likely to experience depression. Conclusions: Implications and creative interventions are provided for mental health practitioners working on college campuses.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship among internal factors (mental health concerns) that affect relationship satisfaction and contextual factors (social support) that affect relationship satisfaction in female same-sex couples (N = 99). Correlation and regression analyses indicated significant relationships among the variables. Specifically, mental health concerns were negatively correlated with relationship satisfaction whereas social support was positively correlated with relationship satisfaction. Mental health concerns and social support were found to be significant predictors of relationship satisfaction. Implications for practitioners are provided.

The term Deaths of Despair (DOD) was introduced to capture the phenomenon of mortality associated with suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholic liver disease. The LGBTQ+ population consistently evidences disproportionately high rates of DOD. This study reviewed the literature on DOD within this community to create a conceptual model that identifies risk factors that work together to potentiate DOD in the LGBTQ+ community. Ten DOD-Related Factors were identified and used to create The Tsunamic Model of LGBTQ+ Deaths of Despair. DOD-Related Factors include: (1) Stigma, (2) Demographics, (3) Identity Development, (4) Internalized Homophobia, (5) Depression, (6) Victimization, (7) Isolation/Rejection, (8) Sensation Seeking, (9) Risky Behavior, and (10) Uninformed Care. Each factor is associated with increased risk for DOD among the LGBTQ+ community. This model can help health professionals by providing a framework for prevention and early intervention programs.

Depression and suicide are major public health concerns, and the number of youths impacted by these phenomena continues to grow. With the detrimental impact depression can have on children and adolescents, it is imperative that researchers explore risks for depression and suicidality to develop prevention programs and inform clinical practice. One such risk factor identified in the literature is being victimized by an interpersonal trauma. Past researchers also report a relationship between depression/suicidality and substance use. The purpose of this study was to examine if there was a significant interaction effect between substance use and experiencing an interpersonal trauma when predicting depression/suicidality in high school students (n = 3,128). A hierarchical logistic regression revealed a statistically significant model, χ² (9) = 446.41, p <.001, accounting for 17.7% of variance in depression/suicidality. Specifically, the effect of interpersonal violence on depression/suicidality was significantly stronger for adolescents who used substances than those who did not. The findings suggest that substance use does act as a moderator between trauma and depression/suicidality, and substance use more dramatically increases depression/suicidality for students who experience an interpersonal trauma.