Friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol consumption: The moderating role of performance-based peer influence susceptibility

This study examined whether the relationship between friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol use is moderated by performance-based peer influence susceptibility. Seventy-three male adolescents (M = 17 years) from three schools in the Netherlands were exposed to the drinking norms of “peers” (electronic confederates) in a chat room experiment. These peers were either popular or unpopular, and conveyed pro- or anti-alcohol norms. Peer influence susceptibility was defined as the change in adolescents' answers before and after exposure to the peer norms. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that the relationship between friends' drinking norms and adolescents' alcohol use (assessed during eight weekends) was moderated by susceptibility to the pro-alcohol norms of popular peers. This relationship was stronger for adolescents who were highly susceptible. These findings suggest that a behavioral measure of peer influence susceptibility could be useful in alcohol prevention programs to select adolescents at risk for negative peer socialization.     

我国20个地区农村青年女性与男性自杀死亡者特征的比较

目的探讨农村青年女性和男性自杀死亡特征,为预防自杀提供依据。方法以在全国20个疾病监测点中抽取的农村地区、年龄在15-34岁的295个自杀死亡案例为研究对象,其中女性169例,男性.126例,应用自制的意外死亡调查问卷进行调查。结果(1)两组自杀死亡者在年龄、受教育年限和自杀未遂史等方面的差异无显著性意义(均P>0.05);(2)与男性相比,女性自杀死亡者的家庭人均月收入高[(200±237)元:(148±170)元,经秩和检验,P<0.05]、生命质量好[(54±13)分:(50±12)分,P<0.01]、现婚率高(80.5％:51.6％,P<0.001)、夫妻不和或吵架者多(52.1％:38.9％,P<0.05)、服毒自杀者多(86.4％:76.2％,P<0.05)、患躯体疾病(13.3％:24.6％,P<0.05)和精神疾病(44.3％:70.6％,P<0.001)者少;(3)与女性组相比,男性自杀死亡者的主要特点是经济困难者多(54.0％:34.6％,P=0.001)、酒精滥用者多(18.3％:1.8％,P<0.001)、自杀后被发现的时间晚[(196±620)min:(55±95)min,P<0.001]、自杀者被发现时已死亡的比例高(52.4％:28.4％,P=0.001)。结论 农村青年女性与男性自杀死亡特征存在明显不同,应采取不同的干预措施。夫妻矛盾可能是农村青年女性比男性更为重要的自杀危险因素,而男性的经济困难、酒精滥用则比女性突出。     

The effects of self-efficacy in bifurcating the relationship of perceived benefit and cost with condom use among adolescents: A cusp catastrophe modeling analysis

This study tested the complex relationship among the perceived benefit from and cost of condom use, self-efficacy and condom use among adolescents as a nonlinear dynamic process. Participants were 12th graders in public Bahamian high schools who reported having had sex and frequency of condom use. Results revealed that the perceived benefit and perceived cost as asymmetry variables were significantly associated with condom use (p < 0.001) after controlling for covariates. The association was bifurcated by the variable self-efficacy (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the cusp model was better than linear and logistic regression models in predicting the dynamic changes in condom use behavior, judged by the AIC and BIC, and R² criteria. These results suggest that adolescent condom use may follow a nonlinear rather than linear dynamic process. Emphasizing bifurcation variables such as self-efficacy that promote sudden change could be essential to strengthen current evidence-based intervention programs in encouraging condom use.     

School and peer influences on the academic outcomes of African American adolescents

Little scholarship explores how adolescents' beliefs about school and peers influence the academic outcomes of African American boys and girls. The sample included 612 African American boys (N = 307, M_age = 16.84) and girls (N = 305, M_age = 16.79). Latent class analysis (LCA) revealed unique patterns for African American boys and girls. Findings indicate that for African American boys, school attachment was protective, despite having peers who endorsed negative achievement values. Furthermore, socio-economic (SES) status was associated with higher grade point averages (GPA) for African American girls. Overall, these findings underscore the unique role of school, peer, and gendered experiences in lives of African American adolescents.     

The brain in social context: A systematic review of substance use and social processing from adolescence to young adulthood

Substance use escalates between adolescence and young adulthood, and most experimentation occurs among peers. To understand underlying mechanisms, research has focused on neural response during relevant psychological processes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research provides a wealth of information about brain activity when processing monetary rewards; however, most studies have used tasks devoid of social stimuli. Given that adolescent neurodevelopment is sculpted by the push-and-pull of peers and emotions, identifying neural substrates is important for intervention. We systematically reviewed 28 fMRI studies examining substance use and neural responses to stimuli including social reward, emotional faces, social influence, and social stressors. We found substance use was positively associated with social-reward activity (e.g., in the ventral striatum), and negatively with social-stress activity (e.g., in the amygdala). For emotion, findings were mixed with more use linked to heightened response (e.g., in amygdala), but also with decreased response (e.g., in insula). For social influence, evidence supported both positive (e.g., cannabis and nucleus accumbens during conformity) and negative (e.g., polydrug and ventromedial PFC during peers’ choices) relations between activity and use. Based on the literature, we offer recommendations for future research on the neural processing of social information to better identify risks for substance use.     

Understanding the influence of depression on self-efficacy, work status and condom use among HIV clients in Uganda

Objectives

Depression is common among persons living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, yet few studies in the region have assessed the relationship of depression to economic well-being and risk-reduction behavior. Among HIV clients in Uganda, we examined whether depression is directly related to self-efficacy, work status, and condom use, as well as indirectly through its interaction with physical health functioning.

Methods

Baseline data from a prospective longitudinal cohort of 602 clients entering HIV care were examined. In separate multivariate analyses, we examined whether depression [both depressive severity and clinical depression, as measured by the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)], physical health functioning, and their interaction were predictors of current work status, consistent condom use, and general self-efficacy, controlling for measures of social support, stigma, and demographics.

Results

Mean PHQ-9 score was 5.2 (S.D.=3.9; range=0-24) and 13% had scores ≥10 (indicator of clinical depression). Not being depressed, better physical health, and their interaction were predictors of working, while lower depressive severity, lower physical health, and their interaction were associated with always using condoms. Better physical health was predictive of greater self-efficacy, but not depression; general self-efficacy was predictive of both work status and condom use.

Conclusions

Effective diagnosis and treatment of depression may be critical to maximizing the benefits of HIV treatment with regard to both HIV prevention and restoring the social and economic health of persons living with HIV.     

Peer victimization in adolescence: The nature,progression, and consequences of being bullied within a developmental context

Since Dan Olweus's seminal work on bullying in the 1970's (Olweus, 1978), there has been a concerted effort by investigators to identify the confluence of factors that contribute to peer victimization and its role in psychosocial development. Although the cause and consequences of peer victimization may include underlying, age-invariant processes, the manifestation of these factors is, in part, driven by the developmental stage being studied. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of peer victimization requires an explicit developmental perspective. This paper examines how peer victimization in adolescence is unique from other developmental periods. Changes in the nature of peer victimization, associated risk factors, the contexts in which victimization is experienced, and the psychosocial outcomes affected are addressed. A primary focus is how maturational processes and interpersonal contexts characteristic of adolescence contribute to changes in victimization, with the objective of informing future research directions and the development of effective interventions.     

How you look versus how you feel: Associations between BMI z-score,body dissatisfaction,peer victimization,and self-worth for African American and white adolescents

Being overweight and having negative self-perceptions (body dissatisfaction) can have problematic consequences for adolescents physically, socially, and psychologically. Understanding associations between weight, self-perceptions, and peer experiences across ethnicities is particularly important given recent increases in obesity among ethnic minorities. The current study aimed to address these issues by examining Body Mass Index (BMI) z-scores and body dissatisfaction predicting change in general self-worth over time via peer victimization experiences in a diverse sample of 236 youth (ages 10–16 years). Body dissatisfaction predicted decreases in self-worth over time even after controlling for BMI z-score. BMI z-scores predicted decreases in self-worth over time only for white adolescents, whereas body dissatisfaction directly predicted decreases in self-worth for African American youth and indirectly via peer victimization for white youth. Associations were also considered by gender. Implications for intervention efforts for both white and African American adolescents are discussed.     

Service use patterns and mental health symptoms among adolescents exposed to multiple types of trauma

Few studies have explored how different trauma experiences influence service use. This study explores patterns of service use amongst 6483 adolescents aged between 13 and 18, and examines if such patterns are associated with trauma profiles, demographic variables, and mental health disorders. Data from the National Comorbidity Survey – Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A) were used. A latent class analysis identified four adolescent trauma sub-groups: ‘high risk’, ‘sexual risk’ ‘non-sexual risk’, and ‘low risk’. Regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between service use, trauma classes, and mental health outcomes. Significant relationships were found between service use, trauma sub-groups, demographics and mental health outcomes. Despite the effectiveness of mental health services, only a minority of adolescents exposed to different traumas use such resources. However, this study may go some way towards providing an understanding of the trauma backgrounds, demographic predictors and mental health disorders associated with service use.     

Early adolescent temperament,parental monitoring,and substance use in Mexican-origin adolescents

Previous studies suggest that temperamental dispositions are associated with substance use. However, most research supporting this association has relied on European American samples (Stautz & Cooper, 2013). We addressed this gap by evaluating the prospective relations between 5th grade temperament and 9th grade substance use in a longitudinal sample of Mexican-origin youth (N = 674). Effortful control and trait aggressiveness predicted 9th grade substance use, intentions, and expectations, even after controlling for 5th grade substance use. Additionally, we found an interaction between temperament and parental monitoring such that monitoring is a protective factor for early substance use primarily for youth with temperamental tendencies associated with risk for substance use (e.g., low effortful control and aggression). Results add to the growing literature demonstrating that early manifestations of self-control are related to consequential life outcomes.     

Prevalence of substance use among moroccan adolescents and association with academic achievement

AIM: To investigate rates of drug and alcohol use and their association with academic performance in Moroccan youth.METHODS: An adapted version of the European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs survey was administered to 2139 10^th-12^th graders in 36 Moroccan public high schools. Two multiple logistic regressions were completed, one for male and one for female subjects. Grade average was used as a two-part outcome variable, and drug use was used as a four-level categorical independent variable. Parents’ education levels and socioeconomic status were included as covariates.RESULTS: Of the subjects, 181 girls (16%) and 390 boys (40%) reported ever having used alcohol, hashish, or psychotropic drugs. Girls who had used any of those substances in the past 30 d demonstrated an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 2.62 (95%CI: 1.31-5.22) of having average or below-average grades, and those with any lifetime use showed an AOR of 1.72 (95%CI: 1.07-2.77). Among the boys, use in the past 30 d was associated with an AOR of 2.08 (95%CI: 1.33-3.24) of average or below average grades, and use in the last 12 mo with an AOR of 1.74 (95%CI: 1.00-3.05). Any lifetime use among male and previous 12 mo use among female subjects were not significantly associated with academic achievement.CONCLUSION: Among Moroccan adolescents, drug use is substantially different between boys and girls. In both genders, lower academic achievement was associated with alcohol, hashish, or psychotropic drug use in the last 30 d.     

Perceptions of sexuality and sexual health among young people in the Netherlands

Sexual health problems are not uncommon among young people in the Netherlands and finding the proper treatment for such problems is often challenging. More insight regarding young people's perceptions of sexuality and its associated problems is needed to improve both treatment and education. This qualitative study of 22 young people (aged 13 to 25 years) explored perceptions of sexuality and sexual health. The results show that sexuality is narrowly defined by young people, with focus clearly being placed on physical aspects of sexuality, and sexual intercourse in particular. Sexual problems are usually defined as physical or medical problems. The data show that participants had limited knowledge regarding sexual problems associated with sexual functioning. Schools, parents and culture all appear to play a role in perceptions of sexuality and sexual health. In their totality, the findings suggest that knowledge about the complexity of sexuality and sexual health is lacking among young people in the Netherlands. We recommend broader sexual health education programs in schools that include the discussion of multiple aspects of sexuality, including pleasure. We also suggest that parents take a more prominent role in educating their children about sexuality.     

Cross-sectional study of abnormal amygdala development in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: In vivo imaging studies in adult bipolar patients have suggested enlargement of the amygdala. It is not known whether this abnormality is already present early in the illness course or whether it develops later in life. We conducted a morphometric MRI study to examine the size of specific temporal lobe structures in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder and healthy control subjects, as well as their relationship with age, to examine possible neurodevelopmental abnormalities. METHODS: Subjects included 16 DSM-IV bipolar patients (16 +/- 3 years) and 21 healthy controls (mean age +/- SD = 17 +/- 4 years). Measures of amygdala, hippocampus, temporal gray matter, temporal lobe, and intracranial volumes (ICV) were obtained. RESULTS: There was a trend to smaller left amygdala volumes in patients (mean volumes +/- SD = 1.58 +/- .42 mL) versus control subjects (1.83 +/- .4 mL; F = 3.87, df = 1,32, p = .06). Bipolar patients did not show significant differences in right or left hippocampus, temporal lobe gray matter, temporal lobe, or right amygdala volumes (analysis of covariance, age, gender, and ICV as covariates, p > .05) compared with healthy control subjects. Furthermore, there was a direct correlation between left amygdala volumes and age (r =. 50, p = .047) in patients, whereas in healthy controls there was an inverse correlation (r = -.48, p = .03). CONCLUSIONS: The direct correlation between left amygdala volumes and age in bipolar patients, not present in healthy control subjects, may reflect abnormal developmental mechanisms in bipolar disorder.     

Cocaine and alcohol use preceding suicide in African American and white adolescents

The goal of this investigation was to determine whether cocaine and ethanol use was a differentiating factor between African American and white teenage suicide victims. This is a retrospective analysis of medical examiner's records of all completed suicides in Fulton County, GA from 01/1989 to 12/2003, and included 1296 cases. There were 79 suicide victims aged 19 and younger during the study interval, and of this group, 49 (62%) were African American, 26 (33%) were white, and 4 (5%) other race, compared to adults (20 years) where 28.5% were African American, 68.6% white and 2.9% other race (chi(2)=42.678, d.f.=2, p<0.0001). Of the black teenaged victims, 82.2% had no cocaine or alcohol detected at autopsy, while 41.7% of the white victims were positive for one or both substance (chi(2)=4.633, d.f.=1, p=0.04). Only 8.9% of the black teenage suicide victims had used cocaine prior to death compared to 28% of the whites (chi(2)=4.432; d.f.=1; p<0.04). The suicide rate (suicide/100,000/year) for black teens was 5.48 compared to 4.16 for whites, but the rate of cocaine positive teen suicides was 1.12 for whites and 0.45 for blacks. The pattern of cocaine use changes dramatically in the adult group, with 27% of African American suicide victims compared to 7.7% of whites being positive (chi(2)=73.272; d.f.=1; p<0.001). Use of intoxicating substances does differentiate teenage suicide victims, as only a small proportion of black teenagers had used cocaine or alcohol prior to death compared to almost half of all whites.     

Brief report: Explaining differences in depressive symptoms between African American and European American adolescents

African American adolescents report more depressive symptoms than their European American peers, but the reasons for these differences are poorly understood. This study examines whether risk factors in individual, family, school, and community domains explain these differences. African American and European American adolescents participating in the Birmingham Youth Violence Study (N = 594; mean age 13.2 years) reported on their depressive symptoms, pubertal development, aggressive and delinquent behavior, connectedness to school, witnessing violence, and poor parenting. Primary caregivers provided information on family income and their education level, marital status, and depression, and the adolescents' academic performance. African American adolescents reported more depressive symptoms than European American participants. Family socioeconomic factors reduced this difference by 29%; all risk factors reduced it by 88%. Adolescents' exposure to violence, antisocial behavior, and low school connectedness, as well as lower parental education and parenting quality, emerged as significant mediators of the group differences in depressive symptoms.     

Nucleus accumbens response to rewards and testosterone levels are related to alcohol use in adolescents and young adults

During adolescence there is a normative increase in risk-taking behavior, which is reflected in, for example, increases in alcohol consumption. Prior research has demonstrated a link between testosterone and alcohol consumption, and between testosterone and neural responses to rewards. Yet, no study to date tested how testosterone levels and neural responses to rewards relate to and predict individual differences in alcohol use. The current study aimed to investigate this by assessing alcohol use, testosterone levels and neural responses to rewards in adolescents (12–17 years old) and young adults (18–26 years old). Participants were measured twice with a two-year interval between testing sessions. Cross-sectional analysis showed that at the second time point higher neural activity to rewards, but not testosterone levels, explained significant variance above age in reported alcohol use. Predictive analyses showed that, higher testosterone level at the first time point, but not neural activity to rewards at the first time point, was predictive of more alcohol use at the second time point. These results suggest that neural responses to rewards are correlated with current alcohol consumption, and that testosterone level is predictive of future alcohol consumption. These results are interpreted in the context of trajectory models of adolescent development.     

Changes in positive and negative peer influences and depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood

IntroductionPeers are believed to continue as prominent sources of influence for young adults. However, having peers who use alcohol and drugs is associated with depressive symptoms in young adults and research on the effects of having peers who model positive activities beyond adolescence is scarce.MethodIn this 10-year study of 644 Canadian youth (52% female), we used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of within-person and between-person differences in the interplay of peer behaviours and changes in depressive symptoms between ages 14 and 25. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews and surveys for private topics.ResultsYouth with close friends who used drugs and alcohol consistently reported more depressive symptoms at each age, whereas having friends who engaged in positive activities was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, especially during adolescence. Moreover, at times when youth had more substance-using peers than usual (within person variation), they also reported more symptoms.ConclusionsSubstance-using peer contexts convey both short- and long-term risks for depressive symptoms. However, the protective effects of having peers who are engaged in positive activities, while generally protective, may be reduced in young adulthood. It is possible that older youth withdraw from peers and activities as their depression worsens, and prosocial activities become less supervised by parents, more optional, and more expensive.     

A confirmatory factor analysis of specific phobia domains in African American and Caucasian American young adults

The current study investigated factors related to specific phobia domains and differences in patterns among African American and Caucasian American adults. Subjects were 100 African Americans and 121 Caucasian Americans who completed the Fear Survey Schedule--Second Edition (FSS-II). Fears related to specific phobia domains were first examined, with frequencies differing between African American and Caucasian American samples on three of the six specific phobia domains. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the patterns of specific phobias among the African American sample. The trimmed model for the African American sample included natural environment, animal and social anxiety specific phobia factors as latent, exogenous variables. Data from the Caucasian American sample provided a poor fit to this model. Instead, the trimmed model for the Caucasian American sample included the situational, animal and social anxiety factors. The natural environment-type specific phobia factor did not have adequate fit for the Caucasian American sample as in the African American sample. Results indicated that different factor loading patterns of fear-related stimuli may exist among African American and Caucasian American young adults. Potential explanations and future directions are discussed.     

Anxiety in transition: Neuroendocrine mechanisms supporting the development of anxiety pathology in adolescence and young adulthood

Adolescence marks a key developmental window during which emotion dysregulation increases, along with risk for the onset of anxiety and other affect-related pathologies. Although emotion dysregulation and related pathologies normatively decline during the transition into adulthood, this does not occur for a sizable minority of individuals. Finally, sex differences in anxiety emerge during adolescence, with females developing a 2-fold increase in risk relative to males. Unfortunately, a neurobiological model of the mechanisms that cause these changes during adolescence has yet to be proposed. In the present work, we first provide brief reviews of relevant literature. Next, we outline a dual-mechanism model focused on (i) the influence of pubertal testosterone on key emotion-regulation circuitry (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex-amygdala coupling) and (ii) myelination of the fiber bundles connecting such circuitry (i.e., uncinate fasciculus). The proposed model offers a set of specific, testable hypotheses that will hopefully spur much needed cross-disciplinary research.     

A confirmatory factor analysis of the Beck Anxiety Inventory in African American and European American young adults

The anxiety literature is particularly sparse as it relates to African Americans, and there are few studies to date that have examined the factor structure of anxiety assessment tools within this population. The current study investigated the original two-factor structure of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in addition to two extant factor structures of the BAI in a non-clinical sample of African American and European American young adults. One hundred twenty one European American and 100 African American young adults completed the BAI. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the previous factor structures of the Beck Anxiety Inventory do not provide the best fit for either the African American or the European American sample. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that an alternative, two-factor model provided the best fit for the sample, particularly for the African American sample. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.