Substance use among school dropouts is a growing global concern that has not been assessed through a meta-analysis. This study aims to provide an overview of the relationship between school dropout and substance use. We searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PsychINFO, ERIC (EBSCO), MEDLINE (EBSCO), and CINAHL (EBSCO)…

Objective: Examine the proportion of students with rapid firearm access and associations with recent alcohol and marijuana use. Participants: Cross-sectional data from college freshmen (n = 183) in 2020 who participated in the "Mason: Health Starts Here" study. Methods: Using logistic regression, associations were examined between past…

Maternal substance use and unpredictable maternal sensory signals may affect child development, but no studies have examined them together. We explored the unpredictability, frequency and duration of maternal sensory signals in 52 Caucasian mother-child dyads, 27 with and 25 without maternal substance use. We also examined the association between…

Adolescence is a period of growth, independence, and exploration, with increased curiosity and risk-taking behaviors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021b). Evidence has shown an increase in mental health concerns during adolescence, including suicidal behaviors (CDC, 2023b; Plemmons et al., 2018; Yard et al., 2021), as well as…

The present study aimed to test if perceived pubertal timing was related to marijuana and alcohol use through deviant peer affiliation. Additionally, we examined if the deviant peer pathway was moderated by impulsiveness, gender, or both. Data were collected from 342 youth, most of whom had a family history of substance use disorder. Youth…

Objective: Young adulthood (18-25) is the peak age for substance use, but friends who engage in positive behaviors may be protective. The present study examined the direct relation between positive peer affiliation and substance use, and whether positive peer affiliation moderated the relation between self-reported sensation-seeking, future…

School bullying and cyberbullying are serious public health problems that negatively affect the lives of school-aged children. We examined the correlation between risk behaviors and lack of resiliency factors with bullying and cyberbullying across seven Mediterranean countries. The sample consisted of 33,399 adolescents (51.1% girls) aged 11, 13,…

Objective: This study examined joint trends over time in associations between substance use (heavy drinking, cannabis, and cigarette smoking) and mental health concerns (depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation) among US post-secondary students. Participants: Data came from 323,896 students participating in the Healthy Minds Study from 2009 to…

Objective: We examined relationships between different types and patterns of substance use and victimization experiences. Participants: College students from two universities in Spain completed an online, cross-sectional survey. Method: A series of tetrachoric correlations were estimated to examine the bivariate associations between different…

Ample evidence suggests that exposure to family violence associates with bullying perpetration (BP). However, much is unknown about the underlying mechanism such as depressive symptoms and the moderating role of school bonding in these relationships. Thus, this study first examined the link between exposure to family violence and BP. Second, the…

School connectedness is an important factor in the lives of youth and are a leverage point for optimizing youth's social, emotional, and physical health. This study presents a meta-analysis examining the relationship between school connectedness and four health domains that are prevalent in adolescence, have implications for adult health, and…

Rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB, i.e., suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts), substance use, and bullying victimization are higher among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+) youth compared to their heterosexual peers. However, research examining the interactive and potentially compounding associations of…

Neighborhood-level collective efficacy protects Black youth from substance use; however, neighborhood research does not account for the entirety of adolescents' exposure or their perceptions of space which may be critical to understanding the role of context in substance use. To address this limitation, the SPIN Project recruited 65 Black…

The study examined the relationship between perfectionism (categorized by adaptive, maladaptive, and non-perfectionist clusters), substance use (i.e., drinking and smoking), and mental health in a large sample of college student (N = 841; M = 19.6 years of age) in a time-lagged design. Students were classified using a two-step cluster analysis…

Objective: To assess the influence of specific COVID-19 impacts on college student depression, loneliness, and alcohol and cannabis use, and to investigate if resilience moderates these relationships. Participants: Data were collected from students (N = 1849, 80.9% white, 66.6% female) at a midwestern university during the 2021 winter/spring…