Background: Cannabis vaping has become increasingly popular among college students. The purpose of this study was to use the Integrated Behavioral Model to better understand students' motivations for engaging in this high-risk behavior. Methods: A survey instrument was developed to assess six IBM constructs, as well as past use of cannabis and…

How people make perceived message effectiveness (PME) judgments remains mostly unexplored. This study assessed whether people need to spontaneously think about message effectiveness to report the message as effective on rating scales and investigated emotions as precursors to PME. After viewing one of four e-cigarette prevention messages, 1,968…

Research has linked pre- and perinatal complications (PPCs) with increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, PPCs are also known risk factors for other mental health disorders. This study explored which PPCs are specific risk factors for ASD, as opposed to other forms of psychopathology, among a large sample of clinically-referred…

No studies have examined vocational education students' intention to change multiple health risk behaviors and whether baseline characteristics predict behavior change. Participants: Participants were vocational education students in New South Wales, Australia. Methods: Students in the no-intervention control arm of a cluster randomized controlled…

Objective: to examine factors associated with cigarette and hookah smoking among Middle Eastern (ME) Arab college women. Participants: 406 adult women of ME Arabic background, currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a US college. Methods: a cross-sectional design, using an anonymous online survey of demographic characteristics,…

Research is mixed on the common patterns of substance use within a college student population after trauma. Data was collected from students from a mid-sized, Midwestern university. Respondents often reported the use of combinations of medications and drugs that could lead to dangerous effects. Alcohol use was predicted by the substance use…

Objective: College students use electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) more often than any other US demographic group. In a novel application of the acquired preparedness model, we examined how proximal (e.g., cognitions) and distal (e.g., dispositional) influences accounted for ENDS use and dependence. Participants: Undergraduates (N = 1075;…

Parent-child similarity is a function of genetic and environmental transmission. In addition, genetic effects not transmitted to offspring may drive parental behavior, thereby affecting the rearing environment of the child. Measuring genetic proclivity directly, through polygenic risk scores (PRSs), provides a way to test for the effect of…

Background: People with intellectual disability may be at elevated risk of adverse consequences of substance use. This study outlines the prevalence of, and factors associated with, substance use in young people with and without intellectual disability. Method: Secondary analysis was undertaken of the Next Steps annual panel study, which follows a…

Objective: Few studies have examined relations between college sporting events and maladaptive health behaviors among non-athlete college students. Participants: 97 college students. Methods: Completed nightly surveys (alcohol, eating, physical activity, sexual risk taking, smoking) for 11 days around a National Championship game. Results:…

Adolescents commonly engage in substance use and sexual behaviors which pose risks for their health. Secondary data analysis of two school-based surveys explored the clustering of lifetime use of cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, and engagement in sexual intercourse among 2,489 adolescents in Scotland and 1,405 adolescents in Northern Ireland. All…

Adolescents often practice unhealthy behaviors to lose weight or keep from gaining weight. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) of various health risk behaviors since 1991 using U.S. representative samples of high school students and is therefore best for us to identify risk/preventive…

The purpose of the present study is to determine if high school students' character strengths composed of twenty-four different strengths, virtues including six dimensions and demographic characteristics predict risky behaviors. The participants of the study were 380 students aged between 14-19 years and enrolled in general high schools. The data…

Understanding the factors that make college students more likely to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes is key to developing effective interventions in order to reduce these behaviors. This study sought to understand entering college students' intentions to engage in smoking and drinking behavior by examining the cognitive accessibility (ease of…

Electronic cigarettes (ECs) acting as a gateway to smoking traditional cigarettes (TCs) is a growing public health concern of EC use among youths. To gather the opinions and perceptions of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) on whether and how EC can act as a gateway to smoking TC among youths. A qualitative method included 42 AYAs. Participants…