Background: Little is known about the correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination or willingness to be vaccinated in urban, minority adolescents. Methods: Using responses to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Philadelphia, a random sample of high schools provided weighted data representing 20,941 9th to 12th graders. Stratified by…

This study of a cohort of 451 adolescents examined associations between trajectories of problem behaviors and the timing of entry into work, marriage, and parenthood. We used data from 12 assessments across adolescence, through emerging adulthood and into young adulthood. We employed 2-phase mixed-effects models to estimate growth in substance use…

Parents' health and children's health are closely intertwined--healthier parents have healthier children, and vice versa. Genetics accounts for some of this relationship, but much of it can be traced to environment and behavior, and the environmental and behavioral risk factors for poor health disproportionately affect families living in…

The Student Substance Use and Safety Survey, administered annually to a random, representative sample of AISD middle and high school students, provides self-report data on student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and school safety issues. These are the results from the spring 2014 survey.

This is a report on the New Mexico Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) project conducted over 5 years as part of a national initiative launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with the aim of increasing integration of substance use services and medical care. Throughout the state, 53,238…

Community problem solving is believed to help coalitions achieve community changes and subsequent population-level reductions in targeted community health problems. This study empirically examined a community problem solving model used by CADCA, a national coalition training organization, to determine if the model explains how coalitions become…

Substance abuse among homeless mothers has negative consequences for both the mother and her child. Few researchers have examined the needs of these mothers in order to effectively intervene in their lives. This study uses a qualitative focus group research method to examine the needs of substance abusing homeless mothers recruited from a homeless…

Relatively little is known in terms of the relationship between religiosity profiles and adolescents' involvement in substance use, violence, and delinquency. Using a diverse sample of 17,705 (49 % female) adolescents from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, latent profile analysis and multinomial regression are employed to examine…

Since the construct of "self-esteem" was first introduced over 100 years ago, a wealth of knowledge has been accumulated. Several conclusions about the nature of self-esteem can be reached that provide a foundation for future practice and research. In general, research shows that high self-esteem is associated with the behaviors, goals, and coping…

Treatment providers need tools that are designed to identify risk, treatment needs, and monitor client engagement. These are essential components in substance abuse treatment for offender populations. In this study, the authors evaluated a flexible set of one-page modular assessments known as the Texas Christian University (TCU) Short Forms and…

Though it has produced a high-quality body of research, the study of substance use has remained highly individualized in its focus. This paper adds further sociological understanding to that research. Using hierarchical models, the following explores how institutional and criminological theories can be incorporated into substance use research by…

Despite the known deficits in sleep that occur during adolescence and the high prevalence of substance use behaviors among this group, relatively little research has explored how sleep and substance use may be causally related. The purpose of this study was to explore the longitudinal bi-directional relationships between sleep duration, sleep…

Objective: To examine factors that influence the effectiveness and quality of implementation of evidence-based family-focused adolescent substance use prevention programmes delivered in health care settings and to assess the effects of programme choice versus programme assignment on programme delivery. Design: Strengthening Families Program: For…

The current study explores the rate at which members of Lagos' "area boys" engage in drug and alcohol use, and determines the predictive roles of parental and neighbourhood characteristics in the gang patterns of psychoactive substance misuse behaviour. The study approached gang members (N = 129) aged from 18 to 38 years (M = 25.83, SD = 4.82)…

Objective: To introduce item response theory (IRT) to health behavior researchers by contrasting it with classical test theory and providing an example of IRT in health behavior. Method: Demonstrate IRT by fitting the 2PL model to substance-use survey data from the Adolescent Health Risk Behavior questionnaire (n = 1343 adolescents). Results: An…