Hispanic youth are at risk for experiencing depressive symptoms and smoking cigarettes, and risk for depressive symptoms and cigarette use increase as Hispanic youth acculturate to U.S. culture. The mechanism by which acculturation leads to symptoms of depression and cigarette smoking is not well understood. The present study examined whether…

This article provides a brief overview of the Teen Interactive Theater Education (TITE) curriculum, the theory behind its inception, and the expected outcomes. TITE is an innovative positive youth development program that engages young people in the consideration of pertinent topics in today's society through the use of experiential activities…

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems in the United States today. It is the number one mental health problem among American women and ranks as a close second to substance abuse among men. In fact, alcoholism is the only other disorder that affects a greater number of people throughout the county. Fifteen percent of the American…

This study explored the relationship between trajectories of affective self-regulation skills during secondary school and young adult substance use in a large multiethnic, urban sample (N = 995). During secondary school, participants completed a measure of cognitive and behavioral skills used to control negative, unpleasant emotions or perceived…

Adolescence is an evolutionarily conserved developmental phase characterized by hormonal, physiological, neural and behavioral alterations evident widely across mammalian species. For instance, adolescent rats, like their human counterparts, exhibit elevations in peer-directed social interactions, risk-taking/novelty seeking and drug and alcohol…

Little is known about the demographic and clinical characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems. Drawing on health care billing claims for people with Medicaid coverage aged 12-99 years, the characteristics of people with intellectual disability and a history of substance abuse (N = 9,484) were explored and…

Introduction: ADHD has a high comorbidity with substance use disorders (SUD). Both diseases have profound social, psychological, and economic consequences and are therefore highly relevant for health systems. The high comorbidity indicates some shared underlying neurobiological substrates. Knowing these substrates may increase the understanding of…

More than 20 years ago, concerns were raised about whether domestic violence and sexual assault agencies need for stable funding would conflict with the values that initiated these respective movements. Since then, the movements have evolved considerably. Therefore, it is timely to investigate the challenges domestic violence and sexual assault…

Objective: To examine the association between frequency of family dinners (FFD) and selected problem behaviors for adolescents after adjusting for family connectedness, parental awareness, other family activities, and other potentially confounding factors. Methods: Data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997. The primary…

Focus groups (N = 15 groups; 8 with girls, 7 with boys) with adolescents in high schools near Cape Town, South Africa, were used to conduct a qualitative investigation of reported reasons for using and not using substances and for having and not having sex. Adolescents reported Enhancement, Negative States, Social, and Aversive Social motivations…

The article begins by making the point that a good assessment of the needs and circumstances of family members is important if previous neglect of affected family members is to be reversed. The methods we have used in research studies are then described. They include a lengthy semi-structured interview covering seven topic areas and standard…

A relatively new area of research suggests that naturally occurring mentoring relationships may influence the development of adolescents by protecting against risk behaviors. Few studies have explored how these relationships function to reduce risk behavior among youth, especially in the school context. Based on previous research and theory, we…

Art therapy is often thought of as an adjunct to counseling; however, because of its unique ability to bypass defenses, in some situations, art therapy may be a treatment of choice to allow clients to discover and express feelings that are often difficult to express verbally. Using art as therapy does not require that the therapist or the client…

This study discusses the pretest and posttest results of a batterer's intervention program (BIP) implemented within a California state prison substance abuse program (SAP), with a recommendation for further programs to be implemented within correctional institutions. The efficacy of utilizing correctional facilities to reach offenders who…

Latent growth curve analysis was used to assess motivation change across 3 time points for 120 therapeutic community residents. Models included the time-invariant predictor of readiness for treatment, which significantly predicted initial treatment motivation but not the rate of motivation change over time. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)