Identifying mediators in variable chains as part of a causal mediation analysis can shed light on issues of causation, assessment, and intervention. However, coefficients and effect sizes in a causal mediation analysis are nearly always small. This can lead those less familiar with the approach to reject the results of causal mediation analysis.…

For adolescents in recovery from a substance use disorder, school is a setting that may result in interactions with peer groups who are actively using alcohol or other drugs. Unfortunately, after treatment, these students may encounter multiple risk factors when returning to the setting where their substance use problems originated. Recovery High…

LGBTQ+ youth are at elevated risk for suicidality, substance use, and other mental health concerns. Evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions are often the first line treatment for mental health concerns. However, there is limited research examining the effectiveness of such interventions among LGBTQ+ adolescents. This systematic review…

Malnutrition is a global concern and it impacts negatively on mortality, morbidity, educability and productivity. Millions of children in South Africa are affected. This study examines the key factors associated with malnutrition among children aged six months to five years in a semi-rural area of the Western Cape, South Africa. A quantitative…

Objectives: Whole-school interventions and programmes aim to change school environments to promote health. Previous reviews suggest these are often inappropriately informed by individualistic psychological theories. We undertook a systematic review of whole-school interventions to prevent substance use and violence. This paper reports on a…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine correlates of reproductive coercion (RC) among a sample of college women in abusive relationships. Participants: 354 college students reporting a recent history of intimate partner violence (IPV). Methods: This study examines baseline data from a randomized controlled trial testing effectiveness…

Background: Few studies have looked at the prevalence of substance use disorders (SUD) in people with intellectual disability (ID). The results range between 1% and 6.4% and go up to 20% in people with ID and psychiatric disorders, probably underestimating real prevalence due to several limitations in these studies. ID confers risk for the…

Background: Data on the prevalence of developmental disabilities in people who experience imprisonment and on their characteristics are lacking. Methods: The present authors identified adults with developmental disabilities who were released from Ontario provincial prisons in 2010 and a general population comparator group using administrative…

Objective: To evaluate whether collegiate athletes and nonathlete college students differ in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and help-seeking behaviors. Participants: 165,210 respondents to the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment (NCHA), a survey administered to college…

Researchers used path analysis to examine self-stigma, help seeking, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in a community sample of individuals (N = 406) recruited through the crowdsourcing platform MTurk. Self-stigma of help seeking contributed to AOD use and was mediated by help-seeking attitudes. We discuss the implications for advocacy and…

Background: Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a clinical guideline that can help delay, prevent or reduce substance use behaviors in youth. We aimed to describe the experiences of middle and high school (MS and HS) students attending a school with an SBIRT program. Methods: This was a survey study conducted in 2…

The study aimed to investigate the Effect of Academic Stress on Students' Academic Achievements and Its Implications for Their Future Lives. A correlational research design was employed through stratified random sampling (n[subscript i] = 270, where female = 80 and male =190) to collect pertinent data through a questionnaire. Descriptive and…

What does a community-centered vision for substance use prevention and early intervention services in schools look like? Healthy Schools Campaign community advisory board members -- including education, healthcare and community leaders and youth advocates -- tackled this question while developing a new framing for addressing youth substance use…

In the past few decades, scholars and practitioners have given increasing attention to the experiences of families affected by trauma related to substance use, homelessness, and incarceration. As parents seek to restore and maintain parental bonds during traumatic separations and transitions, interdisciplinary family literacy interventions can be…

Substance use is a chronic social issue that has a substantial effect on social welfare topics in the United States. As one of the primary professions responsible for providing mental health services in the United States, it is imperative that social workers are prepared to meet the challenges presented by this ongoing epidemic. However, several…