This study examines the predictive significance of late adolescent substance use groups (i.e., abstainers, experimental users, at-risk users, and abusers) for early adult adaptation. Participants (N = 159) were drawn from a prospective longitudinal study of first-born children of low-income mothers. At 17.5 years of age, participants were assigned…

Native American Indian adolescent substance abuse has been a longstanding health concern. There are few culturally tailored interventions for mild to moderate substance users. The purpose of this study was to measure the response of Native American Indian adolescents from the Plains tribal groups to a school-based culturally tailored substance…

Objectives: Determine the prevalence, clinical signs and symptoms, and demographic and family characteristics of children attending a tertiary care hospital in Mexico City, Mexico, to illustrate the characteristics of abusive head trauma among this population. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study of infants and children under 5,…

This study utilized data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) to investigate the use of professional services and informal support among African American and Caribbean black men with a lifetime mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Thirty-three percent used both professional services and informal support, 14% relied on professional…

This article examined the impact of linguistic acculturation and gender on the substance use initiation of a sample of 1,473 Mexican heritage preadolescents attending 30 public schools in Phoenix, Arizona. It was hypothesized that linguistic acculturation operates differently as a risk or protective factor for young children than for older youth.…

While it is widely acknowledged that the family and childhood environments affect adult well being, why they matter is still an area of significant debate. Previous research concerned with this issue has focused on the influence of family income, family structure, and cognitive ability. Much of this research has focused on economic and social…

This issue of "The Link" newsletter contains the following articles: (1) Strong Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) Now in Senate (Tim Briceland-Belts); (2) Director's Message (Janet K. Wiig); (3) Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act; and (4) Registering Harm:…

This report provides information on the causes and incidence of youth violence and summarizes violence prevention strategies used in schools across the country. Particular attention is devoted to the use of metal detectors in schools. It would cost an estimated $32.5 million to implement a metal detection program in all of the District's…

Cognitive bias refers to a well-established finding that individuals who suffer from certain clinical problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, etc.) selectively attend to, remember, and interpret events relevant to their condition. Although a body of literature exists that has tried to examine this…

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are one of the most interesting innovations in the area of online computer gaming. This pilot study set out to examine the psychological and social effects of online gaming using an online questionnaire with particular reference to excessive and "dependent" online gaming. A self-selecting…

Females who had vaginal sex were interviewed annually in their first two years of college (n=386, ages 17 to 20 at study outset) and asked about risky sex behaviors and substance use. In year one, 60.2%[subscript wt] had intoxicated sex, 31.4%[subscript wt] had multiple sex partners, and 48.9%[subscript wt] had unprotected sex (i.e., without a…

The literature exploring commonalities between four-year and community college student alcohol use is relatively scarce. A possible reason for this discrepancy is the heavy focus on alcohol issues at university colleges. Coll (1999) presented one of the first brief assessments comparing community and four-year colleges on alcohol use and related…

A wide variety of theoretical perspectives have been found to have an association with substance abuse. Most of these studies use data from samples of public school students and thus capture only part of the youth population. Using data from approximately 800 delinquents incarcerated in a Midwestern state, we examine the association between…

Data from a community-based multicenter study of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) and counseling as usual (CAU) for outpatient substance users were used to examine questions about the role of the alliance in MET and CAU. Most (94%) of the sample met diagnostic criteria for abuse or dependence (primarily alcohol and/or cocaine). Sixteen…

In the Fall of 2004, 1,948 5th grade students from Phoenix, AZ enrolled in an evaluation of a school-based, substance use prevention intervention. To assess the consistency of Mexican and Mexican-American students' self-reports of lifetime substance use, the present study analyzed data reported by 1,418 students who reported Mexican ancestry and…