Teenage mothers are more likely to use drugs, and their children are more likely to use substances and become pregnant during adolescence. Teenage mothers' substance use may play a role in the intergenerational risk for adolescent pregnancy. Pregnant adolescents (12-18 years) were seen during pregnancy and postnatal years 6, 10, 14, and 16 (n =…

Driving under the influence of drugs poses risks for traffic safety. Most research attention has been focused on the most prevalent drugs of abuse, such as alcohol, illegal drugs, and prescription drugs with high abuse potential. The objectives of this study were to determine the types of drugs used by convicted DUI offenders on the day of their…

The efficacy of inoculation theory has been confirmed by decades of empirical research, yet optimizing its effectiveness remains a vibrant line of investigation. The present research turns to psychological reactance theory for a means of enhancing the core mechanisms of inoculation--threat and refutational preemption. Findings from a multisite…

The investment hypothesis proposes that fluid intelligence drives the accumulation of crystallized intelligence, such that crystallized intelligence increases more substantially in individuals with high rather than low fluid intelligence. However, most investigations have been conducted on adolescent cohorts or in two-wave data sets. There are few…

A unique Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) prevention program called "PALS" (Prevention through Alternative Learning Styles) was implemented with middle school students with the goal of enhancing student knowledge of the harmful effects of ATOD, promoting the use of refusal skills and reducing intentions to use ATOD in the future.…

Background: The Gateway Drug Theory suggests that licit drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, serve as a "gateway" toward the use of other, illicit drugs. However, there remains some discrepancy regarding which drug--alcohol, tobacco, or even marijuana--serves as the initial "gateway" drug subsequently leading to the use of…

This study examines the separate relationships of public housing residence and subsidized housing residence to adolescent health risk behavior. Data include 2,530 adolescents aged 14 to 19 who were children of the National the Longitudinal Study of Youth. The author used stratified propensity methods to compare the behaviors of each…

Objectives: To assess the influence of media use and perceived risk on marijuana use outcomes. Methods: With survey data from 750 US young adults, structural equation modeling tested how attitudes, behaviors, and behavioral intention specific to marijuana use are influenced by perceived personal and societal risk of marijuana use, media campaign…

Objectives: To determine factors associated with dual use of tobacco products in a population of black South African adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from a self-administered questionnaire completed by a representative sample of grade 8 students from 21 randomly selected secondary state schools in the Limpopo Province, South Africa (n =…

The aim of the current study was to delineate the psychiatric profile of cannabis dependent young people (14-29 years old) with mental health problems (N = 36) seeking treatment via a research study. To do so, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Childhood Diagnoses were…

This study examined the moderating effect of big-five based personality types on the relation between sensation seeking and three adolescent marijuana use outcomes (lifetime use, current use, attraction to marijuana use). 1,236 German adolescents, aged 14 to 16 years, participated in the current study. The results show that sensation seeking is…

Substance use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality, and it is in large part why people in the U.S. have the highest probability among 17 high-income nations of dying by age 50. Substance use is also an important contributor to many social ills including child and spouse abuse, violence more generally, theft, suicide, and more;…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a longitudinal examination of predictors of sexual aggression among male juvenile offenders. Four hundred and four adolescent males between the ages of 14 and 17 years were recruited from juvenile probation offices to take part in a prospective study of substance use and sexual risk. At baseline,…

Objective: Examine trends in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS), including motives, routes of administration, sources, cost, and risk factors. Participants: 1,253 college students. Methods: Data were collected annually during academic years 2004-2005 through 2008-2009. Generalized estimating equations analyses evaluated longitudinal…

Objective: To assess the prevalence and frequency of medical marijuana diversion and use among adolescents in substance abuse treatment and to identify factors related to their medical marijuana use. Method: This study calculated the prevalence and frequency of diverted medical marijuana use among adolescents (n = 164), ages 14-18 years (mean age…