A Test of Three Alternative Hypotheses Regarding the Effects of Early Delinquency on Adolescent Psychosocial Functioning and Substance Involvement

This study compared alternative hypotheses (from general deviance, life course, and developmental psychopathology perspectives) regarding the effects of early adolescent delinquency on psychosocial functioning in family, school, and peer contexts, and on alcohol use. Analyses also examined parent-child negative affective quality, prosocial school orientation, and peer substance use as possible direct predictors of problem substance use. Participants in this longitudinal study, extending from age 11 to age 18, were 429 rural teens (222 girls) and their families. Path model comparisons supported the tenability of a partial mediation model that included mediating pathways and a direct effect of delinquency on alcohol use, as hypothesized by developmental psychopathology. A supplemental analysis controlling for the stability of the family, school, and peer variables revealed that delinquency had less pervasive direct effects on, and a nonsignificant indirect effect through, changes in the mediators over time. Results also showed that peer substance use was a direct positive predictor of problem use.     

Child and Adolescent Tobacco and Substance Use within the Context of ADHD: Implications for Prevention and Treatment

Tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other forms of substance use among children and adolescents is a significant public health concern. At present, one high-risk population of great concern is those affected with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and those with subthreshold ADHD-like symptoms. The prevalence of tobacco and substance use is considerable within this population, and ADHD and ADHD-like symptoms often present as comorbid conditions. To further the understanding of this problem, a review is provided of youth tobacco and substance use and their biobehavioral influences in the context of ADHD. Using primary care as an example, opportunities for tobacco and substance use prevention and treatment within this high-risk population are examined.     

Recent advances in research on school-based extracurricular activities and adolescent development

Updating a previous systematic review of the literature, this review summarizes the literature over the last 5 years on the relationship between school-based extracurricular activity participation and academic achievement, substance use, sexual activity, psychological adjustment, and delinquency. The review also considers mediators and moderators of these relationships. This review also discusses recent advances in activity research including participation measurement (intensity, breadth, and duration), person-centered approaches, and an exploration of the overscheduling hypothesis. The review reveals a mixed picture of the relationship between activity participation and these adolescent developmental outcomes. A call for continued exploration into measurement issues, analysis approaches, outcome measures, and causal models of activities and adolescent functioning is made.     

Individual,Family, Peer,and Academic Characteristics of Male Juvenile Sexual Offenders

This study examined the individual functioning, interpersonal relations, and academic performance of 115 male juveniles who were divided into 5 demographically matched groups (sexual offenders with peer/adult victims, sexual offenders with child victims, violent nonsexual offenders, nonviolent nonsexual offenders, and nondelinquent youths). Parents and youths completed self-report instruments, behavior rating inventories, and a videorecorded interaction task, and teachers completed a rating measure. Results showed that juvenile sexual offenders, like juvenile nonsexual offenders, had more behavior problems, more difficulties in family and peer relations, and poorer academic performance than did nondelinquent youths. However, juvenile sexual offenders and nonsexual offenders did not differ on any of the measures of individual or interpersonal adjustment. The implications of these findings for research, theory, and treatment are discussed.

Father Involvement and Young,Rural African American Men’s Engagement in Substance Misuse and Multiple Sexual Partnerships

This study was designed to examine the associations of biological father and social father involvement during childhood with African American young men’s development and engagement in risk behaviors. With a sample of 505 young men living in the rural South of the United States, a dual mediation model was tested in which retrospective reports of involvement from biological fathers and social fathers were linked to young men’s substance misuse and multiple sexual partnerships through men’s relational schemas and future expectations. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that levels of involvement from biological fathers and social fathers predicted young men’s relational schemas; only biological fathers’ involvement predicted future expectations. In turn, future expectations predicted levels of substance misuse, and negative relational schemas predicted multiple sexual partnerships. Biological fathers’ involvement evinced significant indirect associations with young men’s substance misuse and multiple sexual partnerships through both schemas and expectations; social fathers’ involvement exhibited an indirect association with multiple sexual partnerships through relational schemas. Findings highlight the unique influences of biological fathers and social fathers on multiple domains of African American young men’s psychosocial development that subsequently render young men more or less likely to engage in risk behaviors.     

The Effects of Victim’s Substance Use and Relationship Closeness on Mock Jurors’ Judgments in an Acquaintance Rape Case

Previous research has demonstrated that jurors perceive a female victim who is drunk at the time when she is sexually assaulted as less credible and more deserving of such punishment than a sober victim. In this experiment, we investigated the effect of an alleged acquaintance rape victim’s type of substance use and closeness of relationship with the defendant on the judgments of 152 student mock jurors. Participants read a case summary and answered a series of questions about their impressions of the actors and actions involved in the case. Participants perceived a victim who was sober at the time of the incident as more credible than a victim who was intoxicated due to illegal substance use (alcohol or LSD), and convictions were also most likely when the victim was sober. Women perceived the victim as more credible than men did. Higher victim credibility judgments were associated with less rape myth acceptance (RMA) on the part of participants.     

Brief strategic family therapy: lessons learned in efficacy research and challenges to blending research and practice

In this article, we present key lessons that we have learned from (1) a long program of research on an empirically supported treatment, brief strategic family therapy (BSFT), and (2) our ongoing research and training efforts related to transporting BSFT to the front lines of practice. After briefly presenting the rationale for working with the family when addressing behavior problems and substance abuse in adolescent populations, particularly among Hispanic adolescents, we summarize key findings from our 30-year program of research. The article closes by identifying barriers to the widespread adoption of empirically supported treatments and by presenting current work within the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Clinical Trials Network that attempts to address these barriers and obstacles.     

Psychiatric Disorders Associated with Substance Use Among Children and Adolescents: Findings from the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study

The relationships between specific quantities and frequencies of alcohol, cigarette, and illicit substance use and substance use (SUD) and other psychiatric disorders were investigated among 1,285 randomly selected children and adolescents, aged 9 to 18, and their parents, from the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study. Logistic regressions indicated that daily cigarette smoking, weekly alcohol consumption, and any illicit substance use in the past year were each independently associated with an elevated likelihood of diagnosis with SUD and other psychiatric disorders (anxiety, mood, or disruptive behavior disorders), controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, family income). The associations between the use of specific substances and specific psychiatric disorders varied as a function of gender.     

A test of the relations between avoidance of panic-related situations and substance use, substance dependence, and depression among subclinical panickers

The hypotheses that among subclinical panickers, avoidance of panic-related situations would be associated with elevated substance use levels and increased likelihood of lifetime diagnoses of substance dependence and major depressive disorder (MDD) were tested. Findings confirmed that panic-related avoidance was associated with an elevated likelihood of lifetime diagnoses of nicotine and alcohol dependence as well as MDD, but not drug dependence. Panic avoidance was also related to relatively greater daily levels of cigarette and alcohol use.     

Information-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment

Constructing a sexual identity is one of the major developmental tasks of adolescence. Applying the Media Practice Model, this study retrospectively examines how self-identifying lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals used media during the commencement of the coming-out process and the effects of media use during this pivotal time of development. Results indicate that the Internet plays a critical role in the development of LGB sexual identities. Heavy users of media during the coming-out process are significantly less likely to communicate openly with their families later in life. However, individuals’ reports of loneliness and self-esteem are not affected. Conclusions suggest that mediated forms of communication can be beneficial for sexual exploration among LGB individuals.