Predicting substance use behavior among South African adolescents: The role of leisure experiences across time

Using seven waves of data, collected twice a year from the 8th through the 11th grades in a low-resource community in Cape Town, South Africa, we aimed to describe the developmental trends in three specific leisure experiences (leisure boredom, new leisure interests, and healthy leisure) and substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) behaviors and to investigate the ways in which changes in leisure experiences predict changes in substance use behaviors over time. Results indicated that adolescents' substance use increased significantly across adolescence, but that leisure experiences remained fairly stable over time. We also found that adolescent leisure experiences predicted baseline substance use and that changes in leisure experiences predicted changes in substance use behaviors over time, with leisure boredom emerging as the most consistent and strongest predictor of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Implications for interventions that target time use and leisure experiences are discussed.     

Adolescent substance use groups: antecedent and concurrent personality differences in a longitudinal study

This study attempted to extend Shedler and Block's (1990) influential study, which found that adolescent drug experimenters had the healthiest personality functioning compared to abstainers and frequent users. Using a prospective design, we examined the relationship between antecedent and concurrent personality and age-18 substance use in a community sample of 1,298 twins (96% Caucasian, 49% male). Personality measures at ages 11 and 18 assessed positive emotionality (agentic and communal), negative emotionality, and constraint. Substance use groups-abstainers, experimenters, and problem users-were created at age 18. Age-18 substance use groups differed in age-11 and age-18 constraint such that problem users were lower than experimenters, who were lower than abstainers. Age-18 substance use groups did not differ in age-18 positive emotionality. However, abstainers were significantly lower than experimenters in communal positive emotionality, whereas female abstainers scored higher in agentic positive emotionality than female experimenters, who scored higher than female problem users. Experimenters were significantly lower in negative emotionality than problem users. Our findings are inconsistent with the notion that experimenters had the healthiest personality functioning and instead suggest different strengths and weaknesses for each group. Future studies should examine agentic and communal positive emotionality separately.     

Peer and adolescent substance use among 6th-9th graders: latent growth analyses of influence versus selection mechanisms.

This study analyzed peer-influence versus peer-selection mechanisms in adolescent tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Participants were surveyed 3 times, with 1-year intervals, about peers' substance use and their own use; Sample 1 had 1,190 participants (initial mean age = 12.4 years), Sample 2 had 1,277 participants (initial mean age = 11.5 years). Latent growth analyses that were based on composite scores indicated that initial peer use was positively related to rate of change in adolescent use, supporting the influence mechanism; there was little evidence for a selection mechanism. Difficult temperament, poor self-control, and deviance-prone attitudes were related to initial levels for both peer and adolescent use. It is concluded that peer influence is the primary mechanism during middle adolescence. Temperament-related attributes may be predisposing to early experimentation and deviant-peer affiliations.     

Person-organization fit and work-related attitudes and decisions: examining interactive effects with job fit and conscientiousness

This study examined boundary conditions that surround the importance of perceived person-organization (P-O) fit for work-related attitudes and decisions. The authors hypothesized that P-O fit is more strongly related to satisfaction and job choice decisions when needs-supplies (N-S) job fit or demands-abilities (D-A) job fit is low, and that P-O fit is more strongly related to job choice decisions for highly conscientious individuals. Hypotheses were tested among 299 participants in a 12-week internship program. Results indicated that P-O fit was more strongly related to satisfaction when individuals experienced low N-S job fit. P-O fit was more strongly related to job choice intentions when individuals experienced low D-A job fit or were highly conscientious. Finally, P-O fit was related to job offer acceptance for highly conscientious individuals.     

A pilot study of the DBT coach: an interactive mobile phone application for individuals with borderline personality disorder and substance use disorder

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has received strong empirical support and is practiced widely as a treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and BPD with comorbid substance use disorders (BPD-SUD). Therapeutic success in DBT requires that individuals generalize newly acquired skills to their natural environment. However, there have been only a limited number of options available to achieve this end. The primary goal of this research was to develop and test the feasibility of the DBT Coach, a software application for a smartphone, designed specifically to enhance generalization of a specific DBT skill (opposite action) among individuals with BPD-SUD. We conducted a quasiexperimental study in which 22 individuals who were enrolled in DBT treatment programs received a smartphone with the DBT Coach for 10 to 14 days and were instructed to use it as needed. Participants used the DBT Coach an average of nearly 15 times and gave high ratings of helpfulness and usability. Results indicate that both emotion intensity and urges to use substances significantly decreased within each coaching session. Furthermore, over the trial period, participants reported a decrease in depression and general distress. Mobile technology offering in vivo skills coaching may be a useful tool for reducing urges to use substances and engage in other maladaptive behavior by directly teaching and coaching in alternative, adaptive coping behavior.     

Examination of the bidirectional influences of leisure activity and memory in old people: A dissociative effect on episodic memory

The present study examined the relationships between different types of social and cognitive activities and different types of episodic and semantic memory. A total of 794 adult men and women from five age cohorts (aged 65–85 at baseline), participating in the longitudinal Betula project on ageing, memory, and health, were included in the study. The participants were studied over 10 years (1995–2005) in three waves. Recognition and recall were used as episodic memory tasks, and knowledge and verbal fluency as semantic memory tasks. The results, after controlling for age, gender, education, and some diseases, including heart disease and hypertension, as covariates, showed unidirectional effects of social activity on episodic memory on all test occasions (β = .10). Also, episodic memory predicted change in cognitive activity for all test waves (β = .21–.22). Findings suggest that social activity can be seen as protective factor against memory decline. It also seems that episodic memory performance is a predictor of cognitive activity in old people. However, the opposite direction does not hold true.     

Motivating exercise: The interactive effect of general action goals and past behavior on physical activity

Although exercise is recognized as a powerful tool to combat obesity, remarkably few US adults pursue adequate amounts of exercise, with one major impediment being a lack of motivation for active behaviors. Recent empirical work has demonstrated that behavior can be guided by goals to be generally active or inactive. In the present paper, an experiment is presented in which participants played or observed a video game, were primed with action or inaction goals, and practiced a stretching exercise for as long as desired. Exposure to environmental action cues led to increased time spent exercising. This effect was moderated by past behavior, such that individuals who had just engaged in an active task (played a videogame) were insensitive to attempts to motivate general action. This suggests that the effectiveness of attempts to motivate activity (??just do it??, ??be active??) hinges on the recent past-behavior of the targeted individuals. An implication of this work is that participation in certain leisure activities, such as playing videogames, may be causally related to a lack of motivation for exercise.     

Stress and worry: examining intolerance of uncertainty's moderating effect

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), or the way an individual perceives, interprets, and reacts to uncertainty in life, has been frequently investigated in relation to anxiety and worry. While a substantial body of research suggests that individual differences in IU foster stress and anxiety, IU's involvement as a potential moderator in the relation between stressful events and worry has only recently been investigated. Therefore, the present study examined the moderating effect of IU on the relation between daily hassles and worry as well as major life events and worry in a sample of 1092 young adults. Results revealed that IU showed a significant moderation effect in the relation between daily stress and worry. More specifically, when the two factors were examined individually only inhibitory IU served as a moderator between daily stress and worry. While major life events significantly predicted worry, no moderation effect was found for this relation. These findings highlight the need to better understand the mechanisms through which IU impacts worry and contributes to anxiety.     

Trauma and substance use: the role of defences and religious engagement

Substance use disorders commonly co-occur with posttraumatic stress disorder and are associated with greater impairment. There is some evidence to suggest that different coping strategies, including defence mechanisms and religious forms of coping, may buffer the relationship between trauma and SUDs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential moderating roles of defence mechanisms and religious coping on the already-established relationship between trauma symptoms and substance abuse. Data were gathered from a sample of college students (N?=?380). Trauma symptoms were associated with increased substance use and abuse. The use of immature defences was significantly associated with trauma and substance use. Increased substance abuse was also associated with higher rates of negative religious coping. Individuals who endorsed trauma symptoms were also more likely to use positive and negative religious coping. Defences and coping did not moderate the relationship between trauma and substance use.     

Oral kinematics: examining the role of edibility and valence in the in-out effect

Previous research has revealed a stable preference for words with inward consonantal-articulation patterns (from the front to the back of the mouth; e.g. BENOKA), over outward-words (from the back to the front; e.g. KENOBA). Following the oral approach-avoidance account suggesting that the in–out effect is due to the resemblance between consonantal-articulations patterns and ingestion/expectoration, recent findings have shown that when judging inward-outward names for objects with particular oral functions, valence did not modulate the effect while the oral function did. To replicate and examine further the role of edibility and valence in shaping the in–out effect, we asked participants (N?=?545) to rate inward and outward names for edible and non-edible products while controlling for valence. Results revealed that the motor-to-affect link was only observed for edible products, regardless of valence.     

Beyond social deviance: substance use disorders and the dimensions of psychopathy

High rates of comorbidity between psychopathy and substance use disorders (SUD) have long been recognized. However, the extent to which relationships between SUD and psychopathy extends beyond shared relationship with general antisociality remains undetermined. We examined zero-order and unique relationships between the elements of psychopathy and four categories of SUD; alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and opioid dependence. The sample consisted of 399 European American and African American male county jail inmates. The relationship between psychopathy and SUD extended beyond general antisociality to core features of the psychopathic personality. Relationships were relatively stable across ethnicity but were more generalized across SUD categories for European American inmates. The relationship between SUD and impulsive and irresponsible behavior was most consistent across categories of SUD; relationships with other elements of psychopathy varied according to category of SUD.     

Family factors and adolescent substance use: models and mechanisms

This article considers the relation of family factors to adolescent substance use, with a focus on the specific pathways by which family factors have their effects. We review findings on four types of variables (family substance use, parental support and monitoring, parent-child conflict, and family life events) and discuss theoretical models of how family risk and protective factors are related to adolescents' outcomes. The evidence favors a transactional model in which family factors have largely mediated effects on adolescent substance use through relations to adolescents' self-control, life events, and peer affiliations; interactions between variables are also prominent. We discuss the implications of mediated effects for theoretical models of human development and consider how the transactional approach opens avenues for preventive intervention.     

Alcohol and substance use in the Arabian Gulf region: a review

Despite cultural, social, religious, and legal constraints on Muslim Arab nationals living in the Arabian Peninsula against the consumption of alcohol or drugs, usage and dependence do exist. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review, compiling and critiquing the literature in this interesting yet neglected area. Information about the current status of alcohol and substance abuse research and knowledge in the Arabian Gulf region will be presented, providing an accessible synopsis of available papers. A systematic review of English and Arabic language literature was conducted by searching electronic databases (1975-2007) and conducting hand searches of Arab published journals. Only studies investigating alcohol and/or substance use or abuse issues with participants (1) of Arab nationality, (2) living in an Arabian Gulf country, and (3) of Muslim faith were included. Within this literature, the majority of research has been conducted with clinical male participants. The most commonly abused drugs are alcohol, heroin, and hashish. Literature investigating the substance use domain with people who are not seeking treatment for addiction is extremely limited. Although the research is largely in its infancy, it does however confirm alcohol and substance abuse in Muslim, Gulf Arab nationals. We strongly urge that further research into substance use and abuse in this region is conducted. Community investigations assessing the prevalence, magnitude, and associated problems with alcohol and substance abuse and also research into valid and reliable measurements in these countries are warranted.     

Romantic attachment,sexual activity,and substance use: findings from substance‐using runaway adolescents

Research on adolescent attachment is limited, but is growing. Studies to date have focused primarily on high‐functioning, college student samples with minimal attention given to at‐risk, early adolescents. The current study assessed the relationship between sexual activity, substance use, physical and sexual abuse, and attachment avoidance and anxiety in a sample of substance using, runaway youth. Seventy‐three adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years were recruited from a local runaway shelter. The main finding was that attachment avoidance was related to a later age at first use of marijuana. Results provide some support for the utility of the attachment framework in understanding problem behaviors among runaway adolescents. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Goals and everyday problem solving: examining the link between age-related goals and problem-solving strategy use

Qualitative interviews on family and financial problems from 332 adolescents, young, middle-aged, and older adults, demonstrated that developmentally relevant goals predicted problem-solving strategy use over and above problem domain. Four focal goals concerned autonomy, generativity, maintaining good relationships with others, and changing another person. We examined both self- and other-focused problem-solving strategies. Autonomy goals were associated with self-focused instrumental problem solving and generative goals were related to other-focused instrumental problem solving in family and financial problems. Goals of changing another person were related to other-focused instrumental problem solving in the family domain only. The match between goals and strategies, an indicator of problem-solving adaptiveness, showed that young individuals displayed the greatest match between autonomy goals and self-focused problem solving, whereas older adults showed a greater match between generative goals and other-focused problem solving. Findings speak to the importance of considering goals in investigations of age-related differences in everyday problem solving.     

Children's beliefs about substance use: an examination of age differences in implicit and explicit cognitive precursors of substance use initiation.

Cognitive models conceptualize attitudes and beliefs about substance use (SU) as proximal mediators of a variety of risk and protective factors for SU. Researchers have distinguished implicit and explicit cognition, but limited research has examined this distinction in the early stages of SU. The authors' goal was to examine age differences in implicit and explicit SU cognitions to clarify proximal cognitive processes that may be involved in early SU. Alcohol- and cigarette-naive children (N=76; 69.7% male; M age=11.8 years) completed the laboratory-based experiment. Likelihood ratings of costs and benefits of use assessed explicit cognitions, and a priming task assessed implicit cognitions. Regardless of age, children perceived costs of drinking alcohol and smoking as more likely than benefits. This discrepancy was smaller for older children, although this age difference was weaker for costs and benefits of cigarette use. Strong positive implicit alcohol use cognitions were apparent regardless of age. However, age differences were found for implicit cigarette use cognition. Older children were more positive about cigarette use. Findings suggest the importance of distinguishing explicit and implicit cognition for etiological models of early SU.