Double Jeopardy: Child and School Characteristics That Predict Aggressive-Disruptive Behavior in First Grade

High rates of aggressive-disruptive behavior exhibited by children during their initial years of elementary school increase their risk for significant behavioral adjustment problems with teachers and peers. The purpose of the present study was to examine the unique and combined contributions of child vulnerabilities and school context to the development of aggressive-disruptive student behavior during first grade. Parent ratings and child interviews assessed three child characteristics associated with risk for the development of aggressive behavior problems in elementary school (aggressive-disruptive behaviors at home, attention problems, and social cognitions) in a sample of 755 first-grade children in four demographically diverse American communities. Two school characteristics associated with student aggressive-disruptive behavior problems (low-quality classroom context, school poverty levels) were also assessed. Linear and multilevel analyses showed that both child and school characteristics made independent and cumulative contributions to the development of student aggressive-disruptive behavior at school. Although rates of student aggressive-disruptive behavior varied by gender and race, the predictive model generalized across all groups of children in the study.     

Age and pre quit-day attrition during smoking cessation treatment

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to replicate the finding that younger age predicts higher pre quit-day attrition. Our second aim was to explain this relation by examining empirically and theoretically informed age-related risk factors for low smoking cessation treatment engagement. 136 participants (M _age = 44.2 years, SD = 11.3 years; age = 22–64 years) were randomized to 15-weeks of either 1) an exercise intervention (n = 72) or 2) a wellness education control condition (n = 64). First, a logistic regression analysis was employed to test whether younger adults were more likely than older adults to drop prior to quit date. Next, we assessed whether smoking related health concerns, social expectancies, and/or perceived severity of craving affected the strength of the relation between age and attrition, by adding these three variables to the logistic regression along with age. The logistic regression model indicated that younger age and treatment condition were significantly related to the odds of dropping from treatment prior to the scheduled quit date. Further, health concerns, social expectancies, and/or perceived severity of cravings did not account for the effect of age on pre quit-day attrition. These findings highlight the importance of identifying empirically and theoretically informed variables associated with the pre quit-day attrition problem of young smokers.     

Predictors of Improvement in Pediatric Chronic Migraine: Results from the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Amitriptyline Trial

Explore predictors of improvement in headache days and migraine-related disability through a secondary analysis of the cognitive-behavioral therapy plus amitriptyline trial in children and adolescents (Clinical Trials Registration Number: NCT00389038). Participants were 135 youth aged 10–17 years old diagnosed with chronic migraine. Predictor variables included group assignment (treatment or control), baseline scores from depression and quality of life measures, and demographic variables. Criterion variables included headache days and migraine-related disability. Higher baseline depression scores were indicative of more days with headache post-treatment regardless of group assignment. Family income at the higher-end of the low-income range was significantly associated with less migraine-related disability regardless of group assignment (Household Income: HINC-01 in The United States Census Bureau. Bureau, U, 2020). Results from this secondary analysis identify depression symptoms and family income as predictors that can impact headache frequency and migraine-related disability. Self-reported symptoms of depression and family income are important factors to consider as part of the biopsychosocial model of care.

     

Motivations for condom use: do pregnancy prevention goals undermine disease prevention among heterosexual young adults?

Differences in motives for condom use and their implications for understanding frequency of use were investigated in a random, biracial (Black, White) sample of heterosexuals, aged 17 to 25 years (n = 902). Results indicated that sexually active young adults-regardless of race, age, gender, or relationship status-were more likely to use condoms to prevent pregnancy than to prevent disease. Reasons for use mediated the effects of relationship status on condom use per se and moderated the effects of attitudinal and perceptual variables on condom use. Finally, comparisons among condom users motivated by different prevention goals and nonusers (n = 388) revealed that differences among user subgroups were nearly as numerous and, in some cases, more robust than differences between users and nonusers. These findings indicate that condom users comprise distinct subgroups, defined in part by their underlying motives for use, and highlight important conceptual and empirical reasons to distinguish among them.