ETHNIC AND RACIAL SIMILARITY IN DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS:

Abstract— Correlation matrices were computed on academic achievement and family environment measures using longitudinal data on siblings The 8 × 8 correlation matrices were computed on Hispanics, blacks, and whites separately When compared employing a LISREL method, the matrices were equal across these ethnic-racial groups Hence, developmental processes influencing academic achievement may be similar in Hispanics, blacks, and whites A structural equation model with four free parameters was fitted successfully to a correlation matrix pooled across groups As a single structural equation model fitted all groups, the existence of minority-specific developmental processes was not supported     

Validity of Adolescents' Report of Maternal Age

Examined the validity of adolescents' reports of their mother's age. Most research on the validity of self-report focuses on personal behaviors such as alcohol and substance use, or response bias due to social desirability. Few studies investigate the validity of adolescents reporting of nonsensitive information. Data from 80 mother–adolescent pairs were collected. The sample included 9th graders from four high school English classes, equal numbers of males and females, and 15% African Americans. The correlation between mothers' reports and youths' reports of mother's age was .99, and 95% of the youth were within a year of their mother's correct age. No race or gender differences were found. These results allow researchers to examine adolescent outcomes for youth born to teen mothers without the expense of also collecting data from their mothers. Results also suggest that adolescents' self-reports of other nonsensitive familial data may also be valid.     

Relationship between nicotinic receptors and cognitive function in early Alzheimer's disease: a 2-[18F]fluoro-A-85380 PET study

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are critical for higher order cognitive processes. Post-mortem studies suggest reductions in nAChRs (particularly the alpha(4)beta(2) subtype) with ageing and in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to; (1) quantify nAChR distribution in vivo with 2-[18F]fluoro-A-85380 (2-FA) in 15 early AD patients compared to 14 age-matched, healthy controls (HC) and (2) correlate nAChR distribution with cognitive performance in both groups. All participants were non-smokers and underwent cognitive testing along with a dynamic PET scan after injection of 200 MBq of 2-FA. Brain regional 2-FA binding was assessed through a simplified estimation of Distribution Volume (DV(S)). The AD group differed significantly from HC on all cognitive measures employed, with impairments on measures of attention, working memory, language, executive function, visuospatial ability, verbal learning and verbal memory (p<.05). Contrary to post-mortem data this study found no evidence of in vivo nAChR loss in early AD despite significant cognitive impairment. Furthermore, no correlation between nAChR and cognitive performance was found for either group. The findings of the current study suggest preservation of nAChRs early in AD supporting previous studies. It is possible that while the clinical 2-FA PET method described here may be insensitive in detecting changes in early AD, such changes may be detected in more advanced stages of the illness.     

Oppression and empowerment: perceptions of violence among urban youth

Youth violence in the United States has emerged as a major concern for communities, policymakers and community researchers. This paper reports on the efforts of a child mental health clinic to build a community consensus around addressing violence that affects youth and all members of the community. We describe and give case examples regarding our approach to acquiring the perspectives of the community, particularly that of youth, discuss key themes and implications that emerged from our work, and offer preliminary recommendations for designing a youth violence prevention initiative in a disenfranchised community. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources of exposure to smoking and drinking friends among adolescents: a behavioral-genetic evaluation

Substance-using friends expose adolescents to models of, and opportunities for, substance use that may lead to its initiation or reinforce existing use. Using genetically informative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (P. S. Bearman, J. Jones, & J. R. Udry, 1998), the authors examined whether adolescents' exposure to friends' tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking was better explained by family-social or genetic influences. To conduct analyses, the authors constructed substance use exposure scores for adolescent siblings from the responses of siblings' nominated friends to self-reported smoking and drinking items. Using behavioral-genetic analyses of these substance use exposure scores, the authors estimated that 64% of the variance in adolescents' exposure to friends who smoke and drink could be explained by genetic influences, whereas shared environmental influences were zero. These results provide evidence of active, evocative, or both types of gene-environment correlations. Genetic factors can influence the formation of friendships with substance-using peers, thereby contributing to adolescents' exposure to substance use behaviors.     

Petro-theology: Critical engagement with theologies of energy and extraction

This essay serves as a more extended introduction to many of the themes, concerns, and aims of this issue. Along these lines, key terms and discourses like extractivism, energy humanities, and petroculture studies are introduced. The essay elaborates two key claims: energy has been theological (and not just techno-scientific) and analysis of current energy concerns (including climate change) need to be theorized and addressed in relation to land. These claims call for approaches to an energy-driven climate crisis that attend to theo-philosophical assumptions of energy and extraction and point to the significance of energy humanities approaches. Engagement with energy and extractivism humanities leads to a call for further attention to three different areas within Christian energy ethics and Religion & Environmentalism scholarship: (1) an approach to Christian energy ethics that better accounts for the theo-philosophical gendered, racialized, and colonial implications of energy concepts, (2) closer attention to mineralogies and geologies among ecotheologians and 3) critical assessment of convergences of creation and redemption theologies for extractive aims.     

Family‐Based HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk Reduction for Drug‐Involved Young Offenders: 42‐Month Outcomes

This study tested a family‐based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention approach integrated within an empirically supported treatment for drug‐involved young offenders, Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT). A randomized, controlled, two‐site community‐based trial was conducted with 154 youth and their parents. Drug‐involved adolescents were recruited in detention, randomly assigned to either MDFT or Enhanced Services as Usual (ESAU), and assessed at intake, 3, 6, 9, 18, 24, 36, and 42‐month follow‐ups. Youth in both conditions received structured HIV/STI prevention in detention and those in MDFT also received family‐based HIV/STI prevention as part of ongoing treatment following detention release. Youth in both conditions and sites significantly reduced rates of unprotected sex acts and STI incidence from intake to 9 months. They remained below baseline levels of STI incidence (10%) over the 42‐month follow‐up period. At Site A, adolescents who were sexually active at intake and received MDFT showed greater reduction in overall frequency of sexual acts and number of unprotected sexual acts than youth in ESAU between intake and 9‐month follow‐ups. These intervention differences were evident through the 42‐month follow‐up. Intervention effects were not found for STI incidence or unprotected sex acts at Site B. Intensive group‐based and family intervention in detention and following release may reduce sexual risk among substance‐involved young offenders, and a family‐based approach may enhance effects among those at highest risk. Site differences in intervention effects, study limitations, clinical implications, and future research directions are discussed.     

Systemic Barriers to Family Involvement in Transition Planning for Youth with Disabilities: A Qualitative Metasynthesis

Family involvement is particularly important to the postschool success of young adults with disabilities who typically experience fewer education and employment opportunities after leaving high school than their same age peers without disabilities. Despite mandates for family involvement, school-home partnerships remain elusive, particularly for low-income and culturally and linguistically diverse families. This metasynthesis of findings from 22 qualitative studies examines family perceptions of barriers to transition from school to adulthood and involvement in transition planning. This metasynthesis adds to the literature on family involvement in special education by utilizing Bourdeuian social reproduction theory and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to frame the discussion and inform recommendations for research and practice that focus on schools and adult service systems rather than deficiencies in families.