FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF LIFE-THREATENING DRUG INGESTION IN A DUALLY DIAGNOSED YOUTH

Few data exist on operant mechanisms associated with drug overdose. In this investigation, a functional analysis indicated that life-threatening drug ingestion exhibited by a dually diagnosed youth was maintained by negative reinforcement. An operant intervention, derived from behavioral assessment data, reduced drug ingestion to near-zero levels.     

The role of Improv in enhancement of Meaning in Life in youth: An explanatory sequential design

“A global mental health crisis” was sparked by the pandemic, especially for the youth as it exposed them to serious existential crises related to grief, loss, death and dying, deep psychological insecurities, etc. Additionally, this crisis came as a call for greater meaning in the personal and professional lives of youth. To deal with these issues in youth, Improv intervention is being used as an effective contemporary psychological technique to improve holistic perspective-taking. This pilot study investigated the efficacy of Improv intervention in enhancing Meaning in Life in youth using an explanatory sequential design. The sample comprised 80 youth (age range 18–25 years). The study was carried out in two phases—quantitative and qualitative. In the quantitative phase, a randomised control trial design was used to assess the efficacy of the intervention; this was followed by semistructured interviews to identify crucial themes that highlighted participants’ perceptions of Meaning in Life and the benefits of the intervention. Results revealed potential usefulness of Improv in Meaning enhancement.     

Haitian and Haitian American experiences of racism and socioethnic discrimination in Miami-Dade county: At-risk and court-involved youth

We examine how juvenile justice-involved youth of Haitian descent in Miami-Dade County cope with structural racism and its impact on their mental health. Drawing on longitudinal ethnography, psychosocial assessment data, and a family-based clinical intervention funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this article explores youth narratives of discrimination prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use critical race theory and theory of practice to understand youths’ perceptions as racialized bodies and stigmatized selves, highlighting the experiences and perspectives of a particular black immigrant group, ethnic beings caught up in the everyday practices of racialization, sociocultural marginalization, and racism. We frame these experiences as a variation of the complex continuum of structural racism and racial domination in the US. These experiences have caused anger, fear, anxiety, chronic anticipatory distress, and hopelessness among youth of Haitian descent. We conclude with some recommendations for therapeutic support that encourages youth to process their experiences, promotes their development of a positive self-concept, and provides them with mind-body techniques to attenuate the physical impacts of discriminatory events. The clinical trial registration number for this study intervention is NCT03876171.     

Thinking too much: How young people experience rumination in the context of loneliness

The recent rise in the prevalence of loneliness, particularly among young adults, coupled with its deleterious effects on wellbeing, makes understanding the issue of pressing concern. As most research on loneliness has focused on older adults, this study explored how 48 young adults aged 18–24 subjectively experienced loneliness through free association-based interviews. Participants were sampled from the four most deprived boroughs in London, as area deprivation has been associated with a higher prevalence of loneliness. This facilitates understanding of contributors and consequences of loneliness within this demographic group. In particular, the focus is on rumination arising from loneliness; while the link between the two is well-established quantitively, research into rumination and the context of ruminative thoughts in the context of loneliness remains sparse. Thus, this study aimed to understand the subjective experience of rumination in young adults whilst they experienced loneliness. Thematic analysis of interviews using ATLAS.ti 9 revealed five themes capturing these experiences: ‘temporal experience of rumination’, ‘ruminating life and death’, ‘rumination related to others’, ‘outcomes of rumination’ and ‘coping with loneliness-related rumination’. Based upon knowledge of the nature and content of rumination, further research could devise models of rumination and interventions targeted at rumination such as mindfulness meditation, journaling and engaging in prosocial behaviour, to mitigate the adverse effects loneliness can have on wellbeing.     

Patterns of critical consciousness and associations with sociocultural factors in black adolescents

Critical consciousness includes an understanding of structural oppression, agency to act and actions to redress oppression. Questions remain regarding how youth's experiences with oppression and their social identities might relate to their critical consciousness. In this study, we explored associations between critical consciousness (critical reflection, critical agency, and action) and sociocultural factors (racial identity, racial socialization, and racial stress) among Black adolescents (n = 604; M_age = 15.44, SD = 1.24). We used latent profile analysis and identified four profiles of critical consciousness: Precritical Bystander (62.7%), Liberated Actor (19.9%), Precritical Actor (10.8%), and Acritical Bystander (6.6%). These profiles were distinct in critical reflection, critical agency, and critical action. Next, we examined associations between critical consciousness profiles and sociocultural factors. We found that profile membership was differentially associated with some aspects of racial identity, racial socialization, and racial stress. These findings suggest that there are specific patterns of critical consciousness among Black youth which are differentially associated with racial identity, racial socialization that emphasizes cultural pride, and experiences of cultural racism. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement .     

The Anomaly Among Sexually Abusive Youth: The Juvenile Sex Trafficker

A hypothesized sketch of the atypical juvenile sex offender who engages in human sex trafficking is extrapolated from empirical data from the findings of victims of sex traffickers, juvenile sex offenders, and from one of the largest (N = 1056) cross-validation studies of a risk assessment tool in the field for sexually abusive youth. The tool, MEGA^?, assesses risk level of sexually abusive youth (4–19 years, males and females, adjudicated and non-adjudicated, including youth with low intellectual functioning). The compiled empirical data supports a paradigm describing one of the least known, or studied type of sexually abusive youth: the sexually abusive juvenile who engages in sex trafficking.     

Youth sports and physical activity: The relationship between perceptions of childhood sport experience and adult exercise behavior

ObjectiveParticipation in organized youth sports has been shown to positively correlate with increased levels of exercise in adulthood. However, there is limited research to suggest why youth sports participation is related to increased physical activity as an adult. One possible explanation is that positive youth sport experiences lead youth to be more positively inclined to engage in physical activity as adults. Research into the positive youth development aspect of organized sports provides the framework for the current investigation.MethodsAdult participants (N = 234, M_age = 35.35) were asked to retrospectively assess their youth sports experiences using the “Four C's” (i.e., competence, confidence, connectedness, character) framework of positive youth development in sport. These assessments were then compared to current physical activity levels and related variables found in the Health Action Process Approach model (HAPA; Schwarzer, 2008).ResultsBivariate correlations revealed statistically significant and moderate correlations among competence, confidence, and connectedness and all of the HAPA variables including physical activity levels. Further, a MANCOVA analysis revealed that when participants were sub-divided into “non-intenders,” “intenders,” and “actors” using a validated staging algorithm, a general linear trend emerged for competence, confidence, and connectedness such that “non-intenders” rated these constructs the lowest and “actors” rated them the highest.ConclusionThese findings provide preliminary evidence that the relationship between participation in organized youth sports and adulthood levels of exercise could be contingent on how positively that experience is perceived.     

Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of civic action: Towards an integrated measure of civic engagement

Using data from 8th grade participants in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, factor analytic procedures were used to explore a model of active, engaged citizenship, termed Civic Identity/Civic Engagement (CICE). We identified a higher order factor model in which CICE is a second-order latent variable that is comprised of several dimensions including civic duty, civic skills, and civic participation, adult social connection, peer social connection, and neighborhood social connection. Covariation was assessed between CICE scores and participation in youth development organizations, such as 4-H. Participation in 4-H was related to higher scores on five of the six factors as well as the overall CICE score. Both limitations of this study and the need for longitudinal assessments of CICE are noted and the implications of the presence of an integrated construct of civic engagement for the conduct of youth programs is discussed.     

The development of academic competence among adolescents who bully and who are bullied

Using data from the first three waves (Grades 5, 6, and 7) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, this study assessed if being a bully or being a victim accounts for an adolescent's academic competence, if selected contextual and individual variables impact an adolescent's academic competence, and if such impact differs in relation to an adolescent's bullying status. The results of random coefficient hierarchical regression analyses indicated that being a bully predicted lower grades across time, and that being a bully was more detrimental for girls than for boys. Being a bully and being a victim negatively predicted self-perceived academic competence, but these predictive effects did not change over time or differ by sex. Teacher support positively predicted grades and greater parent support and teacher support independently predicted higher self-perceive academic competence. Greater educational expectations and school engagement independently predicted higher self-reported grades, while these two predictors positively interacted in explaining self-perceived academic competence. Unexpectedly, peer support negatively predicted self-reported grades for victims, and negatively predicted self-perceived academic competence for bullies. We discuss the importance of addressing the issue of academic competence in bullying interventions, as well as the utility of capitalizing on developmental assets in promoting academic competence among adolescents who bully and who are bullied.     

Listening to the Nos

In Re-Calling Ministry (1999), James E. Dittes offers a collection of fourteen poetic essays on the predictable crises of Christian ministry, which he treats not as impediments but as boons to that ministry. A student of Dittes' at Yale Divinity School in the 1970's, I reflect on the truth-telling of my former teacher through the lens of my own twenty years in parish ministry.