Monitoring activities of teenagers to comprehend their habits: study protocol for a mixed-methods cohort study

Abstract: Background: Efforts to increase physical activity in youth need to consider which activities are most likely to be sustained over time in order to promote lifelong participation in physical activity. The Monitoring Activities of Teenagers to Comprehend their Habits (MATCH) study is a prospective cohort study that uses quantitative and qualitative methods to develop new knowledge on the sustainability of specific physical activities. Methods/design: Eight hundred and forty-three grade 5 and 6 students recruited from 17 elementary schools in New Brunswick, Canada, are followed-up three times per year. At each survey cycle, participants complete self-report questionnaires in their classroom under the supervision of trained data collectors. A sub-sample of 24 physically active students is interviewed annually using a semi-structured interview protocol. Parents (or guardians) complete telephone administered questionnaires every two years, and a health and wellness school audit is completed for each school. Discussion: MATCH will provide a description of the patterns of participation in specific physical activities in youth, and enable identification of the determinants of maintenance, decline, and uptake of participation in each activity. These data will inform the development of interventions that take into account which activities are the most likely to be maintained and why activities are maintained or dropped

School, parent, and student perspectives of school drug policies

Background: Schools use a number of measures to reduce harmful tobacco, alcohol, and drug use by students. One important component is the school\u27s drug policy, which serves to set normative values and expectations for student behavior as well as to document procedures for dealing with drug-related incidents. There is little empirical evidence of how policy directly or indirectly influence students\u27 drug taking. This study compares how effectively schools communicate school drug policies to parents and students, how they are implemented, and what policy variables impact students\u27 drug use at school and their perceptions of other students\u27 drug use at school.Methods: Data were obtained from 3876 students attending 205 schools from 2 states in the United States and Australia, countries with contrasting national drug policy frameworks. School policy data were collected from school personnel, parents, and students.Results: Schools\u27 policies and enforcement procedures reflected national policy approaches. Parents and students were knowledgeable of their school\u27s policy orientation.Conclusions: When delivered effectively, policy messages are associated with reduced student drug use at school. Abstinence messages and harsh penalties convey a coherent message to students. Strong harm-minimization messages are also associated with reduced drug use at school, but effects are weaker than those for abstinence messages. This smaller effect may be acceptable if, in the longer term, it leads to a reduction in harmful use and school dropout within the student population.<br /

Coefficient stability and structural change in the Spanish economy

Input–output, Supply-side input output model, Demand-side input output model, Allocation coefficients, Technical coefficients, RAS, Controllability, observability, and system structure, 93B15 realizations from input output data,