The role of peers and parents in predicting alcohol consumption among Chilean youth

This study estimated marginal associations of parent- and peer-related measures to examine the different patterns of lifetime ever-use and frequency of alcohol consumption among adolescents in Santiago, Chile (N=918). Probit and negative binomial models were applied to predict the probability of ever-use and the average number of drinks consumed in the past 30 days. Results supported the profound role of peer-relationships in the development of youth drinking behavior. Particularly, peer pressure seemed more important in predicting alcohol ever-use than the frequency of drinking. Simultaneously, parents, especially fathers, played a crucial protective role. Policies aimed at preventing various drinking patterns may be more effective if they not only focus on the targeted adolescents, but also reach out to peers and parents.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3906685/Accepted manuscrip

Does gender moderate associations between social capital and smoking? An Asian American study

Growing research finds that social capital is associated with smoking. However, most studies focus on white populations and do not take into account potential differences between genders. The present study examines the associations between social capital and self-report smoking status and assesses the moderating role of gender among a national representative sample of Asian American adults. Social capital consisted of measures of individual social connectedness (i.e. social ties with relatives and friends) and subjective evaluation of family and neighborhood environment (i.e. family and neighborhood cohesion, family conflict). Asian men were almost three times more likely to be current smokers than women (20.1% vs. 7.0%). Results of multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that family conflicts or higher levels of connectedness with family members were associated with increased odds of being a current smoker among Asian Americans as a whole. Further stratified analysis revealed significant gender differences in several aspects of social capital: there were stronger effects of social connectedness with family members on increasing the odds of smoking for women than for men. In addition, women who had closer connections to friends had greater odds of being current smokers, whereas the opposite was true for men. The findings of this study provide new evidence for the differential effects of social capital by gender, suggesting that more studies are needed to understand social capital’s effects in different racial/ethnic populations and the mechanisms by which the effects vary with gender.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3374585/Accepted manuscrip

A study of the relationship between parental alcohol problems and alcohol Use among adolescent females in Republic of Korea

OBJECTIVES: The study was designed to test if alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among adolescent females are related to their parents' level of alcohol problems. METHODS: In 2001, a stratified sample of 2077 adolescent females, grades 10-11, from twelve female-only high schools located in a large metropolitan city in the Republic of Korea completed a questionnaire about alcohol use, parental attention, and parental alcohol consumption, and other risk and protective factors. Data were analyzed with chi-square and regression analyses. RESULTS: Nearly 63% of the student drinkers had experienced at least one to two alcohol-related problems in their lives. Two-thirds of all 2077 students indicated that at least one of their parents had an alcohol-related problem and that approximately 29% had experienced several problems. Results of random effects ordinal logistic regression analyses suggest a dose-response relationship between parental and youth alcohol-related problems. Youth who report having parents with some and many alcohol problems were 30% (Odds Ratios [OR] = 1.30; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.10 - 1.53) and 55% (OR = 1.55; 95%CI = 1.23 - 1.95) more likely to experience alcoholrelated problems than youth whose parents do not have alcohol problems, respectively, after statistically adjusting for important covariates. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents evidence that alcoholrelated problems among adolescent female students is highly prevalent. Also, the study findings reveal a high percentage of parents with alcohol problems, as reported by students. This study presents evidence of what might be a hidden problem among adults and youths in the Republic of Korea that merits serious attention

Relationship of birth order and gender with academic standing and substance use among youth in Latin America

Alfred Adler attempted to understand how family affects youth outcomes by considering the order of when a child enters a family (Adler, 1964). Adler's theory posits that birth order formation impacts individuals. We tested Adler's birth order theory using data from a cross-sectional survey of 946 Chilean youths. We examined how birth order and gender are associated with drug use and educational outcomes using three different birth order research models including: (1) Expedient Research, (2) Adler's birth order position, and (3) Family Size theoretical models. Analyses were conducted with structural equation modeling (SEM). We conclude that birth order has an important relationship with substance use outcomes for youth but has differing effects for educational achievement across both birth order status and gender.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3375868/Accepted manuscrip

Beyond risk compensation : clusters of antiretroviral treatment (ART) users in sexual networks can modify the impact of ART on HIV incidence

Introduction : Concerns about risk compensation-increased risk behaviours in response to a perception of reduced HIV transmission risk-after the initiation of ART have largely been dispelled in empirical studies, but other changes in sexual networking patterns may still modify the effects of ART on HIV incidence. Methods : We developed an exploratory mathematical model of HIV transmission that incorporates the possibility of ART clusters, i.e. subsets of the sexual network in which the density of ART patients is much higher than in the rest of the network. Such clusters may emerge as a result of ART homophily-a tendency for ART patients to preferentially form and maintain relationships with other ART patients. We assessed whether ART clusters may affect the impact of ART on HIV incidence, and how the influence of this effect-modifying variable depends on contextual variables such as HIV prevalence, HIV serosorting, coverage of HIV testing and ART, and adherence to ART. Results : ART homophily can modify the impact of ART on HIV incidence in both directions. In concentrated epidemics and generalized epidemics with moderate HIV prevalence (approximate to 10%), ART clusters can enhance the impact of ART on HIV incidence, especially when adherence to ART is poor. In hyperendemic settings (approximate to 35% HIV prevalence), ART clusters can reduce the impact of ART on HIV incidence when adherence to ART is high but few people living with HIV (PLWH) have been diagnosed. In all contexts, the effects of ART clusters on HIV epidemic dynamics are distinct from those of HIV serosorting. Conclusions : Depending on the programmatic and epidemiological context, ART clusters may enhance or reduce the impact of ART on HIV incidence, in contrast to serosorting, which always leads to a lower impact of ART on HIV incidence. ART homophily and the emergence of ART clusters should be measured empirically and incorporated into more refined models used to plan and evaluate ART programmes

Atomic clocks: new prospects in metrology and geodesy

We present the latest developments in the field of atomic clocks and their applications in metrology and fundamental physics. In the light of recent advents in the accuracy of optical clocks, we present an introduction to the relativistic modelization of frequency transfer and a detailed review of chronometric geodesy.Comment: Proceedings of the Workshop "Relativistic Positioning Systems and their Scientific Applications" held in Brdo near Kranj, Slovenia, 19-21 September 2012. To appear in Acta Futura (http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/publications/ActaFutura/

Gender differences in psychological factors shaping smoking decisions of Chilean adolescents

This study examined gender differences in how internalizing and externalizing symptoms affect adolescents’ decisions about smoking in Chile, where girls smoke at some of the highest rates in the world. In multivariate logistic regression analyses with 607 adolescents, internalizing symptoms, such as depressed mood and anxiety, predicted smoking among girls more than boys, with girls who were low in internalizing symptoms being more likely to smoke than those who were high in internalizing symptoms. In Chile’s high-risk context, internalizing symptoms may be indirectly protective for girls by decreasing their exposure to peer pressure and related influences that encourage cigarette use.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant R01-DA-022720). (R01-DA-022720 - U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse)http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC5014729&blobtype=pdfhttp://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC5014729&blobtype=pdfAccepted manuscrip