The Role of Pregnancy Concerns in the Relationship between Substance Use and Unprotected Sex among Adolescents

BACKGROUND: Substance use and unprotected sex are prevalent among adolescents. The link between substance use and unprotected sex is well-established. Research has also highlighted how adolescents' attitudes and risk perceptions regarding unprotected sex, including concerns about pregnancy ("Getting pregnant would force me to grow up too fast"), are associated with unprotected sex and unplanned pregnancy. However, less research has examined the potential relationship between pregnancy concerns and substance use among adolescents. OBJECTIVES: The study prospectively examined (1) differences in pregnancy concerns across patterns of substance use and (2) whether pregnancy concerns mediate the relationship between substance use and later unprotected sex among a sample of middle and high school students. METHOD: 98 adolescents [M(SD) age = 14.28(1.68), 59.4% female, 59.4% black/African American] completed self-report measures of marijuana and alcohol use, pregnancy concerns, and unprotected sex across three time points over 6 months (T1-T3). RESULTS: Substance users (alcohol/marijuana) reported fewer pregnancy concerns compared to non-substance users (t = 2.99, p = .04). Pregnancy concerns at T2 mediated the relationship between T1 lifetime substance use and later unprotected sex (T3) (indirect effect: b = 0.10, CI[.01-.41]; direct effect: b = 0.15, p = .32), controlling for gender, age, and race. More frequent substance use (T1) was related to fewer pregnancy concerns at T2 (b = -0.10, p = .04); fewer pregnancy concerns were related to increased likelihood of later unprotected sex (b = -1.02, p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Findings offer new insight into associations between substance use and unprotected sex and suggest that substance use and sexual health interventions should target pregnancy concerns

MEASUREMENT OF CONSTRUCTS USING SELF-REPORT AND BEHAVIORAL LAB TASKS: IS THERE OVERLAP IN NOMOTHETIC SPAN AND CONSTRUCT REPRESENTATION FOR IMPULSIVITY?

poster abstractAlthough highly emphasized in psychological research, there has been little empirical evidence examining the overlap in meaning for self-report measures and construct representation for behavioral lab tasks in most psy-chological constructs. Using the personality trait of impulsivity as an exam-ple, the authors completed a meta-analysis of 27 published research studies examining the relationship between these methods. In general, although there is a statistically significant relationship between multidimensional self-report and lab task impulsivity (r = 0.097), practically, the relationship is small. Examining relationships among unidimensional impulsivity self-report and lab task conceptualizations indicated very little overlap in self-report and behavioral lab task constructs. Significant relationships were found between lack of perseverance and prepotent response inhibition (r = 0.099); between lack of planning and prepotent response inhibition (r = 0.106), delay re-sponse (r = 0.134), and distortions in elapsed time (r = 0.104); between negative urgency and prepotent response inhibition (r = 0.106); and be-tween sensation seeking and delay response (r = 0.131). This little conver-gent validity evidence for impulsivity as measured by self-report and behav-ioral lab tasks could indicate that these two measures are assessing different constructs. If these are different constructs, referring to them in the litera-ture as “impulsivity” influences one to think of them as representing a uni-tary underlying construct, when, in fact, we may be measuring disparate constructs. When disparate measures are described using the same multidi-mensional moniker, little forward progress can be made in figuring out how a trait relates to a criterion of interest. Researchers should take care to specify which particular unidimensional constructs are operationalized with not only impulsivity, but with all traits. If self-report and lab task conceptu-alizations measure disparate aspects of impulsivity, we, as a field, should not expect large conceptual overlap between these methods

SEXTING BEHAVIORS, ALCOHOL USE, AND IMPULSIVITY

poster abstractThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of “sexting” among college students and examine the relationship between individuals’ drinking behaviors, sensation-seeking (SS), and sexting behaviors. Sexting refers to exchanging sexually provocative picture or text messages via mo-bile phone or Internet; it has received much attention in the media due to the risks associated with the behavior, such as unwanted attention and so-cial humiliation. Participants (n = 575 undergraduates; 58.7% female; 61.9% Caucasian; mean age = 21.1, SD age = 5.05) completed the AUDIT (Babor et al., 2001), the UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviors Scale (Lynam et al., 2009), and the Sexting Behaviors Scale. We conducted correlation and multiple regression analyses to test the fol-lowing study hypotheses: We predicted that SS would significantly relate to sexting and drinking behaviors, and that drinking behavior would mediate the relationship between SS and sexting. Hypotheses were supported. Drinking behavior and SS significantly correlated with sexting (r = .270, p < .01 and r = .243, p < .01, respectively). Additionally, drinking behaviors partially mediated the relationship between SS and sexting (Sobel test sta-tistic = 3.275; p = .001). The data, although cross-sectional, suggest that SS influences sexting behaviors, in part because of its influence on alcohol use. Alcohol use further increases the likelihood of sexting behaviors. These relationships suggest that people are sexting while drinking, and it’s possible that although sexting can occur without the consumption of al-cohol, drinking leads to more risky sexting. Although the direction of this causal pathway cannot be determined with the current cross-sectional de-sign, the pattern of results is consistent with this interpretation. The implica-tions of these findings are important because of the potential sexting risks, and sexting while drinking may be a more dangerous combination based on alcohol’s relation to other risky behaviors

The Interaction between Sensation Seeking and Negative Affect Lability on Alcohol Involvement

poster abstractSensation seeking has been inconsistently associated with increased alcohol involvement, suggesting that there might be moderating factors. Considering that sensation seeking has been associated with negative affect and affect lability, negative affect lability might moderate the sensation seeking-alcohol involvement association. We hypothesized that negative affect lability would enhance the effect of sensation seeking on alcohol involvement. Using a large sample of college undergraduate students (n = 734), the current study tested whether negative affect lability moderated the effect of sensation seeking on levels of (1) hazardous alcohol use and (2) alcohol related problems. The sample was 74.6% female and 72.7% Caucasian, and had a mean age of 22.22 (SD = 6.31). Affect lability was measured as anxiety and depression lability, and as anger lability. The hypothesis was tested using multiple regression and interactions were probed using simple slope analyses. Negative affect lability moderated the effect of sensation seeking on hazardous alcohol use and alcohol related problems. Sensation seeking predicted greater levels of hazardous alcohol use among participants with low levels of ADL (b = 1.19, p < .001), but this effect weakened at high levels of ADL (b = 0.11, p = .66). Similarly, the effect of sensation seeking on alcohol related problems was strongest for participants with low levels of AL (b = 1.10, p < .001), but weaker for participants with high levels of AL (b = -.17, p = .58). These findings are inconsistent with our hypothesis, and suggest that concurrent negative affect lability actually diminishes the effect of sensation seeking on hazardous alcohol use and alcohol related problems. These findings highlight the importance of considering negative affect lability among sensation seekers with problematic alcohol use

The Uniqueness of Negative Urgency as a Common Risk Factor for Alcohol Consumption, Self-harm Behaviors, and Eating Problems in College Students

poster abstractResearch suggests that self-control, affective lability, and negative urgency are associated with deliberate self-harm, problematic alcohol consumption, and eating problems. Few studies have fully examined how negative urgency might uniquely explain the effects of self-control and affective lability on these outcomes, as compared to other impulsivity-related traits. This was the goal of the current study. Of an initial group of 734 undergraduate students, 29% indicated a history of deliberate self-harm. These 215 individuals were randomly matched with a group of non-self-harmers (total N = 430; mean age = 22.36, SD = 6.59; 76.2% female). Self-harmers showed higher rates of alcohol use (F(2, 186) = 5.48, p < .001) and eating problems (F(2, 186) = 7.74, p < .001). In a structural equation model, negative urgency was significantly associated with self-harming frequency (β = 3.81, p < .001), variety of self-harm methods (β = 5.79, p < .001), the number of years of self-harming (β = 2.75, p < .001), problematic alcohol use (β = 1.80, p < .05), and eating problems (β = 3.99, p < .001). Negative urgency was positively associated with affective lability (β = 7.71, p < .001) and negatively associated with self-control (β = -13.59, p < .001). Negative urgency is the only impulsivity-related trait that is a common risk factor associated with increased self-harm, problematic alcohol use, and eating problems

Positive and Negative Urgency Predict Problematic Alcohol Consumption for Subjects with Positive Family History of Alcohol Dependency

poster abstractImpulsivity is an established predictor of alcohol use outcomes and thus is an important construct to investigate (Clark, Vanyukov & Cornelius 2002; Dawes, Tarter & Kirisci 1997; Dick et al. 2010). Impulsivity is a multi-faceted trait, which includes multiple dispositions toward rash action including positive and negative urgency (acting rashly in response to extreme positive and negative emotional states, respectively; Cyders & Smith, 2007), which appear to be the impulsivity-related traits most highly associated with problematic alcohol use (Coskunpinar et al., under review). Furthermore, a family history of alcoholism predicts higher alcohol use in offspring of alcoholics, although this relationship is inconsistent (Dick et al. 2010), suggesting a moderator, perhaps PUR/NUR, which might change the effect of family history on problematic alcohol use. 68 undergraduates (33% male, mean age = 25), 34 of which were family history positive for problematic alcohol consumption, completed the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavioral Scale (UPPS-P), the Alcohol Use Disorders Test (AUDIT) and a family history questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses and independent t-tests were used to test study hypotheses: (1) those with a family history of alcoholism (FHP) would have higher levels of NUR and PUR and (2) the relationship between these traits and AUDIT would be moderated by family history. Those with a positive family history of alcoholism (FHP) are significantly higher in PUR than those without a family history of alcoholism (FHN) (t = 1.523, p < .134), although the groups did not differ on NUR or AUDIT. There was a marginally significant interaction between NUR and family history (Beta = 2.958, p < .040), with a positive relationship between NUR and AUDIT only for those who are FHP. There was no significant interaction with PUR. These findings suggest that genetic differences in problematic alcohol use could be driven in part by the urgency traits

Mechanisms Underlying the Relationship between Negative Affectivity and Problematic Alcohol Use

poster abstractResearch has long supported the role of negative affectivity for problematic alcohol consumption (Bechara, 2005; Dolan, 2007; Larsen, 2000; Tice & Bratslavsky, 2000; Tice, Bratslavsky, & Baumeister, 2001). However, the mechanisms that underlie how negative affective traits influence problematic alcohol use and attentional biases are not well understood. These inconsistencies can be attributed to three possible reasons: (1) research has often utilized broad measures of negative affective traits that can mask the effect of specific underlying unidimensional traits (Smith, Fischer & Fister, 2003), (2) research has tended to utilize only the valence of traits and has often failed to consider how activation of traits might predict behavioral outcomes, and (3) research has not fully incorporated other aspects of affective traits (e.g. affective lability and emotion-based rash action) that could be serving as mechanisms in predicting problematic alcohol use. The current study sought to characterize mechanisms that drive problematic alcohol use and attentional biases. Three undergraduate student studies were conducted (n = 510, 429, and 38). Negative urgency partially mediated the effects of negative affectivity (B for indirect effect = .119, CI = .09 – .16) and affect lability (B for indirect effect = .928, CI = .47 – 1.45) on problematic alcohol use. Activation level of hostility predicted increased variance in problematic alcohol consumption (R2 change = .01, β = .16, p = .02) above trait valence. Negative urgency predicted alcohol attentional biases over and above valence and activation (β = 2.23, p = .05). Negative urgency is a prime mechanism by which negative affective traits influence problematic alcohol consumption. This suggests that the relationship between negative urgency or lack of planning and problematic alcohol consumption could be driven, in part, by increases in attentional biases when cued with alcohol stimuli, although this was not directly tested in the current study

Problematic alcohol use and sexting as risk factors for sexual assault among college women

Sexual assault is a major public health concern and college women are four times more likely to experience sexual assault than any other group. We investigated whether sexting is a mechanism by which alcohol use increases risk for college women to be targeted for sexual assault. We hypothesized that sexting would mediate the relationship between problem drinking and sexual assault, such that drinking (T1 = beginning fall semester) would contribute to increased sexting (T2 = end fall semester), and in turn increase the risk of being targeted for sexual assault (T3 = end spring semester). Results: Among 332 undergraduate women (M(SD)age = 19.15(1.69), 76.9% Caucasian), sexting (T2) predicted sexual assault (T3; b = 3.98, p = .05), controlling for baseline sexual assault (b = 0.82, p < .01). Further, sexting (T2) mediated the relationship between problem drinking (T1) and sexual assault (T3) (b = 0.04, CI[.004,.12]). Conclusion: Findings suggest that sexting is one mechanism through which drinking increases the risk of college women being targeted for sexual assault

Depressive Symptoms following Recent Sexual Assault: The Role of Drug and Alcohol Use, Acute Stress, and Assault Characteristics

Sexual assault is a common traumatic experience that can have a wide-ranging impact on psychological functioning, including experience of depressive symptoms. While many studies have examined lifetime rates of depression among those with sexual assault history, less is known regarding risk factors for depressive symptoms following recent sexual assault. The study examined whether drug use history is uniquely related to depressive symptoms following recent assault. Method: N = 65 individuals (5.4% female; 73.8% white; M(SD)age = 28.89 (10.29)) who had recently experienced sexual assault (less than 60 days) and completed a SAMFE were interviewed via phone and completed questionnaires regarding depressive and acute/posttraumatic stress symptoms and substance use history. Demographic information as well as information related to the assault was also collected. Results: 68.7% of the sample reported clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 scores ≥ 12). In a linear mixed model, drug use was significantly related depressive symptoms (β = .19, p = .04), even controlling for acute/posttraumatic stress (β = .72, p .05). Conclusion: Results highlight the potential role of drug use in increasing risk for experiencing clinically significant depressive symptoms following recent assault

58896 Feasibility of a Parent Navigator Program for Parents of Justice-Involved Youth

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Development and implementation of a parent navigator program to help parents of justice-involved youth could assist parents in navigating the justice system, improve engagement with court and probation, and ultimately improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The goals of the study are to (1) develop a parent-peer navigator program utilizing community-based participatory design; and (2) implement and assess the feasibility of a parent peer navigator program in an urban juvenile justice system. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The EPIS framework will guide development and implementation of the navigator program as well as measurement of the implementation process, including measurements of feasibility and acceptability. In the Exploration phase, qualitative interviews with juvenile justice staff, parents of justice-involved youth, and members of the local family advisory board will inform program needs. In the preparation stage, I will work closely with the family advisory board to develop the actual parent navigator program protocol, including a training plan for navigators and their specific roles. I will conduct an open trial in the implementation phase, measuring program feasibility and acceptability among parents, navigators, juvenile justice staff, parents, and youth utilizing mixed methods. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Results will inform feasibility of implementing the program as well as acceptability of the program based on mixed methods data from parents of justice-involved youth, juvenile justice staff, family advisory board members, and other community stakeholders. Results will potentially inform conduct of a larger scale pilot hybrid implementation-effectiveness study. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Development and implementation of a parent navigator program to help parents of justice-involved youth could assist parents in navigating the justice system, improve engagement with court and probation, and ultimately improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system