A developmental cascade model for early adolescent onset substance use: The role of early childhood stress

Contains fulltext : 199688.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Backgrounds and aims: Despite the link between stress and addictive behavior in adulthood, little is known about how early life stress in families predicts the early emergence of substance use in adolescence. This study tested a developmental cascade model, proposing that early stressful life events and negative parent-child interaction covary, and both disrupt the refinement of inhibitory control, which evolves into problem behavior in middle/late childhood and subsequent substance use exploration in early adolescence. Methods: Data came from the Early Steps Multisite study, a community sample of at-risk families in the metropolitan US areas of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), Eugene (Oregon), and Charlottesville (Virginia) with children aged 2 at the start of the study and 14 at the last measurement (N = 364). Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Results: Early stressful life events and negative parent-child interaction assessed at ages 2 to 5 were negatively related to inhibitory control at ages 7 and 8. Low levels of inhibitory control were prognostic of childhood problem behavior at ages 9 and 10. Finally, late childhood problem behavior was associated with substance use at age 14. Parental drug use was directly related to substance use at age 14. Conclusions: Early life stress may disrupt child inhibitory control, which can cascade into behavioral and peer problem behavior in childhood and, in turn, heighten the risk for early adolescent substance use.9 p

Diffusion of School-Based Prevention Programs in Two Urban Districts: Adaptations, Rationales, and Suggestions for Change

The diffusion of school-based preventive interventions involves the balancing of high-fidelity implementation of empirically-supported programs with flexibility to permit local stakeholders to target the specific needs of their youth. There has been little systematic research that directly seeks to integrate research- and community-driven approaches to diffusion. The present study provides a primarily qualitative investigation of the initial roll-out of two empirically-supported substance and violence prevention programs in two urban school districts that serve a high proportion of low-income, ethnic minority youth. The predominant ethnic group in most of our study schools was Asian American, followed by smaller numbers of Latinos, African Americans, and European Americans. We examined the adaptations made by experienced health teachers as they implemented the programs, the elicitation of suggested adaptations to the curricula from student and teacher stakeholders, and the evaluation of the consistency of these suggested adaptations with the core components of the programs. Data sources include extensive classroom observations of curricula delivery and interviews with students, teachers, and program developers. All health teachers made adaptations, primarily with respect to instructional format, integration of real-life experiences into the curriculum, and supplementation with additional resources; pedagogical and class management issues were cited as the rationale for these changes. Students and teachers were equally likely to propose adaptations that met with the program developers’ approval with respect to program theory and implementation logistics. Tensions between teaching practice and prevention science—as well as implications for future research and practice in school-based prevention—are considered

Deviant talk in adolescent friendships: A step toward measuring a pathogenic attractor process

Item does not contain fulltextDeviant talk in adolescent friendships has been previously found to predict escalations in substance use, delinquency, and violence. The current paper extends past work on deviant talk by examining its dynamic, self-organizing properties. From the direct observations of peer interactions, a simple measure was developed that indicated whether as an interaction unfolded, deviant talk bouts became longer in duration (indicating an attractor state). Participants included 102 high-risk adolescents and their friends. A time-series of the duration of each successive deviant talk bout over the course of an interaction was created for all dyads. Slope values were derived from the time-series and used as an index of attractor strength. As hypothesized, the attractor index predicted serious authority conflict (arrests, school expulsion) and drug abuse three years later after controlling for prior problem behavior family coercion and deviant peer associations. The findings suggest that the process by which adolescents become increasingly absorbed in deviant talk is an important underlying mechanism in the development of serious antisocial behavior

Pragmatism in modeling peer influence: Dynamics, outcomes, and change processes

Item does not contain fulltextThis paper reviews the model-building approach to developmental psychopathology as it applies to understanding the influence of peers on adolescent problem behavior. Considerable longitudinal evidence suggests that deviant peer involvement is prognostic of escalations in various forms of problem behavior. including substance use, delinquent behavior, and violence. Most convincing, however, are data from randomized intervention trials that show alarming iatrogenic effects for aggregating high-risk peers. This paper shows that intervention research can also clarify the role of parents in reducing deviant peer involvement. Results from a 4-year prevention trial are reported for a community sample of multiethnic middle school youth. Random assignment to family-centered services in a school Family Resource center produced reduced growth in deviant peer involvement. The extensiveness of the parenting intervention was correlated with reduced growth in deviant peer involvement, especially among high-risk Youth. Findings are discussed with respect to developmental theory and the design Of future intervention trials that clarify the role of adults in structuring the emerging adolescents' world of peers

The social exigencies of the gateway progression to the use of illicit drugs from adolescence into adulthood

Item does not contain fulltextBackground: There is limited empirical integration between peer clustering theory and the Gateway framework. The goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that friendship associations partly predict gateway escalations in the use of drugs from adolescence to adulthood. Method: This longitudinal study analyzed 3 waves of data from a community sample of 711 male and female participants without a history of illicit drug use reporting drug use at age 17, 22, and 27. Substance use assessments including tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, onset and abuse/dependence tendency of illicit drugs other than cannabis (i.e., cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates), and friends' reported use of illicit drugs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results : Participants' cannabis use level at age 17 was positively associated with perceived friends' drug use at age 22, which in turn predicted participants' onset of illicit drug use between ages 22 and 27. Moreover, progression of tobacco use throughout age 17 to 22 was associated with an increased onset of illicit drug use between ages 22 and 27. Apart for an effect of cannabis use at age 22 on abuse and dependence tendency to various drugs at age 28, results were similar. Conclusions: During this period of development, the availability and selection of drug-using friends contributes to the progression to potentially more rewarding and damaging illicit drugs. These findings suggest the need to attend to the peer ecology in prevention and support the common practice of using abstaining peers in treatment for drug dependence.7 p

An ecological analysis of the effects of deviant peer clustering on sexual promiscuity, problem behavior, and childbearing from early adolescence to adulthood: An enhancement of the life history framework

Item does not contain fulltextThe authors propose that peer relationships should be included in a life history perspective on adolescent problem behavior. Longitudinal analyses were used to examine deviant peer clustering as the mediating link between attenuated family ties, peer marginalization, and social disadvantage in early adolescence and sexual promiscuity in middle adolescence and childbearing by early adulthood. Specifically, 998 youths, along with their families, were assessed at age 11 years and periodically through age 24 years. Structural equation modeling revealed that the peer-enhanced life history model provided a good fit to the longitudinal data, with deviant peer clustering strongly predicting adolescent sexual promiscuity and other correlated problem behaviors. Sexual promiscuity, as expected, also strongly predicted the number of children by ages 22-24 years. Consistent with a life history perspective, family social disadvantage directly predicted deviant peer clustering and number of children in early adulthood, controlling for all other variables in the model. These data suggest that deviant peer clustering is a core dimension of a fast life history strategy, with strong links to sexual activity and childbearing. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the need to integrate an evolutionary-based model of self-organized peer groups in developmental and intervention science.15 p

Effectieve diagnostiek en gerichte behandeling van gezinnen in de jeugdzorg: De Family Check-Up

Item does not contain fulltextDe invoering van de nieuwe Jeugdwet in Nederland (2015) heeft tot doel de zorg voor kinderen beter te organiseren en de kosten van de jeugdzorg te verlagen. Een manier is om professionals en beroepsopvoeders beter op te leiden om de kwaliteit en de effectiviteit van de toegang tot zorg te verbeteren. De Family Check-Up (FCU) is een evidence-based, preventieve en effectieve interventie die het gehele gezinsfunctioneren onderzoekt en wijzigt waar die een gezonde ontwikkeling van de jeugdige en de betrokken gezinsleden in de weg staat. De FCU kan worden uitgevoerd bij gezinnen met kinderen vanaf 2 tot 18 jaar, waarbij zorgen zijn om de ontwikkeling van een kind. Wanneer een gezin een hulpvraag heeft met betrekking tot een kind, bekijkt een behandelaar middels de FCU het functioneren van het gezin. Het zoomt in op het functioneren van ouders en het kind, de kwaliteit van de relaties van gezinsleden, positieve gedragsondersteuning door ouders en het monitoren/grenzen stellen door ouders. De FCU omvat twee tot drie sessies: sessie 1 betreft een kennismakingssessie met als doel een werkrelatie op te bouwen en te motiveren; sessie 2 omvat het uitvoeren van drie tot vijf gezinstaken en het invullen van vragenlijsten; sessie 3 is een feedbacksessie waarin de behandelaar informatie geeft aan de hand van een 'rainbowsheet' over het functioneren van het gezin zoals zij dit zelf rapporteren en wat de behandelaar observeert. De rainbowsheet is een overzicht van één A4’tje met protectieve factoren van het gezin en onderdelen die aandacht behoeven. Videobeelden van de gezinstaken ondersteunen deze feedback. De behandelaar bespreekt het narratief van het gezin en motiveert ouders voor verandering. Zij bepalen dan vervolgens zelf de doelen en krijgen zorg op maat. Ook zonder follow-up begeleiding/behandeling kan de FCU tot positieve veranderingen in het gezin leiden. Door snel te analyseren wat nodig is en gerichte, gewenste hulp te bieden, kan de FCU escalatie van probleemgedrag en bijkomende kosten voorkomen. Dit artikel geeft een overzicht van deze interventie aan de hand van een casusbeschrijving.14 p

The family and peer origins of coercion within adult romantic relationships: A longitudinal multimethod study across relationships contexts

Contains fulltext : 199033.pdf (preprint version ) (Closed access)Using coercive strategies to resolve conflicts with romantic partners has toxic effects on relationships. Coercion predicts relationship dissatisfaction, instability, and intimate partner violence. The early adult romantic relationships model hypothesizes that such strategies first emerge within the family and continue to affect romantic relationships into adulthood. We tested whether adolescent antisocial behaviors and deviancy training with peers mediated between early disruptive parenting and adult romantic relationship coercion. Furthermore, we tested the impact of trauma in this longitudinal model. We studied 230 adults in committed relationships, whom we initially recruited and studied when they were age 11. We collected videotaped observations with friends (when participants were ages 16-17) and with intimate partners (when participants were ages 28-30). As hypothesized, disruptive parenting predicted antisocial behaviors and deviancy training with friends in adolescence, which in turn predicted coercion within intimate adult relationships. Moreover, disruptive parenting in early adolescence also directly predicted romantic partner coercion 15 years.later. No significant effects were found for trauma. Findings suggest the promise of promoting healthy adult intimate relationships through early relationships with parents and friends9 p