Does #Tamojunto alter the dynamic between drug use and school violence among youth?: Secondary analysis from a large cluster-randomized trial

The present study investigated how intervention might alter the relationship between perpetrating violence and later drug use. A cluster-randomized controlled trial design involving 72 schools (38 intervention, 34 control) and 6390 students attending grades 7 and 8 was employed in Brazil. Drug use and violence were assessed at three points. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model examined the reciprocal association between drug use and school violence domains across the three data collection waves. For both groups, we found that the cross-lagged effect of perpetration on further drug use in adolescents was stronger than the reverse, but the interrelationship was not statistically significant between #Tamojunto and control schools. The carry-over effects of drug use and violence were also not significantly different between groups. There is a lack of evidence showing that #Tamojunto can modify the dynamics between drug use and school violence across the 21-month period. The direction of the causal effect (i.e., the more perpetration behavior, the more subsequent drug use behavior) is present, but weak in both groups. The trial registration protocol at the national Brazilian Register of Clinical Trials (REBEC) is #RBR-4mnv5g.publishedVersio

Does #Tamojunto alter the dynamic between drug use and school violence among youth? Secondary analysis from a large cluster-randomized trial

The present study investigated how intervention might alter the relationship between perpetrating violence and later drug use. A cluster-randomized controlled trial design involving 72 schools (38 intervention, 34 control) and 6390 students attending grades 7 and 8 was employed in Brazil. Drug use and violence were assessed at three points. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model examined the reciprocal association between drug use and school violence domains across the three data collection waves. For both groups, we found that the cross-lagged effect of perpetration on further drug use in adolescents was stronger than the reverse, but the interrelationship was not statistically significant between #Tamojunto and control schools. The carry-over effects of drug use and violence were also not significantly different between groups. There is a lack of evidence showing that #Tamojunto can modify the dynamics between drug use and school violence across the 21-month period. The direction of the causal effect (i.e., the more perpetration behavior, the more subsequent drug use behavior) is present, but weak in both groups. The trial registration protocol at the national Brazilian Register of Clinical Trials (REBEC) is #RBR-4mnv5g

A secondary analysis of the #Tamojunto cluster-randomized trial

Aims: To investigate the mediating effects of normative beliefs of drug use on the effects of the #Tamojunto school-based prevention program (Unplugged). Design: Secondary analysis of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Setting: Brazil. Participants: A total of 6,391 adolescents (12.68 y.o) from 72 public schools in 6 Brazilian cities. Intervention: Schools were assigned to an experimental condition (#Tamojunto curriculum) or a control condition (no prevention program). Measurements: Baseline data were collected prior to program implementation, and follow-up data were collected 9 and 21 months later. The substances examined were alcohol (including binge drinking), tobacco, marijuana and inhalants. Five in-parallel mediation models evaluated whether the positive and negative beliefs were mediators of the likely effects of the intervention on drug use. Findings: Lack of evidences regarding differences in normative beliefs or drug use were found between the intervention and control groups. However, there was a clear association between negative drug beliefs and lower consumption (i.e. OR = 0.78; 95% CI 0.70; 0.87, for cannabis use) as well as between positive drug beliefs and higher consumption (i.e. OR = 1.77; 95% CI 1.56; 2.02, for cannabis use) independent of the assigned group. Conclusions: These results suggest that there is a lack of evidence that the program impact the normative beliefs, as proposed by the theoretical model of the program, suggesting that modifications are needed to produce the intended effect of the program. Negative normative beliefs seem to be a potential protective factor for drug use, but the program’s effect itself on drug use via normative beliefs was not found to be statistically significant. Program activities intended to affect normative beliefs should be improved

Performance of Young Nellore Bulls Grazing Marandu Grass Pasture at Different Heights

Brazil is one of the largest beef cattle producers in the world with approximately 200 M head. The Industry relies predominantly on warm-season grass pastures, with approximately 90% of animals finished on pastures. One of the main factors for the intensification of animal production systems based on pasture is appropriate management. Adjustment of stocking rate to maintain optimum forage allowance is essential. Studies on forage allowance have resulted in a better understanding of the response of forage crops and animals to changes in grazing intensity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate management strategies for beef cattle systems grazed at different heights (15, 25 and 35 cm) in Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu in terms of pasture production and animal performance

Effect of Grazing Height on Marandu Pasture Production and Performance of Soybean Grain-Supplemented Nellore Bulls

The Brazilian beef cattle industry is primarily based on the use of pastures. Grasses belonging to the genus Brachiaria are extremely important, regardless of whether the production system used is intensive or extensive. Appropriate management of the system is vital for obtaining a high efficiency of resource usage. Adjustment of stocking rate to maintain optimum forage allowance and feeding of supplements are strategies for achieving these aims. Feeding of concentrates on pasture can result in increased carrying capacity and higher weight gains over unsupplemented systems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 3 different grazing heights on pasture production and performance of young Nellore bulls grazing Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. To enable increased pasture carrying capacity and support additional liveweight gains, the bulls were supplemented with soybean grain as an unconventional lipid source

Validation of a Tool to Evaluate Drug Prevention Programs Among Students

Background: School-based prevention programs have been implemented worldwide with the intention of reducing or delaying the onset of alcohol and drug use among adolescents. However, their effects need to be evaluated, being essential to use validated and reliable questionnaires for this purpose. This study aimed to verify the semantic validity and reliability of an instrument developed to evaluate the results of a government drug prevention program for schoolchildren called #Tamojunto2.0.Methods: This is a mixed methods study with quantitative (test-retest, confirmatory factor analysis and non-response evaluation) and qualitative analyses (focus group and field cards). The self-administered questionnaires were used for a sample of 262 eighth-grade students (elementary school II) in 11 classes of four public schools in the city of São Paulo.Results: The level of agreement was substantial (Kappa 0.60–0.79) or almost perfect (Kappa > 0.8) for almost all questions about the use of marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, crack, and binge drinking. The model fit indices, for almost all secondary outcomes, indicated that the modls underlying each scale, constituted by observed and latent variables, had a good fit adjustument. The focus groups and field cards provided high-quality information that helped the researchers identify the main difficulties in applying and understanding the questions.Conclusion: The questionnaire showed high factorial validity, reliability and understanding by adolescents. After the necessary changes, identified in this study, the questionnaire will be suitable to evaluate the results of the #Tamojunto2.0 program in a randomized controlled trial