Positive Youth Development Life Skills Gained at the Iowa 4-H Youth Conference

Research suggests 4-H programs build Life Skills such as leadership, communication, citizenship and learning. However, 4-H programs vary from long-term on-going experiences to shorter, more intense opportunities. This paper discusses a program evaluation articulating the life skill development of participants in a 3-day residential State 4-H Conference on a Midwestern college campus. The Life Skills assessed were in the areas of leadership, citizenship, communication, and learning as part of overall Life Skill development. Participants were youth ages 14-18 years. A retrospective pretest-posttest was used to evaluate skill development and understanding. Analysis, including paired sample t-tests, indicated growth in each of the 12 common outcome measures evaluated. This study supports the importance of purposeful planning and youth engagement in the learning process to achieve desired life skill outcomes

Economic Stressors and Childhood Obesity: Differences by Child Age and Gender

Childhood obesity is a public health challenge in the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere in the world. Additionally, those who are obese are heavier than in the past (Anderson & Butcher, 2006). In the U.S., one in three children is overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2010), a prevalence that has tripled since 1970 (Anderson & Butcher, 2006; Kumanayika & Grier, 2006; Wang & Zhang, 2006). In response to this public health issue, Healthy People 2010 (US/DHHS, 2000) and President Obama (US/Office of the President, 2010) have identified childhood obesity as a national health priority as it has immediate consequences for a child’s physical and psychological health (Puhl & Latner, 2007; Raman, 2002; Strauss, 1999; US/DHHS, 2000), as well as implications for future health (Freedman et al., 2007; Raman, 2002; Strauss, 1999; US/DHHS, 2000). Beyond negative health outcomes, there are also economic costs (e.g., greater need for health care) associated with childhood obesity (Marder & Chang 2006; Skinner et al., 2008). Thus, identifying factors related to childhood obesity not only has implications for the health and quality of life of children, but it also has important implications for family expenditures and health care costs

Creating School-Family Partnerships in Adolescence: Challenges and Opportunities

Adolescence is a time of rapid change. These changes present challenges and opportunities for developing youth including physical changes, significant cognitive advancements, emotional maturation, and new peer and romantic relationships. For most adolescents, these changes are also accompanied by changes in their environments including more demanding expectations for independence, more challenging academic tasks, and new expectations for social participation from parents and peers. At the same time, adolescents are becoming more independent from their families while also maintaining a sense of connection to them and to their schools

Harsh Parenting and Food Insecurity in Adolescence: The Association with Emerging Adult Obesity

In the U.S., as of 2012, more than one in three youth were overweight or obese [1]. This is a critical health issue, as being overweight or obese (OW/OB) during adolescence increases the risk of adulthood diseases, including but not limited to cardiovascular and heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and osteoarthritis [2]. Understanding the pathways to obesity is critical for implementation of successful prevention and intervention programs. One of the pathways leading to OW/OB is through social and economic experiences within the family

The Influence of Parental Alcoholism on Parent–Adolescent Relationships From Adolescence Into Emerging Adulthood: A Qualitative Inquiry

Exposure to parental alcoholism can inhibit a child’s ability to become a successfully functioning young adult. Based on qualitative interviews, this study provides a deeper understanding of how those parent–adolescent relationships are associated with risky internalizing and externalizing behaviors. This qualitative study explores the lives of 13 young adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) and provides a unique perspective through an adaptive developmental approach by evaluating emerging adults who were ACOAs and successfully functioning. Compelling findings emerged with respect to how young adults define alcoholism and being a child of alcoholism and how the parent–adolescent relationship adapts in the unstable environment associated with family alcoholism. Salient findings revealed that when emotional and physical detachment from a parent’s alcoholic behaviors in addition to an acceptance that those behaviors are not the adolescent’s responsibility, individuals gained better control of their environment aiding them in becoming healthy, functioning young adults

Intergenerational Continuity of Psychological Violence: Intimate Partner Relationships and Harsh Parenting.

Objective: This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined psychological violence across generations. We examined how parent psychological violence experienced during adolescence influenced the stability of one’s own intimate partner psychological violence perpetration across time and how psychological violence is related to harsh parenting in adulthood. Method: Data came from 193 parents and their adolescent who participated from adolescence through adulthood. Parental psychological violence was assessed in early adolescence. Partner violence was assessed in late adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood. Harsh parenting to their offspring was assessed in adulthood. Results: Parent psychological violence in early adolescence was associated with one’s own intimate partner psychological violence in late adolescence. Partner psychological violence was stable from emerging adulthood to adulthood. Moreover, parental violence was also related to their own harsh parenting in adulthood. Conclusions: Findings suggest that children exposed to parental psychological violence during adolescence may have greater difficulty developing acceptable behaviors in their own romantic relationships over time, as well as parenting their own child in adulthood. Findings highlight the importance for clinicians and policymakers to develop and utilize effective educational and preventive interventions designed toward not only adolescent behaviors, but also that of the parent. Understanding how the family environment impacts current and long-term functioning is important in helping stop the cycle of violence across generations

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study accounting for gene-psychosocial factor interactions identifies novel loci for blood pressure traits

Psychological and social factors are known to influence blood pressure (BP) and risk of hypertension and associated cardiovascular diseases. To identify novel BP loci, we carried out genome-wide association meta-analyses of systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean arterial BP, taking into account the interaction effects of genetic variants with three psychosocial factors: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and social support. Analyses were performed using a two-stage design in a sample of up to 128,894 adults from five ancestry groups. In the combined meta-analyses of stages 1 and 2, we identified 59 loci (p value < 5e−8), including nine novel BP loci. The novel associations were observed mostly with pulse pressure, with fewer observed with mean arterial pressure. Five novel loci were identified in African ancestry, and all but one showed patterns of interaction with at least one psychosocial factor. Functional annotation of the novel loci supports a major role for genes implicated in the immune response (PLCL2), synaptic function and neurotransmission (LIN7A and PFIA2), as well as genes previously implicated in neuropsychiatric or stress-related disorders (FSTL5 and CHODL). These findings underscore the importance of considering psychological and social factors in gene discovery for BP, especially in non-European populations

Association of vitamin D status with arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk : a mendelian randomisation study

Peer reviewe

1000 Genomes-based meta-analysis identifies 10 novel loci for kidney function

HapMap imputed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed >50 loci at which common variants with minor allele frequency >5% are associated with kidney function. GWAS using more complete reference sets for imputation, such as those from The 1000 Genomes project, promise to identify novel loci that have been missed by previous efforts. To investigate the value of such a more complete variant catalog, we conducted a GWAS meta-analysis of kidney function based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in 110,517 European ancestry participants using 1000 Genomes imputed data. We identified 10 novel loci with p-value < 5 × 10(-8) previously missed by HapMap-based GWAS. Six of these loci (HOXD8, ARL15, PIK3R1, EYA4, ASTN2, and EPB41L3) are tagged by common SNPs unique to the 1000 Genomes reference panel. Using pathway analysis, we identified 39 significant (FDR < 0.05) genes and 127 significantly (FDR < 0.05) enriched gene sets, which were missed by our previous analyses. Among those, the 10 identified novel genes are part of pathways of kidney development, carbohydrate metabolism, cardiac septum development and glucose metabolism. These results highlight the utility of re-imputing from denser reference panels, until whole-genome sequencing becomes feasible in large samples