Spending unsupervised time online with friends encourages delinquency and drug and alcohol use among teenagers

The rise of digital communication through smartphones and other devices in the past decade has transformed the way in which adolescents communicate with one another; friends are now essentially always present and available. In new research, Jim Clark and Ryan C. Meldrum find that this connectivity – when unstructured and unsupervised by adults – is linked to adolescent delinquency and substance abuse

Parental Self-Control and the Development of Male Aggression in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Test of Self-Control Theory

A number of studies have evaluated associations between parenting practices, adolescent self-control, and adolescent antisocial behavior. Yet, few studies have examined associations between these constructs in early childhood or examined the extent to which both maternal and paternal self-control shapes them. To address these gaps, the current study utilizes longitudinal data collected on a sample of 117 Dutch boys and their parents to investigate the across time interrelationships between parental self-control, ineffective parenting, child self-control, and child aggression. The results provide evidence of an indirect association between maternal self-control and early childhood self-control through maternal ineffective parenting, an indirect association between maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood aggression through early childhood self-control, and an indirect association between maternal self-control and early childhood aggression through both maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood self-control. In contrast, paternal self-control and paternal ineffective parenting were unrelated to child self-control and child aggression. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Low Self-Control and the Victim-Offender Overlap: A Gendered Analysis

The overlap between victimization and offending is well documented. Yet, there have been fewer investigations of the reasons underlying this relationship. One possible, but understudied, explanation lies with Gottfredson and Hirschi's arguments regarding self-control. The current study adds to this line of inquiry by assessing whether low self-control accounts for the victim-offender overlap in a sample of young adults and whether self-control accounts for the observed overlap similarly across gender. Results from a series of bivariate probit regression models indicate that low self-control is positively related to both victimization and offending. However, only among males does low self-control account for a substantive portion of the victim-offender overlap. Limitations of the study and implications and directions for future research are discussed

Maternal versus adolescent reports of self-control: Implications for testing the general theory of crime

Purpose The measurement of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) concept of self-control has received significant attention. However, research has not yet compared and explored the implications of using self-reported versus other-reported measures of self-control. Addressing this gap is the goal of the present study. Method Using data drawn from a sample of U.S. families across 10 cities, the current study uses structural equation models to examine whether identical indicators of maternal and adolescent reports of self-control are differentially related to delinquency and parental socialization. Results Two key findings emerged. First, the strength of the relationship between self-control and delinquency is substantively weaker when maternal reports are used in lieu of adolescent reports. Second, a comprehensive measure of parental socialization--capturing dimensions of monitoring, hostility, and warmth--is strongly related to adolescent reported self-control but only weakly related to maternal reported self-control. Conclusions These findings suggest that substantive conclusions about the strength of the relationships between self-control, delinquency, and parenting are dependent on the source of the measure of self-control.No Full Tex

The intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender and the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors

The prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors across distinct intersections of race/ethnicity and gender among adolescents remains understudied. The current study seeks to address this important gap in suicide scholarship using a statewide representative sample of U.S. Florida middle school and high school adolescents. Data drawn from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS) (N = 41,764) were analyzed to examine disparities in suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among 26 racial/ethnic and gender subgroups of middle school and high school aged adolescents. Survey-weighted prevalence estimates for both suicidality outcomes were generated, and binary contrasts were used to assess the statistical significance of the differences in the probabilities between members of each subgroup and youth belonging to all other subgroups. Our results indicate that the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts was highly gendered and varied according to racial/ethnic subgroups. Native American girls reported more suicidal thoughts (49.9%) and attempts (16.5%) in the past 12 months than any race/gender group. Other racial/ethnic and gender groups that reported particularly high rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts were West Indian/Caribbean female adolescents (48.8% and 13.4%, respectively), Puerto Rican female adolescents (48.5% and 14.7%, respectively), and Black/non-Hispanic female adolescents (19.9% and 15.6%, respectively). Because certain gender and race/ethnic subgroups are at an increased risk for suicidality, more research is needed to better understand the risk and protective factors to determine which suicide prevention strategies might best serve each group

School Start Times, Delinquency, and Substance Use: A Criminological Perspective

Research finds a lack of sleep during adolescence is associated with a variety of negative outcomes and suggests that early school start times contribute to this problem. Criminologists have largely overlooked the relevance of school start times for adolescent delinquency and substance use, precluding multidisciplinary collaborations between criminologists and other social and health scientists that might further elucidate emerging policy initiatives. We provide a theoretically informed criminological perspective explicating the mechanisms through which delaying school start times may reduce delinquency and substance use. Two pathways are proposed: one focused on self-control and another on unstructured socializing with peers. After discussing evidence supporting the pathways, this article outlines a research agenda for criminologists to contribute to understudied portions of the model