Relationships between online gambling, mental health and substance use: A review

This review deals with the published literature to date while examining the relationship between online gambling, mental health problems, and substance use. Online gambling, particularly problematic gambling online, was found to be associated with poor mental health and use of various substances. Recent preliminary evidence also suggests that online gamblers may be at a greater risk of some substance use and mental health problems, relative to nononline gamblers. However, many of the reviewed studies were limited by investigation of online gambling behaviors only; these samples may have inadvertently comprised individuals who engage in both online and nononline gambling. Future research is required to address these limitations

Associations between youth homelessness, sexual offenses, sexual victimization, and sexual risk behaviors : A systematic literature review

Homeless youth commonly report engaging in sexual risk behaviors. These vulnerable young people also frequently report being sexually victimized. This systematic review collates, summarizes, and appraises published studies of youth investigating relationships between homelessness, perpetration of sexual offences, experience of sexual victimization, and engagement in sexual risk behavior. A systematic search of seventeen psychology, health, and social science electronic databases was conducted. Search terms included “homeless*”, “youth”, “offend*”, “victimization”, “crime”, “rape”, “victim*”, and “sex crimes”. Thirty-eight studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed homeless youth commonly report being raped and sexually assaulted, fear being sexually victimized, and engage in street prostitution and survival sex. Rates of victimization and sexual risk behavior were generally higher for females. Given the paucity of longitudinal studies and limitations of current studies it is unclear whether homelessness is prospectively associated with sexual victimization or engagement in sexual risk behavior, and whether such associations vary cross-nationally and as a function of time and place. Future prospective research examining the influence of the situational context of homelessness is necessary to develop a better understanding of how homelessness influences the perpetration of sexual offences, experience of sexual victimization, and engagement in sexual risk behavior among homeless youth

Relationships between substance use and depressive symptoms : A longitudinal study of Australian adolescents

This study examined longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and use of alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit substances among adolescents, addressing methodological limitations and potential confounding in the extant literature. The sample comprised adolescents who were surveyed in Grades 6 (n = 916), 9 (n = 804), and 11 (n = 791). Cross-lagged path analyses were used to examine bi-directional relationships between substance use and depressive symptoms. Early adolescent depressive symptoms predicted mid-adolescent cigarette, alcohol, and illicit substance use (the latter among females only). Mid-adolescent depressive symptoms predicted late adolescent illicit substance use (females only). There were no statistically significant pathways from substance use to later depressive symptoms. However, these relationships were reduced to non-significance with the addition of covariates associated with the family environment, school, and individual. The findings suggest that the association between adolescent depressive symptoms and later substance use can be explained by common risk factors that produce vulnerability to both depression and substance use

Alcohol warning labels: unlikely to affect alcohol‐related beliefs and behaviours in adolescents

Abstract Objective: In Australia, many health researchers and policy makers are advocating for mandated warning labels on alcoholic beverages. Alcohol‐related harms are of particular concern among adolescents. The aim of this article was to review the available literature and evaluate the impact of alcohol warning labels on adolescent drinking, knowledge and behaviour. Approach: A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Scholarly databases were searched for relevant research articles. Broad inclusion criteria were applied due to the relative paucity of literature. Conclusion: The introduction of alcohol warning labels was shown to be associated with initial increased awareness of alcohol warning label law, exposure to the labels, and increased recognition of the warning label messages. Conversely, little change was observed in terms of beliefs about the risks of alcohol use or participation in risky alcohol‐related behaviours. These findings are similar to those reported among adult samples. However, the vast majority of the literature originated from the same group of authors, with samples drawn from a single geographical region. This may greatly limit the generalisablity of these findings. Implications: The introduction of alcohol warning labels in Australia may increase awareness about the risks of alcohol consumption among adolescents; however, these labels appear unlikely to change adolescent drinking behaviours or beliefs about alcohol‐related risks. Further research in multiple cultural contexts is required to confirm these findings. Alcohol warning labels should be considered as only one aspect of a range of other proven strategies to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour

Risk factors and risk-based protective factors for violent offending: A study of young Victorians

Purpose The present study aims to examine risk factors and risk-based and interactive protective factors for violent offending in a group of 437 young Australians. Methods Participants were recruited into the study when they were in Grade 5 (age 10–11 years) and followed up almost annually until young adulthood (age 18–19 years). Measures of violent offending, risk and protective factors, and demographics were obtained through a modification of the Communities That Care youth survey. The data collected enabled identification of groups of students at-risk of violent offending according to drug use, low family socioeconomic status, and antisocial behavior. Results Very few associations were found between the risk factors and risk-based protective factors measured in this study (e.g., belief in the moral order, religiosity, peer recognition for prosocial involvement, attachment to parents, low commitment to school, and poor academic performance) and later self-reported violent offending. There were no statistically significant interactive protective factors. Conclusions Further longitudinal analyses with large sample sizes are needed to examine risk factors and risk-based protective factors and interactive protective factors in at-risk groups. The findings support the need for multi-faceted prevention and early intervention approaches that target multiple aspects of youth's lives

Alcohol warning labels: unlikely to effect alcohol-related beliefs and behaviours in adolescents

Objective: In Australia, many health researchers and policy makers are advocating for mandated warning labels on alcoholic beverages. Alcohol-related harms are of particular concern among adolescents. The aim of this article was to review the available literature and evaluate the impact of alcohol warning labels on adolescent drinking, knowledge and behaviour. Approach: A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Scholarly databases were searched for relevant research articles. Broad inclusion criteria were applied due to the relative paucity of literature. Conclusion: The introduction of alcohol warning labels was shown to be associated with initial increased awareness of alcohol warning label law, exposure to the labels, and increased recognition of the warning label messages. Conversely, little change was observed in terms of beliefs about the risks of alcohol use or participation in risky alcohol-related behaviours. These findings are similar to those reported among adult samples. However, the vast majority of the literature originated from the same group of authors, with samples drawn from a single geographical region. This may greatly limit the generalisablity of these findings. Implications: The introduction of alcohol warning labels in Australia may increase awareness about the risks of alcohol consumption among adolescents; however, these labels appear unlikely to change adolescent drinking behaviours or beliefs about alcohol-related risks. Further research in multiple cultural contexts is required to confirm these findings. Alcohol warning labels should be considered as only one aspect of a range of other proven strategies to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour

Research review : Associations between leaving out-of-home care, post-transition support and psychosocial outcomes

Youth making the transition to independent living following their placement in out-of-home care settings present as a particularly vulnerable population group and many have experienced childhood trauma and neglect, and have been separated or removed from their family through intervention by child protection services (Bromfield et al, 2005)

'Fighting' for surviva : A systematic review of physically violent behavior perpetrated and experienced by homeless young people

Objectives: This systematic review appraises published studies reporting associations between homelessness, perpetration of physically violent behavior and experience of victimization due to others' physically violent behavior, among young people. Methods: A comprehensive systematic search of psychology, sociology, and health electronic databases, including PsycInfo and SocIndex was conducted. Search terms examined (a) homeless youth, (b) perpetration of physically violent behavior, and (c) experience of victimization due to others' physically violent behavior. Results: Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed homeless youth report engaging in physically violent behavior including assault, physical fights, and robbery, and commonly describe victimization experiences such as being physically assaulted, threatened with weapons, and robbed. Rates of perpetration of physically violent behavior and experiences of victimization were inconsistent across reviewed studies. It is unclear whether homelessness is a predictor of the perpetration of physically violent behavior and/or victimization. Findings suggest that perpetration of, and being victimized by others' physically violent behavior, may vary for sub-groups of homeless youth. Conclusions: Further research embedded within theoretical perspectives that consider the influence of situational antecedents is warranted to examine whether homelessness is predictive of engagement in physically violent behavior and the experience of victimization due to others' physically violent behavior

Cannabis use and related harms in the transition to young adulthood: a longitudinal study of Australian secondary school students

The current study documents the changing rates of cannabis use, misuse and cannabis-related social harms among Australian adolescents as they grow into young adulthood. It utilised data from a longitudinal study of young people at ages 15, 16, 17, and 19. The rates of cannabis use were found to increase as participants aged; past year use increased from 7.5% at age 15 to 29.8% at age 19. Further, at ages 17 and 19, cannabis use was more prevalent among males than females. Among those who reported cannabis use, the rates of cannabis-related harms were low to moderate, and did not increase with age in the same manner as rates of cannabis use. The most prevalent self-reported cannabis-related harm was anxiety/depression; affecting between 20–30% of the cannabis users at each age. These findings may assist in understanding the extent of cannabis-related problems among youth, and in planning relevant services

A longitudinal study of the reciprocal effects of alcohol use and interpersonal violence among Australian young people

The impact of alcohol-related violence on individuals and society continues to receive attention from both media and policy makers. However, the longitudinal relationship between alcohol consumption and violence is unclear, with findings from prospective studies producing mixed results. The current study utilized Australian data from the International Youth Development Study to examine longitudinal relationships between alcohol consumption and severe interpersonal violence across the developmental periods of early adolescence to late adolescence/emerging adulthood. The full sample comprised 849 adolescents (53.8 % female) who had been followed up over a 5 year period, from Grade 7 secondary school (age 13) until Grade 11 secondary school (age 17). Cross-lagged path analysis was used to examine reciprocal relationships between alcohol consumption and interpersonal violence; analyses controlled for a range of covariates considered to be common risk factors for both behaviors. Alcohol use during early and mid adolescence was found to predict violence 2 years later, whereas a bi-directional relationship between adolescent heavy episodic drinking and violence was observed. Some of these relationships were not significant when covariates such as family conflict and affiliation with antisocial and drug using friends were included in the models. These findings suggest that risk processes begin in late childhood or very early adolescence; efforts to reduce one problem behavior are likely to reduce the other. Further, the role that social and family contexts have in influencing the relationships between alcohol use and interpersonal violence should be considered in future research to better inform preventive efforts