A longitudinal study of antisocial behaviors in early adolescence as predictors of late adolescent substance use: gender and ethnic group differences

Data from the National Longitudinal \buth Survey (NLSY) were analyzed to study interrelationships between antisocial behaviors in early adolescence (ages 14-15) and late adolescent alcohol and drug use 4 years later (when adolescents were 18-19). Correlations between classes of antisocial behaviors in early adolescence and substance use in late adolescence were of higher magnitude and more uniform for men than for women; for women, property offenses (e.g., vandalism) in early adolescence were more highly associated with alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and illicit drug use in late adolescence than with either status offenses or transgressions against persons. Multiple regression analyses indicated that early-adolescent substance involvement was a significant predictor of late-adolescent alcohol and drug use. Additional significant predictors included early adolescent general delinquency, male gender, and non-Black ethnicity

Comparisons of Types of Exposure to Violence Within and Across Contexts in Predicting the Perpetration of Dating Aggression

It is widely accepted that adolescents exposed to violence are more likely to become perpetrators of dating aggression. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of exposure to violence on later perpetration of dating aggression vary based on the nature of the violence exposure (e.g., witnessing versus being a victim) and the contexts of exposure to violence. Thus, the relationships between two types of exposure to violence (witnessing and victimization) in early adolescence and perpetrating dating aggression in late adolescence were compared within and across three social contexts: the home, the community, and the school. Participants included 484 youth (51% females; 81% African–Americans, 18% European–Americans, 1% Hispanic or Other). Information on exposure to violence were collected at Waves 1 and 2 during early adolescence (Wave 1: M = 11.8 years old; Wave 2: M = 13.2 years old) and dating aggression data were collected during late adolescence (Wave 3: M = 18.0 years old). The results showed that across all contexts witnessing violence was a more consistent predictor of later dating aggression relative to victimization. Being exposed to violence in the home either via observation or victimization was a stronger predictor of physical dating aggression and threatening behaviors compared to being exposed to violence in the school. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the roles of various forms of exposure to violence during early adolescence in perpetrating dating aggression later in the life course

Dementia and Imagination: a mixed-methods protocol for arts and science research

Introduction Dementia and Imagination is a multi-disciplinary research collaboration bringing together arts and science to address current evidence limitations around the benefits of art activities in dementia care. It is a large programme of work with a novel combination of methods from health and social sciences together with the arts and humanities to address a key societal challenge – supporting the quality of life of the growing number of people living with dementia. This is examined through the following questions; can art improve quality of life and well-being? If it does make a difference, how does it do this - and why? Does it have wider social and community benefits? Methods and analysis Participants are recruited from residential care homes, NHS wards and communities in three locations in England and Wales. A visual arts intervention is developed and delivered as 1 x 2 hour weekly group session for 3 months to N=100 people living with dementia. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at three time-points to examine the impact on the quality of life of people living with dementia together with the cost-benefit, and the perceptions of those who care for them (N=100 family and professional carers). Repeated-measures systematic observation of wellbeing is applied during the intervention delivery (intervention versus control condition). Qualitative data is collected from a sub-sample at three time-points (N=35 carers/staff and N=35 people living with dementia) to explore changes in social connectedness. Self-reported outcomes during the intervention delivery are obtained (N=100). Focus groups with intervention participants (N=40) explore perceptions of impact. Social network analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from arts and healthcare professionals (N=100) examine changes in perceptions and practice. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by North Wales research ethics committee – West. The research findings will be shared through a range of activities. International and national academic conferences and events will be attended to present papers and lead symposia. The project has developed an extensive public engagement and communication strategy. Public engagement projects will target a broad range of stakeholders. There is a regularly maintained project website, which is a resource bank for stakeholders and a continuing legacy from the project. A quarterly newsletter is produced. Policy and practice summaries will be developed from the findings. The visual arts intervention protocol will be developed as a practitioners guide and freely available.Strengths and limitations of this study•Dementia and Imagination is the largest arts and dementia research study in the UK.•The development and delivery of the research involves partnerships between universities, community arts organisations, galleries, the NHS and charities.•It combines methods from health and social sciences together with the arts and humanities to address a key societal challenge – supporting the quality of life of the growing number of people living with dementia.•A limitation is that the study design cannot focus on a more robust test of effectiveness, as this was beyond the remit of the funder

Sharing and reuse in OER: experiences gained from open reusable learning objects in health

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Abstract:  The open educational resource (OER) movement has the potential to have a truly transformative effect on higher education, but in order to do so it must move into the mainstream and facilitate widespread participation in the sharing or creating of resources and in their reuse. To help in this process, experience can be gained from projects and initiatives which have acted as forerunners to this movement.  Here we present the experiences gained and lessons learnt from one such project based around the open sharing of reusable learning objects in health sciences education. In particular we share our experiences of reuse, its patterns, measurement, drivers, barriers, and tools designed to balance the pedagogical tensions between use and reuse. Like many in the OER movement we promote an emphasis on the role of community-building. We also argue that in order to produce materials that are worth sharing, value must firstly be placed on developing materials suitable for primary use, including robust evaluation and an alignment to real-world learning needs. Lastly, unlike the prevailing trends in OER we urge a consideration of quality assurance and outline the role that it can play in promoting sharing and reuse

Protective Prevention Effects on the Association of Poverty With Brain Development

ImportanceThis study was designed to determine whether a preventive intervention focused on enhancing supportive parenting could ameliorate the association between exposure to poverty and brain development in low socioeconomic status African American individuals from the rural South.ObjectiveTo determine whether participation in an efficacious prevention program designed to enhance supportive parenting for rural African American children will ameliorate the association between living in poverty and reduced hippocampal and amygdalar volumes in adulthood.Design, setting, and participantsIn the rural southeastern United States, African American parents and their 11-year-old children were assigned randomly to the Strong African American Families randomized prevention trial or to a control condition. Parents provided data used to calculate income-to-needs ratios when children were aged 11 to 13 years and 16 to 18 years. When the participants were aged 25 years, hippocampal and amygdalar volumes were measured using magnetic resonance imaging.ExposuresHousehold poverty was measured by income-to-needs ratios.Main outcomes and measuresYoung adults' whole hippocampal, dentate gyrus, and CA3 hippocampal subfields as well as amygdalar volumes were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsOf the 667 participants in the Strong African American Families randomized prevention trial, 119 right-handed African American individuals aged 25 years living in rural areas were recruited. Years lived in poverty across ages 11 to 18 years forecasted diminished left dentate gyrus (simple slope, -14.20; standard error, 5.22; P = .008) and CA3 (simple slope, -6.42; standard error, 2.42; P = .009) hippocampal subfields and left amygdalar (simple slope, -34.62; standard error, 12.74; P = .008) volumes among young adults in the control condition (mean [SD] time, 2.04 [1.88] years) but not among those who participated in the Strong African American Families program (mean [SD] time, 2.61 [1.77] years).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, we described how participation in a randomized clinical trial designed to enhance supportive parenting ameliorated the association of years lived in poverty with left dentate gyrus and CA3 hippocampal subfields and left amygdalar volumes. These findings are consistent with a possible role for supportive parenting and suggest a strategy for narrowing social disparities

Transitions Into Underage and Problem Drinking: Summary of Developmental Processes and Mechanisms: Ages 10–15

Adolescents ages 10–15 experience dramatic changes in their biological, cognitive, emotional, and social development as well as in their physical and social environments. These include the physiological and psychological changes associated with puberty; further development of the brain; changes in family, peer, and romantic relationships; and exposure to new societal and cultural influences. During this period, many adolescents also begin to use alcohol. Alcohol use during adolescence has adverse effects on the body and increases the risk of alcohol dependence later in life. To better understand why some children drink whereas others do not, researchers are examining nonspecific and alcohol-specific factors that put adolescents at risk for, or which protect them from, early alcohol use and its associated problems. Nonspecific risk factors include certain temperamental and personality traits, family factors, and nonnormative development. Examples of nonspecific protective factors include certain temperamental characteristics, religiosity, and parenting factors (e.g., parental nurturance and monitoring). Among the most influential alcohol-specific risk and protective factors are a family history of alcoholism and the influences of siblings and peers, all of which shape an adolescent’s expectancies about the effects of alcohol, which in turn help determine alcohol use behaviors