Utilization of Media-Driven Technology for Health Promotion and Risk Reduction among American Indian and Alaska Native Young Adults: An Exploratory Study

Across the developmental spectrum, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents and young adults experience considerable behavioral and mental health disparities, including substance abuse, depression, and engagement in sexual behaviors which enhance risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Health-focused interventions utilizing digital and media technology hold significant promise among tribal communities, as they have the capacity to eliminate geography-based barriers. Utilizing a sample of 210 self-identified AI/AN students attending tribal colleges, this study identified the most effective technologies and intervention strategies, as well as health seeking patterns and preferences, which may impact implementation and sustainable use in tribal settings. The use of technology was both diverse and pervasive among AI/AN young adults, mirroring or exceeding patterns of young adults from the broader population. These data suggest that technology-based interventions may effectively deliver information, resources, and behavior change tools to AI/AN young adults, particularly when reflecting their unique worldviews and social contexts

Deconstructing the Model Minority Myth: Exploring Health Risk Behaviors of American Asian and Pacific Islander Young Adults

The model minority stereotype describes Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) as the epitome of assimilation into U.S. culture using hard work, intelligence, high educational attainment, and economic success to overcome the challenges of discrimination and recent immigration. Adopted model minority pressures assume a life of their own, with origins in childhood that are amplified during adolescence and young adulthood. In response to evidence of increased vulnerability to HIV and other sexually transmitted infection exposure, the present study compared prevalence estimates of health risk behaviors of API and cross-ethnic college students (N = 1,880). Self-reported alcohol use and abuse tendencies, legal and illicit drug use, abuse and misuse, as well as HIV- and other STI-related sexual risk were compared. Results of independent samples t-tests revealed that API displayed greater risk for alcohol use, abuse, dependence, and negative outcomes related to use. After controlling for differences in the 90-day prevalence of sexual activity, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel and chi-square analyses indicated significantly greater behavioral risks for infection among API. API males were nearly twice as likely as their cross-ethnic peers to engage in insertive oral and anal sex without a condom to the point of ejaculation. While reporting fewer risks compared to their male counterparts, API females were significantly more likely than their cross-ethnic peers to engage in behaviors which may enhance exposure to infection. Such findings suggest a shrinking cultural divide with regard to risk behaviors on college campuses, as well as a lack of perceived HIV and other sexually transmitted infection risk among API students. As universities continue to foster cultures of diversity, the unique experiences and prevention-based needs of API students must be addressed

Exploring Sexual and Behavioral Health Inequities among College Students: A Need for LGB-Specific Risk Reduction

Many studies have examined differences in sexual behavior based upon self-identified sexual orientation, with results often indicating that those with same-sex partners engage in greater risk behaviors than those with opposite sex partners. However, few of those studies consisted of large, national sample studies. To address that gap, the present study examined the relationship between sexual orientation and both behavioral and sexual health outcomes in a national sample of U.S. college students. The Fall 2012 through Spring 2014 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment was used to examine behavioral and sexual health related responses from self-identified heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual students (N = 152,050). Items related to depression, abusive relationships, suicidal ideation, substance use, and engagement in consensual and nonconsensual sexual behaviors were examined. A series of cross tabulations indicated that sexual orientation was significantly associated with antecedents to sexual risk, including diagnoses of depression and engagement in abusive relationships. Self-identified sexual minorities reported significantly greater suicidal ideation and attempts, as well as engage in greater quantities of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use. Not only was sexual orientation significantly associated with the number of sexual partners in the previous 12 months, but similarly the occurrence of unprotected sex, sexual behaviors without providing consent, and sexual behaviors without receiving consent. Such findings were consistently found when disaggregating by sexual orientation and gender, and suggest that, as universities continue to foster a culture of diversity and acceptance, the unique experiences and prevention-based needs of sexual minority students must be addressed

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference