Obesity-related behaviors in adolescent friendship networks

This study examines obesity-related behaviors within adolescent friendship networks, because adolescent peers have been identified as being important determinants of many health behaviors. We applied ERGM selection models for single network observations to determine if close adolescent friends engage in similar behaviors and to explore associations between behavior and popularity. Same-sex friends were found to be similar on measures of organized physical activity in two out of three school-based friendship networks. Female friends were found to engage in similar screen-based behaviors, and male friends tended to be similar in their consumption of high-calorie foods. Popularity (receiving ties) was also associated with some behaviors, although these effects were gender specific and differed across networks.     

The encounter with family violence and risky sexual activity among young adolescent females

In this article, we analyze the relationship between family violence and risky sexual activity for female adolescents (age 14 to 17). We examine two forms of family violence: experience (receiving physical abuse from a parent or parent-figure) and exposure (witnessing interparental physical violence). We hypothesize that either form of violence will predict greater odds of engaging in risky sexual behavior. We define risky sexual activity as any of the following: having multiple partners within the last 12 months or having sex with partners who are themselves engaging in risky behavior (e.g., having multiple partners of either sex, injecting unprescribed drugs, sharing unprescribed needles for injecting drugs). We analyzed data from 710 respondents taken from the National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle V, living with at least one biological parent. Results showed that experiencing violence from a parent greatly increased the likelihood of risky sex, even when controlling for the experience of forced sex, age, mother's age at first birth, race, socioeconomic status, and religiosity. Female adolescents who had experienced forced sex, those who were older (especially 17-year-olds), non-Hispanic Blacks (but not Hispanics), those living in a family with low educational attainment (less than a high school diploma), and those for whom religion was not or only somewhat personally important were more likely to report risky sex compared to others. These effects were not modified by whether the respondents lived in single- or two-parent families. An interaction between the two forms of physical violence suggests that either form is sufficient to increase significantly the odds of risky sex; an analysis in which respondents were differentiated by their experience of either form of violence showed a strong effect of experience on risky sex, net of the control variables.     

Social network characteristics associated with risky behaviors among runaway and homeless youth.

Runaway and homeless youth are at high risk for substance abuse and unsafe sexual behavior. Our study describes the personal social networks of these youth and examines network characteristics associated with risky behaviors. In 1995 and 1996, we interviewed a purposive sample of youth aged 14 through 21 who were living in Washington, DC and were identified on the streets or through shelters or other service agencies (N = 327). Although we found that most youth reported current social relationships, a significant minority (26%) did not. Youth without a social network were significantly more likely to report current illicit drug use, multiple sex partners, and survival sex than youth with a network. For youth with a network, the networks were small, strong in affective and supportive qualities, comprised primarily of friends, typically included an alcohol or illicit drug user, and usually were not a source of pressure for risky behaviors. Our results indicate that networks had risk-enhancing and risk-decreasing properties in that network characteristics were associated in both positive and negative directions with risky behaviors.     

Sexual at-risk behaviors of sexually abused adolescent girls

The present study investigated sexual at-risk behaviors of sexually abused adolescent girls. Variables of interest were presence of consensual sexual activity, age at first consensual intercourse, number of sexual partners, condom use, and pregnancies. Participants were 125 sexually abused adolescent girls aged 12 to 17 years. Results showed that severity of sexual abuse (e.g., penetration, multiple perpetrators, physical coercion, multiple incidents of abuse) was related to a greater number of sexual at-risk behaviors. For instance, adolescents with a history of sexual abuse involving penetration were 13 times as likely to have been pregnant. Although family characteristics were significantly associated with being sexually active, their effect proved non-significant in the final hierarchical regression. Regression analyses clearly showed that the likelihood of engaging in sexual at-risk behaviors increased as a function of the number of severity factors.     

School contextual factors and race differences in adolescent sexual behaviors

Abstract

Although there exist a voluminous number of studies examining predictors of adolescent sexual behavior, few studies have explored the role of the school social context in influencing teen sexual activity generally and specifically, the role that school contextual factors play in helping understand race differences in risky sexual behaviors. Using data from a nationally representative school-based survey of American youth in Grades 7–12, we find support for our core hypothesis that school contextual factors are associated with risky sexual behavior, number of sexual partners, and ever having sex, albeit it nuanced ways and that such factors cannot account for much of the race gap in adolescent sexual behavior. We interpret these findings to be more supportive of a social contagion model (versus a school climate model).     

Reliability of self-reported contraceptive use and sexual behaviors among adolescent girls

This study examines two issues relevant to adolescents' self-reported sexual and contraceptive use behaviors: reliability of partner-referent reports versus 3 and 6 month reports, and test-retest reliability of reports completed over a 2 week period. Data are from 196 13 to 18 year old girls recruited into this study while they south reproductive care from health clinics in a metropolitan area. All participants reported having had sexual intercourse during the past 6 months. Twice over a 2 week interval, participants completed the same paper and pencil surveys. The survey presented questions about sexual behavior and contraceptive use using 3 sequential frames of reference: within the past 6 months, within the past 3 months, and by specific sexual partners in the past 6 months. Findings demonstrate that adolescent girls can reliably report sexual behavior and contraceptive use over a 6 month interval. Study findings have implications for future research utilizing adolescents' self-reported sexual and contraceptive use behaviors.     

College students' electronic victimization in friendships and dating relationships: anticipated distress and associations with risky behaviors

This study investigated college students' reports of electronic victimization in friendships and dating relationships. We examined 22 items representing four categories of electronic victimization: hostility, humiliation, exclusion, and intrusiveness. Nearly all participants (92%) reported some electronic victimization in the past year, with males reporting more victimization and females anticipating more distress. Both females and males anticipated more distress from electronic victimization in dating relationships than friendships. More actual experience with electronic victimization related to lower anticipated distress. Electronic victimization was associated with females' alcohol use, even after controlling for other victimization experiences. Discussion focuses on the contextualized nature of electronic victimization, and on the importance of understanding what makes electronic victimization highly distressing for some individuals.     

An examination of sexual risk behaviors in adolescent substance users

ABSTRACT. Objectives: This study examined the risk for engaging in high-risk sexual behavior associated with substance use in a sample of U.S. adolescents. Methods: The sample (N = 15,425) was obtained via the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a survey of public high school students. Results: Substance use was associated with sexual risk behaviors, with odds ratios being greatest for adolescents who used cigarettes and illicit substances, as well as those who engaged in injection drug use. Conclusions: Results highlight the need for prevention and intervention programs targeting sexual risk behaviors in substance-using adolescents as a means to decrease the spread of sexually transmitted infections.     

Patterns in pro-gun beliefs and weapon carrying behaviors in rural White adolescent

Weapon carrying among White rural populations is understudied although evidence suggests that rural White boys have high rates of carriage. This study delineated patterns of weapon use and pro-gun beliefs using a latent class analysis on a sample of 32,916 White rural adolescents. Five groups were identified (i.e., Low Gun Risk, Naïve, Social Contagion, Independent, Unsupervised) using pro-gun beliefs, peer risk factors, and weapon carrying items. Multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that identifying as male, age, housing instability, and victimization consistently differentiated group membership between different classes. These results suggest that rural White adolescents vary in their belief systems about guns and weapon carrying behavior and that this heterogeneity can be differentiated by lived experiences of these adolescents.     

Parental knowledge trajectory and its relationships with parental warmth and adolescent disclosure for Korean adolescents

The purpose of this study was to expand the knowledge base on parental knowledge by assessing a developmental trajectory and factors that might predict parental knowledge among Korean adolescents. To address this purpose, the current study assessed changes in parental knowledge during the transition to adolescence using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). In addition, parental warmth and adolescent disclosure were considered as time-variant predictors of knowledge. The data from Korea Youth Panel Survey (KYPS) of Grade 4 students who were followed for five years was analyzed. The results indicated that there was a significant average increase followed by a slight decrease in parental knowledge over time; that is, the data followed a quadratic trend. Controlling for gender and family structure, the study found that parental warmth and adolescent disclosure had significant effects on parental knowledge over time. The study's results suggest that parental warmth and adolescent disclosure are important elements to be emphasized in prevention and intervention programs that promote parental knowledge.     

Examining the role of racism in the risky alcohol use behaviors of black female college students

Objective: This study explores the impact racism has on the drinking behaviors of Black college women. Little is known about Black college women's experience of racism and the impact racism has on their psychological wellbeing and drinking behaviors. The current study fills a gap in our understanding of the role racism plays in the risky drinking behavior of Black college women. Participants: 469 Black college women ages 18–29 were sampled from 8 colleges and universities across the US, in 3 waves from December 2014-August 2017. Results: Findings suggest that general life stress and perceived racism are significantly associated with alcohol use among Black college women. However, only increased experiences of racism increase Black college women's engagement in risky drinking. Conclusions: The findings of this study serve as an entry point for a more nuanced assessment of stressors among Black college women that may inform drinking behaviors in this population.     

Clinical correlates and repetition of self-harming behaviors among female adolescent victims of sexual abuse

This study investigated self-harming behaviors in 149 female adolescent victims of sexual abuse, first, by determining the rates of nine types of self-mutilating behavior at intake and nine months later and, second, by investigating comorbidity of clinical correlates associated with these behaviors. The adolescents were divided into three groups according to level of self-mutilating behavior and then compared on symptom self-reports; 62.1% of the adolescents engaged in at least one self-mutilating behavior. A graded relation was observed between level of self-mutilating behavior and rate, and total number of clinical disorders. At nine month follow-up, one in four teenagers still reported a moderate or high level of self-harm. The need for systematic assessment and intervention of self-mutilating behaviors is discussed.     

The intergenerational transmission of health-risk behaviors: adolescent lifestyles and gender moderating effects.

The present longitudinal study of 330 adolescents used structural equation models to investigate whether (1) health-risk lifestyles exist among adults and adolescents, (2) parents' health-risk behaviors influence adolescents' health-risk behaviors, and (3) intergenerational transmission occurs by way of a health-risk lifestyle, by direct transmission of specific behaviors, or through both mechanisms. To address these questions, we estimated several models. The findings were generally supportive of the expectations. Results of single factor measurement models provided modest evidence for the existence of an underlying health-risk lifestyle factor among parents and adolescents. Results of structural equation models also demonstrated that parents' health-risk behaviors were transmitted to adolescents both at the lifestyle factor level and the unique component level. These associations prevailed even after controlling for family social status. However, parents' health-risk lifestyles mediated the effect of family social status on adolescents' lifestyles, net of the direct effect of family social status on adolescents' lifestyle. In these two-parent families, the effects of parents' health-risk lifestyles on adolescents seems to have gender symmetry. The findings of the separate models for boys and girls demonstrated that (1) fathers' health-risk lifestyle affected only boys' health-risk lifestyle, whereas (2) mother's health-risk lifestyle affected only girls' health-risk lifestyle. A similar gender moderating effect was not found for specific health-risk behaviors. Implications of these findings for future research and theoretical development are discussed.     

The moderating effect of alcohol use on protective and risky sex behaviors among college students in the Southeast United States

ABSTRACT

Objective: College students are a high-risk population for new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) diagnoses. Although condom use self-efficacy and HIV knowledge can protect against risky sexual behavior (RSB), these same protective factors have been shown to exacerbate RSB. The influence of alcohol use can further complicate these protective factors to influence RSB. Participants: 689 African American/Black and non-Hispanic White college students attending a public university in the Southeast United States. Method: This study sought to examine the relations between condom use self-efficacy and HIV knowledge with RSB and the moderating effect of alcohol use. Results: Findings showed positive associations between RSB and HIV knowledge and alcohol use. Unexpectedly, low frequency drinkers with high condom use self-efficacy were at increased risk for RSB compared to high frequency drinking counterparts. Conclusions: Findings point to the need to target prevention services for low-risk drinkers in college settings.     

Parental and peer attachment and adolescents' behaviors: The mediating role of psychological suzhi in a longitudinal study

We examined whether psychological suzhi mediated the associations between attachment (paternal, maternal, and peer) and young adolescents' behavior (internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial) in a longitudinal study. Psychological suzhi reflects the positive psychological traits that facilitate adolescents' positive adaptation to the school and social environment. Five hundred and ninety-five junior high school students (48% male; aged 11–15 years, M = 12.86 years, SD = 0.71) completed measures of attachment and psychological suzhi at Times 1 and 2 (a six-month interval), while students' parents completed measures of adolescents' behavior at Time 3 (another six months later). We observed significant longitudinal correlations between attachment, psychological suzhi, and behavior. Prospective analyses using bootstrapping demonstrated significant indirect effects of attachment on adolescent behavior via psychological suzhi. These findings highlighted the importance of attachment and psychological suzhi as protective factors in the developmental course of early adolescents' behavior.     

Neighborhood influences on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use: mediating effects through parent and peer behaviors

The influence of neighborhoods on adolescent behaviors has received increasing research attention. In the present study, we use structural equation models to specify pathways from neighborhoods to adolescent cigarette and alcohol use through parental closeness, parental monitoring, parent substance use, and peer substance use. We use a national sample with 959 adolescents 12 to 14 years of age whose residential addresses were matched with 1990 Census tracts to provide neighborhood characteristics. We found that for adolescent cigarette use low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods were associated with increased parental monitoring, which was further associated with decreased adolescent cigarette use. For adolescent alcohol use, high SES neighborhoods were associated with increased parent drinking, which was further associated with increased adolescent alcohol use. Low SES neighborhoods were associated with increased parental monitoring and increased peer drinking, which were in turn associated with decreased and increased adolescent alcohol use, respectively.     

Risk attitudes and risky behavior

In economic theory, risk aversion is a characteristic of the typical utility function of money. Observations of how people deal with risks in real life have cast some doubts on the prevalence of risk aversion. People buy insurance, but they also gamble and take investment risks. Many of the conclusions in the discussions of utility derive from experiments employing some kind of lottery choices. While the experiments have given interesting ideas for theory, there has been little testing of the extent to which the obtained measures of risk attitudes correlate with actual behavior. Data from the VSB panel were used to answer three questions: (1) Can hypothetical risky choice questions be meaningfully answered by ordinary survey respondents? (2) What are the relationships between different measures of risk attitudes and actual portfolio choices of risky assets? (3) What is the relationship between risk attitude and playing in lotteries, lotto, etc.?