Adolescents’ perceptions of the ‘substance use-violence nexus’: a South African perspective

The aim of the study was to explore adolescents’ perceptions of substance use as a contributing factor to community violence by employing a conceptual framework proposed by Goldstein. Data were collected from a sample of adolescents between the ages of 15 and 16 years by means of focus group interviews. Theoretical thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret the findings. The participants’ perceptions indicated that substance use and withdrawal symptoms induce physiological and behavioural modifications resulting in aggression and violence. The findings also suggest that participants believed that substance users frequently commit property and violent interpersonal crimes such as theft, robbery, assault and murder to procure their substances. Further, the adolescents’ perceived violence to be rooted within gang culture as well as the involvement in shared markets for illicit substance trading.     

Who is a Distracted Driver? Associations between Mobile Phone Use while Driving,Domain‐Specific Risk Taking,and Personality

Mobile phone use while driving (MPUWD) is an increasingly common form of distracted driving. Given its widespread prevalence, it is important for researchers to identify factors that may predict who is more likely to engage in this risky behavior. The current study investigates associations between MPUWD risk behaviors, domain‐specific risk perceptions, and broad personality dimensions. An Italian community sample (n = 804) completed a survey regarding MPUWD risk perceptions and engagement in MPUWD, in addition to the HEXACO‐PI‐R, a broad six‐factor personality inventory (honesty‐humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience), and the DOSPERT, a six‐factor domain‐specific self‐report risk‐taking measure (health/safety, recreational, social, ethical, gambling, and investment). With respect to domain‐specific risk taking, greater frequency of SMS use while driving most strongly was associated with greater risk taking for the health/safety, gambling, and ethical risk domains. Further, greater honesty‐humility and conscientiousness, two traits related to cognitive control and risk behaviors, and to a lesser extent openness to experience, were associated with less frequent MPUWD, and positively associated with MPUWD risk perceptions. With growing public safety concern surrounding MPUWD, understanding associated personality factors is not only important for identifying psychological mechanisms underlying risk behavior, but also for more effective prevention and intervention programs.     

School context and American Indian substance use

The present study extends prior research exploring the role of school contextual factors in predicting individual adolescent substance use by examining how a school’s racial composition is associated with American Indian adolescent tobacco and marijuana use. Using a subsample of 523 American Indian students from the restricted use Add Health data, we consider both individual and school contextual factors across 99 schools. Our results suggest that a school’s racial composition is associated with individual tobacco and marijuana use among American Indian youth, but in different ways depending upon the substance. Our findings illustrate the importance of extending research on the correlates of substance use for racial and ethnic minorities beyond studies examining African-Americans and/or Hispanics.     

Exploratory Study on Drug Users’ Perspectives on Quality of Life: More than Health-Related Quality of Life?

In drug treatment outcome literature, a focus on objective and socially desirable indicators of change (e.g. no drug use) has predominated, while outcome indicators that are important for drug users themselves (e.g. quality of life, satisfaction with treatment) have largely been neglected. Nonetheless, Quality of Life (QoL) has become an important concept to evaluate effectiveness of treatment in mental health care research and disability studies. Given the almost exclusive focus on Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in substance abuse research and the neglect of clients’ perspectives in this field, we explore in this study the concept of QoL as perceived by drug users. Focus group discussions (n = 9) were organised in various treatment settings and community services for drug users in the region of Ghent, Belgium to identify important dimensions of QoL and their interpretation by drug users. Data were clustered and analysed based on the theoretical framework of Robert Schalock (Quality of life. Volume 1: Conceptualization and measurement, 1996). The domains ‘personal relationships’, ‘social inclusion’ and ‘self-determination’ were discussed most frequently by the participants. They stressed the importance of a supportive social network in particular. It can be concluded that QoL is not primarily associated by drug users with health and it involves much more than the aspects typically represented in measures of HRQOL.     

The Culture of High-Risk Alcohol Use Among Club and Intramural Athletes

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the drinking patterns of club and intramural college athletes and compare their alcohol consumption, perceived norms around the excessive use of alcohol, experience of negative consequences, and employment of protective strategies with those of campus varsity athletes. Participants: A total of 442 undergraduate students attending a private, suburban institution in the Northeast participated in the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment-II Web survey in spring 2011. Thirty-five students identified themselves as varsity athletes, 76 identified as club sport athletes, and 196 students identified themselves as intramural athletes. Methods: Survey responses were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The Pearson's correlation coefficient and test for independence were applied to identify significant relationships between athlete status and identified variables related to alcohol use. Results: Results indicated that there were significant correlations between athlete status and all variables, to varying degrees. Conclusions: These findings have implications for campus health promotion professionals and athletics program coordinators seeking to address high-risk alcohol use among college athletes.     

辅导员助理制度在大学新生教育管理工作中的探索与实践

面对高校在校生人数持续上升、专职辅导员人数严重不足的情况,运用高年级优秀学生的自身优势,参与对低年级尤其是新生的教育管理,一方面可以提升高年级优秀学生的管理素质;另一方面利用他们之间年龄、兴趣、成长阶段的相似性,达到对学生更好的沟通和管理。     

试论高校教学档案的管理与利用

文章针对在高校档案管理工作中,如何加强教学档案的管理工作,归纳了归档范围,提出了加强档案管理与利用的可行措施。充分发挥教学档案信息资源的开发利用,更好地为教育教学服务。     

岷江上游干旱河谷区生态屏障体系建设研究

岷江流域是长江上游重要的支流,其生态地位特别重要,本文分析了岷江上游地区面临的基本生态问题,提出了岷江上游地区生态屏障体系建设的原则、依据与目标,根据岷江上游区域生态系统的空间特征、生态敏感性和生态系统服务功能,将该区域划分为三个生态功能区并确立了森林牧草、水域湿地、农田作物等生态屏障建设重点内容,切实有效维护该区域的生态经济可持续发展和资源环境的有效保护。     

人民币加入ＳＤＲ 预期对其国际化的影响

一国货币的国际化程度主要体现在其国际影响力及对国际主要国家货币汇率波动的反应程度。人民币纳入ＳＤＲ 货币篮子将会改变人民币在国际货币金融体系中的地位与作用,从而影响人民币国际化程度。基于２０１５ 年８ 月１１ 日至２０１６ 年３ 月１６ 日的样本区间数据,通过构建ＶＡＲ模型实证检验人民币加入ＳＤＲ 预期因素对人民币国际化程度的影响。结果发现：第一,人民币加入ＳＤＲ 预期能够提升人民币在国际货币金融体系中的影响力,尤其是人民币对美元的影响力将大大增加,但是其对世界其他主要货币的影响力仍显不足;第二,样本区间内,人民币自由化程度并没有提升,因为人民币汇率并没有随着世界主要货币汇率的波动而有所变化。     

How Employed Mothers in Australia Find Time for Both Market Work and Childcare

Time use studies find that employed mothers reduce their parental childcare time by much less than an hour for every hour they spend in market work. This paper uses data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Time Use Survey 1997 (4,059 randomly selected households) to investigate how employed mothers manage to avoid a one-for-one trade-off between work and childcare. It compares the time allocation of employed fathers, employed mothers and non-employed mothers and finds that parents use non-parental childcare to reschedule as well as to replace their own childcare, that employed mothers reschedule activities from weekdays to weekends or to earlier or later in the day, and spend less time than other mothers in housework, childfree leisure and personal care.