Utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour for predicting parents' intentions to vaccinate their children against COVID-19

Vaccination is a crucial form of primary prevention, and it is important to understand the factors that influence parents' decisions to vaccinate their children. The current study examines the utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and anticipated affect for explaining parents' intentions to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Parents (N = 843) living in the United States completed an online survey. The TPB variables explained 65% of the variability in parents' intentions. In addition to all three of the TPB antecedents predicting vaccine intentions, both anticipated regret of not vaccinating and anticipated positive emotions of vaccinating were associated with parent intentions. Contrary to predictions, subjective norms were a stronger predictor of intentions when perceived behavioural control was lower compared to higher. These findings help further our understanding of parent-for-child vaccine decisions in the context of novel health threats and inform intervention efforts aimed at encouraging this behaviour.

Looking out for You and Me: College students' Strategies for Preventing Sexual Assault in Drinking Contexts

Background: Sexual assault and heavy alcohol use are prevalent and interrelated public health concerns on university campuses. Surprisingly, however, few alcohol harm reduction interventions address this intersection to help students reduce both personal and community risks for sexual assault in college drinking contexts. Objectives: In the current study, students (ages 18-24) shared strategies they use to protect themselves and others from sexual assault in college drinking contexts, as well as challenges to implementing these strategies. A series of six focus groups were conducted across two universities in the U.S. (N = 35). Participants responded to open-ended questions focused on drinking and sexual assault (e.g., What are some of the things students might do to avoid or address situations where they feel pressured of coerced to hook up or have sex when they do not want to?). Results: Thematic analyses demonstrated students' awareness of protective behavioral and bystander intervention strategies that could help reduce vulnerability to experience sexual assault for themselves or others in drinking contexts. Perceived barriers to using bystander intervention strategies included student's own and friends' heavy drinking (decreased inhibitions, loss of autonomy), ambiguity in deciphering risk (lack of familiarity, minimization, diffusion of responsibility), and gender (gender norms, power imbalances). Conclusions: This study informs the development of interventions that help students identify strategies and overcome barriers to reduce risks for sexual assault in college drinking contexts.

(Mis)Perceptions of bystander behaviors and approval: The role of gender-specific perceived norms

Objective

The current study examines college students' perceptions of same-gender and opposite gender peer norms for bystander behaviors in drinking contexts, as well as the association between perceived norms and participants' willingness to intervene and actual behavior.

Method

Participants completed an online survey assessing bystander-related perceived norms, willingness, and behavior. A subset of participants also completed a measure of bystander behavior 4-months later.

Results

The results indicated a divergent pattern of normative misperceptions for descriptive and injunctive norms, in which participants overestimated descriptive norms and underestimated injunctive norms. Further, participants who perceived greater perceived injunctive norms reported greater willingness to intervene in the future. While those who perceived that their peers intervened more frequently were more likely to have engaged in bystander behavior at baseline and the four-month follow-up.

Conclusions

Results also suggest that the role of gender-specific norms is complex and dependent on participants' own gender. The results indicate the potential value of developing norms-based interventions addressing bystander behaviors and implications for the types of normative misperceptions to target.

"Let's Not Talk About It": Parents' Reasons for Not Discussing Alcohol Use With Emerging Adult Children

PURPOSE

It is unclear why parents avoid discussing alcohol use with their emerging adult (EA) children. Understanding parents' reasons for not communicating could inform parent-based interventions (PBIs) aimed at encouraging constructive discussions. The current study adds to the literature by examining common reasons parents avoid discussing alcohol use with their EA children.

METHODS

Parents of EAs completed a web-based survey that included items assessing reasons for not communicating about alcohol, as well as measures of alcohol communication intentions, parenting self-efficacy, relationship quality, and interest in participating in an alcohol PBI.

RESULTS

Results from the Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed five core reasons why parents do not communicate about alcohol: (1) they lack the skills or resources to communicate; (2) they believe their child is a nondrinker; (3) they believe their child is an independent, trustworthy decision maker; (4) they can teach their child how to drink through modeling; (5) they believe communication is futile. Believing that an EA could and should make their own alcohol decisions was the most common reason for not communicating. In multivariate analyses, this reason for not communicating was associated with greater levels of parental self-efficacy and perceiving a child to drink less alcohol. Further, this reason for not communicating was associated with lower intentions to communicate about drinking and less interest in taking part in a PBI.

DISCUSSION

Most parents reported barriers to communication. Understanding why parents are reluctant to discuss alcohol use could inform PBI efforts.

What pandemic? A multisite study of drinking motives and drinking games participation among college students during a pandemic (COVID-19) academic year

A drinking game (DG) is a widely practiced social activity that tends to encourage rapid alcohol consumption. While social restrictions during the pandemic (COVID-19) academic year were implemented as a health measure across many colleges/universities, the extent to which college student drinkers continued to play DGs in-person is not well understood. Because theory and research suggest that drinking motives are proximal correlates of drinking behaviors, we examined which drinking motives increased the likelihood of playing DGs in-person, and playing DGs in-person in a group of 10 + people during the 2020-21 pandemic academic year. College students (past-year drinkers) from 12 universities completed an online survey (N = 900; M_age = 19.42, Range = 18-25; SD_age = 1.45, White = 73.1%, 69.2% female). Of the students surveyed, 590 students played DGs, with 460 students only playing DGs in-person. Of the students who played DGs in-person, 274 students reported that the maximum number of people they played DGs with in-person exceeded the CDC's recommended guidelines (10 + people). Accounting for demographics, general alcohol use, and perceived COVID-19 threat, social drinking motives were positively associated with an increased likelihood of playing DGs in-person; the inverse was found for coping motives. Drinking motives were not associated with the likelihood of playing DGs with 10 + people but greater alcohol use and lower perceived threat of COVID-19 were. Given that the pandemic did not deter many student drinkers from playing DGs in-person, further investment in targeted intervention and public health initiatives aimed at substance-free alternatives promoting engagement and enhancement of social activities may be needed.

Capturing connections during COVID-19: Using photography to assess US college students' sense of belonging

Past research has highlighted a range of factors that impact college students' sense of belonging. It is less clear how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped college students' experience of belonging. The current study used a reflective photography approach to examine US college students' experience of belonging to their institution during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student responses included themes of: Physical Space, Community, Adaptation/Continuity, Identity, and Negative Affect. Physical space emerged as the most common theme. Regardless of whether students were studying on campus or remotely, students described the role of the natural and built environment in finding a sense of connection and belonging. In comparisons based on students' class year, first-year students talked more about the role of structured groups and other cohorts highlighted the role of past shared experiences. The findings have implications for interventions aimed at promoting student belonging.

Mental Health Risk Profiles and Related Substance Use During Coronavirus Pandemic Among College Students Who Use Substances

College students have shown elevated mental distress during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The extent and persistence of mental distress as COVID-19 restrictions have continued is unclear. This study used latent profile analysis to identify student mental health risk subgroups and to evaluate subgroups in relation with substance use. A four-profile solution was supported with a sample of 930 college students (69.6% female, 58.1% White) from 11 US-based institutions. Students were characterized by slight mental health symptoms, mild mental health symptoms, moderate-to-severe mental health symptoms with mild psychosis/substance use, and severe mental health symptoms. The severe profile comprised more ethnoracial or sexual minorities and students impacted from COVID-19. Whereas the severe profile had more alcohol-related consequences, the slight profile had fewer cannabis-related consequences. COVID-19 has exacerbated college student risks for psychiatric disorders. Students of diverse backgrounds and more impacted by COVID-19 show disproportionately more mental distress and related substance use.

Assessing parents' motives for talking about alcohol with their emerging adult children

Past research has explored the content and frequency of alcohol-specific communication between parents and their emerging adult children. The current study aimed to address a gap in the research by examining parents' motivation for discussing alcohol. To accomplish this, we developed a multidimensional Parent Motives for Alcohol Communication Scale (PMACS). A total of 633 parents completed the PMACS along with measures assessing communication frequency, communication content, attitudes toward drinking, relationship quality, and perceptions of child alcohol use. An Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded five core communication motives. Parents were commonly motivated by desires to prevent their child's alcohol use, to respond to their child's heavy drinking, to teach their child how to drink safely, to meet relationship needs or expectations, and by a family history of alcohol problems. After controlling for demographic factors, communication motives predicted frequency of alcohol-specific communication. The patterns of relationship among motives and conceptually related constructs provided preliminary support for the construct validity of the PMACS.

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.

Examining interactions within the theory of planned behavior in the prediction of intentions to engage in cannabis-related driving behaviors

Objective: As marijuana use becomes more available to college students through increasing legal reform, this paper seeks to examine intentions for driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and riding with a high driver (RWHD) through the lens of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and assess potential interactions between personal attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and sex. Participants: Undergraduate college students (N = 311) completed online surveys in September, 2013. Method: Participants self-reported their attitudes toward DUIC, subjective norms, PBC, past DUIC and RWHD, and intentions to DUIC and RWHD. Results: Participants' attitudes toward DUIC, subjective norms, and PBC were strongly associated with intentions to DUIC and RWHD bivariately. In regression models, attitudes and PBC were both positively and significantly related to intentions to DUIC and RWHD. Conclusions: DUIC and RWHD are concerns for college populations. Targeting personal attitudes and perceived behavioral control via interventions may reduce these behaviors.

'Mama Don't Preach': Young Adults' Perceptions of Maternal Messages about Underage Drinking

College students commonly report that their parents provide advice about how to drink safely; however, there is very little research exploring the content of parent-child harm-reduction conversations. The present study explores the types of advice mothers provide underage college students about drinking. A random sample of college students (ages 18 to 20) completed an online survey about their alcohol use and conversations they had with their mother about alcohol. Students' perceptions of mother-child harm-reduction conversations include the themes of: specific protective behavioral strategies, ambiguous behavioral advice, decision making advice, value-based advice, warning-based advice, and advice conveying approval. Discussion of specific protective behavioral strategies was most common for female students and students who reported binge drinking. Mothers did not typically address how to implement harm-reduction strategies effectively. The findings have implications for the assessment of harm-reduction communication between parents and emerging adult children.

Examining drinking game harms as a function of gender and college student status

Drinking game (DG) participation among young adults is widespread. Because heavy alcohol consumption is commonly associated with playing DGs, this activity presents a health risk for those who play. In the present study, we explored the most common negative DG consequences experienced by young adults and how DG consequences differed by gender and college status. Participants were young adult drinking gamers (N = 1,600; age 18-25; Mage = 22.6; 47% men; 41% noncollege students; 77% White) recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. They completed an online anonymous survey which included items on the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire that were modified to measure DG consequences experienced in the past month. Over half of the participants reported experiencing a hangover, saying/doing embarrassing things, having less energy, and feeling sick as a result of playing DGs. Using IRT analysis, we also found differential item functioning (DIF) on several items across gender and college status. We then created a short-form version of the DG consequences measure that excluded items demonstrating DIF, and based on this modified measure, we examined differences in severity of negative DG consequences as a function of gender and college status. Controlling for age, college status, DG frequency/consumption, and alcohol use on non-DG occasions, we found that men experienced slightly more DG consequences than women. Similar findings emerged for college students compared to noncollege students. This study is an important first step toward understanding who is most at risk for experiencing certain types of negative DG consequences and how researchers/practitioners could measure this construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Is marijuana identity associated with marijuana use and consequences? An examination of direct and interactive associations

BACKGROUND

There is relatively little research examining the relationship between identity and marijuana-related outcomes (e.g., marijuana use and consequences). Identity may both directly help shape marijuana use behaviors and moderate the influence of other risk factors on marijuana outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

The current study examines the relationship between marijuana identity and marijuana-related outcomes among emerging adults and explores whether identity moderates the relationships between nonidentity correlates (e.g., perceived norms and negative affect) of marijuana-related outcomes.

METHODS

College students who reported marijuana use in the past 12 months completed measures of marijuana identity, perceived norms, negative affect, frequency of marijuana use, and marijuana consequences. Conclusions/Importance: The results indicated that marijuana identity is associated with marijuana use frequency and moderates the relationship between perceived norms and marijuana consequences. The findings have implications for both identity-based and social norms-based interventions targeting problematic marijuana use among emerging adults.

Reasons for Utilizing Mental Health Services as Predictors of College Students' Alcohol Risk

The authors examined college student drinkers' (N = 153) reasons for seeking counseling services and risk for alcohol problems. Students seeking help for impulse- or anger-related issues and depression were at heightened risk for alcohol problems. Only 10% of students sought alcohol-related help despite high rates of hazardous alcohol use (80%) and dependence (39%). Targeted screening and intervention in college counseling centers may enable providers to effectively identify and treat students in need of alcohol treatment.

Longitudinal associations between maternal disclosure of past alcohol use and underage college drinking

There has been relatively little research examining the relationship between parents' disclosure of their own underage (i.e., under 21 years) alcohol use and their children's alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors. While parental disclosure may improve trust and understanding within a relationship, it may also normalize or glamorize underage alcohol use. The current study examines the longitudinal relationships among mothers' disclosure of underage alcohol use, mothers' current alcohol use, and college students' alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors. College students under the age of 21 completed measures of maternal disclosure of underage alcohol use (no disclosure, disclosure of use only, disclosure of negative consequences), maternal modeling, and student alcohol attitudes, use, and consequences. Approximately 7 months later, students completed additional measures of alcohol outcomes. The longitudinal model suggests that disclosure is associated with students drinking more alcohol and experiencing greater consequences. There were no significant differences in outcomes for students whose mothers disclosed use of alcohol and those whose mothers discussed the negative experiences they had had because of underage alcohol use. The results of the current study suggest that maternal disclosure of their own underage alcohol use, regardless of whether negative experiences are discussed, is associated with greater subsequent alcohol use and problems among college students. (PsycINFO Database Record

Examining Theoretical Predictors of (Mis)perceived Alcohol Norms

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the association between perceived alcohol norms (descriptive and injunctive) and theoretical predictors of normative (mis)perceptions. Based on models of social norms, we explored whether recall and ease of imagining of other students' drinking, exposure to media and peer conversations normalizing alcohol use, and a tendency to make internal, stable, and global attributions predicted perceived alcohol norms for distal and proximal targets.

METHOD

The sample comprised 194 college students (51.5% female) ages 18-22 years (M = 19.3 years, SD = 1.09). Participants reported on personal alcohol use attitudes and behaviors, perceived injunctive and descriptive norms, and theoretical predictors of perceived norms.

RESULTS

After controlling for personal attitudes, we found that attribution style and belief that the media normalizes alcohol use predicted typical-student injunctive norms. In contrast, after we controlled for personal alcohol use, we found that theoretical predictors do not help explain variation in perceived descriptive norms.

CONCLUSIONS

Models aiming to explain the tendency to overestimate perceived norms may be most promising for understanding injunctive, as compared with descriptive, norms.

Being Blunt About Marijuana: Parent Communication About Marijuana with Their Emerging Adult Children

While research suggests that parents continue to influence students' marijuana use after matriculation to college, there is limited data examining how parents communicate about marijuana use and what impact parent marijuana communication has on college student outcomes. The aim of the current study is to investigate the types of parent marijuana messages that college students receive and the relationship between parent communication and students' marijuana attitudes and behaviors. Students (N = 506) completed a survey assessing marijuana approval, use, negative consequences, and parent communication. A factor analysis of parent communication items yielded three factors: risk communication, permissive communication, and marijuana use communication. Risk communication was the most common form of communication. In multivariate models, risk communication was associated with increased odds of a student remaining abstinent but not with frequency of marijuana use or negative consequences. Greater permissive communication was associated with more approving student attitudes, greater odds of non-abstinence, more frequent use in the past year, and more negative consequences. These findings highlight the need to consider the different types of messages parents deliver when designing interventions aimed at engaging parents in marijuana prevention efforts.

Does reactivation trigger episodic memory change? A meta-analysis

According to the reconsolidation hypothesis, long-term memories return to a plastic state upon their reactivation, leaving them vulnerable to interference effects and requiring re-storage processes or else these memories might be permanently lost. The present study used a meta-analytic approach to critically evaluate the evidence for reactivation-induced changes in human episodic memory. Results indicated that reactivation makes episodic memories susceptible to physiological and behavioral interference. When applied shortly after reactivation, interference manipulations altered the amount of information that could be retrieved from the original learning event. This effect was more pronounced for remote memories and memories of narrative structure. Additionally, new learning following reactivation reliably increased the number of intrusions from new information into the original memory. These findings support a dynamic view of long-term memory by showing that memories can be changed long after they were acquired.

Does reactivation trigger episodic memory change? A meta-analysis

According to the reconsolidation hypothesis, long-term memories return to a plastic state upon their reactivation, leaving them vulnerable to interference effects and requiring re-storage processes or else these memories might be permanently lost. The present study used a meta-analytic approach to critically evaluate the evidence for reactivation-induced changes in human episodic memory. Results indicated that reactivation makes episodic memories susceptible to physiological and behavioral interference. When applied shortly after reactivation, interference manipulations altered the amount of information that could be retrieved from the original learning event. This effect was more pronounced for remote memories and memories of narrative structure. Additionally, new learning following reactivation reliably increased the number of intrusions from new information into the original memory. These findings support a dynamic view of long-term memory by showing that memories can be changed long after they were acquired.

Online personalized normative alcohol feedback for parents of first-year college students

This study examined the efficacy of a personalized normative feedback (PNF) alcohol intervention for parents of students transitioning into college. A sample of 399 parent-student dyads were recruited to take part in the intervention during the summer prior to matriculation. Parents were randomly assigned to receive either normative feedback regarding student drinking and other college parents' alcohol-related communication or general college health norm information. Students completed measures of alcohol use, alcohol consequences, and parent-child alcohol-specific communication both 1 and 6 months after matriculation. The results indicated that in comparison with the control condition parents who received PNF reported immediate changes in their perceptions of other parents' behaviors; however, these changes in parent perceived norms did not translate into long-term changes in student drinking behaviors or parent-child communication. Findings highlight the need to consider content beyond normative feedback for parent based alcohol intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record

Negative affect as a moderator of the relationship between hookup motives and hookup consequences

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined the extent to which negative affect moderates the relationships between distinct hookup motives and hookup consequences.

PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected from 271 heavy-drinking undergraduate college students.

METHODS

Students from 3 US universities completed online surveys assessing hooking up-related motives, behaviors, and consequences.

RESULTS

The results showed that conformity motives to hookup and negative affect predicted hookup consequences. Furthermore, negative affect moderated the relationship between hooking up for relationship reasons and hookup consequences. Specifically, among students with high negative affect, hooking up to secure a long-term relationship was positively associated with hookup consequences whereas among students with low negative affect, securing a long-term relationship was negatively associated with hookup consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the role that motives and negative affect play in the prediction of negative hookup consequences. Moreover, the findings from the current study have the potential to inform prevention efforts designed to reduce hookup consequences.

Assessing the Personal Negative Impacts of Hooking Up Experienced by College Students: Gender Differences and Mental Health

Hooking up is a normative behavior among college students that is associated with a range of positive and negative consequences. While previous research has primarily focused on women's negative experiences of hooking up, the current study explored the relationships among hooking up behaviors, psychological distress, and a broad range of negative effects of hooking up in both male and female college students. Using a multisite sample of college students, we developed the 14-item Negative Impact of Hookups Inventory (NIHI) to assess negative health outcomes, emotional responses, and social consequences associated with hooking up. Unprotected sex and having more hookup partners were associated with greater negative experiences of hooking up. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in the total number of negative hookup effects, although men reported more frequent hookups. In addition, negative impacts of hooking up were positively associated with psychological distress regardless of gender. The NIHI may offer a useful tool to assess the negative impacts of hooking up. Understanding students' hookup experiences is an important step toward developing targeted health interventions related to hooking up behavior in young adult populations.

A parent-based intervention reduces heavy episodic drinking among first-year college students

A randomized controlled trial tested an interactive normative feedback-based intervention-codenamed "FITSTART"-delivered to groups of 50-100 parents of matriculating college students. The 60-min session motivated parents to alter their alcohol-related communication by correcting normative misperceptions (e.g., about how approving other parents are of student drinking) with live-generated data. Then, tips were provided on discussing drinking effectively. Incoming students (N = 331; 62.2% female) completed baseline measures prior to new-student orientation. Next, at parent orientation in June, these students' parents were assigned to either FITSTART or a control session. Finally, 4 months later, students completed a follow-up survey. Results revealed that students whose parents received FITSTART during the summer consumed less alcohol and were less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED) during the first month of college. These effects were mediated by FITSTART students' lower perceptions of their parents' approval of alcohol consumption. Further, FITSTART students who were not drinkers in high school were less likely to initiate drinking and to start experiencing negative consequences during the first month of college, where FITSTART students who had been drinkers in high school experienced fewer consequences overall and were significantly more likely to report that they did not experience any consequences whatsoever during the first month of college. Importantly, FITSTART is the first parent-based intervention to impact HED, one of the most well-studied indicators of risky drinking. Thus, interactive group normative feedback with parents is a promising approach for reducing college alcohol risk. (PsycINFO Database Record

Longitudinal Relationships Among Perceived Injunctive and Descriptive Norms and Marijuana Use

OBJECTIVE

The current study uses longitudinal data to examine the relative influence of perceived descriptive and injunctive norms for proximal and distal referents on marijuana use.

METHOD

Participants were 740 undergraduate students (67% female) who completed web-based surveys at two time points 12 months apart. Time 1 measures included reports of marijuana use, approval, perceived descriptive norms, and perceived injunctive norms for the typical student, close friends, and parents. At Time 2, students reported on their marijuana use.

RESULTS

Results of a path analysis suggest that, after we controlled for Time 1 marijuana use, greater perceived friend approval indirectly predicted Time 2 marijuana use as mediated by personal approval. Greater perceived parental approval was both indirectly and directly associated with greater marijuana use at follow-up. Perceived typical-student descriptive norms were neither directly nor indirectly related to Time 2 marijuana use.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings support the role of proximal injunctive norms in predicting college student marijuana use up to 12 months later. The results indicate the potential importance of developing normative interventions that incorporate the social influences of proximal referents.

The efficacy of a standalone protective behavioral strategies intervention for students accessing mental health services

Students with poor mental health are at increased risk for problematic alcohol use. These students also tend to underutilize alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies (PBS). Cross-sectional studies indicate that PBS use may be particularly useful for students with mental health challenges; however, it is unclear whether training these students to use PBS is an effective approach for reducing alcohol use and consequences. The current study evaluated the efficacy of a standalone PBS skills training and personalized feedback (PBS-STPF) intervention among students accessing mental health services. Participants (N = 251) were randomly assigned to either an individual facilitator-led PBS-STPF intervention or a health-related control condition. Participants completed online follow-up surveys 1 and 6 months post-intervention which included measures of alcohol use, negative consequences, and a composite measure of PBS use. Relative to control participants, students in the PBS-STPF condition reported significantly greater PBS use but no differences in alcohol use or consequences. Participants in both conditions reported decreases in drinking outcomes over time. Tests of mediation indicated that the intervention indirectly led to reduction in drinking outcomes at 6 months through increased PBS use. Although the intervention resulted in changes in PBS use that were maintained for up to 6 months post-intervention, the effects of the intervention on drinking and consequences were limited. A brief standalone PBS training may need augmentation in order to promote effective use of PBS for substantial decreases in alcohol consequences.

Perceived parent and peer marijuana norms: the moderating effect of parental monitoring during college

This study examined descriptive and injunctive normative influences exerted by parents and peers on college student marijuana approval and use. It further evaluated the extent to which parental monitoring moderated the relationship between marijuana norms and student marijuana outcomes. A sample of 414 parent-child dyads from a midsize American university completed online surveys. A series of paired and one-sample t tests revealed that students' actual marijuana use was significantly greater than parents' perception of their child's use, while students' perception of their parents' approval were fairly accurate. The results of a hierarchical multiple regression indicated that perceived injunctive parent and student norms, and parental monitoring all uniquely contributed to the prediction of student marijuana approval. Furthermore, parental monitoring moderated the effects of perceived norms. For example, at low but not high levels of parental monitoring, perceptions of other students' marijuana use were associated with students' own marijuana approval. Results from a zero-inflated negative binomial regression showed that students who reported higher descriptive peer norms, higher injunctive parental norms, and reported lower parental monitoring were likely to report more frequent marijuana use. A significant Parental Monitoring × Injunctive Parental norms interaction effect indicated that parental approval only influenced marijuana use for students who reported that their parents monitored their behavior closely. These findings have intervention implications for future work aimed at reducing marijuana approval and use among American college students.

The Hispanic Stress Inventory Version 2: Improving the assessment of acculturation stress

This article reports on a 2-phase study to revise the Hispanic Stress Inventory (HSI; Cervantes, Padilla, & Salgado de Snyder, 1991). The necessity for a revised stress-assessment instrument was determined by demographic and political shifts affecting Latin American immigrants and later-generation Hispanics in the United States in the 2 decades since the development of the HSI. The data for the revision of the HSI (termed the HSI2) was collected at 4 sites: Los Angeles, El Paso, Miami, and Boston, and included 941 immigrants and 575 U.S.-born Hispanics and a diverse population of Hispanic subgroups. The immigrant version of the HSI2 includes 10 stress subscales, whereas the U.S.-born version includes 6 stress subscales. Both versions of the HSI2 are shown to possess satisfactory Cronbach's alpha reliabilities and demonstrate expert-based content validity, as well as concurrent validity when correlated with subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 1993) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001). The new HSI2 instruments are recommended for use by clinicians and researchers interested in assessing psychosocial stress among diverse Hispanic populations of various ethnic subgroups, age groups, and geographic location. (PsycINFO Database Record

Alcohol abstinence or harm-reduction? Parental messages for college-bound light drinkers

Parental communications about alcohol can have a significant impact on college students' alcohol use; however, it is unclear what types of communication may be most beneficial for reducing alcohol risk, particularly among students who have already initiated alcohol use. The present research examines differences in alcohol use and employment of drinking protective behavioral strategies between pre-college matriculation high school seniors receiving predominantly abstinence parent messaging and students primarily receiving harm-reduction parent messaging. Students who identified as light drinkers were recruited during their last month in high school and completed an online assessment of alcohol use and parent alcohol communication. Analyses revealed that, in comparison to light drinkers who primarily received harm-reduction messaging from parents, light drinkers who received more abstinence messaging reported less frequent alcohol use, lower peak alcohol consumption, and greater use of protective drinking strategies aimed at changing the way they drank and avoiding serious hazards associated with drinking. Findings from this study underscore the utility of messages related to abstinence even for parents who are aware that their children have had previous experiences with alcohol and highlight the need for longitudinal research assessing additional mechanisms associated with message efficacy among light, moderate and heavy drinking students transitioning to college.

Gender as a moderator of the relationship between preparty motives and event-level consequences

OBJECTIVE

Prepartying is often associated with increased alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences among college students. General drinking motives are often only weakly related to preparty alcohol use, and few studies have examined the associations between preparty-specific drinking motives and alcohol-related consequences that occur during or after a preparty event. The current study utilizes event-level data to address this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between four types of preparty motives (prepartying to relax or loosen up, to increase control over alcohol use, to meet a dating partner, and to address concerns that alcohol may not be available later) and alcohol consequences as a function of gender.

METHODS

Participants (N=952) reported on their most recent preparty event in the past month.

RESULTS

After controlling for general drinking motives, all four preparty motives predicted greater event-level consequences for both males and females. Further, prepartying to increase control over alcohol consumed was associated with greater consequences for males as compared to females.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings are consistent with research suggesting that preparty specific motives may further our understanding of prepartying outcomes over and above the use of general drinking motive measures.

Social anxiety and drinking refusal self-efficacy moderate the relationship between drinking game participation and alcohol-related consequences

BACKGROUND

Participation in drinking games is associated with excessive drinking and alcohol risks. Despite the growing literature documenting the ubiquity and consequences of drinking games, limited research has examined the influence of psychosocial factors on the experience of negative consequences as the result of drinking game participation.

OBJECTIVES

The current event-level study examined the relationships among drinking game participation, social anxiety, drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) and alcohol-related consequences in a sample of college students.

METHODS

Participants (n = 976) reported on their most recent drinking occasion in the past month in which they did not preparty.

RESULTS

After controlling for sex, age, and typical drinking, higher levels of social anxiety, lower levels of DRSE, and playing drinking games predicted greater alcohol-related consequences. Moreover, two-way interactions (Social Anxiety × Drinking Games, DRSE × Drinking Games) demonstrated that social anxiety and DRSE each moderated the relationship between drinking game participation and alcohol-related consequences. Participation in drinking games resulted in more alcohol problems for students with high social anxiety, but not low social anxiety. Students with low DRSE experienced high levels of consequences regardless of whether they participated in drinking games; however, drinking game participation was associated with more consequences for students confident in their ability to resist drinking.

CONCLUSION

Findings highlight the important role that social anxiety and DRSE play in drinking game-related risk, and hence provide valuable implications for screening at-risk students and designing targeted harm reduction interventions that address social anxiety and drink refusal in the context of drinking games.

Psychometric Properties of the Child's Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised in English and Lugandan

Brief and age-appropriate measures of trauma-related symptoms are useful for identifying children in need of clinical services. The current study examines the psychometric properties of the 23-item Child's Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised (CRTES-R). The CRTES-R includes subscales assessing hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusion. To date, no studies have examined the psychometric properties of this revised measure or cross-cultural differences in its factor structure. Two samples of (a) children (ages 6-21) who had experienced a hurricane in the USA or Grenada (N = 135), and (b) Ugandan children (ages 8-17) who had experienced a variety of traumatic events (N = 339) completed the CRTES-R in English or Lugandan. Confirmatory factor analysis supported an empirically adjusted model with three modified latent factors in both the English (χ²/df = 1.34, CFI = .90, RMSEA = .05) and Lugandan samples (χ²/df = 1.45, CFI = .93, RMSEA = .04). Although the analysis supported separate hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusion subscales, the items that loaded on each factor differed from the original CRTES-R subscales. The English version of the CRTES-R showed good concurrent validity with the Kauai Recovery Index measure of trauma symptoms. Those using the CRTES-R to assess children's experiences of the different symptom types should consider using the empirically-derived subscales described in this paper; however, those who wish to capture a broad spectrum of PTSD symptoms should consider using all the original CRTES-R items and calculating a total score.

Examining the efficacy of a brief group protective behavioral strategies skills training alcohol intervention with college women

College students' use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS; e.g., determining not to exceed a set number of drinks, avoiding drinking games) is related to lower levels of alcohol consumption and problems. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel brief, single-session group PBS skills training intervention aimed at increasing college students' use of PBS and reducing risky drinking and consequences. Participants (N = 226) were heavy-drinking incoming first-year college women randomized to either a PBS skills training intervention or study skills control condition. Participants attended a 45-min group session and completed online surveys pre- and postintervention (1 month and 6 months). We conducted a series of 2 × 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANCOVAs with condition and baseline mental health (anxiety/depression) as the between-subjects factors and time as the within-subjects factor. Intervention participants, relative to controls, reported significantly greater increases in PBS use and reductions in both heavy episodic drinking and alcohol consequences. The intervention was particularly effective in increasing PBS use at 1 month among participants with high anxiety. Further, tests of moderated mediation showed a significant conditional indirect effect of condition on 1-month consequences through PBS use among participants with high levels of anxiety. Findings provide preliminary support for a brief PBS-specific group intervention to reduce alcohol risk among college women, particularly anxious women. Future research is needed to strengthen the long-term effectiveness of the present approach and further explore the moderating effects of mental health.

The longitudinal relationships among injunctive norms and hooking up attitudes and behaviors in college students

Limited research has explored the influence of perceived injunctive norms for distal (e.g., typical student) and proximal (e.g., close friend and parents) referents on hooking up. The current study examined the longitudinal relationships among perceived injunctive norms, personal approval, and hooking up behavior, and the moderating effects of gender in a sample of heavy-drinking college students. At Time 1, participants completed Web-based assessments of personal approval of hooking up and perceptions of close friend, parent, and typical student approval. Three months later, participants reported on whether they had hooked up. The results of a path analysis indicated that greater perceived friend and parent approval predicted greater personal approval. Further, greater perceived approval by close friends and parents indirectly contributed to hooking up behavior as mediated by participants' own approval. Multigroup analyses indicated that close friend injunctive norms were a stronger predictor of student approval for men as compared to women. While previous research has often failed to find an association between perceived injunctive norms and hooking up, the current findings suggest that this may reflect the use of distal referents. The findings underscore that perceptions of close friend and family approval may be useful predictors of hooking up behavior.

Relational aggression, positive urgency and negative urgency: predicting alcohol use and consequences among college students

Research on relational aggression (indirect and social means of inflicting harm) has previously focused on adolescent populations. The current study extends this research by exploring both the frequency of perpetrating and being the target of relational aggression as it relates to alcohol use outcomes in a college population. Further, this study examines whether positive urgency (e.g., acting impulsively in response to positive emotions) and negative urgency (e.g., acting impulsively in response to negative emotions) moderate the relationship between relational aggression and alcohol outcomes. In this study, 245 college students (65.7% female) completed an online survey. Results indicated greater frequency of perpetrating relational aggression, higher levels of positive urgency, or higher levels of negative urgency was associated with more negative consequences. Further, negative urgency moderated the relationship between frequency of perpetrating aggression and consequences such that aggression was more strongly associated with consequences for those high in urgency. Counter to the adolescent literature, the frequency of being the target of aggression was not associated with more alcohol use. These findings suggest that perpetrators of relational aggression may be at particular risk for negative alcohol-related consequences when they act impulsively in response to negative, but not positive, emotions. These students may benefit from interventions exploring alternative ways to cope with negative emotions.

Normative feedback for parents of college students: piloting a parent based intervention to correct misperceptions of students' alcohol use and other parents' approval of drinking

OBJECTIVE

Multi-component parent-based interventions (PBIs) provide a promising avenue for targeting alcohol use and related consequences in college students. Parents of college-aged children can have a significant influence on their children's alcohol use decisions. However, parents tend to underestimate their own child's alcohol use and overestimate other similar parents' approval of student drinking. These misperceptions could have important implications for parents' own attitudes and alcohol-related communication with their student. Targeting these misperceptions through normative feedback could help promote greater and more in-depth alcohol-related communication. The present study examines the potential efficacy of web-based alcohol-related normative feedback for parents of college students.

METHOD

A sample of 144 parents of college students received web-based normative feedback about students' alcohol use and approval, as well as other same-college parents' alcohol approval. Parents completed measures of perceived student alcohol use, student alcohol approval, other-parent alcohol approval, and intentions to discuss alcohol use both pre- and post-normative feedback.

RESULTS

Post-feedback, parents reported stronger intentions to talk to their student about alcohol, were less confident in their knowledge of their students' alcohol use, and believed that their student drank in greater quantity and more frequently than pre-feedback. Parents also perceived other parents to be less approving of alcohol use after viewing normative feedback.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide preliminary support for the use of web-based normative feedback for parents of college students. Given these promising results, further research developing and testing this approach merits attention.

Impulsivity and alcohol-related risk among college students: examining urgency, sensation seeking and the moderating influence of beliefs about alcohol's role in the college experience

The personality trait of impulsivity is predictive of heavy drinking and consequences among college students. The current study examined how impulsivity-measured via positive urgency, negative urgency, and sensation seeking-and a person's beliefs about the role alcohol plays in the college experience relate to drinking and consequences in a sample of 470 college students (mean age=19 years, 61.3% female, 59.8% White). In support of the hypotheses, sensation seeking independently predicted greater drinking, and both positive urgency and negative urgency predicted greater experience of alcohol-related negative consequences after controlling for consumption level. Moreover, alcohol beliefs moderated the relationship between impulsivity types and alcohol outcomes. Among students high (versus low) in sensation seeking, strong beliefs about alcohol's role in college life were related to significantly greater drinking, and among students high (versus low) in negative urgency, endorsing strong beliefs about alcohol's role in college life were related to greater levels of alcohol-related negative consequences. Overall, findings inform college prevention efforts by highlighting the need to distinguish unique facets of impulsivity and examine how they intersect with students' beliefs about alcohol in college.

Combining self-affirmation with the extended parallel process model: the consequences for motivation to eat more fruit and vegetables

There is potential for fruitful integration of research using the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) with research using Self-affirmation Theory. However, to date no studies have attempted to do this. This article reports an experiment that tests whether (a) the effects of a self-affirmation manipulation add to those of EPPM variables in predicting intentions to improve a health behavior and (b) self-affirmation moderates the relationship between EPPM variables and intentions. Participants (N = 80) were randomized to either a self-affirmation or control condition prior to receiving personally relevant health information about the risks of not eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. A hierarchical regression model revealed that efficacy, threat × efficacy, self-affirmation, and self-affirmation × efficacy all uniquely contributed to the prediction of intentions to eat at least five portions per day. Self-affirmed participants and those with higher efficacy reported greater motivation to change. Threat predicted intentions at low levels of efficacy, but not at high levels. Efficacy had a stronger relationship with intentions in the nonaffirmed condition than in the self-affirmed condition. The findings indicate that self-affirmation processes can moderate the impact of variables in the EPPM and also add to the variance explained. We argue that there is potential for integration of the two traditions of research, to the benefit of both.

What are other parents saying? Perceived parental communication norms and the relationship between alcohol-specific parental communication and college student drinking

This study examined parents' normative perceptions of other college parents' alcohol-specific communication, and how parents' perceived communication norms and alcohol-specific communication relate to student drinking outcomes. A sample of 457 student-parent dyads were recruited from a midsize university. Students completed Web-based assessments of alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors. Parents completed alcohol-specific measures of communication norms and parent-child communication, including communication content (i.e., targeted communication) and frequency of communication. Results indicated that parents overestimated how much other parents talked to their college students about the frequency and quantity of alcohol use, but underestimated how often parents initiated conversations about alcohol. In a path model, perceived communication norms positively predicted both targeted communication and frequency of communication. Perceived communication norms and targeted communication negatively predicted students' attitude toward alcohol use. In contrast, more frequent communication predicted students holding more approving attitudes toward alcohol. The relationship between parents' perceived communication norms and students' drinking behaviors was mediated by the parental communication variables and student attitudes. Tests of indirect effects were undertaken to examine meditational processes. The findings underscore relations involving parental perceived communication norms and parents' own alcohol communication and their children's drinking outcomes. The complex relationships of different types of parental communication and student outcomes warrant further research.

Acculturation-Related Stress and Mental Health Outcomes Among Three Generations of Hispanic Adolescents

Stress associated with acculturation and minority status among Hispanic youth is understudied. Using survey data from the Hispanic Stress Inventory–Adolescent Version (HSI-A), we examined psychosocial stress across eight domains including family economic stress and acculturation-gap stress in a national sample of three generations (first, second, and third or higher) of Hispanic adolescents ( N = 1,263). Research questions addressed generation differences in frequency of stressor events (i.e., discrimination), appraisal of these events, and mental health symptoms. Results indicated that experiences of different categories of stress were significantly related to generation status. The first generation reported more stressors and greater stress appraisal than the third-generation adolescents. Similar levels of discrimination stress were reported by participants regardless of generation. The second-generation participants reported a greater number of Acculturation Gap Stressors than the third generation, and more delinquent and aggressor behaviors than first-generation participants. An acculturation paradox was found with greater stress exposure and stress appraisals in the first-generation youth, but with lower mental health symptoms than later generations. Family integrity and more traditional family values may buffer the negative impact of greater stressor exposure among immigrants and second-generation youth when compared with third-generation adolescents.

RCT of web-based personalized normative feedback for college drinking prevention: are typical student norms good enough?

OBJECTIVES

Personalized normative feedback (PNF) interventions are generally effective at correcting normative misperceptions and reducing risky alcohol consumption among college students. However, research has yet to establish what level of reference group specificity is most efficacious in delivering PNF. This study compared the efficacy of a web-based PNF intervention using 8 increasingly specific reference groups against a Web-BASICS intervention and a repeated-assessment control in reducing risky drinking and associated consequences.

METHOD

Participants were 1,663 heavy-drinking Caucasian and Asian undergraduates at 2 universities. The referent for web-based PNF was either the typical same-campus student or a same-campus student at 1 (either gender, race, or Greek affiliation), or a combination of 2 (e.g., gender and race), or all 3 levels of specificity (i.e., gender, race, and Greek affiliation). Hypotheses were tested using quasi-Poisson generalized linear models fit by generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS

The PNF intervention participants showed modest reductions in all 4 outcomes (average total drinks, peak drinking, drinking days, and drinking consequences) compared with control participants. No significant differences in drinking outcomes were found between the PNF group as a whole and the Web-BASICS group. Among the 8 PNF conditions, participants receiving typical student PNF demonstrated greater reductions in all 4 outcomes compared with those receiving PNF for more specific reference groups. Perceived drinking norms and discrepancies between individual behavior and actual norms mediated the efficacy of the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest a web-based PNF intervention using the typical student referent offers a parsimonious approach to reducing problematic alcohol use outcomes among college students.

Predicting driving after drinking over time among college students: the emerging role of injunctive normative perceptions

OBJECTIVE

Despite prevention efforts, driving after drinking (DAD) is a prevalent high-risk behavior among college students and is a leading cause of death and injury. Examination of factors predicting future DAD behavior is necessary to develop efficacious targeted interventions to reduce this behavior among college students. The current study evaluated demographic, social cognitive, and behavioral predictors of DAD using longitudinal data.

METHOD

Participants were 655 nonabstaining college students (67.2% female; 60.3% White; Mage = 19.3 years) who completed online surveys at two time points 12 months apart.

RESULTS

Results revealed that participants consistently overestimated their peers' approval (injunctive norms) of DAD. In a three-step hierarchical logistic regression model, injunctive norms, age, and past DAD behavior uniquely contributed to the prediction of this behavior 12 months later. Neither sex nor membership in a sorority or fraternity emerged as significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide important new insights into the longitudinal predictors of DAD among college students and highlight the need for DAD interventions, particularly among older students.

Event-specific risk and ecological factors associated with prepartying among heavier drinking college students

Using event-specific data, the present study sought to identify relevant risk factors and risky drinking patterns associated with prepartying. Analyses focused on drinking outcomes as a function of drinking game playing and the social context on occasions where prepartying did and did not occur. This research utilized a representative two-site sample of prepartiers who also reported a heavy episodic drinking event in the past month (n=988). Results revealed that during a preparty event, participants drank significantly more, reached higher blood alcohol levels (BALs), and experienced significantly more negative consequences compared to the last occasion that they drank but did not preparty. Students who played drinking games when they prepartied had higher BALs and experienced more negative consequences than those who did not play drinking games. Whether females prepartied in a single-sex or coed setting had little effect on their BALs. For males, however, their BALs were greater when they prepartied in a coed setting compared to a single sex setting. Moreover, participants reported more negative consequences when they prepartied in a coed setting than in a single-sex setting. Finally, regression analyses demonstrated that participants' BAL, frequency of prepartying, and the interaction between BAL and frequency of prepartying all uniquely contributed to the prediction of event-specific alcohol-related negative consequences. As BAL increased, the number of negative consequences increased more sharply for those who prepartied infrequently, compared to those who prepartied frequently. Analyses were examined as a function of gender which revealed important gender effects and interactions. Interventions can be designed to intervene with high-risk prepartiers by using BAL education emphasizing the impact of time-limited prepartying drinking.

Substance use patterns among high-risk American Indians/Alaska Natives in Los Angeles County

BACKGROUND

Substance abuse among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) is a significant and long-standing health problem in the U.S. Two-thirds of American AIs/ANs reside in the urban setting. However, studies analyzing substance use characteristics among urban AI/ANs are very limited.

METHODS

Substance use patterns among a sample of AI/ANs (n = 77) and other ethnic/racial groups in Los Angeles County at high risk of substance abuse were analyzed utilizing three datasets from programs targeting individuals at high risk for substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors.

RESULTS

Compared to all other ethnic/racial groups, AI/ANs demonstrated significantly younger age of onset of alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, and "other" drug use, higher correlations of age of first use of amphetamine with a measure of the drug's reinforcement, and higher mean number of illicit drug injections in the 30 days before being interviewed.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study highlight a critical need for furthering our understanding of substance abuse problems among urban AI/ANs.

Development of the perceived risk of HIV scale

Past studies have used various methods to assess perceived risk of HIV infection; however, few have included multiple items covering different dimensions of risk perception or have examined the characteristics of individual items. This study describes the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) to develop a short measure of perceived risk of HIV infection scale (PRHS). An item pool was administered by trained interviewers to 771 participants. Participants also completed the risk behavior assessment (RBA) which includes items measuring risky sexual behaviors, and 652 participants completed HIV testing. The final measure consisted of 8 items, including items assessing likelihood estimates, intuitive judgments and salience of risk. Higher scores on the PRHS were positively associated with a greater number of sex partners, episodes of unprotected sex and having sex while high. Participants who tested positive for HIV reported higher perceived risk. The PRHS demonstrated good reliability and concurrent criterion-related validity. Compared to single item measures of risk perception, the PRHS is more robust by examining multiple dimensions of perceived risk. Possible uses of the measure and directions for future research are discussed.

Assessment of risky injection practices associated with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus and using the blood-borne virus transmission risk assessment questionnaire

Risky injection practices among injection drug users (IDUs) contribute to the spread of blood-borne infections such as human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. The Blood-borne Virus Transmission Risk Assessment Questionnaire (BBV-TRAQ). was developed in Australia to determine risk behaviors for specific infections. Blood testing for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C was performed on all participants, and data on blood tests were linked to questionnaires. The BBV-TRAQ was administered to 242 current and former injection drug users in Long Beach, California, and the Long Beach data were compared with the original Australian data. In the comparison of the mean scores on the three subscales and total scores on the BBV-TRAQ between the samples, means for all three subscales and the total BBV-TRAQ score were significantly different, with Long Beach scores consistently lower than the Australian sample. The injecting and sexual risk subscales were significantly different across levels of AIDS risk perception for all three types of injectors; however, the other skin penetration practices subscale had no significant association with AIDS risk perception for any of the injection drug user groups. Despite recent efforts to educate injectors about the risks associated with practices captured by the other skin penetration practices subscale, such as tattooing and sharing razors, this subscale does not have an association with AIDS risk perception. injection drug users in Australia may have better access to health care, giving their self-report of infection greater validity than the California sample.

Proposing a tentative cut point for the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory

Bivariate analyses were utilized in order to identify the relations between scores on the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI) and self-report of risky sexual behavior and drug abuse among 482 racially and ethnically diverse men and women. CSBI scores were associated with both risky sexual behavior and drug abuse among a diverse non-clinical sample, thereby providing evidence of criterion-related validity. The variables that demonstrated a high association with the CSBI were subsequently entered into a multiple regression model. Four variables (number of sexual partners in the last 30 days, self-report of trading drugs for sex, having paid for sex, and perceived chance of acquiring HIV) were retained as variables with good model fit. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were conducted in order to determine the optimal tentative cut point for the CSBI. The four variables retained in the multiple regression model were utilized as exploratory gold standards in order to construct ROC curves. The ROC curves were then compared to one another in order to determine the point that maximized both sensitivity and specificity in the identification of compulsive sexual behavior with the CSBI scale. The current findings suggest that a tentative cut point of 40 may prove clinically useful in discriminating between persons who exhibit compulsive sexual behavior and those who do not. Because of the association between compulsive sexual behavior and HIV, STIs, and drug abuse, it is paramount that a psychometrically sound measure of compulsive sexual behavior is made available to all healthcare professionals working in disease prevention and other areas.

The Hispanic Stress Inventory--Adolescent Version: a culturally informed psychosocial assessment

A 2-phase study was conducted to develop a culturally informed measure of psychosocial stress for adolescents: the Hispanic Stress Inventory--Adolescent Version (HSI-A). Phase 1 involved item development through the collection of open-ended focus group interview data (n = 170) from a heterogeneous sample of Hispanic youths residing in the southwest and northeast United States. In Phase 2, we examined the psychometric properties of the HSI-A (n = 1,651), which involved the use of factor analytic procedures to determine the underlying scale structure of the HSI-A for foreign-born and U.S.-born participants in an aggregated analytic approach. An 8-factor solution was established, with factors that include Family Economic Stress, Acculturation-Gap Stress, Culture and Educational Stress, Immigration-Related Stress, Discrimination Stress, Family Immigration Stress, Community and Gang-Related Stress, and Family and Drug-Related Stress. Concurrent, related validity estimates were calculated to determine relations between HSI-A and other measures of child psychopathology and behavioral and emotional disturbances. HSI-A total stress appraisal scores were significantly correlated with both the Children's Depression Inventory and the Youth Self Report (p < .001). Reliability estimates for the HSI-A were conducted, and they yielded high reliability coefficients for most factor subscales, with the HSI-A total stress appraisal score reliability alpha at .92.