Demographic Characteristics Of Adolescents Research Articles

Examining the Critical Need for Tailored Adolescent Opioid Education: A National Study.

Prescription opioid education can be a preventative measure for opioid misuse. However, most research focuses on adult perspectives rather than adolescents. This study aimed to understand adolescents' attitudes, perceptions, knowledge about prescription opioids, and preferences and prior educational exposure to opioid safety. Data were collected from November to December 2020. Quota sampling through Qualtrics was used to recruit a national sample of 13- to 18-year-old adolescents who lived in the United States and could understand English. A total of 774 responses were analyzed. The most frequently reported source of opioid information was speaking with parents (72%). More than half (54.7%) of participants preferred technology-based education. Participants with a personal history of opioid prescription scored no differently on safe handling and storage of opioids. There was a strong relationship between participants who reported prior knowledge of what opioids are and stopping their friend from using an opioid medication for non-medical purposes (χ2 (1, N = 684) = 3.5; p = 0.042). Participants with prior education on opioid disposal did not know that -returning opioids to the pharmacy was correct (χ2 (1, N = 425) = 3.8; p = 0.254). Participants were less knowledgeable about safe storage and disposal of opioids, preferred technology-based education, and were extremely likely to talk to their parents about opioid information. Findings reaffirm the significance of opioid safety education and communication between adolescents and parents. Adolescent demographic characteristics, preferences, and prior knowledge should be considered when providing opioid safety education.

The clustering of multiple health and lifestyle behaviors among Swedish adolescents: a person-oriented analysis.

Knowledge of the distribution, prevalence, and clustering of multiple health and lifestyle related behaviors (HLBs) among adolescents can inform the development of effective health-promoting policies and interventions. We assessed the clustering of multiple HLBs among 11, 13 and 15-year-old Swedish adolescents and examined the socioeconomic and demographic correlates for the identified clusters. We used data from the 2017/2018 Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged children (HBSC) study to conduct sex and age-stratified latent class analysis (LCA). The LCA was based on five HLBs: eating behavior and habits (EBH), physical activity (PA), tobacco usage (TU), alcohol consumption (AC) and sleeping habits and patterns (SHPs). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between the identified clusters and the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of adolescents and their parents. Health behaviors varied by sex and age. Four distinct clusters were identified based on sex: cluster 1 (Mixed eating behaviors and habits, physical activity and low alcohol consumption), cluster 2 (Healthy lifestyle behaviors), cluster 3 (Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors), and cluster 4 (Breakfast, low alcohol consumption and tobacco usage). In the age-stratified analyzes, three clusters were identified: cluster 1 (Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors), cluster 2 (Moderately healthy lifestyle behaviors) and cluster 3 (Healthy lifestyle behaviors). The multinomial analysis showed that sex, age, family situation and perceived family wealth were strong predictors of health behaviors. Unhealthy behaviors were most commonly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, having a migrant background, and living in reconstructed families or single-parent households. Health behaviors vary significantly based on socioeconomic and demographic circumstances. Targeted policies and intervention programs are necessary to improve HLBs among vulnerable and at-risk adolescents.

Socio-Demographic, Self-Control, Bullying, Parenting, and Sleep as Proximal Factors Associated with Food Addiction among Adolescents.

Adolescence is considered an important period of neurodevelopment. It is a time for the emergence of psychosocial vulnerabilities, including symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and increased engagement in unhealthy eating behaviours. Food addiction (FA) in adolescents is an area of study where there has been substantial growth. However, to date, limited studies have considered what demographic characteristics of adolescents may predispose them to endorse greater symptoms of FA. Studies have found a variety of factors that often cluster with and may influence an adolescent's eating behaviour such as sleep, level of self-control, and parenting practices, as well as bullying. Therefore, this study investigated a range of socio-demographic, trait, mental health, and lifestyle-related profiles (including self-control, parenting, bullying, and sleep) as proximal factors associated with symptoms of FA, as assessed via the Yale Food Addiction Scale for Children (YFAS-C) in a large sample of Australian adolescents. Following data cleaning, the final analysed sample included 6587 students (age 12.9 years ± 0.39; range 10.9-14.9 years), with 50.05% identifying as male (n = 3297), 48.5% as female (n = 3195), 1.02% prefer not to say (n = 67), and 0.43% as non-binary (n = 28). Self-control was found to be the most significant predictor of total FA symptom score, followed by female gender, sleep quality, and being a victim of bullying. Universal prevention programs should therefore aim to address these factors to help reduce the prevalence or severity of FA symptoms within early adolescent populations.

Defining food literacy and dietary patterns among senior high school students in Malang City, East Java

Background: Food literacy is a collection of interrelated knowledge, skills, and behavior required to plan, manage, select, prepare, and eat food for further meeting dietary requirements and determining dietary intake. In Indonesia, 93.6% of all adolescents aged 10 years or over consumed an inadequate amount of fruits and vegetables and more than half often consumed food rich in sugar, fat and salt. Only one-third of students always had breakfast, only 3,81% always brought their own food to school. Adolescence has been considered as a nutritionally critical period of life. Improve the health promotion is important to prevent malnutrition and risk of chronic disease.Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the association of food literacy and dietary patterns among senior high school students in Malang, East Java.Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study determined food literacy level and dietary patterns among senior high school students using a questionnaire as the instrument. This study recruited 464 students aged from 14 to 18 years old. Demographic characteristics of adolescents and their parents, adolescent food literacy, and dietary intake data were self-report collected. The height was measured using stature meter and weight using electronic scale to determine the BMI-for-age. The research was conducted from July to September 2015 in Malang, East Java.Results: Out of 464 adolescents, 59.9% were females, and female adolescents had a better food literacy (P < .001) and higher dietary pattern scores (P < .05). Adolescents whose family had higher income or higher percentage of income spent on food consumed more vegetables (P < .05) and dairy products (P < .05), and had higher dietary pattern scores (P < .05) compared with those whose family had lower income or lower percentage of income spent on food. The perception of food literacy (r = 0.187, P < .001), the behavior of food literacy (r = 0.333, P < .001), and overall food literacy (r = 0.329, P < .001) were positively correlated with dietary pattern scores.Conclusions: Food literacy is positively associated with dietary patterns in adolescents. Nutrition education is suggested to implement as a guide in healthy food choices for adolescent.

Disparities in Healthcare Providers' Recommendation of HPV Vaccination for U.S. Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

Infrequent provider recommendations continue to be a key barrier to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, including among adolescents at higher risk for future HPV cancers. To inform future interventions, we sought to characterize disparities in health care providers' HPV vaccine recommendation for U.S. adolescents. We systematically reviewed studies published in 2012-2019 that assessed provider HPV vaccine recommendations for adolescents aged 9-17. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we identified 52 eligible studies and used a standardized abstraction form to assess recommendation prevalence by adolescent demographic characteristics. Studies consistently found that fewer parents of boys than girls reported receiving HPV vaccine recommendations (14 studies, range of difference: -11 to -35 percentage points). Studies also found fewer recommendations for adolescents who were younger (2 studies, -3% to -12% points), non-White (3 studies, -5% to -7% points, females only), lower income (3 studies, -1% to -8% points), or uninsured (1 study, -21% points, males only). Studies identified geographic disparities in southern and rural areas. In conclusion, findings from this systematic review identify disparities in HPV vaccine recommendation that may contribute to suboptimal vaccine uptake. Efforts to improve providers' HPV vaccine communication should focus on increasing recommendation consistency, especially for lower-income, non-White, and rural adolescents.

Fruit and vegetables consumption among school-going adolescents: Findings from the baseline survey of an intervention program in a semi-urban area of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

IntroductionInterventions aimed at promoting healthy eating habits in adolescence can help prevent chronic diseases and promote healthy ageing. The aim of this paper is to describe the fruit and vegetables consumption habits of adolescents in Dhaka, Bangladesh as well as to identify the socio-environmental, personal, and behavioral factors that influence these habits.Materials and methodsThe baseline data from an intervention study involving 823 grade ten students from two randomly selected secondary schools in a semi-urban area of Dhaka were analyzed. The intake of fruit and vegetables was measured in terms of serving size per day. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the ability of socio-environmental factors such as social support, perceived barriers, and living with patient with chronic diseases; personal factors such as knowledge, self-rated practice, behavioral intention, and body mass index; and behavioral factors such as physical activity, sedentary hours, and sleep duration to predict the level of daily fruit and vegetables intake, after controlling the effect of demographic characteristics of adolescents.ResultsThe average daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was 1.22 and 1.99 servings, respectively. Only one-fifth of the respondents (21%) reported eating five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Inaccessibility at home was reported as the most perceived barrier for both fruit and vegetables intake. Adolescents’ higher fruit and vegetables intake was found to be associated with higher maternal educational attainment, more social support, adequate self-rated practice, positive behavioral intention, higher body mass index, better physical activity, and adequate daily sleeping.ConclusionThe findings revealed insufficient fruit and vegetables intake among adolescents in a semi-urban area of Bangladesh and associated socio-environmental, personal, and behavioral factors that were utilized in developing an intervention program for this transient age group.Trial registrationTrial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03975335) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03975335 on June 01, 2019.

Recreational Marijuana Legalization and Adolescent Use of Marijuana, Tobacco, and Alcohol

PurposeGiven the rapid expansion of recreational marijuana legalization (RML) polices, it is essential to assess whether such policies are associated with shifts in the use of marijuana and other substances, particularly for adolescents, who are uniquely susceptible to negative repercussions of marijuana use. This analysis seeks to provide greater generalizability, specificity, and methodological rigor than limited prior evidence. MethodsYouth Risk Behavior Survey data from 47 states from 1999 to 2017 assessed marijuana, alcohol, cigarette, and e-cigarette use among adolescents (14–18+ years; N = 1,077,938). Associations between RML and adolescent past-month substance use were analyzed using quasi-experimental difference-in-differences zero-inflated negative binomial models. ResultsControlling for other state substance policies, year and state fixed effects, and adolescent demographic characteristics, models found that RML was not associated with a significant shift in the likelihood of marijuana use but predicted a small significant decline in the level of marijuana use among users (incidence rate ratio = .844, 95% confidence interval [.720–.989]) and a small increase in the likelihood of any e-cigarette use (odds ratio of zero use = .647, 95% confidence interval [.515–.812]). Patterns did not vary over adolescent age or sex, with minimal differences across racial/ethnic groups. ConclusionsResults suggest minimal short-term effects of RML on adolescent substance use, with small declines in marijuana use and increase in the likelihood of any e-cigarette use. Given the delayed rollout of commercial marijuana sales in RML states and rapid expansion of RML policies, ongoing assessment of the consequences for adolescent substance use and related health and behavioral repercussions is essential.

Patterns of Food Parenting Practices Regarding Fruit and Vegetables among Parent-Adolescent Dyads.

Background: The study's objective was to determine patterns of food parenting practices regarding fruit and vegetables (FV) and their associations with demographic characteristics and dietary intake in parents and adolescents (12-17 years). Methods: Dyadic survey data from Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating, a cross-sectional, Internet-based study, conducted in 2014 were analyzed using latent class analysis. Self-report model covariates included adolescent age and parent and adolescent sex, BMI, FV intake, and FV legitimacy of parental authority (FV-LPA). Results: Based on 1657 parent-adolescent dyads, 5 latent classes were identified representing use of all 6 to use of few FV parenting practices. Parent and adolescent responses agreed in four classes. The high use class was the reference class. Compared with early adolescent dyads, middle adolescent dyads had 58% and 66% lower odds of belonging to moderate and low use classes. Compared with female parent dyads, male parent dyads had over three times greater odds of belonging to low use class. Compared with female adolescent dyads, male adolescent dyads had 44% lower odds of belonging to disagreeing class. The odds of belonging to one of the other four classes were 19%-63% lower for every one cup equivalent increase in parent FV intake. Compared with dyads with high parental or adolescent agreement with FV-LPA, dyads with low agreement had 2.5-7 times the odds of belonging to another class. Conclusions: Distinct patterns of FV parenting practices exist and are associated with parent and adolescent demographic characteristics, dietary intake, and FV-LPA.

Evening Meal Types and Family Meal Characteristics: Associations with Demographic Characteristics and Food Intake among Adolescents.

Evening meal types and family meal characteristics among adolescents may vary by demographic characteristics and weight status and can negatively impact dietary intake. We used cross-sectional Family, Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study data from parent and adolescent dyads (12–17 years) to examine associations of adolescent evening meal types and family meal characteristics with adolescent and family demographic characteristics, weight status, and dietary intake. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations of evening meal types and family meal characteristics with daily intake frequency of foods of interest, adolescent demographic characteristics, SES indicators, and weight status. All evening meal types that were not cooked from scratch showed associations with higher daily intake frequencies of less healthy food groups (fast food, convenience foods, sugar-sweetened beverages). Fast food eaten at home and heat-and-serve/box evening meals were associated with lower daily intake frequency of fruits and vegetables. Weight status, race/ethnicity, and age accounted for differences in associations with agreement regarding family meal characteristics. Agreement with often watching TV while eating, often eating alone and the importance of eating together were associated with daily intake frequency of some food groups. Evening meal types focused on convenience and negative family meal characteristics may adversely influence dietary intake among adolescents.

Adolescents' Evaluations of Political Leaders: The Case of President Donald Trump.

The current study explored youths' views of President Donald Trump using quantitative ratings and open-ended responses from a diverse sample of 1,432 U.S. adolescents from three geographic regions. Adolescent demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race, geographic location) were systematically associated with their views about Trump. Open-ended responses demonstrated substantial variability in youths' rationales for approving or disapproving of the president. Adolescents' attitudes were informed by knowledge of the president's leadership attributes, political views and policies, and their own experiences. Findings indicate that adolescents draw upon and synthesize a broad range of information when formulating their political views and coordinate this knowledge with their own opinions and experiences when evaluating political figures.

Halal Awareness toward the Interest In Buying Foreign Food Product: A Case Study in Korean Instant Noodles Purchases by School teenagers in Jakarta

Good economic growth, a large population, and the majority of the population are Muslim, Indonesia is a lucrative market for marketing a product, so it is flooded with domestic and foreign products. Food products from abroad are much in demand by adolescents or school teenagers, so the adolescents need to be equipped with an awareness of the halalness of a food product. This study uses data analysis methods with validity and reliability, descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson correlation, and data collection techniques by distributing questionnaires to 100 school-aged respondents aged 15-21 located in Jakarta. Sampling using the Random Sampling method. The stages of the research are surveying with questionnaires to: (i) identify and record the demographic characteristics of the respondents (ii) identify and register sources of information obtained about Korean products (iii) study and analyze halal awareness of the interests of purchasing foreign food products in adolescent school age 15- 21 years (iv) analyze the influence of halal awareness on foreign food product purchase interests. The results of the research are: (i) Identification and registration of adolescent demographic characteristics (ii) Identification and sources of information obtained about Korean products (iii) produce analysis of halal awareness of the interest in purchasing foreign food products (iv) produce an analysis of the magnitude of the influence of halal awareness on the purchase of foreign food products in school teenagers aged 15-21 years.

Dimensions of Adolescent Civic Reasoning: An Examination of Individual Differences

The current study examined sociodemographic characteristics and political discussion as correlates of adolescents’ qualitative understanding of three civic behaviors. Participants were 743 adolescents ( Mage= 15.87, range = 13-20; 55.6% female; 89.9% White) from a midsized city and a small rural town in an Appalachian state. Open-ended responses to three civic behavior scenarios, asking participants why should people protest, vote, and volunteer were content coded (28 codes total). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the variety of themes that emerged among adolescents’ written responses. Adolescents applied domain-specific reasons (moral, conventional, and personal) for specific types of civic behavior. Structural justifications were provided for all three civic behaviors, suggesting that many adolescents reason about the broader, structural impact of civic behaviors. In probit regression models, coding categories were differentially associated with adolescent demographic characteristics and political discussion. Findings offer insight into youth’s divergent understanding of different forms of civic responsibility and shed light on individual differences in youth’s developing civic beliefs.

The relationship between gingival condition and socio-demographic factors of adolescents living in a Brazilian region

The scope of this study is to correlate the gingival condition and sociodemographic status of adolescents living in an economically disadvantaged Brazilian region. The survey was conducted with a random sample of 450 adolescents in 13 cities selected in the Jequitinhonha Valley (State of Minas Gerais). The gingival condition was evaluated using a calibrated examiner (Kappa ≥ 0.85). The oral exam was based on the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). The frequencies of individuals were calculated and sextants subsequently assessed using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (ANACOR) to reveal the relationship between CPI and sociodemographic characteristics. The results showed that: 16 (3.6%) were healthy; 235 (52.2%) had gingival bleeding; 36 (8%) had dental calculus and 163 (36.2%) had both bleeding and calculus. ANACOR identified two groups with similarities in relation to periodontal disease. Group one featured 19-year-olds with healthy CPI who work and have higher family income. Group two included 15- and 16-year-olds of both sexes with CPI and gingival bleeding in elementary school with lower family income, who declared themselves to be of mixed or Afro-descendant race. The presence of gingivitis was related to the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of adolescents in the region.

What Do Citizens Have to Do? Parents’ and Adolescents’ Messages About Civic Duty

The current study examined demographic and civic behavior correlates of observed messages concerning civic duty coded from dyadic, semi-structured interactions between 160 adolescents ( Mage= 14.42, range = 12-18) and their parents (144 mothers, 52 fathers). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the eight themes that emerged within parent-adolescent civic discussion. Three themes concerned community and political involvement— community service, voting, and other standard political involvement (e.g., keeping up with current events)—and five themes concerned informal civic duties— be productive (e.g., working and becoming educated), follow regulations, help others, respect country, and respect others. In mixed-effect logistic regression models, coding categories were differentially associated with parent and adolescent demographic characteristics and parent-reported civic behavior.

Active gaming in Dutch adolescents: a descriptive study.

BackgroundAdequate levels of physical activity are part of a healthy lifestyle and in this way linked to better health outcomes. For children and adolescents, the physical activity guideline recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day. However, many adolescents are not physically active enough and they spend a lot of their time on sedentary activities (such as video games). A new generation of video games that require body movements to play them, so-called "active games", could serve to increase physical activity in adolescents. The activity level while playing these games is comparable to light-to-moderate intensity physical activity. The current study aims to increase our understanding of 1) the demographic characteristics of adolescents who play active games regularly (≥ 1 hour per week) and non-regularly (<; 1 hour per week), 2) time spent on active games, 3) the contribution of active games to daily physical activity and 4) the type and amount of activities being replaced by active gaming.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in a Dutch internet panel, questioning adolescents in conjunction with one of their parents. A random sample of 320 households (with stratification on gender of the parent and the adolescent, the age of the adolescent and the region of the household) was selected that owned a console or application for active video games and that had a child aged 12 through 16 years. 201 child–parent couples (63% response) completed an internet survey with questions about demographics, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and gaming behaviour. The questionnaire also contained questions designed to assess whether and how active gaming replaces other activities. Besides descriptive analyses, independent t-test, Pearson’s chi-square and Mann–Whitney test (when data were not normally distributed) were used for comparisons between regular and non-regular active gamers.ResultsEleven percent of the adolescents with an active game in their household never used the game. There were no significant differences in gender, education level (of adolescent and parent), ethnicity and sedentary behaviour between regular (n = 65) and non-regular active gamers (n = 114). Adolescents’ (regular and non-regular active gamers) meantime spent on active gaming was 80 (± 136) minutes a week; this potentially amounts to 11% of total physical activity. When time spent on active gaming was included in the calculation of the percentage of adolescents that met the physical activity guideline, the percentage increased significantly (p <; 0.05) from 67 to 73%. According to the adolescents, active gaming mainly replaces sedentary screen time such as TV viewing, internet and non-active gaming. Parental opinions concurred with this appraisal.ConclusionsThe results of this study confirm the idea that active gaming may contribute to an active lifestyle in adolescents, primarily because it potentially contributes substantially to time spent on physical activity. Secondly, active gamers indicate that they spent time on active games which they would have spent otherwise on less active activities.

Oral health behaviours according to demographic characteristics in Korean adolescents: a national representative sample

To provide information on how to teach correct oral health behaviour to youths and to develop programmes to that end, this study examined the oral health behaviour and demographic characteristics of adolescents. The raw data of 'The Third 2007 Youth Health Behavior Online Survey' carried out by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were analysed. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and chi-squared analyses were used to assess the relationships between oral health behaviours and demographic characteristics. The oral health behaviour of the adolescents who were investigated differed significantly depending on their demographic characteristics (P<0.001). Tooth brushing frequency differed significantly depending on gender and student grade (P<0.001) and the frequency of visits to a dental clinic differed depending on the gender, student grade, type of residential area (urban/rural), and type of school (middle or high) (P<0.001). School grade, type of residential area, and type of school also affected the likelihood of receiving preventive dental treatment (P<0.001). Adolescents who were in lower grades, female, and lived in large urban communities visited dental clinics more frequently and received more preventive dental treatment than adolescents who were in higher grades, male and resided in small urban and rural areas. These results highlight the need for the further development and dissemination of oral health programmes.

Food hiding and weight control behaviors among ethnically diverse, overweight adolescents. Associations with parental food restriction, food monitoring, and dissatisfaction with adolescent body shape

The present study aims to extend previous research conducted with children by examining associations between parental behaviors (food restriction, food monitoring) and parental perceptions (dissatisfaction with adolescent body shape) with adolescent behaviors (food hiding and weight control behaviors) among an ethnically diverse sample of overweight adolescents. Survey data were collected from overweight adolescents and their parents/guardians ( n = 116 dyads) at an urban Midwest adolescent health clinic. Adjusting for parent and adolescent demographic characteristics, logistic regression analyses revealed a significant positive association between parental food restriction and adolescent food hiding. No significant associations were found between dissatisfaction with adolescent body shape or parental food monitoring and adolescent food hiding and adolescent weight control behaviors when controlling for demographic factors. Interventions with parents of overweight adolescents should focus on helping parents talk with their adolescents about weight concerns in a non-judgmental way and teaching parents strategies to both create a healthful home food environment and guide and support their adolescents to lose weight in a healthful manner.

Snacking behaviours of adolescents and their association with skipping meals

BackgroundSnacking is likely to play an important role in the development of overweight and obesity, yet little is known about the contexts of snacking in adolescents or how snacking may influence other dietary habits, like meal skipping. This study examines the contexts in which adolescents snack and whether these contexts are associated with demographic characteristics of adolescents and with meal skipping.MethodsA cross-sectional, self-reported online food habits survey was administered to 3,250 secondary students in years seven and nine. The students were drawn from 37 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia during 2004–2005. Frequencies of meal skipping, and snacking in eight contexts, were compared across gender, year level and region of residence. Logistic regressions were performed to examine associations between snacking contexts and meal skipping adjusting for gender and region.ResultsThe most common contexts for snacking among adolescents were after school (4.6 times per week), while watching TV (3.5 times per week) and while hanging out with friends (2.4 times per week). Adolescents were least likely to snack all day long (0.8 times per week) or in the middle of the night (0.4 times per week). Snacking contexts were variously associated with gender, year level and region. In contrast, meal skipping was associated with gender and region of residence but not year level. Adolescents who reported more frequent snacking on the run, on the way to or from school, all day long, or in the middle of the night were more likely to skip meals.ConclusionThese data suggest adolescents snack frequently, especially in their leisure time. In addition, adolescents who snack on the run, on the way to or from school, all day long or in the middle of the night are more likely to skip meals than are adolescents who don't snack at these times. Understanding the contexts in which adolescents snack, and their associations with skipping meals, may assist those involved in the promotion of healthy food habits among adolescents.

Pathological personality traits and suicidal ideation among older adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse: A pilot case-control study in a primary care setting

To compare the clinical and demographic characteristics of older adolescents and young adults with and without alcohol misuse in a primary care setting. This study is a case-control study. Eighty-one 18-30 year old adolescents and young adults attending a primary care center were assessed with the CAGE questionnaire, the PRIME-MD instrument and the IPDE screening questionnaire. Sub-samples of positive screen for alcohol misuse (n = 21) and a negative age- and gender matched group (n = 21) were compared. Of those with alcohol misuse, 71.9% had a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. Depressive and anxiety disorders appeared to be more prevalent among the subjects with alcohol misuse than among controls. Among those patients with depressive or anxiety disorders and alcohol misuse, 22.2% reported suicidal ideation as compared to none among the controls suffering from depressive or anxiety disorders. 69.1% of subjects with alcohol misuse had a comorbid personality disorder. Significantly more adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse exhibited borderline personality traits (p = 0.03) and there was also a trend towards a greater proportion exhibiting histrionic traits (p = 0.07) than among those without alcohol misuse. Adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse in a primary care center have a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity. Cluster B personality disorders may be more prevalent in the population with alcohol misuse. Adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse may be more likely to report suicidal ideation while suffering from depressive or anxiety disorders. Further studies that evaluate the clinical and demographic characteristics of adolescents and young adults with alcohol misuse attended in a primary care center are needed.

Participation in School-Based Extracurricular Activities and Adolescent Adjustment

This paper examines the association between participation in school-based extracurricular activities (ECAs) and adolescent adjustment (drinking, marijuana use, grades, academic attitudes and academic aspirations) among students from six high schools. Three major issues were addressed: the potential confounding of selective EGA participation by better adjusted students and measures of adjustment, variability in the strength of the association between ECA participation and adjustment as a function of adolescent demographic characteristics and activity type, and the role of peers as mediators of the association between ECA participation and adjustment. Adolescents who participated in ECAs reported higher grades, more positive attitudes toward schools, and higher academic aspirations once demographic characteristics and prior adjustment were controlled. Alcohol and marijuana use were not independently associated with ECA participation. The ECA-adjustment association did not vary by demographic characteristics and did not appear to be mediated by peer characteristics. Those who participated in non-sport ECAs reported consistently better adjustment than those who did not participate in ECAs and those who participate in sports.