Engagement In Risky Behaviors Research Articles

Harsh environments, life history strategies, and adjustment: A longitudinal study of Oregon youth

We modeled the effects of harsh environments in childhood on adjustment in early emerging adulthood, through parenting style and the development of fast Life History Strategies (LHS; risky beliefs and behaviors) in adolescence. Participants were from the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project (N=988; 85.7% White). Five cohorts of children in Grades 1–5 at recruitment were assessed through one-year post high school. Greater environmental harshness (neighborhood quality and family poverty) in Grades 1–6 predicted less parental investment at Grade 8. This parenting style was related to the development of fast LHS (favorable beliefs about substance users and willingness to use substances at Grade 9, and engagement in substance use and risky sexual behavior assessed across Grades 10–12). The indirect path from harsh environment through parenting and LHS to (less) psychological adjustment (indicated by lower life satisfaction, self-rated health, trait sociability, and higher depression) was significant (indirect effect −.024, p=.011, 95% CI=−.043, −.006). This chain of development was comparable to that found by Gibbons et al. (2012) for an African-American sample that, unlike the present study, included perceived racial discrimination in the assessment of harsh environment.

Consequences of Adolescent Ethanol Consumption on Risk Preference and Orbitofrontal Cortex Encoding of Reward.

Critical development of the prefrontal cortex occurs during adolescence, a period of increased independence marked by decision making that often includes engagement in risky behaviors, such as substance use. Consumption of alcohol during adolescence has been associated with increased impulsivity that persists across the lifespan, an effect which may be caused by long-term disruptions in cortical processing of rewards. To determine if alcohol consumption alters cortical encoding of rewards of different sizes and probabilities, we gave rats limited access to alcohol in gelatin during adolescence only. In adulthood, we recorded the electrophysiological activity of individual neurons of the orbitofrontal cortex while rats performed a risk task that varied the level of risk from day-to-day. Rats that had consumed higher levels of alcohol showed increased risk preference in the task compared with control and low alcohol-consuming rats. Patterns of neuronal responses were identified using principal component analysis. Of the multiple patterns observed, only one was modulated by adolescent alcohol consumption and showed strongest modulation after reward receipt. This subpopulation of neurons showed blunted firing rates following rewards in alcohol-consuming rats, suggesting a mechanism through which adolescent alcohol exposure may have lasting effects on reward processing in the context of decision making. The differences in OFC responses between high alcohol consumers and control animals not given access to alcohol support the idea that, regardless of potential variability in innate alcohol preferences, voluntary consumption of alcohol during adolescence biases choice patterns longitudinally through alterations in cortical function.

Relationships between community social capital and injury in Canadian adolescents: a multilevel analysis

BackgroundCharacteristics of social environments are potential risk factors for adolescent injury. Impacts of social capital on the occurrence of such injuries have rarely been explored.MethodsGeneral health questionnaires were completed by...

Harsh Parenting, Deviant Peers, Adolescent Risky Behavior: Understanding the Meditational Effect of Attitudes and Intentions.

Although research supports the influence of parents and peers on adolescent risky behavior, less is known about mechanisms proposed to explain this relation. This study examined the influence of adolescent attitudes and intentions about such behaviors. Prospective, longitudinal data came from rural youth who participated throughout adolescence (n= 451). Observed harsh parenting and relationship with deviant peers was assessed in early adolescence, attitudes and intentions were measured during middle adolescence, and risky behavior was assessed in late adolescence. Results indicated that parenting and deviant peers was related to engagement in tobacco use, alcohol use, and risky sexual behaviors. Moreover, attitudes and intentions mediated this relationship even after parent use and adolescent early involvement in these behaviors were taken into account.

Targeting Vulnerabilities to Risky Behavior: an Intervention for Promoting Adaptive Emotion Regulation in Adolescents

The paper examined the effectiveness of an in-school intervention for adolescents designed to target emotional regulation skills related to risky behaviors. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Intended for Youth (CERTIFY) program was delivered to at-risk adolescents in Montreal, Canada. Participants were drawn from an alternative high school and a dropout prevention program within an urban high school. The pilot was a student-focused therapeutic modality without parental intervention for maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation (CER) and engagement in risky behaviors. CERTIFY is a school-based group intervention targeting CER strategies and was implemented with 28 adolescents from two English language secondary schools. The intervention was conducted for 12 weeks for the intervention group versus controls who were offered usual school supports. Program outcomes were evaluated using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Risky Behaviors Questionnaire for Adolescents. The intervention group made significant gains with regard to using adaptive CER strategies. Specifically, the intervention resulted in increases in self-reported use of positive reappraisal and refocusing on planning. No significant gains were found for reducing the use of maladaptive CER strategies or risky behaviors. This school-based intervention program for high-risk adolescents increased overall use of adaptive CER strategies and provided insight for future intervention design.

Stopped in the Name of the Law: Administrative Burden and its Implications for Cash Transfer Program Effectiveness

Summary Cash transfer programs have achieved wide-ranging success in reducing poverty, yet there is little empirical research on how program rules and administrative capacity might limit program effectiveness. We examine administrative burden and quantify its implications for grant access and impacts in the South African Child Support Grant (CSG) program, as the age of eligibility and application requirements changed over time. We find that approximately 60% of the sampled children experienced an interruption or disconnection in cash transfer receipt, and that both timing and “dosage” loss are associated with adolescent engagement in risky behaviors, and for females, lower educational attainment.

Feeling Good and Taking a Chance? Associations of Hypomania Risk with Cognitive and Behavioral Risk Taking

Although elevated impulsivity among individuals at risk for or with a clinical history of mania has been identified in prior work, questions remain regarding ways in which impulsivity may manifest as risky decision-making and behavior. The present investigation examined how hypomania risk, measured using the Hypomanic Personality Scale, was associated with two facets of risk-taking: cognitive appraisals of risks and benefits that will result from risk-taking, and behavioral risk-taking on a validated task and self-report measures. Hypomania risk was associated with appraising future risk-taking as having less costs, but was unrelated to appraising future risk-taking as having more benefits. On behavioral risk measures, it was associated with increased expectations of engagement in risky behavior over the next 6 months, yet also with markers of lower risk-taking on the BART. The present findings have implications for understanding precise cognitive and behavioral factors that underlie the relationship between hypomania risk and risk-taking.

A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Family Structure and Health Risk Behaviours Amongst Young People: An African Perspective

Objective: The aim of this study was to review the published literature on the relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour amongst youth in African countries. Methods: A systematic review was conducted between 2000 and 2014. Suitable titles were identified from database searches. Thereafter, abstracts were evaluated along specific inclusion criteria. Eleven full text articles were evaluated for methodological quality using a modified critical appraisal tool and six studies were included in the final review that satisfied the threshold criterion of 70%. A narrative synthesis was completed for all included records to provide a textual answer to the research question. Results: Findings indicated that there was a relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour, specifically risky sexual behaviour. The importance of family structure was evident, and the active involvement of parents in the activities of youth is cardinal. The review further underscores that there is lack of methodologically rigorous research that can provide empirical support for and insight into the relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour. Discussion: Risky sexual behaviour was the most prevalent outcome assessed across studies. Family structure impacted positively on delaying or reducing engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Diverse family structures were identified and orphans living with caregivers were identified as a particular structure that might be more prevalent in the African context. Parental involvement and investment in adolescent activities were more strongly identified as an important factor. There is a lack of and need for more methodologically rigorous research to gain empirical support for and insight into the relationship between family structure and health risk behaviours.

Angry rumination moderates the association between perceived ethnic discrimination and risky behaviors

Perceived ethnic discrimination (PED) is associated with increased engagement in risky behaviors in ethnic minority emerging adults. Risky behaviors may reflect efforts to cope with emotional distress like depression or anxiety resulting from PED, particularly for individuals with poor emotion regulation skills. We hypothesized that the association between PED and risky behaviors would be particularly strong for emerging adults with tendencies for angry rumination. We further hypothesized that increased depressive and anxious symptoms would mediate the effect of the PED-rumination interaction on risky behaviors. In this survey study, 155 ethnic minority college students completed measures of PED, depressive and anxiety symptoms, trait angry rumination, and risky behaviors. Analyses revealed that angry rumination moderated the association between PED and greater risky behaviors. Depressive and anxiety symptoms did not mediate this effect. Although cross-sectional, these findings suggest that individuals with poor coping skills may be especially likely to respond to stressors such as PED by engaging in risky behaviors. Implications include using rumination-focused interventions in order to prevent engagement in risky behaviors in ethnic minority emerging adults.

The structural influence of family and parenting on young people's sexual and reproductive health in rural northern Tanzania

This paper explores the structural role of the family and parenting in young people's sexual and reproductive health. The study involved eight weeks of participant observation, 26 in-depth interviews, and 11 group discussions with young people aged 14–24 years, and 20 in-depth interviews and 6 group discussions with parents/carers of children in this age group. At an individual level, parenting and family structure were found to affect young people's sexual behaviour by influencing children's self-confidence and interactional competence, limiting discussion of sexual health and shaping economic provision for children, which in turn affected parental authority and daughters' engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Sexual norms are reproduced both through parents' explicit prohibitions and their own behaviours. Girls are socialised to accept men's superiority, which shapes their negotiation of sexual relationships. Interventions to improve young people's sexual and reproductive health should recognise the structural effects of parenting, both in terms of direct influences on children and the dynamics by which structural barriers such as gendered power relations and cultural norms around sexuality are transmitted across generations.

Correlates of psychological functioning of homeless youth in Accra, Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundResearch on homeless youth has shown that this population is at high risk for various mental health problems. Previous studies conducted among homeless young adults in Ghana have focused primarily on economic, social and cultural causes of homelessness, their engagement in risky sexual behaviours and the prevalence of STI including HIV/AIDS. We are therefore not fully informed of the prevalence of psychological symptoms and their associated factors. The aim of the study was to determine the association between psychological functioning and social and health risk behaviours among a sample of homeless youth in Ghana.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of 227 (122 male and 105 female) homeless youth was conducted in Ghana in 2013. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data due to low level of literacy among the study population. Pearson-moment correlation coefficient (r) and multiple standard regression models were fitted to analyse the data.ResultsApproximately 87% of the participants in this study exhibited moderate to severe psychosocial symptoms. Specifically, emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and peer relationship problems among the participants were 69%, 74%, 54% and 89% respectively. Overall psychosocial functioning was predicted by stigma (self-stigma and experienced stigma), violent behaviours and suicidal ideation. Substance use and perceived resilience were significantly associated with emotional problems.ConclusionThere is a need for holistic interventions to help improve the psychological and social functioning of homeless youth. Such programmes should strengthen socio-emotional coping strategies in street youth as well as address contextual risk factors such as stigma and discrimination by the public.

The role of risky behaviors and health education in college students’ health information acquisition on the internet

ABSTRACTPrior research shows that students use the Internet as a main source of health information. When starting college, students get greater autonomy over their behaviors and responsibility for their own health, which creates a number of health‐related information needs. As a result of this newly acquired autonomy, students also frequently engage in various risky behaviors, putting their well‐being in jeopardy. This study aimed to answer whether the self‐reported frequency in which students engage in risky behaviors and their enrollment in health‐related courses affect how frequently they obtain health‐related information. A novel aspect of this study is that it incorporated both intentional and opportunistic information acquisition. An analysis of online survey responses from 810 undergraduates attending a mid‐western U.S. university showed that the frequency of their engagement in risky behaviors (e.g., the use of substances and alcohol and engagement in high‐risk sexual activities) is not significantly associated with the frequency of neither intentional nor opportunistic health information acquisition on the Internet. However, students enrolled in health‐related courses more frequently obtain health information by both intentional search and opportunistic discovery. This opportunistic style of was often described in the literature using terms such as passive, unintentional, accidental, serendipitous, encountering or acquiring by chance. The study findings provide valuable directions for librarians and health educators on how to design new and improve existing e‐health literacy instructions to better suit students’ current needs and information behavior patterns.

Person-environment fit: everyday conflict and coparenting conflict in Mexican-origin teen mother families.

The current study examined whether a match or mismatch between teen mothers' cultural orientation and the cultural context of the family (i.e., familial ethnic socialization) predicted mother-daughter everyday and coparenting conflict, and in turn, teen mothers' adjustment. Participants were 204 Mexican-origin teen mothers (M age = 16.81 years; SD = 1.00). Consistent with a person-environment fit perspective, findings indicated that a mismatch between teen mothers' cultural orientation (i.e., high mainstream cultural involvement) and the cultural context of the family (i.e., higher levels of familial ethnic socialization) predicted greater mother-daughter everyday conflict and coparenting conflict 1 year later. However, when there was a match (i.e., high levels of familial ethnic socialization for teen mothers with high Mexican orientation), familial ethnic socialization was not associated with mother-daughter conflict. In addition, mother-daughter conflict was positively associated with depressive symptoms and engagement in risky behaviors 1 year later among all teen mothers.

Lower Cortisol Activity is Associated with First-Time Driving while Impaired.

Driving while impaired (DWI) is a grave and persistent high-risk behavior. Previous work demonstrated that DWI recidivists had attenuated cortisol reactivity compared to non-DWI drivers. This suggests that cortisol is a neurobiological marker of high-risk driving. The present study tested the hypothesis that this initial finding would extend to first-time DWI (fDWI) offenders compared to non-DWI drivers. Male fDWI offenders (n = 139) and non-DWI drivers (n = 31) were exposed to a stress task, and their salivary cortisol activity (total output and reactivity) was measured. Participants also completed questionnaires on sensation seeking, impulsivity, substance use, and engagement in risky and criminal behaviors. As hypothesized, fDWI offenders, compared to non-DWI drivers, had lower cortisol reactivity; fDWI offenders also showed lower total output. In addition, cortisol activity was the most important predictor of group membership, after accounting for alcohol misuse patterns and consequences and other personality and problem behavior characteristics. The findings indicate that attenuated cortisol activity is an independent factor associated with DWI offending risk at an earlier stage in the DWI trajectory than previously detected.

Do the effects of adolescent employment differ by employment intensity and neighborhood context?

Research on the effects of adolescent employment on primarily middle-class youth suggests that intense employment, working more than 15 or 20 hours during the school year, is associated with increased participation in risky behavior. Despite these findings, scholars who focus on the development of youth living in low-income urban areas often hypothesize that adolescent employment will have beneficial effects on this population. There is some evidence that adolescent employment is associated with increased educational achievement and adult employment for low-income urban youth. The impact of adolescent employment on future engagement in risky behavior across levels of neighborhood deprivation and employment intensity was investigated on a sample of 1,057 adolescents from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, a longitudinal study of neighborhood effects on development. After controlling for individual characteristics, intense employment during adolescence did predict increased use of cigarettes and alcohol and having a greater number of sexual partners 2years after employment was measured. There were no significant interactions between neighborhood SES and adolescent employment status on involvement in risky behavior. These findings suggest that intense adolescent employment is associated with detrimental developmental outcomes for youth regardless neighborhood context.

Family obligation values as a protective and vulnerability factor among low-income adolescent girls.

Adolescents' beliefs about family obligation often reflect cultural variations in their family context, and thus are important for understanding development among diverse youth. In this study, we test hypotheses about the role of family obligation values in risk behavior and mental health in a sample of 194 low-income adolescent girls (mean age = 15.2; 58% Latina, 28% African-American/Black). We hypothesized that family obligation values can be both a protective and vulnerability factor, depending on the type of outcome and the presence of other risk factors. Across the sample, higher family obligation values tended to occur with indicators of positive family functioning (e.g., more frequent communication, less maternal hostility) based on mother and adolescent reports. As hypothesized, family obligation values moderated the relationship between established risk factors and adjustment in distinct ways, such that high family obligation values decreased risk in some domains (i.e., a protective factor) but increased risk in other domains (i.e., a vulnerability factor). Specifically, high family obligation values diminished the relationship between peer norms for risky behavior (sex and substance use) and individual engagement in those behaviors. At the same time, high family obligation values magnified the relationship between exposure to negative life events and poor mental health (PTSD and depressive symptoms). The results suggest that family obligation is an important but complex aspect of development among diverse adolescent girls.

Shared and unique predictors of antisocial and substance use behavior among a nationally representative sample of South African youth

There are well-documented high prevalence rates of violence, aggression, and substance use in South Africa. We examined theoretically salient risk factors for antisocial behavior and substance use identified in high income countries (e.g., abuse and poverty; Shaw & Gross, 2008) and whether they had predictive effects among South African youth, for whom longitudinal research examining predictors of violence is lacking. We collected data from a large, high-risk longitudinal sample of youth from two provinces in South Africa, encompassing rural and urban sites ( N = 3515; 97% retained at one year; 56.7% female; M age = 13.45). We assessed antisocial behavior and substance use using an adapted version of the CBCL-YSR and items from national surveys. Finally, we assessed risk factors using previously-validated indices of risk. Antisocial behavior and substance use were reciprocally related over time. Controlling for this overlap, as well as for relevant demographic covariates, child abuse predicted increases in antisocial behavior over time, and exposure to high levels of community violence predicted increases in both antisocial behavior and substance use one year later. The findings suggest that contextual risk factors underpinning etiological models of antisocial behavior and substance in high income countries are also relevant within the South African context. In particular, both harsh home and community environments were related to the development of youth antisocial and substance use behavior outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for preventative interventions to reduce youth engagement in risky antisocial and/or substance use behavior in South Africa.

Perceived discrimination and injecting risk among people who inject drugs attending Needle and Syringe Programmes in Sydney, Australia

BackgroundPrevious research indicates that stigma and discrimination have negative consequences for both healthcare delivery and for health outcomes of people who inject drugs (PWID). Also important but not as well researched is the association between perceived discrimination and increased engagement in risky behaviours. This research aimed to explore whether perceived discrimination from workers in Needle and Syringe programmes (NSPs) is associated with increased engagement in injecting risk practices such as the sharing of injecting equipment. MethodConvenience sampling was used across eight NSP sites within Western Sydney, Australia. All clients who attended one of the NSPs were eligible to participate. ResultsA total of 236 clients completed the survey. Perceived discrimination from NSP staff was found to be significantly associated with some injecting risk practices. Respondents who reported greater perceived discrimination from NSP staff were significantly more likely to report being injected by someone else after they had injected themselves (OR 1.2, 95%CI 1.1–1.3) and reusing a needle or syringe (OR 1.1, 95%CI 1.0–1.3) in the last month. Although clients reported perceiving more discrimination from general health workers than from NSP workers (12.8 vs. 10.2, t=7.739, df=226, p<0.001), perceived discrimination from general health workers was not associated with increased injecting risk practices. ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that NSP workers need to be aware that although they work in a model that is usually non-judgemental, their clients may still have a heightened sensitivity to discrimination which can then have consequences for on-going engagement in risk practices.

Young Adult Females’ Perceptions of High-Risk Social Media Behaviors: A Focus-Group Approach

This study describes young adult female college students’ perceptions of risky social media behaviors. A sample of 14 young adult females, aged 18–22 years and residing in an urban university, participated in 1 of 3 focus groups held in campus housing. Data analysis yielded 4 themes surrounding young adults’ engagement in risky behaviors associated with social media. Themes described the predominant culture, associated risk, and prevention. Important insights into young adult female college students’ thoughts on risky social media behaviors can be used by advanced practice nurses to inform preventive education for young college women.

Parental supervision and adolescent risky behaviors

This paper re-examines the relationship between parental supervision and adolescents’ engagement in risky behaviors. Using the Child Development Supplement and Transition to Adulthood of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I consider different measures of supervision among a sample of adolescents 10–21 years old. Issues relating to endogeneity bias and unobserved heterogeneity are accounted for using lagged amounts of supervision and fixed effects as an estimation strategy. The results highlight the role of fathers in mitigating cigarette smoking in the past month, regular alcohol consumption in the past year, and marijuana smoking in the past month. The research emphasizes the need to account for unobserved heterogeneity and supports the idea of looking at the different roles of each parent in affecting child outcomes.