Adolescent Prevention Efforts Research Articles

An exploratory study of problematic shopping and problematic video gaming in adolescents

Problematic video gaming (PVG) and problematic shopping (PS) are addictive behaviors prevalent in adolescents, characterized by positive and negative reinforcement, and associated with psychosocial impairment. This study examined how PS and PVG relate in adolescents. It also examined how PS interacts with PVG in relation to health/functioning measures. Survey data from 3,657 Connecticut high-school students were evaluated. Chi-square analyses and logistic regression models were used to assess relationships between PS and measures of PVG. Interaction analyses measured effects of PS on relationships between PVG and health/functioning measures. Relative to adolescents without PS, those with PS had 8.79-fold higher odds of exhibiting PVG and were more likely to endorse gaming to relieve anxiety and impairment due to gaming. Interaction analyses revealed that in adolescents with PS, the relationships between PVG and aggressive behaviors, including fighting, serious fighting leading to physical injury, and weapon-carrying, were stronger than in adolescents without PS. PS strongly relates to PVG, and among youth reporting PS, there are stronger associations between PVG and aggressive behaviors. Prevention efforts for adolescents should consider the co-occurrence of PS and PVG. PS and PVG may be linked by negative reinforcement and propensities for aggressive and addictive behaviors, suggesting that further research should explore possible interventions targeting stress management and maladaptive coping.

Factors associated with adolescent online and land-based gambling in Canada

Background: With the development of new gambling technology, and increased internet accessibility, online gambling has rapidly emerged as a new gambling market. Governments in numerous jurisdictions have moved to legalize online gambling, yet little is known about the impact of online gambling availability particularly for adolescents. To date, few studies have identified the characteristics of adolescent online gamblers and even fewer have looked at whether these characteristics differ from land-based adolescent gamblers. This study examined socio-demographic and factors associated with online gambling for adolescents and compared this to land-based gamblers to examine whether the profile of online gamblers are unique.Method: Data for the current study comes from the 2012–2013 Youth Gambling Survey (YGS) (n = 10 035) and consists of students in Grades 9 to 12 from three Canadian provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.Results: Compared to adolescents who did not have a gambling problem, those who had low to moderate (OR = 2.21, p < .001) or high problem gambling severity (OR = 13.60, p < .001) were significantly more likely to gamble online. Adolescents who played free games were also significantly more likely to gamble online (OR = 2.75, p < .001). Females were significantly less likely to gamble online compared to males (OR = 0.31, p < .001). Other than gender, problem gambling severity and playing free games, when compared to land-based adolescent gamblers, the profile of online gamblers are not that different.Conclusions: Current prevention efforts for adolescents should focus on gambling across modalities.

A Review of Sexual Health Web Sites for Adolescents

The popularity of the Internet for health information and the growing availability of online access make the Internet a compelling medium for health promotion and HIV/STI prevention efforts for adolescents. Many private and federally funded programs have incorporated Web-based approaches and online technologies into their sexual education and HIV/STI prevention efforts for adolescents. These efforts have resulted in numerous Web sites and varied online content. This content is currently understudied and underevaluated. In this study, current sexual health Web sites targeted at adolescents were catalogued and coded. Web sites targeted at adolescents were coded for educational content, credibility, usability, as well as interactivity. A significant amount of sexual health information geared toward teens is available online. All the Web sites reviewed showed deficiencies in educational content, as well as deficiencies in usability, authority, and interactivity. Planned Parenthood's Web site was the most well rounded of the sites assessed.

Comparison of Sexual Partnership Characteristics and Associations with Inconsistent Condom Use among a Sample of Adolescents and Adult Women Diagnosed with Chlamydia trachomatis

This analysis compared characteristics of female adolescent and adult sexual partnerships and related these characteristics to inconsistent condom use. Data are from a study of 126 women with prevalent chlamydia infections who reported information about 172 sexual partnerships in the previous 3 months. Characteristics of sexual partnerships included type of partner (main vs. other), duration of sexual relationship (<3 months vs. > or =3 months), partner age difference (<2 years older vs. > or =2 years older), and two scale measures: overlap of social networks (a measure based on how well the participant knew her partner's friends, for example) and intimacy. Compared with adult partnerships, adolescent partnerships were of shorter duration and had less social overlap but were more likely to be classified by the participants as main partnerships. Among adolescents, longer partnership duration was not associated with higher intimacy, yet higher intimacy was significantly correlated with inconsistent condom use. These differences suggest that adolescent females perceive and characterize their sexual relationships differently from adults. This, in turn, may have implications for risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Prevention efforts for adolescents, including interventions and counseling, should consider the nature of their sexual partnerships.

Mothers' Voices

Parents are an important component of HIV prevention efforts for adolescents. The purpose of this study was to work with a community-based organization, Mothers' Voices South Florida, to evaluate the effectiveness of their educational program that teaches mothers how to talk to their children about HIV and safer sexual practices. Questionnaires were sent to 349 mothers who attended the program from 2000-2001. The final sample (n = 121) was 43% White, 31% Black, and 26% Hispanic. Mothers were asked to rate their pre- and post-program communication levels with their children about HIV and safer sex. Paired T-test showed a significant difference between pre-and post-program communication levels (t = -11.404, df = 120, p =.000). Over two-fifths of the mothers (43%) reported that communication with their children had become an ongoing process. Mothers also shared information learned at the program with other adults. The study found that the Mothers' Voices program was effective in increasing communication about HIV and sexual health between mothers and their children, and mothers and other adults in the community.