Assessing empathy in Salvadoran high-risk and gang-involved adolescents and young adults: a Spanish validation of the basic empathy scale

Empathy is considered a key construct in the empirical study of high-risk adolescent and young adult delinquency, crime, and violence. This study examined the psychometric properties and criterion-related validity of a Spanish adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), which is an important measure designed to capture both affective and cognitive empathy that has been validated in multiple languages but not in Spanish. The study's sample consisted of 208 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents and young adults in the Greater San Salvador Metropolitan Area. The original BES was reduced from its 20-item design to a more culturally appropriate 7-item design. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis and criterion-related validity analysis indicate that the adapted BES is a valid and reliable multidimensional measure of empathy for high-risk Salvadoran adolescents and young adults. Consistent with previous findings, females reported lower levels of empathy than males and delinquent/violent respondents reported lower levels of empathy than their nonoffender counterparts.

Religious coping, spirituality, and substance use and abuse among youth in high-risk communities in San Salvador, El Salvador

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth.

Prevalence and correlates of truancy in the US: results from a national sample

Truancy has been a persistent problem in the United States for more than 100 years. Although truancy is commonly reported as a risk factor for substance use, delinquency, dropout, and a host of other negative outcomes for youth, there has been surprisingly little empirical investigation into understanding the causes and correlates of truancy using large, nationally representative samples. Using the adolescent sample (N = 17,482) of the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this study presents the prevalence of truancy and examines individual, school engagement, parental, and behavioral correlates of truancy. Overall, 11% of adolescents between the ages of 12-17 reported skipping school in the past 30 days. Results from multinomial logistic regression models indicate skipping school was robustly associated with an increased probability of reporting externalizing behaviors, less parental involvement, and engagement and lower grades in school. Implications for theory, prevention, and policy are discussed.

Who are truant youth? Examining distinctive profiles of truant youth using latent profile analysis

The present study explored the heterogeneity of truant youth to provide a more nuanced examination of the nature of adolescent truancy and examine distinct profiles of truant youth as they relate to externalizing behaviors. Latent profile analysis was employed to examine the heterogeneity of truant youth by using a nationally representative sample of 1,646 truant adolescents (49.8 % female) from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Five key indicator variables were utilized to identify latent classes: school engagement, participation in school-based activities, grades, parental academic involvement, and number of school days skipped. Additionally, multinomial regression was employed to examine the relationship between latent truant youth classes and externalizing behaviors. Four classes of truant youth were identified: achievers (28.55 %), moderate students (24.30 %), academically disengaged (40.89 %), and chronic skippers (6.26 %). Additionally, group membership was found to be associated differentially with marijuana use, fighting, theft and selling drugs. Results from the present study suggest that truant youth are not a homogenous group, but rather present with different risk profiles as they relate to key indicators, demographic characteristics and externalizing behaviors. Implications for practice, policy and future research are discussed.

Understanding tobacco use among urban African American adolescents living in public housing communities: a test of problem behavior theory

This study was guided by Jessor and Jessor's problem behavior theory (PBT) to test the relative effects of personality, perceived environment and behavior system variables on urban teen tobacco use. A sample of 518 urban African American youth residing in public housing communities in three large U.S. cities was utilized. Our results provide partial support for PBT in this study. Personality system variables (i.e., positive attitudes toward tobacco use, and depressive affect, cause and outcome indicators) and behavior system variables (i.e., delinquent behaviors) significantly predicted adolescent tobacco use. Depressive effect and cause indicators were stronger than depressive outcome indicators in predicting the extent of tobacco use. Additionally, age positively moderated the impact of positive attitudes about tobacco use on the extent of adolescent tobacco use. However, perceived environment system variables (e.g., exposure to delinquent peers) did not predict such use. This study suggests that PBT may aid in understanding adolescent tobacco use. Implications for practice and future inquiry are discussed.

Religiosity profiles of American youth in relation to substance use, violence, and delinquency

Relatively little is known in terms of the relationship between religiosity profiles and adolescents' involvement in substance use, violence, and delinquency. Using a diverse sample of 17,705 (49 % female) adolescents from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, latent profile analysis and multinomial regression are employed to examine the relationships between latent religiosity classes and substance use, violence, and delinquency. Results revealed a five class solution. Classes were identified as religiously disengaged (10.76 %), religiously infrequent (23.59 %), privately religious (6.55 %), religious regulars (40.85 %), and religiously devoted (18.25 %). Membership in the religiously devoted class was associated with the decreased likelihood of participation in a variety of substance use behaviors as well as decreases in the likelihood of fighting and theft. To a lesser extent, membership in the religious regulars class was also associated with the decreased likelihood of substance use and fighting. However, membership in the religiously infrequent and privately religious classes was only associated with the decreased likelihood of marijuana use. Findings suggest that private religiosity alone does not serve to buffer youth effectively against involvement in problem behavior, but rather that it is the combination of intrinsic and extrinsic adolescent religiosity factors that is associated with participation in fewer problem behaviors.