The community epidemiology of underage drinking: variation across communities in relations of risk to alcohol use

Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds: Risky or Protective Contexts for Youth Substance Use?

Neighborhood parks and playgrounds are thought to reduce the stressors of disorganized urban environments by adding greenspace and fostering community cohesion, and, in doing so, may reduce crime and delinquency. Yet, they may also foster criminal behaviors, including substance use, as they can provide areas for would-be offenders to gather without surveillance or fear of being caught. This study provides one of the first examinations of the relationship between the number of parks and playgrounds in a neighborhood and adolescent substance use. To do so, we analyze data from 1,584 youth living in 76 neighborhoods in Chicago. Using multivariate, multilevel Rasch models that control for many other factors that may affect adolescent substance use, we find that youth living in areas with more parks and playgrounds have a greater odds of engaging in substance use compared with those living in areas with fewer parks and centers.

Experience of Czech Children with Alcohol Consumption in Relation to Selected Family Indicators

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to monitor and analyze the influence of chosen family indicators related to alcohol consumption and experience of drunkenness in a representative sample of Czech children.

METHODS

Data for our work were obtained from the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children (HBSC) study - a World Health Organization (WHO) cross national study. The sample consisted of 4,293 children aged 11, 13 and 15 years. Data collection was conducted in June 2010 in 88 randomly selected schools in the Czech Republic using standardized questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed in the program NCSS 9, methods of descriptive statistics, χ² test of independence in the contingency tables and logistic regression analysis were used.

RESULTS

Regular alcohol consumption (at least weekly) was reported by 7.4% of children aged eleven, 19.3% of children aged thirteen and 38.4% of children aged fifteen years. Drunkenness at least twice in their life was admitted by 3% of children aged eleven, 15% of children aged thirteen and 43% of children aged fifteen years. Both alcohol consumption and drunkenness were significantly associated (p<0.001) with age and gender. Formal structure of family was found to have significant effect on the experience of drunkenness, but no effect on alcohol consumption was recorded. Based on our results, neither the amount of time spent together, nor the children communication with parents had a statistically significant influence on alcohol consumption or drunkenness experience within each family type. However, statistically significant differences were observed between different family types (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate a high degree of liberalism of Czech society towards alcohol. It appears that alcohol consumption will remain a serious problem in Czech society, therefore, more attention should be paid to this phenomenon in the future.

Universal Prevention Exposure as a Moderator of the Community Context: Findings from the PROSPER Project

This study examined how participation in a universal family skills-building program may interact with community risks and resources to produce youth outcomes. Prior research has noted community-level variability in risk and protective factors, but thus far no study has examined the role that participation on a community-wide intervention may play in moderating the effects of community risks or resources. The study included 14 communities (seven in Iowa, seven in Pennsylvania) that implemented a family focused evidence-based program as part of the PROSPER project. Community level variables included both risk factors (percent of low income families, the availability of alcohol and tobacco, norms regarding adolescent substance use, incidence of drug-related crimes) and community resources (proactive school leadership, availability of youth-serving organizations, and student involvement in youth activities). The proximal youth and family outcomes included youth perceptions of their parents' management skills, parent-child activities, and family cohesion. Results indicated that the Strengthening Families Program:10-14 may have moderated the impact of the community risks and resources on community-level youth outcomes; risk levels meaningfully associated with community-level change in program participants, though these results varied somewhat by outcome. Generally, higher levels of resources also meaningfully associated with more positive change after participating in the family-focused intervention. These results suggest that the effect of some evidence-based programs may be even stronger in some communities than others; more research in this area is needed.

Predicting alcohol use across adolescence: relative strength of individual, family, peer, and contextual risk and protective factors

The current study examined developmental changes in the relative influence of risk and protective factors (RPFs) across individual, family, peer, school, and community domains on adolescent alcohol use. Using longitudinal data from two independent samples, multivariate cross-lagged models were used to estimate the unique influence of each RPF on subsequent changes in recent alcohol use between early to late adolescence. The results supported the hypothesis that the influence of Individual Risk would increase during this developmental period. However, less consistent evidence was found concerning developmental changes among the other domains. Whereas the influence arising from Family Protection diminished during adolescence, the influence of Family Risk, School Protection, and Community Protection did not vary. The influence of Peer Risk showed a nonlinear pattern across adolescence, peaking during the middle adolescent years. The results of this study support a developmental approach to adolescent alcohol use and emphasize the need for prevention strategies that account for these developmental changes.