Impact of Ethnic Composition on Mechanisms of Change in School-Based Substance Use Intervention Groups

Facilitating Change in Drinking Cognitions and Behaviors Among Three Immigrant Generations of Latinx Youth Through a School-Based Intervention: Findings From a Multi-Site Clinical Trial

Latinx youth experience disparities in the availability of and participation in evidence-based interventions to reduce hazardous alcohol use. The aim of this secondary data analysis was to examine whether Project Options, a brief, evidence-based alcohol use intervention was beneficial for Latinx participants. A total of 331 first-, second-, and third-generation immigrant Latina and Latino youth who participated in a multi-site, hybrid effectiveness/efficacy clinical trial of the intervention were selected for analyses. Mixed-effects growth models tested changes in drinking cognitions (i.e., perception of peer drinking, intention to drink next month, alcohol use and cessation expectancies) and behaviors (i.e., number of past-month drinking days, average number of drinks per occasion, and maximum number of drinks per occasion) across three time points (i.e., baseline, 4-weeks, and 12-weeks). Consistent with prior Project Options studies, participants with more drinking experience reported greater decreases in perception of peer drinking, intentions to drink next month, and all drinking behaviors than those with less experience. While no changes were observed in expectancies, first-generation participants endorsed lower positive use expectancies than second- and third-generation youth as well as more favorable cessation expectancies than third-generation teens. In concert with prior studies demonstrating the intervention's success in recruitment and retention of Latinx participants, results suggest that Project Options might be a promising school-based intervention for Latinx youth. This intervention has the potential to reach adolescents who might otherwise not participate in traditional programming and help decrease disparities in availability of evidence-based practices for Latinx youth.

Drinking refusal self-efficacy: Impacts on outcomes from a multi-site early intervention trial

This study examines relationships between drink refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) and outcomes in Project Options (PO), an adolescent alcohol use early intervention. 1171 US high school students (39.3% Hispanic, 59.3% girls) participated in PO, reporting their demographics, alcohol use, and drinking reduction efforts at baseline, 30 days and three months later. Items from the Drug Taking Confidence Questionnaire for Adolescents (DTCQ-A) assessed DRSE. DRSE corresponded negatively with drinking at 30 days and, among drinkers, predicted fewer use reduction attempts at 30 days and three months. Results indicate that, unlike in treatment settings, DRSE may not correspond to improved early intervention outcomes.

Suicide Attempt Resiliency in American Indian, Hispanic, and Anglo Youth in New Mexico: The Influence of Positive Adult Relationships

The purpose of this study was to identify whether positive relationships with adults at home, school, and in the community are protective for suicide among American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Anglo adolescents. Using data from the New Mexico version of the 2015 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey, we found that positive relationships with adults affected past-year suicide attempts differently in youth from the 3 groups. The final multivariable model for American Indian/Alaska Native youth included only positive relationships with adults in the home. Among Hispanic and Anglo youth, adults in the home and also in the community were protective.