Behavioral self-concept as predictor of teen drinking behaviors

The impact of mindfulness on academic achievement of students with the mediating role of adaptability: a structural equation modeling approach

INTRODUCTION

Examining the factors influencing students' academic achievement can lead to improved educational planning and enhanced teaching and learning outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of mindfulness on academic achievement with the mediating role of adaptability among students at Jiroft University of Medical Sciences in southern Iran in 2024.

METHODS

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 290 students from various fields at Jiroft University of Medical Sciences in southern Iran from January to April 2024. To select these 290 individuals, a stratified sampling proportional to size was first carried out based on the year of university entry and field of study. After the sample size was determined for each entry year and field of study, students were randomly selected using their student numbers and a random number table. The data collection instruments were the standard mindfulness, academic achievement, and adaptability questionnaires. Descriptive tests and structural equation modeling using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method were employed for data analysis, utilizing Smart PLS3 and SPSS26 software.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that students' mindfulness positively affects their academic achievement (p < 0.001, β = 0.59). Additionally, mindfulness positively influences students' adaptability (p < 0.001, β = 0.65). The results also show adaptability positively impacts students' academic achievement (p = 0.001, β = 0.57). Finally, students' mindfulness has a significant positive effect on their academic achievement through the mediating role of adaptability (p < 0.001).

DISCUSSION

According to the results, a favorable state of mindfulness and adaptability among students can improve academic achievement. Therefore, it is recommended that university administrators facilitate the enhancement of students' mindfulness and adaptability by organizing relevant courses and workshops. This approach can contribute to their academic progress.

“Intervention Program Based on Self”: A Proposal for Improving the Addiction Prevention Program “Unplugged” through Self-Concept

The “Intervention Program based on Self” (IPSELF) project was created to address the gap between the acquisition of life skills during prevention programs and their application with a session for developing one’s self-concept included in the European program “Unplugged”. The present study evaluated its effectiveness. A total of 157 middle school students (94 girls, 63 boys, M_AGE= 12.89, SD = 0.45) from three schools in France participated in this study. The participants attended one of two programs (Unplugged/IPSELF). The effectiveness of the IPSELF add-on session was measured with the Self-Concept Clarity Scale, and the differences between the two programs was measured with the prototype willingness model. Adolescents in IPSELF rated the typical nonsmoker and cannabis nonsmoker more favorably, and the typical drinker less favorably. They felt more different from the typical smoker and drinker after participation in IPSELF. More alcohol experimenters were observed in Unplugged. The knowledge gained in IPSELF appeared to help adolescents more than that gained in Unplugged to change their smoking behavior. Furthermore, IPSELF had a more beneficial effect for girls, who felt that they had gained more control over their alcohol and cannabis use than boys, whereas Unplugged had a more positive effect on boys, who gained better control over their consumption. Moreover, the girls felt that they had gained more knowledge about the substances discussed in IPSELF than in Unplugged. We therefore recommend the use of IPSELF especially with female audiences.

The mediating role of impulsivity in the associations between child maltreatment types and past month substance use

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment has emerged as an important risk factor for substance use. However, despite evidence consistently demonstrating that substance use peaks during emerging adulthood, less is known about the specificity of maltreatment effects on substance use during this critical developmental period. Further, the factors that might play a role in these associations are not well understood.

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined the associations between child maltreatment types (i.e., physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect) and past month marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use among emerging adults, and tested whether impulsivity accounted for these associations.

METHODS

Participants were 500 emerging adults ranging in age between 18 and 25 years old (M = 18.96, SD = 1.22, 49.6% male) recruited from a large, public university in the Midwest United States.

RESULTS

Tests of indirect effects suggested that impulsivity accounted for associations between emotional abuse and past month marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use.

CONCLUSIONS

Current findings provide support for impulsivity as a mechanism linking childhood emotional abuse to substance use among emerging adults, highlighting the need for targeted screening and intervention.

Pediatric sarcoma survivorship: A call for a developmental cascades approach

Survivors of pediatric sarcomas often experience greater psychological and psychosocial difficulties than their non-afflicted peers. We consider findings related to poorer outcomes from a developmental cascade perspective. Specifically, we discuss how physical, neurocognitive, psychological, and psychosocial costs associated with pediatric sarcomas and their treatment function transactionally to degrade well-being in long-term pediatric sarcoma survivors. We situate the sarcoma experience as a broad developmental threat - one stemming from both the presence and treatment of a life-imperiling disease, and the absence of typical childhood experiences. Ways in which degradation in one developmental domain spills over and effects other domains are highlighted. We argue that the aggregate effect of these cascades is two-fold: first, it adds to the typical stress involved in meeting developmental milestones and navigating developmental transitions; and second, it deprives survivors of crucial coping strategies that mitigate these stressors. This position suggests specific moments of intervention and raises specific hypotheses for investigators to explore.

The Role of the Subjective Importance of Smoking (SIMS) in Cessation and Abstinence

Introduction

Each year about two thirds of U.S. smokers make a quit attempt. Yet, less than 5% remain abstinent three months post-quit date. One factor that may affect abstinence is negative feelings about the self-associated with being a smoker (disequilibrium), particularly if smoking is important to the sense of self and one is trying to quit.

Aims

We evaluated a multivariate structural equation model proposing that smoking's subjective importance to a smoker would influence carbon monoxide verified smoking abstinence at 24 weeks (post-quit date). Further, we assessed whether the relation would be moderated by the smoker's experience of disequilibrium.

Methods

Participants were 440 regular smokers taking part in a clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of different durations of nicotine replacement therapy use. Participants completed the subjective importance of smoking survey at baseline and were assessed for carbon monoxide verified seven-day point prevalence abstinence at 24 weeks.

Results

Using exploratory structural equation modelling, the subjective importance of smoking was associated with point prevalence abstinence at 24 weeks, but only for smokers with high disequilibrium.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that experiencing negative feelings about being a smoker could motivate smokers to remain abstinent, despite the importance of smoking to the smoker's sense of self.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow up? Career Aspirations as a Marker for Adolescent Well-being

OBJECTIVE

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a simple, commonly asked question that might provide insight into adolescent well-being. Career aspirations might reflect an adolescent's sense of identity, hope for the future, and self-efficacy, all of which are critical to identifying at-risk youth and intervening on risky behaviors. However, there are no studies on whether career aspirations are associated with adolescent emotional and health behavior outcomes.

METHODS

We analyzed cross-sectional surveys of 929 ninth to 12th grade low-income minority adolescents in Los Angeles assessing career aspirations and its association with hopelessness, self-efficacy, substance use, violence, and risky sexual activity. We used Department of Labor statistics to categorize career aspirations according to amount of education required, income, and prestige. Generalized estimating equations accounted for sociodemographic characteristics, school type, academic performance, and clustering at the school level.

RESULTS

Grades, standardized test scores, and health behaviors varied according to career type. Adolescents with higher career aspirations, measured according to career-related education, income, and prestige reported less hopelessness and more self-efficacy. After adjusting for confounders, aspirations requiring high levels of education were associated with decreased odds of alcohol use, at-school substance use, and risky sexual activity, and higher prestige scores were associated with decreased odds of other drug use.

CONCLUSIONS

Career aspirations might be a marker for adolescent health and well-being. Adults might consider asking a teen what they want to be when they grow up to gain insight into their levels of hopelessness and self-efficacy and provide context for counseling on healthy behavior change.

How Urban Youth Perceive Relationships Among School Environments, Social Networks, Self-Concept, and Substance Use

OBJECTIVE

Studies suggest adolescent substance use aligns with academic and behavioral self-concept (whether teens think of themselves as good or bad students and as rule followers or rule breakers) as well as peer and adult social networks. Schools are an important context in which self-concept and social networks develop, but it remains unclear how school environments might be leveraged to promote healthy development and prevent substance use. We sought to describe how youth perceive the relationships among school environments, adolescent self-concept, social networks, and substance use.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews with 32 low-income minority youth (aged 17-22 years) who participated in a prior study, explored self-concept development, school environments, social networks, and substance use decisions. Recruitment was stratified by whether, during high school, they had healthy or unhealthy self-concept profiles and had engaged in or abstained from substance use.

RESULTS

Youth described feeling labeled by peers and teachers and how these labels became incorporated into their self-concept. Teachers who made students feel noticed (eg, by learning students' names) and had high academic expectations reinforced healthy self-concepts. Academic tracking, extracurricular activities, and school norms determined potential friendship networks, grouping students either with well-behaving or misbehaving peers. Youth described peer groups, combined with their self-concept, shaping their substance use decisions. Affirming healthy aspects of their self-concept at key risk behavior decision points helped youth avoid substance use in the face of peer pressure.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth narratives suggest school environments shape adolescent self-concept and adult and peer social networks, all of which impact substance use.

Teachers and Coaches in Adolescent Social Networks Are Associated With Healthier Self-Concept and Decreased Substance Use

BACKGROUND

Poor academic (eg, "I am a bad student") and behavioral (eg, "I am a troublemaker") self-concepts are strongly linked to adolescent substance use. Social networks likely influence self-concept. However, little is understood about the role teachers and athletic coaches play in shaping both academic and behavioral self-concepts.

METHODS

We analyzed cross-sectional surveys of 929 9th-12th grade low-income minority adolescents in Los Angeles assessing self-concept, social networks, and 30-day use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs. We performed generalized estimating equations, accounting for clustering at the school level and controlling for family and peer influences and contextual factors. We also tested whether self-concept-mediated associations between relationships with teachers or coaches and 30-day substance use.

RESULTS

More perceived teacher support was associated with lower odds of marijuana and other drug use and better academic and behavioral self-concepts. Behavioral self-concept mediated the associations between teacher support and substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

By facilitating relationships with adults and improving teachers' capacity to build supportive environments, schools may positively shape how adolescents see themselves, which might help reduce adolescent substance use.

Grit: A Potential Protective Factor Against Substance Use and Other Risk Behaviors Among Latino Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Grit, defined as "working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress," is strongly associated with academic achievement and life success and may also be associated with health outcomes and behaviors. We examined predictors of grit, and the association between grit and health behaviors among at-risk Latino adolescents.

METHODS

We analyzed baseline survey data collected in 2013-2014 from a sample of 1270 9th graders in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles. We examined factors associated with grit and whether grit is associated with substance use and delinquent behaviors, controlling for adolescent and parent sociodemographic factors.

RESULTS

In a sample of mostly Latino adolescents (89.5%), compared to those with low grit, those with high grit had significantly lower odds of alcohol use in the last 30 days (odds ratio 0.30, P < .001), marijuana use (odds ratio 0.21, P < .05), and fighting (odds ratio 0.58, P < .05). Involvement in delinquent behavior was also lower (β = -0.71, P < .001). Factors associated with more grit included authoritative parenting style, parental employment, and high self-efficacy scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Grit may be an important candidate protective factor against substance use and other risk behaviors among Latino adolescents.