Maternal models of risk: links between substance use and risky sexual behavior in African American female caregivers and daughters

Taking a Critical Look at Adolescent Research on Black Girls and Women: A Systematic Review

In the field of adolescent development, the language, theoretical frameworks, methods for collecting and analyzing data, and ways of interpretation that researchers use may advance notions of white supremacy and perpetuate racist ideas. Understanding how researchers study Black girls and women, in particular, is a critical step in working toward the production of science and knowledge that promotes an anti-racist and anti-sexist agenda and centers the voices of historically marginalized adolescents. Accordingly, we engaged in a systematic review (k = 48) with the goal of taking a critical look at how researchers study Black girls and women. Our synthesis of empirical articles from four prominent adolescent research journals published between 2010 and 2020 revealed themes related to (a) a dearth of critical theoretical frameworks, (b) a lack of acknowledgment of the intersectional experiences of Black girls and women, (c) differences in how researchers incorporate ethnic/racial information, (d) the use of a deficit perspective, and (e) the dominance of quantitative designs. We discuss these themes and conclude with recommendations for incorporating critical frameworks and more varied methodologies, issuing a call for adolescent development scholars to take a deeper, asset-based, and more critical approach to studying Black girls and their development.

Integrating Individual and Contextual Factors to Explain Disparities in HIV/STI Among Heterosexual African American Youth: A Contemporary Literature Review and Social Ecological Model

Heterosexual African American youth face substantial disparities in sexual health consequences such as HIV and STI. Based on the social ecological framework, the current paper provides a comprehensive, narrative review of the past 14 years of literature examining HIV/STI risk, including risky sexual behavior, among heterosexual African American youth and a conceptual model of risk among this population. The review found that individual psychological and biological factors are insufficient to explain the sexual health disparities faced by this group; instead, structural disadvantage, interpersonal risk, and community dysfunction contribute to the disparity in HIV/STI outcomes directly and indirectly through individual psychological factors. The conceptual model presented suggests that for African American youth, (1) HIV/STI risk commonly begins at the structural level and trickles down to the community, social, and individual levels, (2) risk works in a positive feedback system such that downstream effects compound the influence of structural risks, and (3) contextual and individual risk factors must be considered within the advanced stage of the epidemic facing this population. Despite advanced HIV and STI epidemics among heterosexual African American youth, multisystemic interventions that target structural risk factors and their downstream effects are posited to reduce the disparity among this high-risk population.

Pathways linking family stress to youth delinquency and substance use: Exploring the mediating roles of self-efficacy and future orientation

African American adolescents in poorer neighborhoods experience significant sanctions related to drug use and delinquency. Parental stress (i.e. substance use, mental distress, and incarceration) is associated with youth drug use and delinquency. We examined whether high self-esteem and positive future orientation mediated parental stress and youth substance use and delinquency. Demographic, family stress, future orientation, self-esteem, and drug use data were collected from 578 youths. Major findings indicated that self-esteem mediated the relationship between family stress and both drug use and delinquency. Future mediated the relationship between family stress and delinquency. Resiliency factors may promote positive development for low-income youth.

Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Adolescents with Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Adolescents with psychiatric disorders appear to be at increased risk for acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; however, little is known about the prevalence of behavioral risk factors in this population. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors among adolescents with psychiatric disorders. Electronic database searches identified studies sampling adolescents diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and assessing both alcohol and sexual risk behaviors. Fourteen studies sampling 3,029 adolescents with psychiatric disorders were included. The majority of adolescents with psychiatric disorders report alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors. Risk reduction interventions targeting these two behaviors are needed.

Maternal risk taking on the balloon analogue risk task as a prospective predictor of youth alcohol use escalation

The transition from late childhood through middle adolescence represents a critical developmental period during which there is a rapid increase in the initiation and escalation of alcohol use. Alcohol use is part of a constellation of risk taking behaviors that increase during this developmental transition, which can be explained by environmental and genetic factors. Social learning theory (SLT) implicates observations of parental drinking in the development of alcohol use in youth. Parental risk taking more broadly has not previously been examined as a factor predictive of alcohol use escalation in youth across adolescence. The current study examined the relative contributions of maternal risk taking on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and maternal alcohol use in the prediction of alcohol escalation among youth over three years. Participants were a sample of 245 youth (55.0% male, 49.6% Caucasian) who participated annually between grades 8 and 10, drawn from a larger study of adolescent risk taking. Within our sample, maternal risk taking, as measured by the BART, predicted increases in alcohol use. Interestingly, maternal alcohol use and other youth factors were not predictive of escalations in youth alcohol use. Our findings suggest the importance of considering maternal riskiness more broadly, rather than solely focusing on maternal alcohol use when attempting to understand youth alcohol use across adolescence. These findings emphasize the relevance of maternal risk taking as measured by a behavioral task and suggest a general level of riskiness displayed by mothers might encourage youth to behave in a riskier manner themselves.

Risky sexual behaviours: The role of substance use, psychopathic traits, and attachment insecurity among adolescents and young adults in Quebec

The purpose of this study was to examine how substance use, psychopathic traits, and attachment representations explain sexual risk-taking in adolescence. Variables used to define risky sexual behaviours were age at first sexual intercourse and number of lifetime sexual partners. A sample of 1,553 adolescents and young adults completed a battery of questionnaires including measures of substance use, psychopathic traits, attachment representations, and sexual behaviours. Structural equation modelling demonstrated that, in the present sample, risky sexual behaviours were best modelled through both direct effects of avoidant attachment representations and indirect effects of psychopathic traits and abandonment anxiety through increases in substance use. This model was gender-invariant and may represent a contemporary trend toward homogenization of sexual practices among young people in Quebec.