Readiness to Use Psychoactive Substances Among Second-Generation Adolescent Immigrants and Perceptions of Parental Immigration-Related Trauma

The Global Distribution and Epidemiology of Psychoactive Substance Use and Injection Drug Use Among Street-Involved Children and Youth: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Globally, street-involved children and youth (SICY) who work and live on/of the streets are at higher risk of increased psychoactive substances and injecting drug use. Objectives: The present study aimed to identify the prevalence, distribution, sociodemographic factors, and risk-taking behaviors associated with psychoactive substances and injecting drug use among SICY. Methods: Studies in English published from December 1 1985 to July 1 2022, were searched for on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science to identify primary studies on psychoactive substances and injecting drug use among SICY. The pooled-prevalence estimates were obtained using a robust fixed-effects model. Results: The most commonly reported life-time and current psychoactive substance was tobacco followed by cannabis, LSD/ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and injection drug use. The results showed that life-time and current prevalence of methamphetamine and cannabis use, as well as life-time prevalence of cocaine, LSD/ecstasy, heroin, tobacco, and injecting drug use increased as age rose while current prevalence of cocaine and tobacco use decreased as age rose. SICY who were male, homeless, had parents who had died, had history of substance use among family members or best friends, had experienced violence, had casual sex partners, had a history of working in the sex trade, and had unprotected sex were all related to psychoactive substance use and injecting drug use. Conclusions: Research examining this population suffers from lack of studies, therefore, improving the knowledge for interventions aimed at reducing risk behaviors, particularly those related to the transmission of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV is of great importance.

“I Don’t Want My Children to Work so Hard”: Perceptions of Parent-Child Relationships and Future Parenting Among Immigrant Young Adults

Immigration is a multifaceted process that alters parent-child relationships and impacts immigrant children’s development. However, not much is known regarding the long-term implications of immigration on children when they reach adulthood. This phenomenological study explored the perceptions of parent-child relationships among young adults who immigrated as children to Israel, and the ways such relationships shaped their future parenting perceptions. Twenty-five young adults who immigrated to Israel in middle and late childhood from Ethiopia ( n = 14) and from the former Soviet Union ( n = 11) were interviewed for this study. Analysis indicated that the participants’ experiences of relations with their parents may be organized into three main domains: shifting relations in the context of immigration, relations in the context of long-term adaptation and maturation, and relations in cultural context (e.g., cultural perceptions about family life and culture-related immigration challenges). Participants’ perceptions of their own parenting incorporated culture-specific factors (e.g., family hierarchy and cohesiveness, child-rearing practices, and respect given to parents) as well as difficulties and strengths experienced by the participants’ families during immigration. Although most participants wished to be different from their parents (not wanting their children to work so hard) they hoped to preserve some of their culture of origin’s child-rearing practices. The findings have implications for professionals who work with immigrant families and for policy makers. Considering a family’s specific cultural background and helping parents integrate diverse parental practices may assist immigrant families in coping with challenges of immigration and help young adults who immigrated as children in creating a coherent parenthood.

Attribution of Blame Toward Offenders: Victim and Offender Ethnicity, and Observer Ethnic and Religious Background

This study focuses on the effects of victim/offender ethnic affiliation and cultural background of observers on attitudes toward offenders. To examine the effect of cultural background, we compared offender attribution among Christian Arabs (n = 51), Muslim Arabs (n = 249), and Jews (n = 285). The participants were students from several Israeli universities and colleges. The age range was 18 to 33 years (M = 20.23, SD = 2.67), and the majority were female (75.6%). The participants read a version of a vignette describing a case of a stabbing, and then rated the offender's blame. In different versions of the crime scenario, we manipulated victim and offender ethnicity: two victim (Arab/Jewish) and three offender (African/Arab/Jewish) types. The results indicate that, in general, participants blamed African offenders more than Arab or Jewish offenders. Although the results show that differences in offender blaming between Arab and Jewish participants were not statistically significant, there is an interaction between participant cultural background and victim ethnicity in regard to offender blaming: Participants attributed more blame to offenders who stabbed a victim belonging to the same ethnic group as the participants. Overall, the results support defensive attribution theory, suggesting that observer attitudes toward offenders tend to be affected by similarity in ethnic affiliation. The discussion addresses the findings through the perspectives of cultural reciprocity, defensive attribution theory, and minority threat theory. It also acknowledges the limitations related to the specific cultural and geopolitical context of this research. Practical implications for practitioners and policymakers include training and increased ethnic diversity among professionals and experts working within the criminal justice system.

Gender, employment, and continuous pandemic as predictors of alcohol and drug consumption during the COVID-19

AIMS

This study aims to assess the impacts of the continuous pandemic state, gender and employment status on changes in substance use during the COVID-19 outbreak.

METHODS

A sample of 828 Israelis participated in an online survey and answered questions on demographic characteristics, ranking their substance consumption, and perceived increase in alcohol/drug consumption. The age range was 18-65 (Mean = 30.10, S.D. = 11.99), and the majority (72.9 %) were female. We gathered the data in two waves: 1) during and following the early first lockdown; 2) following the second lockdown.

RESULTS

Men reported higher beer, hard liquor, and illegal drug consumption than women. Continuous COVID-19 was associated with higher consumption of all alcohol, and cannabis, and higher perceived increases in substance consumption than short-term COVID-19. Significant interactions were found between gender and employment regarding all-drug consumption measurements and interactions between gender, employment, and pandemic duration (short/continuous) were found regarding cannabis consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

The discussion addresses the results in the context of continuous COVID-19 and traditional gender roles. Policymakers should develop prevention and harm reduction interventions for substance use and abuse, focusing on unemployed men as an at-risk group.

Substances use between early and later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel

AIMS

Only several empirical studies have examined substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in general populations. Most of these studies compared self-reported substances use before the pandemic and during the pandemic's early stages. This study aims to identify the changes in substance use between the early and later waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel.

METHODS

A cross-sectional online survey recruited 750 participants (ages 18-65) in two waves: (1) 427 during and following the first lockdown (April-mid-May, 2020); and (2) 323 following the second lockdown (from October to mid-November, 2020).

RESULTS

Participants who experienced two lockdowns reported more frequent consumption of all alcoholic beverages and cannabis in the last 30 days than those who experienced one lockdown. After controlling for demographic variables, significant differences were found between participants who experienced one lockdown and those who experienced two lockdowns in the consumption of alcoholic beverages (F(1, 742) = 6.90, p = .01, η2 = .01). However, there was no significant association between pandemic duration and other illegal drug consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a significant association between pandemic duration and alcohol consumption. Policymakers and practitioners should develop national alcohol and cannabis use prevention and harm reduction interventions during pandemics with a focus on men, singles and youth.

African immigrant child health: A scoping review

The health of migrant children is a pressing issue. While most African migration takes place within Africa, a significant number of African migrants travel to outside of the continent. This article reports findings from a scoping review on the health of African immigrant children from sub-Saharan Africa now living outside of Africa. A systematic search for studies published between 2000 and 2019 resulted in only 20 studies reporting on the health of children up to 18 years of age migrating from sub-Saharan Africa. Data from these articles were thematically analyzed, highlighting concerns related to the children's nutrition status (n = 8), mental health (n = 7), and physical health (n = 5). Study participants were primarily from Somali and Ethiopia, and most studies were conducted in Australia or Israel. The review highlights several gaps related to the scope, range, and nature of evidence on the health of African immigrant children living outside of Africa. In particular, most focus on children's nutritional and mental health, but pay little attention to other health concerns this specific population may encounter or to the benefits associated with effective responses.

A Scoping Review of the Health of African Immigrant and Refugee Children

Migration is a growing phenomenon around the world, including within the African continent. Many migrants, especially African children, face challenges related to health and social inclusion and can face increased health risks. A systematic scoping review of available literature on the health of African migrant children across the globe was conducted to offer insight into these health risks. The review was conducted over a 15-month period from January 2019 to April 2020, yielding 6602 articles once duplicates were removed. This search included electronic databases, reference lists of articles reviewed, and searches of libraries of relevant organisations. A total of 187 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 159 were quantitative, 22 were qualitative, and 6 used mixed methods. The findings reveal decreased health in this population in areas of nutrition, infectious diseases, mental health, birth outcomes, sexual and reproductive health, physical and developmental health, parasitic infections, oral health, respiratory health, preventative health, endocrine disorders, health care services, and haematological conditions. The findings offer insights into factors influencing the health of African immigrant and refugee children. Further studies, especially qualitative studies, are needed to determine barriers to service access after migration and to investigate other underexplored and overlooked health concerns of African migrant children, including pneumonia and child maltreatment.

Emotion regulation and alcohol abuse in second-generation immigrant adolescents: The protective role of cognitive reappraisal

The individual predictors of drinking behaviors among second-generation immigrant adolescents are still understudied. This study investigated emotion regulation strategies and alcohol abuse in 472 adolescents (86 second-generation immigrants and 386 Italian natives; age range: 17–18). The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test were used to assess cognitive reappraisal, emotional suppression, and alcohol abuse, respectively. Immigrants reported lower alcohol abuse than natives. A negative relationship between cognitive reappraisal and alcohol abuse was found for immigrants, but not for natives. Specifically, cognitive reappraisal was a protective factor against alcohol abuse only for immigrant adolescents. Clinical and research implications are discussed.