Latent classes of aggression and peer victimization: Measurement invariance and differential item functioning across sex, race-ethnicity, cohort, and study site

Polysubstance Use among Maryland High School Students: Variations across County-Level School Districts

BACKGROUND

Polysubstance use is a highly prevalent public health issue, particularly among adolescents, and decisions on prevention programming and policies are often made at the local level. While there is a growing literature examining patterns of polysubstance use among adolescents, little is known about differences in those patterns across geographic regions.

METHODS

Using a large, representative sample of high school students from the state of Maryland (n = 41,091) from the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey, we conducted a latent class analysis (LCA) of adolescent substance use along nine binary indicators, including past 30-day combustible tobacco, e-cigarette, alcohol, and cannabis use, as well as lifetime use of prescription opioids, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and injection drug use. Measurement invariance across counties was examined using the Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) procedure.

RESULTS

The results of the LCA show three classes of adolescent substance use for the total sample: (1) low substance use, (2) commonly used substances (i.e., e-cigarette, alcohol, and cannabis use), and (3) polysubstance use. The results from the MIMIC procedure demonstrated geographic differences in students' endorsement of specific indicators and their class membership.

CONCLUSIONS

These differences demonstrate the need for an examination of local trends in adolescent polysubstance use to inform multi-tiered prevention programming and policy.

Collateral effects of Coping Power on caregiver symptoms of depression and long-term changes in child behavior

A large body of research demonstrates positive impacts of the Coping Power Program as a preventive intervention for youth behavioral outcomes, but potential collateral effects for caregivers is less known. The current study examined whether the youth-focused Coping Power Program can have a secondary impact on caregiver self-reported symptoms of depression and in turn result in longer-term impacts on child disruptive behavior problems including aggression, conduct problems and hyperactivity. Data from 360 youth/caregiver pairs across 8 waves of data (grades 4 through 10) were analyzed. We used two methodological approaches to (a) assess indirect effects in the presence of potential bidirectionality using timepoint-to-timepoint dynamic effects under Autoregressive Latent Trajectory modeling and (b) estimate scale scores in the presence of measurement non-invariance. Results showed that individually delivered Coping Power (ICP) produced greater direct effects on conduct problems and indirect effects on general externalizing and hyperactivity (through reductions in caregiver self-reported symptoms of depression), compared to group Coping Power (GCP). In comparison to GCP, ICP produced similar direct effects on reductions in caregiver depression. Child-focused prevention interventions can have an indirect impact on caregiver depression, which later shows improvements in longer-term reductions for child disruptive problems.

Diversity protects: The role of school and classroom racial/ethnic diversity on the experience of peer victimization during the middle school years

The effects of school and classroom racial/ethnic diversity on peer victimization, self-blame, and perceived school safety were examined in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of students followed over the three years of middle school. Sixth grade students (N = 5,991, 52% female; M = 11.63 years) were recruited from 26 urban middle schools that systematically varied in racial/ethnic diversity. Based on student self-report, the sample was 31.6% Latino/Mexican, 19.6% White, 17.4%, Multiethnic/Biracial, 13% East/Southeast Asian, 10.9% Black, and 6.9% Other very small racial/ethnic groups. Each school had a structural diversity score based on the number and size of racial/ethnic groups enrolled. Using a novel method based on course schedules and class rosters, each student's individual exposure to diversity in their classes was assessed to capture dynamic diversity. Latent growth modeling showed that structural school diversity and dynamic classroom diversity were both related to less victimization at the start of middle school and a decrease over time. Dynamic classroom diversity buffered the associations between victimization and self-blame and between victimization and perceiving school as unsafe. Dynamic classroom diversity was more protective than structural school diversity. Implications for practice, intervention and policies to promote school racial/ethnic diversity were discussed.

Long-term consequences of bullying involvement in first grade

Few prospective studies have examined how early bullying experiences impact long-term adjustment and the differential impact of children's co-occurring bullying and peer victimization involvement on adjustment in adulthood. This study addressed these gaps by examining subgroups of first graders involved in bullying and associations with four outcomes in early adulthood, including (a) Major Depression diagnosis, (b) post-high school suicide attempt, (c) on-time high school graduation, and (d) criminal justice involvement. Additionally, middle school standardized reading test scores and suspensions were examined as potential mechanisms through which early bullying involvement is associated with adult outcomes. Participants were 594 children from nine urban elementary schools in the United States who participated in a randomized controlled trial of two school-based universal prevention interventions. Latent profile analyses using peer nominations identified three subgroups: (a) High involvement bully-victims, (b) Moderate involvement bully-victims, and (c) Low/No involvement youth. Compared to the No/Low involvement class, High involvement bully-victims were less likely to graduate high school on time (OR = 0.48, p = .002) and Moderate involvement bully-victims were more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system (OR = 1.37, p = .02). High bully-victims were at greater risk for both not graduating high school on-time and criminal justice system involvement, which were partially explained by 6th grade standardized reading test scores and suspensions. Moderate bully-victims were less likely to graduate high school on time, which was partially explained by 6th grade suspensions. Findings highlight how early bully-victim involvement increases risk for difficulties that affect adult quality of life.