Perceived norms moderate the association between mental health symptoms and drinking outcomes among at-risk adolescents

Exploring the Impact of Security Technologies on Mental Health: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review explores the intricate relationship between security technologies and mental health. Security technologies, including physical security, cybersecurity, and surveillance measures, are integral components of our modern world, designed to protect individuals, organizations, and society from various threats. While they are vital in enhancing safety, they also have profound implications for mental well-being. The review delves into the positive impacts of security technologies, including their capacity to enhance personal safety, reduce anxiety and fear, and instill a sense of security. However, it also reveals the negative consequences, such as privacy invasion, surveillance-related stress, paranoia, and ethical concerns, which can erode mental health. User perception and trust are central to understanding how individuals experience security technologies. The review emphasizes the importance of ethical guidelines, user education, and technological advancements in mitigating negative impacts. By embracing an ethical-by-design approach, empowering users, and promoting public awareness, a balanced equilibrium between security and mental health can be achieved. The conclusion highlights the significance of ongoing research and interdisciplinary collaboration to navigate this intricate relationship effectively. By prioritizing ethical considerations and fostering a dialogue that values security and individual well-being, we can ensure a safer and more mentally healthy future in our technologically interconnected world.

The role of classroom- and individual-level teen stereotypes in Chinese adolescents' academic adjustment: A multilevel analysis

Adolescence is often portrayed in a negative light in Western culture, with teens being viewed as rebellious and irresponsible. Yet, there is substantial cultural and individual variability in views of teens. The empirical research to date is limited in that it mainly examines whether teen stereotypes are influential at the individual level. Teen stereotypes might also be perpetuated at the classroom level, which may have important implications for adolescent adjustment over time. Focusing on adolescents in Chinese culture where the teen years are often viewed in a positive light, this two-wave longitudinal study employed multi-level analyses to investigate whether stereotypes of adolescence at the classroom level play a role in Chinese adolescents' academic adjustment over time (N = 785; 55% girls; mean age = 12.96 years). Consistent with prior research on views of teens, the present analyses suggested that teen stereotypes regarding family obligation and school engagement at the individual level predicted adolescents' value of school and self-regulated learning strategies over the seventh grade. More importantly, classroom-level teen stereotypes were also largely predictive of adolescents' value of school and self-regulated learning strategies over time, controlling for their earlier academic adjustment, individual-level teen stereotypes, and classroom-level adjustment. Taken together, these findings indicate that stereotypes of adolescence in classroom or peer settings may contribute to adolescents' academic adjustment during this phase. The findings also provide a potential foundation for interventions aimed at promoting adolescents' positive development via changing teen stereotypes in the classroom.

Perceived and misperceived norms about khat and/or cannabis use among adults in southwest Uganda

BACKGROUND

Studies from high-income contexts have found evidence that norms about substance use are misperceived. The accuracy of perceived norms about khat and cannabis use in Uganda have not previously been described.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based study targeting all resident adults across eight villages in southwestern Uganda. Personal khat and/or cannabis use frequency was based on self-report. We measured perceived norms about substance use by eliciting individuals' perceptions about how often most other adult men and most other adult women in their villages used these substances. We compared perceived norms to aggregated village rates of use to assess the extent to which norms were misperceived. We used multivariable Poisson regression to estimate correlates of misperceived norms.

RESULTS

Among 1626 participants (91% response rate), only 29 men (4%) and 9 women (1%) reported any lifetime use of khat and/or cannabis. However, 695 participants (43%) did not think lifetime abstinence was the norm among men in their villages, and 256 participants (16%) did not think lifetime abstinence was the norm among women. Moreover, 219 participants (13%) incorrectly believed most men in their village regularly used khat and/or cannabis (≥4 times per week). Misperceived norms were present across subgroups and were correlated with larger social networks, symptoms of depression, loneliness, and younger age.

CONCLUSION

In this study of all adults across 8 villages in rural Uganda, many participants misperceived norms about khat and/or cannabis use. Providing accurate information about prevailing norms in the local population may help prevent initiation of khat and/or cannabis use among adults in this context.

Social norms and the association between intimate partner violence and depression in rural Bangladesh-a multilevel analysis

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly prevalent globally and associated with adverse mental health outcomes among women. In IPV-endemic contexts like Bangladesh, previous research has found no association between low levels of IPV and depression. Although IPV and attitudes justifying IPV against women are highly prevalent in this context, nothing is known about how related contextual norms affect associations between individual-level IPV exposure and depression. The present study examines if village-level IPV norms, characterized using village-level (Level 2) prevalence of a) IPV-justifying attitudes (injunctive norms) and b) physical IPV (descriptive norms), modifies the individual-level (Level 1) associations between the severity of recent IPV and major depressive episode (MDE) among women in rural Bangladesh.

METHODS

Data were drawn from a nationally-representative sample consisting of 3290 women from 77 villages. Multilevel models tested cross-level interactions between village-level IPV norms and recently experienced individual-level IPV on the association with past 30-day MDE.

RESULTS

The prevalence of IPV was 44.4% (range: 9.6-76.2% across villages) and attitudes justifying IPV ranged from 1.6% to 49.8% across villages. The prevalence of MDE was 16.8%. The risk of MDE at low levels of IPV severity (versus none) was greater in villages with the least tolerant attitudes toward IPV compared to villages where IPV was more normative, e.g., interaction RR = 1.42 (95% CI: 0.64, 3.15) for low physical IPV frequency and injunctive norms.

CONCLUSIONS

The association between IPV and depression may be modified by contextual-level IPV norms, whereby it is exacerbated in low-normative contexts.

Trajectories of Driving after Drinking among Marijuana-Using Youth in the Emergency Department: Substance Use, Mental Health, and Peer and Parental Influences

Background: The psychosocial correlates and longitudinal trajectories of driving after drinking (DAD) among youth remain understudied in at-risk populations. Objectives: We investigated the relationships of DAD trajectories and negative peer and parental influences, substance use, and mental health among predominantly marijuana-using youth seeking emergency department (ED) treatment. Methods: Data were from a 2-year prospective cohort study of drug-using patients (97.4% used marijuana) ages 14-24 seeking ED care for assault injury, or as part of a non-assaulted comparison group. Validated surveys measured DAD behaviors and correlates at baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Latent class growth analysis identified characteristic DAD trajectory groups; baseline predictors were analyzed descriptively and using multinomial logistic regression. Results: Three DAD trajectory groups were identified among driving-age youth (n = 580): no DAD (NDAD; 55.2%), low-steady (LDAD; 29.0%), and high-declining (HDAD; 15.9%). In unadjusted analyses, HDAD youth were older, but otherwise similar to other groups demographically. Compared to NDAD, LDAD and HDAD group members had higher rates of drug and alcohol use disorders (p < .001). Further, HDAD group members had higher rates of anxiety symptoms and were more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD or depression than NDAD or LDAD youth (p < .05). Negative peer and parent influences were significantly higher in progressively more severe trajectory groups (p < .01). Adjusted effects from the multinomial model were analogous for peer and parental influences and substance use disorders, but not mental health. Conclusion: DAD is strongly associated with negative social influences and substance use disorders among marijuana-using youth, reinforcing their importance when developing interventions.

Poor mental health, peer drinking norms, and alcohol risk in a social network of first-year college students

OBJECTIVE

College students with anxiety and depressive symptomatology face escalated risk for alcohol-related negative consequences. While it is well-established that normative perceptions of proximal peers' drinking behaviors influence students' own drinking behaviors, it is not clear how mental health status impacts this association. In the current study, we examined cross-sectional relationships between anxiety and depressed mood, perceived drinking behaviors and attitudes of important peers, and past month alcohol consumption and related problems in a first-semester college student social network.

METHOD

Participants (N = 1254, 55% female, 47% non-Hispanic White) were first-year students residing on campus at a single university who completed a web-based survey assessing alcohol use, mental health, and social connections among first-year student peers. Network autocorrelation models were used to examine the independent and interactive associations between mental health and perceptions of close peers' drinking on drinking outcomes, controlling for important variables.

RESULTS

Mental health interacted with perceptions to predict past-month drinking outcomes, such that higher anxiety and higher perceptions that peers drink heavily was associated with more drinks consumed and consequences, and higher depression and perceptions was associated with more drinks consumed, heavy drinking frequency, and consequences. Attitudes that peers approve of heavy drinking were associated with more drinks consumed and heavy drinking frequency among students with lower (vs. higher) depressed mood.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides strong evidence that perceiving that close peers drink heavily is particularly risk-enhancing for anxious and depressed college students, and offers implications about alcohol intervention targeted at these subgroups.

Peer norms moderate the association between mental health and sexual risk behaviors among young men living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Young men living in Dar es Salaam's informal settlements face environmental stressors that may expose them to multiple determinants of HIV risk including poor mental health and risky sexual behavior norms. We aimed to understand how these co-occurring risk factors not only independently affect men's condom use and sexual partner concurrency, but also how they interact to shape these risk behaviors.

METHODS

Participants in the study were male members of 59 social groups known as "camps" in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We assessed moderation by changes in peer norms of the association between changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression and sexual risk behaviors (condom use and sexual partner concurrency) among 1113 sexually active men. Participants nominated their three closest friends in their camp and reported their perceptions of these friends' behaviors, attitudes, and encouragement of condom use and concurrency. Anxiety and depression were measured using the HSCL-25, and condom use and sexual partner concurrency were assessed through self-report.

RESULTS

Perceptions of decreasing condom use among friends (descriptive norms) and decreasing encouragement of condom use were associated with lower levels of condom use. Perceptions of increasing partner concurrency and acceptability of partner concurrency (injunctive norms) among friends were associated with higher odds of concurrency. Changes in perceived condom use norms (descriptive norms and encouragement) interacted with changes in anxiety symptoms in association with condom use such that the negative relationship was amplified by norms less favorable for condom use, and attenuated by more favorable norms for condom use.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide novel evidence of the interacting effects of poor mental health and risky sexual behavior norms among a hard to reach population of marginalized young men in Dar es Salaam. Our findings provide important information for future norms-based and mental health promotion interventions targeting HIV prevention in this key population.

Trends in drug offers among adolescents in the United States, 2002-2014

BACKGROUND

Being offered illicit drugs is a critical factor leading to drug initiation and other psychosocial risk behaviors among adolescents in the United States. However, there exist few studies examining the recent trends in drug offers among adolescents, particularly across racial/ethnic subgroups. The present study examines trends and psychosocial/behavioral correlates of drug offers among adolescents of the three largest racial/ethnic groups.

METHODS

We used data from the 2002-2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health of adolescents aged 12-17, which include African-American, Hispanic, and White adolescents (n = 199,700) in the U.S. We estimated the prevalence of past-month drug offers by race/ethnicity, and conducted logistic regression analyses to test the significance of the trends and to examine the correlates of drug offers.

RESULTS

Overall, the prevalence of drug offers decreased significantly from 16.3% in 2002 to 12.3% in 2014, reflecting a 24.5% reduction in the relative proportion of adolescents who were offered drugs. While the decreasing trends were observed in all subgroups (e.g., race/ethnicity), the decreases were more limited among African-American and Hispanic youth than White youth. As a result, while no differences were observed at the outset of the study, a higher proportion of African-American and Hispanic adolescents were offered drugs between 2012 and 2014.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest a general decline in drug offers among adolescents in the U.S., but racial/ethnic differences in prevalence were identified. This underscores the importance of further efforts to understand the racial/ethnic differences in drug offers and suggests the need for culturally-sensitive drug prevention programs.

Normative Feedback and Adolescent Readiness to Change: A Small Randomized Trial

For adolescents with substance use problems, it is unknown whether the provision of normative feedback is a necessary active ingredient in motivational interviewing (MI). This study investigated the impact of normative feedback on adolescents' readiness to change and perceptions of MI quality. Adolescents referred for substance use disorder (SUD) assessments were randomized to MI with normative feedback (NF; MI + NF, n = 26) or MI only (MI, n = 22). There were no significant differences between the MI + NF or MI conditions with reference to changes in readiness, and although not significant, there was a decline in readiness for the overall sample. Treatment satisfaction and ratings of MI quality were generally high with no between-group differences. Post hoc analyses revealed a nonsignificant trend where race interacted with treatment condition. Larger replication studies are needed to further study the effects of NF and potential NF by participant characteristic interactions.

The power of the proposition: frequency of marijuana offers, parental knowledge, and adolescent marijuana use

BACKGROUND

The frequency with which adolescents are offered marijuana has been investigated as a predictor of marijuana use. The current study was designed to test whether the number of marijuana offers received provides an indirect path between parental knowledge and adolescents' marijuana use.

METHODS

Data from the nationally representative National Survey of Parents and Youth were examined. Analysis 1 tested the association between frequency of being offered marijuana and adolescents' (N=4264) marijuana usage in the subsequent year. Analysis 2, spanning a three-year time frame, tested whether the frequency of marijuana offers at the second year of the panel study bridged the relationship between parental knowledge in Year 1 and marijuana use in Year 3.

RESULTS

Analysis 1 indicated that the frequency with which adolescents were offered marijuana predicted usage one year later, after controlling for previous usage and nine other common predictors of marijuana use. Analysis 2 revealed an indirect relationship between parental knowledge and use through the number of marijuana offers the adolescent received.

CONCLUSION

There was a strong link between the number of offers received and adolescents' future marijuana use. Higher parental knowledge predicted reductions in offer frequency, which was associated with lower levels of marijuana use. Reducing the number of marijuana offers an adolescent receives could serve as a useful focus for intervention programs targeting parents.

The effects of mental health symptoms and marijuana expectancies on marijuana use and consequences among at-risk adolescents

Based on expectancy theory, adolescents at risk for mental health symptoms, such as those involved in the juvenile court system, may use marijuana due to the belief that use will attenuate anxiety and depressive symptoms. In a diverse sample of youth involved in the Santa Barbara Teen Court system (N = 193), we examined the association between mental health symptoms and marijuana expectancies on marijuana use and consequences. In general, stronger positive expectancies and weaker negative expectancies were both associated with increased marijuana use. Youth that reported more symptoms of both anxiety and depression and stronger positive expectancies for marijuana also reported more consequences. We found that youth experiencing the greatest level of consequences from marijuana were those that reported more depressive symptoms and stronger positive expectancies for marijuana. Findings suggest that these symptoms, combined with strong positive expectancies about marijuana's effects, have implications for consequences among at-risk youth.

The application of the rapid assessment and response methodology for cannabis prevention research among youth in the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

Drug prevention methods tailored to specific target groups have become increasingly important. There is a growing need to find ways to rapidly assess and situate target groups in their particular contexts. This need is associated with the implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for these specific target groups.

METHOD

This article describes the application of Rapid Assessment and Response (RAR) as a necessary first step in designing and implementing a prevention intervention plan for problematic cannabis use among "loitering" youth in the South of the Netherlands. Seven RAR studies were conducted using an innovative stepwise model in which the prevention field worker is central.

RESULTS

The normative structure for the use of cannabis was found to vary across the neighborhoods of the RAR studies and emerged as the focal point in designing a suitable response. The RAR studies also identified the need in the prevention toolbox for a tailored, low-threshold, effective, individual brief intervention for youth problematic cannabis use.

CONCLUSION

The RAR was found to provide a powerful methodology for detecting target groups and generating contextual and normative data that enable the prevention field worker to select and adapt from the spectrum of existing Evidence based Interventions (EBIs) or develop the most promising model for implementation with the specific target group.

Proximal and distal social influence on alcohol consumption and marijuana use among middle school adolescents

OBJECTIVES

This study assesses the independent and combined effects of (1) perceived peer norms, (2) best friend use, and (3) being in the presence of others who use on middle school adolescents' consumption of marijuana and alcohol, and how the effects of these sources of social influence evolve over time as youth progress through middle school.

METHODS

The analytic sample consisted of 11,667 adolescents (50% female; >65% Hispanic) in 6th, 7th or 8th grade from 16 middle schools across three school districts in Southern California. Participants were assessed at 5 time points from 2008 to 2011.

RESULTS

All sources of social influence were predictive of alcohol and marijuana consumption. As youth grew older, spending time with other adolescents who drink increased adolescents' likelihood of drinking alcohol, whereas perceived norms became less influential. Furthermore, as adolescents spent more time around other youths who drink, the predictive value of perceived norms on alcohol consumption decreased. Similarly, as youth grew older, the influence of best friend's use and spending time with other adolescents who use marijuana remain stable, whereas perceived norms became less influential.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that perceived peer norms may be more influential in early adolescence; whereas proximal social determinants (e.g., being in the presence of other peers who consume) become more influential as youth enter middle adolescence. Prevention programs should continue to address misperception of norms with younger adolescents to decrease the chances of initiation, but also utilize strategies such as refusal skills and alternate coping mechanisms for older adolescents.

Temporal associations between substance use and delinquency among youth with a first time offense

OBJECTIVE

Substance use and delinquency among adolescents have been shown to be positively associated; however, the temporal relationship is not well understood. Examining the association between delinquency and substance use is especially relevant among adolescents with a first-time substance use related offense as they are at-risk for future problems.

METHOD

Data from 193 adolescents at time of diversion program entry and six months later was examined using cross-lagged path analysis to determine whether substance use and related consequences were associated with other types of delinquency across time.

RESULTS

Results demonstrated that delinquency at program entry was related to subsequent reports of heavy drinking and alcohol consequences, but not marijuana use or its consequences. In contrast, alcohol and marijuana use at program entry were not related to future reports of delinquency.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings emphasize the need to build in comprehensive assessments and interventions for youth with a first time offense in order to prevent further escalation of substance use and criminal behaviors.