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Introduction: Problematic substance use in young adulthood is consistently related to negative outcomes later in life. Understanding the factors that protect against problematic substance provides opportunities for early preventive intervention. We examine the protective role of grit – passion and perseverance for long-term goals – on substance use through young adulthood, a period of heightening risks for substance use. Methods: In this research, we use cross-lagged panel models and data from the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey (N = 477, 52% female) to test the reciprocal within-time associations and the directional relationships between grit (passion and perseverance) and substance use (cannabis and alcohol) across three assessments (6 years, ages 18–29). All models controlled for sex and SES. Results: Significant findings show negative within-time associations between passions and perseverance and cannabis use at T1 (ages 18–24) and at T2 (ages 20–26), and significant, negative within-time associations between passion and perseverance and alcohol use (heavy episodic drinking) at T1 but not at T2. No significant across-time associations between passion and perseverance and substance use were found. Conclusion: Preventive interventions to enhance passion and perseverance may provide important targets for interventions for young adults to reduce current substance use. However, grit did not have an effect beyond the stability of cannabis use or alcohol use over time, suggesting effects may act by substituting proactive goals for current substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have examined social-contextual moderators of substance use transitions from adolescence to young adulthood. A better understanding of the extent to which school, employment, and romantic relationships can disrupt high-risk use patterns could inform strategies for substance use prevention and treatment. Objective: The current study examines the extent school, employment, and relationship factors can disrupt transition in high-risk substance use patterns from adolescence to young adulthood. Method: Data were collected biennially from 662 youth in six assessments across ten years (2003–2013). Using latent transition analysis (LTA) that examined transition is substance use classes, we examined school, employment, and relationship moderators of use transitions. Results: Few differences were found during adolescence with the most significant findings occurring in the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Examining the transitions from adolescence to young adulthood (W4 to W6), we found evidence that school, employment, and relationship status disrupted problematic substance use patterns, such that, individuals that indicated entering school, working full-time, or getting married or entering a relationship were more likely to transition to a low-risk substance use class than remain in the high-risk class. Conclusions/Importance: Findings underscore the importance of school completion, obtaining stable career employment, and quality relationship to help reduce high-risk substance use patterns leading into young adulthood. Prevention and intervention efforts should consider the diverse needs of youth and be prepared to provide a wide range of services that include educational opportunities and career development if they want to reduce high-risk substance use patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research on risky driving practices involving marijuana use among youth and young adults often relies on cross-sectional data, which fail to account for longitudinal changes in substance use patterns. A better understanding of the longitudinal patterns of marijuana use and its effect on risky driving practices during young adulthood is needed in order to better inform prevention efforts. The current study examined whether different longitudinal patterns of marijuana use across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood are associated with impaired driving risks in young adulthood. Methods: Data were from the longitudinal Victoria Healthy Youth Survey, which interviewed youth biennially on 6 occasions across 10 years (2003 to 2013). Results: Youth who reported consistently high levels of marijuana use from adolescence to young adulthood (chronic users) and youth who reported increasing levels of use across this period (increasers) were more likely to engage in risky impaired driving behaviors compared to the other 3 user groups (occasional users, decreasers, and abstainers). Frequency of marijuana use was also predictive of impaired driving risks in young adulthood after controlling for individual characteristics (age, sex, socioeconomic status, age of onset of marijuana use), frequency of other substance use (heavy episodic drinking and illicit drug use), and simultaneous use of marijuana and other substances (alcohol and illicit drugs). By young adulthood, youth who use marijuana more than once a week are more likely to simultaneously use alcohol and engage in heavy episodic drinking. They are also more likely take driving risks. Conclusions: Harm reduction strategies and legislative approaches targeting impaired driving risks associated with marijuana use should include approaches to target these high-risk groups and to reduce simultaneous use of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Past studies have differentiated classes of polysubstance use in adolescence, however, the associations of adolescent polysubstance use classes with longitudinal substance use trajectories from adolescence to young adulthood have not been studied. Objective: The current study examined substance use classes during adolescence and longitudinal trajectories of each substance used across the transition to young adulthood. Method: Data were collected biennially from 662 youth and followed 10 years across six measurement assessments. Using baseline data (T1), latent class analysis was used to identify classes of polysubstance use (cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug use) during adolescence. Using T2 through T6 data, we fit latent growth models for cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug use to examine longitudinal trajectories of each substance used by class. Results: A three-class model fit the data best and included a poly-use class, that had high probabilities of use among all substances, a co-use class, that had high probabilities of use among alcohol and marijuana, and a low-use class that had low probabilities of use among all substances. We then examined trajectories of each substance used by class. Strong continuity of substance use was found by class across 14 years. Additionally, for some substances, higher average levels of use of at age 14 were associated with change in growth of other substances used over time. Conclusions/Importance: Efforts that only target a single drug type may be missing an important opportunity to reduce the use and subsequent consequences related to the use of multiple substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:We examine concurrent and longitudinal associations between sleep duration (SD) and body mass index (BMI) from adolescence to young adulthood, controlling for physical activity and internalising symptoms. Sex and age group differences (early adolescent group ages 12–15 years and late adolescent group ages 16–18 years) are examined. Design:A randomly selected community-based sample of youth (N = 662; 48.3% males) were surveyed biannually from 2003 (T1) to 2014 (T6). Results:We found sex and age group differences for the concurrent and longitudinal associations between SD and BMI. For males, shorter SD at baseline was concurrently related to higher BMI. For females, shorter SD at baseline was associated with longitudinal increases in BMI, for the late adolescent group only. Conclusion:Findings show that the association between SD and BMI, previously shown in childhood, continues to be significant in adolescence and young adulthood. Developmentally appropriate and sex-specific strategies for motivating and supporting healthy sleep habits in adolescence that may help to prevent weight gain into young adulthood are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We examine longitudinal relations among children's and parents’ reports of peer victimization and their perceptions of school climate dimensions reflecting school interpersonal relationships (relationships among children and their teachers and peers, and of parents and principals) and values (fairness and equity of access to resources). Children were in Grades 3 and 4 at Time 1 (Mage= 9.32,SDage= .74; 49% boys). Bidirectional influences of school climate and reports of peer victimization were investigated in path models across grade (Time 1 to Time 2) and within a grade (Time 2 to Time 3). Child and parent reports of school climate dimensions showed considerable stability. Hypothesized reciprocal relationships between each of the school climate dimensions and peer victimization were significant. Child-reported frequency of parent involvement in school activities was associated with lower levels of peer victimization within a school year. Parent perceptions of involvement in school activities and the schools’ connection with the community were unrelated to the children's reports of peer victimization. Children's negative cognitions or “worldviews” coupled with peer victimization may fuel problems with school connectedness, safety, and help seeking. Findings shed light on possible pathways for reducing peer victimization by leveraging specific aspects of the social climate within schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a cohort-sequential longitudinal design to examine the patterns of change and codevelopment of anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiant symptoms (ODS) from late adolescence to young adulthood. Four waves of data were collected biennially by individual interview with a random, community-based sample of 662 youth ages 12 to 18 years at Time 1 (18–26 years at Time 4). Using latent growth curve modeling, we examined co-occurring changes in the levels, rates of change, and variability in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiance. Sex differences were also assessed. Levels of anxiety, depression, and ODS were correlated at each time point. Moreover, adolescents with high initial levels in one domain tended to have high initial levels in the other domains. In addition, increases in depressive symptoms were significantly correlated with increases in anxiety and in ODS, but adolescent levels of symptoms did not predict increases over time. Symptoms of anxiety (for female and male individuals) and depression (for male individuals) continue to increase in young adulthood, whereas ODS stabilize or decline. Adolescent levels of these problems have a significant impact on later levels, suggesting that preventive interventions may be needed in adolescence to defer negative consequences of mental health problems in young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author discusses research related to the topic of relational aggression in children. She focuses on programs that have been designed to prevent problems resulting from nonphysical aggression in children through an examination of topics such as aggressiveness in girls, social interaction in children, and school safety. She also provides suggestions regarding ways in which university and community researchers can develop and evaluate appropriate prevention programs.

In this study, the types and costs of unintentional injuries among adolescents transitioning to adulthood are examined to provide age-appropriate prevention strategies. The data were collected in 2003, 2005 and 2007, in which a total of 273 (41%), 228 (39%) and 176 (33%) youths, respectively, reported to be having at least one serious injury. The leading types of injuries were sprains/strains, broken bones and bruises. Most injuries occurred while playing sports, falling/tripping, biking or rollerblading, mainly in recreation centres (>12-15%), schools (<27-9%), and workplaces (>2-14.5%). Most injuries were treated at emergency departments, walk-in clinics and health professional's offices (68-84%). Prevention included: doing nothing; being more careful; giving up the activity and rarely, rehabilitation or physiotherapy. The total direct cost of treatment was $471,498, (Canadian) at a mean direct cost of $775 per injury. Improved sports training and educational strategies targeted at subgroups of adolescents are needed to reduce the human and economic burden of injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that the Interpersonal Concerns factor of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Affliti, & Quinlan, 1976, 1979; Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for Adolescent [DEQ-A]; Blatt, Schaffer, Bers, & Quinlan, 1992) assesses 2 levels of interpersonal relatedness in young adults and older adolescents: neediness and relatedness. However, studies investigating the relation of the DEQ and DEQ-A with social functioning have not used the Neediness and Relatedness subscales of the Interpersonal Concerns factor. This study investigated (a) whether the Neediness and Relatedness subscales can be differentiated in a sample of early adolescents and (b) how the 2 subscales are differentially associated with indexes of social functioning. Results indicate that this differentiation of Neediness and Relatedness, and their associations with social functioning, emerges in early adolescence, especially for girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in family structure and in normative roles for women that make economic self-sufficiency a desired outcome of early adulthood are not reflected in the rhetoric underlying current policy analyses and debates aimed at reducing welfare dependence. In this article, data from interviews with 93 African American and Hispanic adolescent mothers conducted 6 years after the delivery of their first child are used to comment on the potentially negative effects of aspects of the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that target adolescent mothers. Three global strategies designed to reduce their long-term welfare dependence are addressed, namely, mandating adult-supervised residences, requiring schooling or job training without child care provisions, and requiring cooperation with paternity identification to enforce child support regulations. Findings from this qualitative study clearly demonstrate that reform strategies need to move beyond mandating personal responsibilities through sanctions as if the transition to work was not desired by young mothers. Strategies to support this transition for the minority of adolescent mothers who are unable to make it on their own are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the importance of middle school climate for explaining variance in student behavioral problems and emotional distress. Social adjustment of students; School climate perception by gender; Implications for interventions to enhance school social climates.

Following up on a 12-month prospective study (Linares, Leadbeater, Kato, & Jaffe, 1991), stability and predictors of delayed grade-placement for 84 inner-city, African American and Puerto Rican adolescent mothers were investigated. Based on school attendance before pregnancy and up to 28 to 36 months postpartum, mothers were classified as continuous attenders, returners, before-pregnancy dropouts, and after-pregnancy dropouts. A majority (78.5%) of the mothers were in the same school-outcome groups at both assessment points. Predelivery school performance was the strongest predictor of delayed grade-placement. Compared to the dropout groups, mothers who were in school or graduated reported fewer repeat pregnancies, and more of them sought postsecondary education. Mothers who returned to school reported fewer stressful life events, more family support, fewer depressive symptoms, and stronger career commitments than did mothers in the dropout groups. The implications of early school failure and inadequate emphasis on girls' career development for adolescent mothers' school outcomes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ample research has shown that female adolescents endorse more internalizing and fewer externalizing symptoms than do male adolescents, but explanations for these gender differences have not been forthcoming. In this review, we integrated research findings of gender differences in subtypes of depressive vulnerabilities and in reactivity to stressful life events involving the self or others in order to suggest possible explanations of gender differences in adolescent psychopathology Adolescent girls show greater interpersonal depressive vulnerability and greater reactivity to stressful events involving others. In contrast, gender differences have not been found in adolescents' self-critical depressive vulnerability and in their reactivity to stressful events involving issues of self-worth. We argue that adolescents with heightened interpersonal depressive vulnerability (who fear abandonment and seek attention and nurturing) are more reactive to stressful events involving others and are more likely to exhibit internalizing than externalizing syndromes. On the other hand, adolescents with heightened self-critical depressive vulnerability (who experience guilt and self-blame and avoid interpersonal intimacy) are more reactive to stressful events involving threats to the self and are more likely to exhibit externalizing, in addition to internalizing, syndromes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 120 inner-city, Black and Hispanic adolescent mothers, we investigated demographic, academic, and psychosocial predictors (assessed at 3 weeks postpartum) of their delayed grade placement by 12 months postpartum. Mothers were also classified based on school attendance before pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum, as continuous attenders, returners, before-pregnancy dropouts, and after-pregnancy dropouts. Differences in subgroup profiles were assessed. Continuous attenders were least delayed in grade placement and few had repeat pregnancies (18%). In contrast, before-pregnancy dropouts were on the average 2.4 years behind in their grade placement, reported highest levels of depressive symptoms, and 69% had repeat pregnancies. Returners and after-pregnancy dropouts were more delayed in grade placement, and more had repeat pregnancies than attenders (32% and 63%, respectively), but they reported similar levels of depressive symptoms. Groups did not differ on measures of stressful life events and social supports. Implications for individualizing parenting programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goals of this study were to examine gender differences in the adaptive and maladaptive characteristics of clique membership and in clique homogeneity. We compared the characteristics of clique members with liaisons, dyads, and isolates across 3 domains: peer relationships, problem behaviors, and school adjustment. Our sample consisted of 499 sixth and seventh graders (53% 6th graders, 51% girls, 49% Non-Hispanic White, 26% Hispanic, 22% African American). A friendship nomination questionnaire was used to differentiate the friendship groups and isolates based on patterns of reciprocated close friendship nominations. Consistent with past research, our results indicated that isolation from school-based friends is a marker of maladjustment for both boys and girls. For girls, being a clique member or a liaison was associated with adaptive outcomes in the domains of peer relationships, behavior problems, and school adjustment. In contrast, friendship group membership made little contribution to explaining differences in boys' characteristics. Homogeneity among clique members was explored and the implications of the findings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the effects of a community-based, whole-school peer victimization prevention program (WITS Primary Program), implemented from Grades 1 to 3, on trajectories of child-reported peer victimization and help-seeking and teacher-reported social-emotional adjustment from Grades 1 to 6. This quasi-experimental design followed a cohort of 432 children in 11 program and 6 comparison public elementary schools over 6 years. There were significant and meaningful effects of the WITS Primary Program on linear changes in physical victimization (Cohen's d = .17), relational victimization (Cohen's d = .20), and social competence (Cohen's d = .20); significant and small effects on physical aggression (Cohen's d = .09); and nonsignificant effects for help seeking and internalizing (Cohen's d values = .04 and .10, respectively) during elementary school. Following the transition into middle school, the program effects faded, with the exception of some subgroups in high-risk contexts. Our findings suggest that peer victimization prevention programming implemented in early elementary school may need to be sustained to maintain the promising early intervention gains through the transition into middle school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]