Search

Although seatbelts save lives, adolescents may be disproportionately likely to omit their use. Using data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey of more than 16,000 U.S. public and private high school students, the authors employed a series of logistic regression analyses to examine cross-sectional associations between past year athletic participation and regular seatbelt omission. Controlling for the effects of gender, age, race, parental education, and school urbanicity, student athletes were significantly less likely than nonathletes to report seatbelt omission. Separate gender-specific analyses showed that this effect was significant for girls but only marginally significant for boys; in addition, the effect was strongest for adolescents who participated on three or more school or community sports teams. Possible explanations for the relationship between athletic participation and seatbelt omission, including Jessor's problem behavior syndrome, prosocial sport subcultures, and sensation seeking, are considered. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study used a representative metropolitan sample to make longitudinal comparisons of college-bound and non-college-bound youth on incidents and predictors of heavy drinking. Respondents in the six-wave study were ages 13-16 at wave 1 and 18-21 at wave 6 (n's ranged from roughly 425-500 for different analyses). College/non-college comparisons were conducted over the transition from 12th grade to the following year and over the full longitudinal span (for the latter, a cohort-sequential design simulated a nine-year stretch from ages 13-21). College-bound respondents exhibited a sharper rise in heavy drinking from 12th grade to the first year of college than did the non-college respondents from 12th grade to the next year. Long-term trajectories were similar in the two groups. Statistical interaction tests revealed that the combination of having been intoxicated at an early age and attendance at college put individuals at higher than usual risk for heavy drinking during the first college year. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Although conventional wisdom suggests that organized sport deters delinquency by building character, structuring adolescents' time, and providing incentives for socially approved behavior, the empirical evidence to date has been mixed. Based on a sample of approximately 600 Western New York adolescents, the present study examined how self-reported jock identity, school athlete status, and frequency of athletic activity differentially influenced a range of delinquent behaviors. Neither athlete status nor frequency of athletic activity predicted these behaviors; however, jock identity was associated with significantly more incidents of delinquency. This finding was robust across both gender and race. Follow-up analyses indicated that jock identity facilitated both minor and major delinquency, with major delinquency effects for white but not black adolescents.

Using an integration of social control theory and the routine activity perspective, adolescent time use was examined for effects on problem behaviors. We examined a wide variety of time use categories, including homework, extracurricular activities, sports time, alone time, paid work, housework, television watching, as well as indices of family time and peer time, for their effects on heavy alcohol use, cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, delinquency and sexual activity. The study employed a representative household sample of adolescents (n = 606) and took into account important sociodemographic factors--gender, age, race (Black and White), and socioeconomic status. The most important predictors of adolescent problem behaviors were family time and peer time. Family time serves as a protective factor against all five problem behaviors while peer time is a highly significant risk factor for all five problem behaviors.

From socialization theory, it was hypothesized that parental support and monitoring as well as peer deviance would influence individual trajectories of alcohol misuse, other substance use, and delinquency. Six waves of data were analyzed using interviews with 506 adolescents in a general population sample. Results from multilevel modeling showed that monitoring significantly predicted adolescents' initial levels (intercepts) of alcohol misuse and delinquency. Parental monitoring strongly predicted the rates of increase (slope) in all 3 problem behaviors. Peer deviance significantly predicted initial levels of all problem behaviors and the rates of increase in them. This study provides evidence that both effective parenting and avoidance of associations with delinquent peers are important factors in preventing adolescent problem behaviors.

Previous research has suggested a link between athletic involvement and elevated levels of adolescent violence outside the sport context. The present study expanded on this literature by positing differences in the sport-violence relationship across dimensions of athletic involvement (athletic participation vs. jock identity), type of violence (family vs. nonfamily), and gender as well as by examining the impact of binge drinking on the sport-violence relationship. Regression analyses using a sample of 608 Western New York adolescents indicated that (a) jock identity (but not athletic participation) was associated with more frequent violence, (b) jock identity predicted nonfamily violence (but not family violence), and (c) the link between jock identity and nonfamily violence was stronger for boys than for girls. Binge drinking predicted family violence among nonjocks only.

Despite recent declines in overall sexual activity, sexual risk-taking remains a substantial danger to US youth. Existing research points to athletic participation as a promising venue for reducing these risks. Linear regressions and multiple analyses of covariance were performed on a longitudinal sample of nearly 600 Western New York adolescents in order to examine gender- and race-specific relationships between "jock" identity and adolescent sexual risk-taking, including age of sexual onset, past-year and lifetime frequency of sexual intercourse, and number of sexual partners. After controlling for age, race, socioeconomic status, and family cohesion, male jocks reported more frequent dating than nonjocks but female jocks did not. For both genders, athletic activity was associated with lower levels of sexual risk-taking; however, jock identity was associated with higher levels of sexual risk-taking, particularly among African American adolescents. Future research should distinguish between subjective and objective dimensions of athletic involvement as factors in adolescent sexual risk.KEY WORDS: jock identity; athletic activity; sexual risk; adolescent; gender; race.

Alcohol remains the drug of choice for many adolescents; however, the nature of the relationship between athletic involvement and alcohol misuse remains ambiguous. In this article, we used a longitudinal sample of over 600 Western New York adolescents and their families to explore the gender-specific and race-specific relationships between identification with the "jock" label and adolescent alcohol consumption, specifically problem drinking. Operationalization of problem drinking included frequency measures of heavy drinking, binge drinking, and social problems related to alcohol (e.g., trouble with family, friends, school officials over drinking). Self-identified adolescent "jocks" were more likely to engage in problem drinking than their non-jock counterparts, even after controlling for gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, physical maturity, social maturity, and frequency of athletic activity. Jock identity was strongly associated with higher binge drinking frequency in Black adolescent girls. This study underscores the need to distinguish between objective and subjective meanings of athletic involvement when assessing the relationship between sport and adolescent health-risk behavior. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Adolescents (N=506) in a northeastern metropolitan area were surveyed to test hypotheses that family factors, particularly parental support and monitoring, influence individual trajectories in development of alcohol misuse. Results showed that parenting significantly predicts adolescents' initial drinking levels as well as rates of increase in misuse. Results provide evidence that effective parenting is an important factor in preventing alcohol misuse. (Author/JDM)

Derived hypotheses about effects of cohesion and adaptability on family members' psychological functioning, behavior, and perceptions of family relationships. Findings from 699 families revealed that cohesion had direct linear relationship to positive outcomes. More adaptability, the better the outcomes for girls but not for other family members. (Author/NB)

Sampled 699 adolescents and their families to examine effects of parenting practices on development of adolescent drinking, delinquency, and problem behaviors. Findings confirmed that parental support and monitoring were important predictors of adolescent outcomes even after taking into account critical demographic/family factors. Peer orientation remained significant predictor of drinking behavior and deviance, interacting with aspects of parenting. (Author/NB)

A representative household sample of adolescents (ages 12-17) and their parents were interviewed. Findings support the theory that adolescent alcohol abuse is part of a complex psychosocial problem behavior syndrom. A high degree of parental nurturance may be a significant deterrence to alcohol abuse and more general deviant behavior. (Author/BS)

Interviews conducted with adolescents from 12 to 17 years old and their parents revealed adolescent drinking can be explained by parental models of drinking behavior. Parental socialization factors, particularly support and to a lesser degree control, were also shown to have an effect on the development of adolescent drinking behaviors. (Author/ABL)

The "stepping-stone" theory of progression into drug use is examined, based on the alcohol and other drug use of over 27,000 seventh- through eighth-grade students in New York State. The data show that students do not use illicit drugs unless they also use alcohol. (Author/LMO)

Suggests that the apparent lack of effectiveness of alcohol and drug education programs may stem from the lack of a sound theoretical basis for program development and evaluaton. Reviews (1) the relevance of socialization theory to adolescent drinking and (2) the influence of parents and peers. (JAC)

Examined smoking patterns in 27,335 junior and senior high school students. Found smoking was more prevalent among girls than boys, and among whites more than members of minority groups. Marijuana use was the best single predictor of whether a student smoked or not. Heavy drinking was the best predictor of quantity smoked among smokers. (Author/KS)

Compares an adolescent and a parental group with regard to standardized measures of alcohol consumption in order to test the hypothesis that drinking patterns are not unique to the adolescent society but rather exemplify the models in the adult community. Independent samples of students and adults were found to be very similar in patterns of alcohol consumption. (Author/RH)

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this analysis is to examine the relationship between current problem gambling and current conduct disorder. Methods: Data were analyzed for a U.S. national survey of respondents aged 14–21 years. Results: A strong co-morbidity between current problem gambling and current conduct disorder was found. However, this co-morbidity was much stronger among younger respondents, declined in strength with increasing age, and was absent among the oldest respondents. Further analyses showed that early-onset problem gamblers had a higher risk for conduct disorder than late-onset problem gamblers. Conclusions: Gambling problems that emerge early are likely to be part of a general pattern of problem behavior, whereas gambling problems that emerge later may have an etiology unique to gambling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Three comparable representative samples of 7th to 12th grade students in New York State were surveyed in 1983, 1990, and 1994 to determine changes in the patterns of alcohol use over the past decade. Each of the three samples was large ( n= 27,335, 23,860, and 19,321, respectively), permitting detailed analysis of changes in alcohol use in various adolescent subgroups according to age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Previous research revealed that there were marked decreases in the prevalence of overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems from 1983 to 1990, yet recent national reports indicate that since 1990 there has been an upsurge in substance use among adolescents. Whereas the proportion of drinkers did not significantly increase between 1990 and 1994, average consumption, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems all showed modest, but significant increases in the 1990s. Furthermore, between 1990 and 1994, the age distributions for alcohol use, heavy drinking, and alcohol problems changed, as evidenced by significant age by year of survey interactions. These findings indicate that adolescents are currently drinking, drinking heavily, and experiencing alcohol-related problems at younger ages than they were in past years. Prevention efforts should be targeted at delaying alcohol use in early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems were determined in two large representative samples of 7-12th grade students in New York State in 1983 and 1990. Comparable sampling procedures and measures were used in both surveys. Logistic regression analyses showed that overall drinking, heavy drinking, and alcohol-related problems decreased significantly for the population as a whole; furthermore, all subgroups according to age, gender, and racial/ethnic status showed significant declines in alcohol use and related problems over this time period. The social context of this change is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]