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The purpose of this study was to conduct a longitudinal examination of predictors of sexual aggression among male juvenile offenders. Four hundred and four adolescent males between the ages of 14 and 17 years were recruited from juvenile probation offices to take part in a prospective study of substance use and sexual risk. At baseline, participants completed a series of questionnaires that assessed putative risk factors for sexual aggression. They then completed a measure of sexual aggression at the 6-month follow-up period. Correlational analyses revealed that participants who reported hard drug use, more frequent alcohol and marijuana use, and less severe offenses reported engaging in more severe sexual aggression. In addition, participants who reported higher impulsivity, sensation seeking, and externalizing behaviors also reported participating in more severe sexual aggression. When these variables were included in a regression analysis, only externalizing behaviors and severity of offense uniquely predicted severity of sexual aggression at the 6-month follow-up. (Contains 1 table.)

Importance: The rapidly growing legal cannabis market includes new and highly potent products, the effects of which, to our knowledge, have not previously been examined in biobehavioral research studies because of federal restrictions on cannabis research.Objective: To use federally compatible, observational methods to study high-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) legal market forms of cannabis.Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study with a between-groups design that was conducted in a community and university setting, cannabis flower users and concentrate users were randomly assigned to higher- vs lower-THC products within user groups. Participants completed a baseline and an experimental mobile laboratory assessment that included 3 points: before, immediately after, and 1 hour after ad libitum legal market flower and concentrate use. Of the 133 individuals enrolled and assessed, 55 regular flower cannabis users (41.4%) and 66 regular concentrate cannabis users (49.6%) complied with the study's cannabis use instructions and had complete data across primary outcomes.Exposures: Flower users were randomly assigned to use either 16% or 24% THC flower and concentrate users were randomly assigned to use either 70% or 90% THC concentrate that they purchased from a dispensary.Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary outcome measures included plasma cannabinoids, subjective drug intoxication, and neurobehavioral tasks testing attention, memory, inhibitory control, and balance.Results: A total of 121 participants completed the study for analysis: 55 flower users (mean [SD] age, 28.8 [8.1] years; 25 women [46%]) and 66 concentrate users (mean [SD] age, 28.3 [10.4] years; 30 women [45%]). Concentrate users compared with flower users exhibited higher plasma THC levels and 11-hydroxyΔ9-THC (THC's active metabolite) across all points. After ad libitum cannabis administration, mean plasma THC levels were 0.32 (SE = 0.43) μg/mL in concentrate users (to convert to millimoles per liter, multiply by 3.18) and 0.14 (SE = 0.16) μg/mL in flower users. Most neurobehavioral measures were not altered by short-term cannabis consumption. However, delayed verbal memory (F1,203 = 32.31; P < .001) and balance function (F1,203 = 18.88; P < .001) were impaired after use. Differing outcomes for the type of product (flower vs concentrate) or potency within products were not observed.Conclusions and Relevance: This study provides information about the association of pharmacological and neurobehavioral outcomes with legal market cannabis. Short-term use of concentrates was associated with higher levels of THC exposure. Across forms of cannabis and potencies, users' domains of verbal memory and proprioception-focused postural stability were primarily associated with THC administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A transdisciplinary approach incorporating biological, psychological, behavioral, and genetic factors was taken to better identify proposed moderators of the effectiveness of an intervention to increase physical activity. This paper illustrates how theory-based individual difference variables can be integrated into a complex randomized controlled trial. The transdisciplinary framework guiding the selection of moderators, the COSTRIDE intervention study and sample, and the relationships among baseline variables are provided. Participants were non-active individuals randomly assigned to either the STRIDE exercise or health-and-wellness contact control condition. Structural equation modeling was utilized to demonstrate that relationships among baseline variables confirm hypothesized relationships in the transdisciplinary framework. Preliminary data from COSTRIDE suggest that interventions among sedentary individuals may be more effective if a broader range of factors influencing physical activity are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The purpose of this research was to replicate a successful intervention to increase physical activity in a different region of the country, and explore genetic and physiological moderators of intervention efficacy drawn from a transdisciplinary theoretical framework. Method A randomized controlled trial comparing a print-based physical activity intervention (COSTRIDE) to a print-based health and wellness contact control (HW) intervention was conducted. Sedentary participants (n = 219) completed assessments at baseline and follow-up assessments at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months following the initiation of the intervention. Results Participants in both conditions significantly increased exercise behavior in the first six months, and then leveled off or decreased physical activity in the second six months of the study. Those in the COSTRIDE intervention increased significantly more than those in the HW intervention, and were better able to maintain their exercise behavior. Genetic factors (BDNF, rs6265; FTO, rs8044769), but not selected physiological (body temperature, blood lactate, systolic blood pressure, plasma norepinephrine, and heart rate) or subjective (perceived pain, affect) responses to physical activity, moderated response to the intervention. Conclusions There are underlying genetic factors that influence response to behavioral intervention, and a better understanding of these factors has the potential to influence the development, targeting and tailoring of behavioral interventions to increase physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on CHRNA4 and tobacco dependence. It aims to establish a better comprehension of the role of α4 subunit of the neuronal nicotinic acethylcholine receptor in the cause and treatment of tobacco dependence. A transdisciplinary pharmacogenetic approach was employed for this research. Participants that were recruited for this study include 316 smokers, between the ages of 18 to 50 years from the metropolitan area of Denver, Colorado. Results show that both single-nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with subjective responses to smoking in the laboratory of 316 smokers.

Objective: This study seeks to advance our understanding of moderating influences on the relationship between alcohol and condom use by examining their association at both the global and event levels of analysis using a prospective approach within a sample of high-risk adolescents. The following potential moderators were examined: sex-related alcohol expectancies, gender, relationship type, level of alcohol use, and impulsive sensation seeking.Method: Criminally involved adolescents (N = 300) completed measures of alcohol use, condom use, personality, and alcohol expectancies; 267 (89%) participants completed a behavioral assessment 6 months later.Results: At the global level of analysis, there was a significant moderating effect of alcohol-related sexual-enhancement expectancies, such that the relationship between alcohol and condom use was negative and significant only among individuals with higher sexual-enhancement expectancies. At the time-limited global level, impulsive sensation seeking at baseline was negatively associated with condom use at 6-month follow-up. At the event level, there was a Gender x Alcohol interaction such that alcohol use was unrelated to condom use among males but was strongly and negatively related among females.Conclusions: This study makes a contribution to the understanding of the relationship between alcohol use and condom use by looking beyond main effects and conducting an empirically driven and multilevel examination of moderating variables. Results support the inclusion of situation-specific alcohol risk-reduction content in human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted disease-prevention activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Justice-involved adolescents engage in high levels of risky sexual behavior, underscoring the need for targeted, effective, prevention interventions geared toward this population. In a randomized controlled trial, 484 detained adolescents received a theory-based intervention or an information-only control. We have previously demonstrated that the theory-based intervention was superior to the control condition in changing theoretical mediators and in producing longitudinal decreases in risky sexual behavior. In the present study, we examined differential response to the intervention based on the adolescents' level of positive outlook (composed of self-esteem, perceived control over the future and optimism toward the future). Changes to putative theoretical mediators (attitudes, perceived norms, self-efficacy and intentions) were measured immediately post-intervention, and behavioral data were obtained 3, 6, 9 and 12 months later. Positive outlook significantly moderated program effects both in the context of the mediational path model and in the context of the longitudinal growth model. Specifically, intervention effects were strongest for those scoring relatively lower on the positive outlook dimension, whereas adolescents high in positive outlook demonstrated greater attitudes and self-efficacy and decreased risky sexual behavior, regardless of condition. Findings are discussed in terms of targeting and tailoring of intervention content.

Objectives: Criminally involved adolescents engage in high levels of alcohol-related risky sex. A theory-based sexual and alcohol risk-reduction intervention was designed, implemented, and evaluated in juvenile detention facilities., Participants and Methods: In a randomized, controlled trial, 484 detained adolescents received 1 of 3 group-based interventions: combined sexual and alcohol risk reduction (group psychosocial intervention [GPI] + group motivational enhancement therapy [GMET]); sexual risk reduction only (GPI); or HIV/sexually transmitted disease prevention information only (group information-only intervention [GINFO]). Follow-up data were obtained 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the intervention. Behavioral outcomes were condom-use behavior, frequency of intercourse while drinking, and alcohol-related problems., Results: Condom-use behavior measured as frequency of condom use during sex (ranging from never to always) decreased over time, although the GPI and GPI + GMET interventions mitigated this tendency at the 3-, 6-, and 9-month follow-up assessments. Although both active interventions were significantly more successful than the GINFO condition and the pattern of effects favored the GPI + GMET, there were no statistically significant differences between the GPI and GPI + GMET interventions., Conclusions: Findings support the feasibility of integrating alcohol-specific sexual risk content into a theory-based sexual risk-reduction intervention and provide additional evidence that theory-based interventions are effective at reducing risky sex in this population. There was limited evidence of intervention effects on alcohol-use outcomes. Future research should focus on strengthening the GPI + GMET to most effectively target risky sexual behavior among at-risk adolescents.

Adolescents involved with the criminal justice system engage in high levels of both risky sexual behavior and alcohol use. Yet a strong relationship between the two constructs has not been consistently observed, possibly due to heterogeneity in the data. Regression mixture models were estimated in the current study to address such potential heterogeneity. Criminally-involved adolescents (n = 409) were clustered into latent classes based on patterns of the regression of two measures of risky sexual behavior, condom use and frequency of intercourse, on alcohol use. A three-class solution emerged where alcohol use did not significantly predict either risky sex outcome for approximately 25% of the sample; alcohol use negatively predicted condom use and positively predicted frequency of intercourse for approximately 38% of participants; and alcohol use negatively predicted condom use but not frequency of intercourse for the remaining participants. These classes were then distinguished on the basis of five covariates previously found to influence either alcohol use, risky sexual behavior, or the relationship between the two: self-esteem, gender, participant age, relationship status, and impulsivity/sensation-seeking. High self-esteem, being female, being older, and being in a relationship predicted membership in the class with no observed relationship of alcohol use to risky sex, relative to the other classes. Implications of the present findings are discussed in terms of exploring different risky sex and alcohol use patterns within criminally involved adolescents, as well as understanding the effectiveness of interventions for subgroups of individuals.

This article details two studies investigating the proximal role of social projection (i.e., assumed similarity) in judgments of sexual intent. Study 1 demonstrates that men and women who have a greater desire for casual sex are more likely to perceive sexual intent in others. Study 2 replicates this finding in a more realistic context and, further, situates judgments of sexual intent squarely into the cognitive domain, as results show that projection of casual sexual motivation is more likely when the target is similar to the perceiver and when the target's motivation is relatively ambiguous to begin with.

The prevalence and persistence of adolescent substance use and abuse is a national health issue, and substance use among adolescents is frequently comorbid with other psychiatric disorders. Most studies in this area utilize samples of middle or high school students or from inpatient settings. Less is known about substance use and psychiatric comorbidity among delinquent adolescents. The present study examined data from two cohorts of juvenile offenders collected over a 2-year period (n = 245, n = 299). Participants reported frequency of cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and other substance use. Participants' parents completed a measure of behavior problems. Path analyses suggested that parental reports of externalizing problems were significantly related to self-reported substance use while parental reports of internalizing problems were not. Results also suggested that smoking and alcohol use act as mediators between externalizing problems and marijuana and other drug use. Although there were some mean differences by gender, the pattern of relationships amongst the variables did not differ by gender. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.