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We aimed to determine which media exposures are most strongly associated with marijuana and alcohol use among adolescents. In 2004, we surveyed 1,211 students at a large high school in suburban Pittsburgh regarding substance use, exposure to entertainment media, and covariates. Of the respondents, 52% were female, 8% were non-White, 27% reported smoking marijuana, and 60% reported using alcohol. They reported average exposure to 8.6 hr of media daily. In adjusted models, exposure to music was independently associated with marijuana use, but exposure to movies was independently associated with alcohol use. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To test the Mini-Cog, a brief cognitive screening test, in an epidemiological study of dementia in older Americans. Design: A population-based post hoc examination of the sensitivity and specificity of the Mini-Cog for detecting dementia in an existing data set. Setting: The Monongahela Valley in Western Pennsylvania. Participants: A random sample of 1,119 older adults enrolled in the Monongahela Valley Independent Elders Survey (MoVIES). Measurements: The effectiveness of the Mini-Cog in detecting independently diagnosed dementia was compared with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a standardized neuropsychological battery. Results: The Mini-Cog, scored by an algorithm as “possibly impaired” or “probably normal,” and the MMSE, at a cutpoint of 25, had similar sensitivity (76% vs 79%) and specificity (89% vs 88%) for dementia, comparable with that achieved using a conventional neuropsychological battery (75% sensitivity, 90% specificity). Conclusion: When applied post hoc to an existing population, the Mini-Cog was as effective in detecting dementia as longer screening and assessment instruments. Its brevity is a distinct advantage when the goal is to improve identification of older adults in a population who may be cognitively impaired. Prior evidence of good performance in a multiethnic community-based sample further supports its validity in the ethnolinguistically diverse populations of the United States in which widely used cognitive screens often fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To quantify the persistence of pro-smoking media exposure effects on college students' intentions to smoke and smoking refusal self-efficacy., Method: A total of 134 college students (ages 18-24 years) were enrolled in an ecological momentary assessment study in which they carried handheld data collection devices for 3 weeks and reported their exposures to pro-smoking media as they occurred in the real world. Smoking intentions and smoking refusal self-efficacy were assessed after each exposure to pro-smoking media and at random prompts during each day of the 3-week assessment period. A generalized additive model was used to determine how long the effect of an exposure to pro-smoking media persisted., Results: The effect of pro-smoking media exposures persisted for 7 days. After exposure, smoking intentions immediately increased (.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [.26, .87]) and then steadily decreased (-.12; 95% CI: [-.19, -.05]) each day for 7 days, while smoking refusal self-efficacy immediately decreased (-.42; 95% CI: [-.75, -.10]) and then steadily increased (.09; 95% CI: [.02, .16]) each day for 7 days. Daily changes occurring after 7 days were not statistically significant, suggesting that smoking intentions and refusal self-efficacy had stabilized and were no longer affected by pro-smoking media exposure., Conclusions: Exposures to pro-smoking media may have strong implications for emerging young adults smoking risk as the impact of an individual exposure appears to persist for at least a week., (Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.)