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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.)

Objective: Gambling and alcohol use were compared for college and noncollege young adults in the US population. Participants: Participants were 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 21. Methods: Data were analyzed from a representative household sample of US young people aged 14 to 21 years old. Telephone interviews were conducted between August 2005 and January 2007. Results: After taking into account gender, age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, college student status did not predict gambling, frequent gambling, or problem gambling. In contrast, being a college student was associated with higher levels of alcohol use and problem drinking. Being male was the strongest predictor of both problem gambling and problem drinking. Blacks were less likely than whites to drink heavily; yet they were more likely than whites to gamble heavily. Conclusion: Young males should be targeted for prevention and intervention efforts for both problem gambling and problem drinking regardless of college student status. (Contains 4 tables.)

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.

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.)

Data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used to compare use of tobacco between athletes and nonathletes. Both female and male athletes were less likely to have smoked, which was truer for the more involved athletes. Both female and male athletes were more likely to have tried smokeless tobacco, with the effect greater for more involved athletes. (JDM)

Rationale: Pretomanid is a new nitroimidazole with proven treatment-shortening efficacy in drug-resistant tuberculosis. Pretomanid-rifamycin-pyrazinamide combinations are potent in mice but have not been tested clinically. Rifampicin, but not rifabutin, reduces pretomanid exposures.Objective: Evaluate the safety and efficacy of pretomanid-rifamycin-pyrazinamide containing regimens among participants with drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods: Phase 2 twelve-week open-label randomized trial of isoniazid, pyrazinamide, plus (a) pretomanid and rifampicin (Arm 1); (b) pretomanid and rifabutin (Arm 2) or (c) rifampicin and ethambutol (standard of care, Arm 3). Safety labs and sputum cultures were collected at Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. Time to culture conversion on liquid media was the primary outcome.Results: Among 157 participants, 125 (80%) had cavitary disease. Median time to liquid culture negativity in the modified intention to treat (mITT) population (n=150) was 41 (Arm 1), 28 (Arm 2), and 55 (Arm 3) days (p=0.01)(adjusted hazard ratios of 1.41 (0.93-2.12, p=0.10), Arm 1 vs. Arm 3) and 1.89 (1.24-2.87, p=0.003, Arm 2 vs. Arm 3)). Eight-week liquid culture conversion was 79%, 89%, and 69%, respectively. Grade >3 adverse events occurred in 3/56 (5%), 5/53 (9%), and 2/56 (4%) of participants. Six participants were withdrawn owing to elevated transaminases (5 in Arm 2, 1 in Arm 1).There were 3 serious adverse events (Arm 2) and no deaths.Conclusions: Pretomanid enhanced the microbiologic activity of rifamycin-pyrazinamide containing regimens. Efficacy and hepatic adverse events appeared highest with the pretomanid and rifabutin-containing regimen. Whether this is due to higher pretomanid concentrations merits exploration. Clinical trial registration available at www.Clinicaltrials: gov, ID: NCT02256696. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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)

Objective: Problem gambling has been linked with substance misuse among youth in a number of regional studies, yet there have been no large representative U.S. surveys of gambling behaviors and substance use among youth. The present study is designed to compare the patterns and co-occurrence of gambling and alcohol and other substance use among youth in the United States. Method: A random telephone survey was conducted with 2,274 youth ages 14-21 years old living in households in every area of the United States. Results: Problem gambling and substance misuse are prevalent among young people. For instance, 17% of youth reported gambling 52 or more times in the past year, and the same percentage of youth drank five or more drinks on 12 or more days in the past year. Ten percent of youth reported having three or more gambling problems in the past year, and 15% of young people reported having three or more alcohol problems. Controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic status, black youth have a significantly increased probability of frequent gambling compared with other racial/ethnic groups, yet they have a significantly decreased probability of heavy drinking. Alcohol problems and gambling problems show high co-occurrence, especially for male youth and black youth. Conclusions: Population subgroups with a high co-occurrence of alcohol and gambling problems are important for targeted prevention and intervention strategies., ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND MARIJUANA are the three substances most commonly used by youth, and the misuse of these substances constitutes a major public health problem in the United States. The [...]