Digital Commons Network^™

Move For A Healthy Mind: A Program Of Peer-Led Physical Activity For Adolescents With Depression And Anxiety, Emily Edwards

Master's Projects and Capstones

The following discusses adolescent depression and anxiety and the utilization of physical activity as an intervention or coping mechanism. Adolescents have been experiencing increased rates of anxiety or depression diagnoses over the past roughly two decades. Adolescence is, physiologically, a formative period in the developmental stage from childhood to adulthood. Current barriers to achieving optimal mental health among the adolescent population include the stigmatization of mental health issues, lack of education, socioeconomic status and healthcare access. Further, physical activity has been studied and identified to be an effective treatment for individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. In an effort to treat …

Breakfast Consumption And Diet Quality Of Teens In Southwestern Ontario, Nicolas Woods

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

BACKGROUND: Breakfast skipping has previously been associated with worse diet quality among adolescents, although research from Canada is relatively sparse. Additionally, many studies do not consider diet quality as a function of calories, which is problematic as skippers tend to consume less energy than consumers.

PURPOSE: This study investigated breakfast skipping habits and Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores among teens in Southwestern Ontario.

METHODS: Cross-sectional, baseline data were used from the SmartAPPetite project, which is currently ongoing. 24-hour dietary recalls and sociodemographic information were obtained from participants and parents (n=512).

RESULTS: Breakfast skippers had significantly lower diet quality, even when calories …

Identification And Management Of Adolescent Alcohol Use: Screening And Motivational Interviewing, Kelsie L. Berger

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Adolescent alcohol consumption is a serious health problem in the United States. Alcohol is the most widely used substance, and it continues to be the drug of choice for adolescents (CDC, 2018). Over 7 million adolescents and approximately 30 percent of high school students in the U.S. that admit to drinking more than a few sips of alcohol in the past 30 days (NIAAA, n.d.). Underage alcohol use can lead to many complications such as social, school, and legal problems, and when initiated early in life is associated with the development of alcohol use disorder (NIAAA, n.d.). The purpose of …

An Interdisciplinary Study To Understand Treatment Seeking Behavior Among Female Survivors Of Anorexia Nervosa, Meaghan Victoria Tipton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was done to examine what psychosocial factors influence treatment seeking behavior among female survivors of eating disorders. This study uses a mixed methods survey consisting of open-ended item questions regarding treatment experience and social environment, and close-ended items to measure constructs from the Health Belief Model. Fourteen participants were recruited for this study to retrospectively detail their experiences of treatment during their eating disorder. All fourteen participants identified as Caucasian, thirteen identified as female, one identified with other gender, each with a history of medically diagnosed anorexia nervosa. The mean of age of current participants was 29.46, and …

Electronic Vapor Product Usage And Its Relationship To Suicidality In Vermont Youth, John Paul Grogan, Bonnica Zuckerman, Frezette Ackah, Melissa Ackley, Margaret Cameron, Kelsey Gleason

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objective: To examine the association between the use of electronic vapor products (e-cigarettes) and suicidal ideation.

Methods: This study explored the association between e-cigarettes usage and suicidal ideation among 16,733 Vermont high school respondents of the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Bivariate logistic regression was used to predict the odds of suicidal ideation with current electronic vapor product (EVP) use as the main predictor while controlling for current cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, age, gender, sexual orientation, and a history of bullying or sexual violence.

Results: The odds of suicidal ideation are 5.86% lower for students using EVPs than …

Hiv Testing During Antenatal Care In Eastern & Southern Africa: How Do Adolescents And Young Women Fare?, Claire Young

Public Health Theses

Background

To validate Elimination of Mother to Child HIV Transmission (eMTCT), pregnant women must receive antenatal care (ANC) HIV testing. Given challenges for adolescent girls in ANC, we hypothesized that adolescents were less likely to receive ANC HIV testing in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA).

Methods

For 10 ESA countries, we use 2015-2018 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to study 46,056 women attending ANC and giving birth in the last three years. We used age-stratified (15-19, 20-24, and 25-49 years of age at time of delivery) crude and adjusted logistic regressions to assess predictive factors for ANC HIV testing, both …

Moderate-Intensity Risk Reduction Counseling And Acquisition Of Sexually Transmitted Infection, Cindy M. Farina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a public health problem in the United States, with adolescents and young adults to age 25 bearing a disproportionate burden of infection. Risk reduction counseling (RRC) as a strategy to decrease STI incidence has been a focus of scholars. Research examining RRC efficacy has suggested that RRC is effective for 6 to 12 months after treatment. However, study samples have varied by age, ethnicity, race, gender, and geographic location. Whether RRC is effective for more than 1 year is unknown. The purpose of this post hoc chi-square study was to examine the efficacy of moderate-intensity …

Predictors Of Larc Use In High School Adolescent Females In The Unitedstates, Gloria J. Mabry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen pregnancy is a major public health problem in the United States of America. Among many contraceptive methods, long acting reversible contraception (LARC) is popular and effective. However, there was no adequate research study performed to show if minority teenagers are less likely to use LARC. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between adolescent sexual behavior and activity and the use of LARC in females, ages 14 to 19, in high schools across the United States. The theoretical framework used for this study was the health belief model. The study population was 1,496 White, Black/African American, …

Association Between Mentoring Interventions And Drug Abuse Among African Americans Aged 10-24 Years, Anthonia Ifeyinwa Dunkwu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Drug abuse represents a significant public health problem worldwide, with socioeconomic consequences shaped by a cluster of behavioral, cognitive, and physiological phenomena and serious social, physical, emotional problems. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between mentoring interventions and drug abuse among African American young people. The health belief model was the theoretical framework. The secondary data analysis was done using the data set from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The dependent variable was drug abuse, while the independent variable was mentoring interventions. The Chi-square analysis revealed an association between participation in school-based …