Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Nonmedical use of prescription drugs has become a serious social problem among American youth. Two general categories of motives for the nonmedical use of prescription drugs include self-treatment and recreational use. This study assesses differences between nonmedical prescription drug users based on their self-reported motivation for using prescription drugs. Data come from more than 11,000 11th grade students in Delaware public schools. Analyses indicate significant differences in prevalence, correlates, and consequences on nonmedical use of prescription drugs based on motivation for use. Analysis reveal that, among those students who reported non-medical use of prescription drugs, those who are using for …

Prior research indicates that assuming family roles, such as parent or spouse, can aid in the transition from prison to the community and has been linked to positive outcomes after a period of confinement. Using data from a longitudinal study of men returning to the community after incarceration, this study examines how the relationship between fathers and their children immediately after release may impact aspects of fathers’ lives that are important to a successful reentry transition in the first year, such as employment, abstinence from substance abuse, and mental health. Analyses show that fathers who lived with children before incarceration …

While research over the past few decades has illustrated that gender is a significant predictor of victimization, there has been less attention towards explaining these differences. Furthermore, there has been little attention given to how offending and other deviant behaviors contribute to victimization risk for males and females. This is surprising considering that offending, particularly violent behavior, is highly correlated with victimization risk and that males are more likely to offend than females. This study applied cross-sectional and time-ordered models predicting violent victimization and repeat victimization to examine how deviant lifestyles impacted victimization risk for males and females. The results …

Research has found that many characteristics are related to performance on standardized tests. Many of these are not necessarily “academic” attributes. One area of this research is on the connection between physical health/lifestyles and test performance. The research that exist in this area is often disconnected with each other and tends to focus on a limited number of factors. Moreover, the impact of the school climate, as related to health-behaviors, has not been examined. The present study uses data from 32 schools over four years to examine the relationship between health norms and average test performance while controlling for demographic …