Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Changes In Adolescents’ Risk Factors Following Peer Sexual Coercion: Evidence For A Feedback Loop, Brennan J. Young, Wyndol Furman, Meredith C. Jones

Title IX Research and Resources

Abstract: Investigators have identified a number of factors that increase the risk for experiencing sexual coercion, but as yet little is known about how sexual coercion in turn affects these risk factors. Using a sample of 110 adolescents, the current study examined the hypothesis that, after an incident of sexual coercion, adolescents would exhibit increases in several behaviors known to increase risk for victimization. As predicted, after experiencing sexual coercion, adolescents reported increased externalizing symptoms, more frequent sexual intercourse and a greater total number of intercourse partners. Finally, alcohol use, drug use, and problems related to substance use increased. These …

Reflection Impulsivity In Adolescent Cannabis Users: A Comparison With Alcohol-Using And Non-Substance-Using Adolescents, Nadia Solowij, Katy A. Jones, Megan E. Rozman, Sasha M. Davis, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick C. L Heaven, Nicole Pesa, Dan I. Lubman, Murat Yucel

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Rationale Reflection impulsivity-a failure to gather and evaluate information before making a decision-is a critical component of risk-taking and substance use behaviours, which are highly prevalent during adolescence. Objectives and methods The Information Sampling Test was used to assess reflection impulsivity in 175 adolescents (mean age 18.3, range 16.5-20; 55% female)-48 cannabis users (2.3 years use, 10.8 days/month), 65 alcohol users, and 62 non-substance-using controls-recruited from a longitudinal cohort and from the general community and matched for education and IQ. Cannabis and alcohol users were matched on levels of alcohol consumption. Results Cannabis users sampled to the lowest degree of …

Graffiti Offenders' Patterns Of Desistance From, And Persistence In, Crime: New Insights Into Reducing Recidivist Offending, Myra Taylor, Umneea Khan

Research outputs 2012

While graffiti is a gateway crime towards more serious criminal offending, little is known about graffitists' patterns of desistance from, and persistence in, crime. This paper addresses this knowledge shortfall through an examination of the Western Australian Police Information Management System (IMS) database for three age-groups (i.e. preteens, adolescents, adults) and three categories of graffiti offenders (Early Desisters, Limited Persisters, Chronic Persisters). Descriptive and chi-squared statistics reveal that: i) nearly three-quarters of all of the 667 preteen, adolescent and adult graffiti offenders desisted from further offending after their first or second contact with police; ii) the mainly adolescent cohort of …

Semantic Priming Of Familiar Songs, Sarah K. Johnson, Andrea R. Halpern

Faculty Journal Articles

We explored the functional organization of semantic memory for music by comparing priming across familiar songs both within modalities (Experiment 1, tune to tune; Experiment 3, category label to lyrics) and across modalities (Experiment 2, category label to tune; Experiment 4, tune to lyrics). Participants judged whether or not the target tune or lyrics were real (akin to lexical decision tasks). We found significant priming, analogous to linguistic associative-priming effects, in reaction times for related primes as compared to unrelated primes, but primarily for within-modality comparisons. Reaction times to tunes (e.g., "Silent Night") were faster following related tunes ("Deck the …

A Dual-Factor Model Of Mental Health In High School Students: Group Characteristics And Social Functioning, Amanda Lynn Thalji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A dual-factor model of psychological functioning examines the presence of wellness (i.e., subjective well-being; SWB) and psychopathology (i.e., internalizing and externalizing behavior problems) in explaining youth mental health functioning. Using a dual-factor model, previous research has yielded four unique groups of elementary and middle school youth as well as college-age adults with distinct levels of wellness and psychopathology. The present empirical investigation included valid data from 500 adolescents from two high schools (grades 9 to 11). This exploratory study produced four groups of students with unique mental health profiles aligned with previous studies investigating the dual-factor model. Tukey-Kramer comparisons determined …

A Longitudinal Examination Of High School Students' Group Membership In A Dual-Factor Model Of Mental Health: Stability Of Mental Health Status And Predictors Of Change, Melanie M. Mcmahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A dual-factor model of mental health includes indicators of wellness (i.e., subjective well-being; SWB) and psychopathology (i.e., internalizing and externalizing behavior problems) in defining youth mental health. In this model, four categories of psychological functioning with distinct levels of SWB and psychopathology emerge, including two that are overlooked (i.e., Vulnerable and Symptomatic but Content) in traditional assessments that assume SWB and psychopathology are opposite ends of the same continuum. The present study investigated the 1-year stability of adolescent mental health as classified by a dual-factor model, and identified predictors of stability and change, in a sample of 425 high school …

Self-Regulation: The Link Between Academic Motivation And Executive Function In Urban Youth, Sara Ferry Walker

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The present study investigated the relationship between academic motivation and executive function skills through teacher reports of prototypical students, perceived to lack motivation. Second, the study examined the effect of grade level (i.e., elementary, middle, high) on both teacher-perceived academic motivation and executive function skills for these prototypical students. It was hypothesized that there were significant relationships between executive function processes and academic motivation. It was also hypothesized that due to the decline in academic engagement during adolescence, middle school and high school teachers would perceive higher levels of executive dysfunction and deficits in academic motivation than would elementary teachers. …

Evaluating The Mindfulness-Based And Cognitive-Behavior Therapy For Anger Management Program, Brett Pellegrino

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Problems related to adolescents who present with extreme anger, disruptive behavior, and aggression is an ever increasing concern for school officials (Christner, Friedberg & Sharp, 2006). There continues to be a need for effective interventions that can be utilized within the school setting to assist adolescents with anger management difficulties. This study examined changes in anger management difficulties and mindfulness for four high school students who participated in the Mindfulness-Based and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Anger Management Program (Kelly, 2006). The data were generated through pre and post assessments with the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Second Edition Child and Adolescent …

Association Between Hospitals Caring For A Disproportionately High Percentage Of Minority Trauma Patients And Increased Mortality: A Nationwide Analysis Of 434 Hospitals., Adil H. Haider, Sharon Ong'uti, David T. Efron, Tolulope A. Oyetunji, Marie L. Crandall, Valerie K. Scott, Elliott R. Haut, Eric B. Schneider, Neil R. Powe, Lisa A. Cooper, Edward E. Cornwell

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is an increased odds of mortality among trauma patients treated at hospitals with higher proportions of minority patients (ie, black and Hispanic patients combined).

DESIGN: Hospitals were categorized on the basis of the percentage of minority patients admitted with trauma. The adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality were compared between hospitals with less than 25% of patients who were minorities (the reference group) and hospitals with 25% to 50% of patients who were minorities and hospitals with more than 50% of patients who were minorities. Multivariate logistic regression (with generalized linear modeling and a cluster-correlated robust …

Developmentally Informed Community Treatment For Adolescents With Problem Sexual Behavior, Janet Lyons Walker

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The sexual abuse of children often results in profound intrapersonal and interpersonal dysfunction or difficulties for the victims. In 2010, sexual assault was perpetrated upon more than 63,000 children in the United States, and in more than 35% of those incidents, adolescents were the perpetrators. Research suggests that adolescents with problem sexual behavior act from their own vulnerabilities. Understanding the developmental seeds and pathways that become etiological factors in the commission of sexual assaults against children is only one important step in a mission to protect them. The treatment that emerges from a comprehensive understanding of adaptive and maladaptive adolescent …

Bracing For Idiopathic Scoliosis: Improving Adherence Through Psychological Intervention, Shoshana J. Fagen

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Poor treatment adherence is increasingly being recognized as a significant problem in pediatric medicine. For the condition Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, poor adherence rates to the most non-surgical intervention, orthotic bracing, have become a well-established fact. This treatment modality has been correlated with multiple psychosocial areas of difficulty, including low self image, suicidal ideation, feelings of isolation, social discomfort, depression, an external locus of control, increasing risk taking behavior, high levels of stress, anger, fear, shame, and eating disorders. Since the orthotic bracing has been linked to both poor adherence and to psychosocial problems, an intervention is created to increase adherence …