Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"People Think It's Easy Because I Smile, But It's Not Easy" : A Phenomenological Study Of Single Parents/Guardians Raising An Adolescent Who Is Enrolled In Special Education And Engaging In Risk Behaviors, Shaniqua J. Bradley

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Grounded in Resilience Theory (Masten et al., 1990; Masten, 2001; Walsh, 1996; Walsh, 2002; Walsh 2003a, Walsh 2003b) with a specific focus on parental resilience (Gavidia-Payne et al., 2015), this qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of low-income single parent families (FASP) with at least one adolescent aged 11 through 21 who was enrolled in special education classes in school and was engaging in risk behaviors. Two central research questions were addressed. The first focused on the lived experiences of FASP and the second focused on their perspectives on how schools can better support these families. Data for this …

Guilty Pleas Of Youths And Adults: Differences In Legal Knowledge And Decision Making, Tina Zottoli, Tarika Daftary Kapur

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Few studies have examined differences in the guilty plea decisions of youth and adults. In interviews with 64 youth (X = 15.9, SD = 1.2) and 56 adults (X = 38.5, SD = 11.5) who pleaded guilty to felonies in New York City, we found important differences between the youths and adults in their understanding of the plea process, the factors they considered when making decisions, and their rationales for their decisions. Youth were less likely to recognize that a guilty plea resulted in a criminal record and to understand the trial process, and they reported having considered fewer potential …

Sleep It Off: Bullying And Sleep Disturbances In Adolescents, Christopher Donoghue, Lisa J. Meltzer

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Introduction: Involvement in bullying is associated with negative health outcomes for adolescents. Recent studies suggest that bullying is related to sleep disturbances. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in sleep disturbances (bedtime fears, insomnia, parasomnias) between victims, bullies, and youth not involved in bullying, as well as to explore differences across various types of bullying behavior (verbal, physical, social, cyber). Methods: High school students ages 14–17 years (mean = 16.0) in the United States (n = 885; 57.3% female; 87.5% White) completed The Children's Report of Sleep Patterns and questions about involvement in verbal, physical, social and …

Smoking Behaviors Among Adolescents In Foster Care: A Gender-Based Analysis, Svetlana Shpiegel, Steve Sussman, Scott E. Sherman, Omar El Shahawy

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background and objectives: Adolescents in foster care are at high risk for cigarette smoking. However, it is not clear how their smoking behaviors vary by gender. The present study examined lifetime and current smoking among males and females, and explored gender-specific risk factors for engagement in smoking behaviors. Method: Data from the Multi Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs was used to evaluate patterns of smoking among adolescents aged 12–18 years (N = 1121; 489 males, 632 females). Results: Males and females did not differ significantly in rates of lifetime and current smoking, or in the age of smoking initiation …

A Social Ecology Analysis Of Childbirth Among Females Emancipating From Foster Care, Svetlana Shpiegel, Michele Cascardi, Michael Dineen

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose No research has examined childbirth from a national perspective among females emancipating from foster care. The present study fills this gap by: (1) documenting the rates of initial and repeat births among females ages 17 and 19 in a national prospective study and (2) identifying risk and protective factors at age 17 that predict childbirth between ages 17 and 19. Methods This study used data from the National Youth in Transition Database and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to identify risk and protective factors associated with childbirth in a national sample of transition-age female youth (N …

Can School Counselors Deliver Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment For Social Anxiety Effectively? A Randomized Controlled Trial, Carrie Masia, Daniela Colognori, Chad Brice, Kathleen Herzig, Laura Mufson, Chelsea Lynch, Philip T. Reiss, Eva Petkova, Jeremy K Fox, Dominic C. Moceri, Julie Ryan, Rachel G. Klein

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) typically onsets in adolescence and is associated with multiple impairments. Despite promising clinical interventions, most socially anxious adolescents remain untreated. To address this clinical neglect, we developed a school-based, 12-week group intervention for youth with SAD, Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS). When implemented by psychologists, SASS has been found effective. To promote dissemination and optimize treatment access, we tested whether school counselors could be effective treatment providers. Method: We randomized 138, ninth through 11th graders with SAD to one of three conditions: (a) SASS delivered by school counselors (C-SASS), (b) SASS delivered by …

Young People’S Perceptions Of Advice About Sexual Risk Taking, Christopher Donoghue, Consuelo Bonillas, Jennifer Moreno, Melissa Cheung

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Sexual and reproductive health indicators for young people in the USA have improved in recent decades, but teenage pregnancies remain high, and large differences between Whites and non-Whites persist in teenage births, abortions, and the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections. Prior research shows that young people are receptive to communication about sex from parents and friends, but peers have been found to be more influential on sexual risk taking. In this study of 617 young people aged 13–20 years in high-risk neighbourhoods for teenage pregnancy in New Jersey, we asked whether sexually inexperienced young people differed from sexually experienced young …

Relationships Between Delinquency And Substance Use Among Adolescents Emancipating From Foster Care, Svetlana Shpiegel, Jamey J. Lister, Richard Isralowitz

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Adolescents emancipating from foster care exhibit high rates of both delinquency and substance use, although it is less clear how these behaviors relate to one another. We aimed to examine the reciprocal relationships between these risk behaviors while accounting for relevant child welfare factors. We use data from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs to explore longitudinal associations between delinquent behaviors and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) among youths ages 17 and 18 (N = 429). Delinquency at age 17 was a positive predictor of substance use at age 18, after controlling for baseline use of substances. …

Functional Outcomes Among Sexual Minority Youth Emancipating From The Child Welfare System, Svetlana Shpiegel, Cassandra Simmel

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The heterogeneity of youth emancipating from the foster care system makes it difficult to establish the extent to which their functional outcomes are equivalent across different subgroups. In the present study, we use secondary data from the Multi Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs (MSEYP) to explore the challenges faced by sexual minority youths in comparison to their heterosexual peers. We focus on measurements of key independent living outcomes at age 19 to obtain a broad picture of how sexual minority youth fare during the period of transition to adulthood. Bivariate results indicate that the deficits for sexual minority youth …

Resilience Among Older Adolescents In Foster Care: The Impact Of Risk And Protective Factors, Svetlana Shpiegel

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study explores the phenomenon of resilience among older adolescents in foster care. Data from 351 youths approaching the age of emancipation were examined. Resilience was measured by a composite score combining six domains: educational attainment, and avoidance of teen pregnancy, homelessness, mental illness, substance use and criminal involvement. Increased physical abuse, a history of sexual abuse, placement instability and delinquency in youths’ original families were associated with lower resilience. Non-white race was associated with higher resilience even after risk and protective factors were controlled. These findings highlight factors that contribute to resilient functioning and may be targeted for interventions …

Sexuality Education Websites For Adolescents: A Framework-Based Content Analysis, Sara Silverio Marques, Jessica S. Lin, Summer Starling, Aubrey G. Daquiz, Eva Goldfarb, Kimberly Garcia, Norman A. Constantine

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

The web has unique potential for adolescents seeking comprehensive sexual health information. As such, it is important to understand the nature, scope, and readability of the content and messaging provided by sexuality educational websites. We conducted a content analysis of 14 sexuality education websites for adolescents, based on the 7 essential components (sexual and reproductive health and HIV, relationships, sexual rights and sexual citizenship, pleasure, violence, diversity, and gender) of the International Planned Parenthood Framework for Comprehensive Sexuality Education. A majority of content across all sites focused on sexual and reproductive health and HIV, particularly pregnancy and STI prevention, and …

Empowerment-Based Positive Youth Development: A New Understanding Of Healthy Development For African American Youth, Raphael Travis Jr., Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

A shift occurred in research about adolescents in the general population. Research is moving away from deficits toward a resilience paradigm and understanding trajectories of positive youth development. This shift has been less consistent in research and practice with African American youth. A gap also exists in understanding whether individual youth development dimensions generate potential in other dimensions. This study presents an empowerment-based positive youth development model. It builds upon existing research to present a new vision of healthy development for African American youth that is strengths-based, developmental, culture-bound, and action-oriented. It emphasizes the relationship between person and environment, the …

Markers Of Marijuana Use Outcomes Within Adolescent Substance Abuse Group Treatment, Paul Amrhein, Brett Engle, Mark Macgowan, Eric Wagner

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: Despite their popularity, little is known about what distinguishes effective from ineffective or even iatrogenic adolescent group interventions. Methods: Audio recordings and transcripts from 19, 8—10 session, school-based treatment groups comprised of 108, substance abusing 10- to 19-year olds were analyzed. Group leader empathy was measured globally, while two new constructs, group commitment, and peer response, were measured using discourse analysis. All variables were measured at the group level. Results: Associations among these process variables were tested and supported, as were the hypothesized associations between both group member language constructs and marijuana use outcomes. Conclusions: These findings were consistent …

Recently Arrested Adolescents Are At High Risk For Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Christopher Salvatore, Steven Belenko, Richard Dembo, Doris Weiland, Matthew Rollie, Alexandra Hanlon, Kristina Childs

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Adolescent offenders may be at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). With previous research and interventions focused on incarcerated adolescents, data are needed on STD prevalence and risk factors among newly arrested youth released to the community, a far larger subgroup.Participants were recruited from all arrested youth processed at the Hillsborough County, Florida Juvenile Assessment Center during the last half of 2006 (506 males, 442 females). Participants voluntarily providing urine samples for drug testing as part of standard protocol were also consented to having their specimens split and tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea, using an FDA-approved nucleic acid amplification …

Girls' Perception Of Physical Environmental Factors And Transportation: Reliability And Association With Physical Activity And Active Transport To School, Kelly R. Evenson, Amanda Birnbaum, Ariane L. Bedimo-Rung, James Sallis, Carolyn C. Voorhees, Kimberly Ring, John P. Elder

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Preliminary evidence suggests that the physical environment and transportation are associated with youth physical activity levels. Only a few studies have examined the association of physical environmental factors on walking and bicycling to school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to examine the test-retest reliability of a survey designed for youth to assess perceptions of physical environmental factors (e.g. safety, aesthetics, facilities near the home) and transportation, and (2) to describe the associations of these perceptions with both physical activity and active transport to school.

Methods

Test and retest surveys, administered a median of 12 days later, …

Early Predictors Of Sexual Behavior: Implications For Young Adolescents And Their Parents, Lisa D. Lieberman

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

The study provides empirical evidence of the independent contribution of nonsexual romantic relationships in the seventh grade to the onset of sexual intercourse by the ninth grade for both males and females. In addition, it shows that among females, seventh graders in serious relationships with older teenagers—uniquely defined as those two or more years older—have an increased likelihood of sex in the ninth grade. Finally, the study demonstrates that seventh graders of both genders who have had serious romantic relationships were already significantly different in the sixth grade from those who have not: They had peers who were more accepting …

Scale Development For Perceived School Climate For Girls’ Physical Activity, Amanda Birnbaum, Kelly R. Evenson, Robert W. Motl, Rod K. Dishman, Carolyn C. Voorhees, James F. Sallis, John P. Elder, Marsha Dowda

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: To test an original scale assessing perceived school climate for girls' physical activity in middle school girls. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: CFA retained 5 of 14 original items. A model with 2 correlated factors, perceptions about teachers' and boys' behaviors, respectively, fit the data well in both sixth and eighth-graders. SEM detected a positive, significant direct association of the teacher factor, but not the boy factor, with girls' self-reported physical activity. Conclusions: School climate for girls' physical activity is a measurable construct, and preliminary evidence suggests a relationship with physical activity.

Scale Development For Perceived School Climate For Girls’ Physical Activity, Amanda Birnbaum, Kelly R. Evenson, Robert W. Motl, Rod K. Dishman, Carolyn C. Voorhees, James F. Sallis, John P. Elder, Marsha Dowda

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: To test an original scale assessing perceived school climate for girls' physical activity in middle school girls. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: CFA retained 5 of 14 original items. A model with 2 correlated factors, perceptions about teachers' and boys' behaviors, respectively, fit the data well in both sixth and eighth-graders. SEM detected a positive, significant direct association of the teacher factor, but not the boy factor, with girls' self-reported physical activity. Conclusions:School climate for girls' physical activity is a measurable construct, and preliminary evidence suggests a relationship with physical activity.

Predictors Of Violent Behavior In An Early Adolescent Cohort: Similarities And Differences Across Genders, Jonathan L. Blitstein, David M. Murray, Leslie A. Lytle, Amanda Birnbaum, Cheryl L. Perry

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

The authors assessed a cohort of 2,335 students from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area to identify predictors of violent behavior and to determine whether the predictors varied by gender. The sample was 76% White; boys and girls were equally represented. The majority lived with two parents. A measure of violent behavior collected at the end of the eighth-grade year (2000) was entered into Poisson regression against baseline data collected at the beginning of the seventh-grade year (1998). Predictors of violent behavior influencing both boys and girls included depressive symptoms, perceived invulnerability to negative future events, paternal nonauthoritative behavior, and drinking alcohol. …

The Role Of Peer Social Network Factors And Physical Activity In Adolescent Girls, Carolyn C. Voorhees, David Murray, Greg Welk, Amanda Birnbaum, Kurt M. Ribisi, Carolyn C. Johnson, Karin Allor Pfeiffer, Brit Saksvig, Jared B. Jobe

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: To study the relationship between peer-related physical activity (PA) social networks and the PA of adolescent girls.

Methods: Cross-sectional, convenience sample of adolescent girls. Mixed-model linear regression analyses to identify significant correlates of self-reported PA while accounting for correlation of girls in the same school.

Results: Younger girls were more active than older girls. Most activity-related peer social network items were related to PA levels. More PA with friends was significantly related to self-reported PA in multivariate analyses.

Conclusions: Frequency of PA with friends was an important correlate of PA among the peer network variables …

School Functioning And Violent Behavior Among Young Adolescents: A Contextual Analysis, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie A. Lytle, Peter J. Hannan, David M. Murray, Cheryl L. Perry, Jean L. Foster

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper examines associations between overall school functioning and the frequency of violent behaviors among young adolescents (ages 10–14). The sample included 16 middle schools participating in an unrelated intervention study (on nutrition) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A School Functioning Index developed to characterize schools’ overall stability, performance, and demographics was constructed using data from public archives and school administrator surveys. Data on violent behaviors and other variables were collected in student surveys in fall 1998 and spring 1999. We used multilevel modeling to assess the effect of school functioning on violent behavior after adjusting for known individual-level covariates of violent …