Adolescent substance use: Findings from a state-wide pilot parent education program.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent substance use has long been a top public health priority. In Indiana, concerning recent trends show high rates of youth alcohol consumption coupled with increasing use of opioids, synthetic marijuana, and over-the-counter drugs. Based on research indicating that parent-based prevention efforts may be a particularly effective way to target adolescent substance use, and in a direct effort to address Indiana's 2017 Strategic Plan to Address Substance Use, we conducted an applied research study targeting parents' knowledge regarding adolescent substance use in Indiana. METHODS: This community-based applied research study included: (i) a needs assessment of Indiana Extension Educators' concerns regarding adolescent substance use, (ii) creation and dissemination of an evidence-informed parent education program on adolescent substance use in collaboration with Purdue Extension (a key community stakeholder), and (iii) qualitative focus group discussions at the end of each program that assessed the challenges families face regarding adolescent substance use, the types of information and resources they wish they had, and the usefulness of our program. RESULTS: The needs assessment revealed that Indiana communities would most benefit from education regarding ways to spot and monitor substance use in teens, and strategies to communicate with teens about substance use. Additionally, Extension Educators thought that existing resources to tackle substance use largely did not match the needs of Indiana communities. Qualitative analysis of the focus group discussions across 8 pilot programs revealed five important themes: (1) The need for current, evidence-informed information regarding adolescent substance use among parents and youth-involved professionals in Indiana, (2) Concern regarding Indiana adolescents' ease of access to substances and lack of healthy recreational activities, (3) Communicating with teens about substance use is crucial but difficult to implement, (4) Indiana communities' need to prioritize funding for evidence-informed prevention programming, and (5) The need for community-based parent and caregiver support groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the program was well-received and participants indicated that there was a strong need for this programming in their communities, but suggested collaborating with schools or similar local community stakeholders to increase attendance. Findings from this pilot study can inform future community-based adolescent substance use prevention efforts state-wide.

Strengths of the heart: Stressors, gratitude, and mental health in single mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created significant economic, social, and mental health challenges for many parents. However, single mothers (who are typically both primary caregivers and wage earners for their families) may be especially vulnerable to stress and mental health problems during this crisis. Gratitude is strongly linked to positive emotions as well as mental health and has been shown to be amendable in interventions but has rarely been assessed in regard to parent well-being. In the present study, we assessed the longitudinal relations between life stressors and gratitude on single mothers' mental health (N = 200) prior to, and during, the pandemic using quantitative and qualitative data. We found that stressors contributed to poor mental health both concurrently and across time. However, T1 gratitude was associated with lower internalizing problems at T2 (controlling for prior internalizing problems). Qualitative interviews revealed both challenges and strengths of single mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that fostering gratitude in single mothers could have benefits for their mental health and well-being. Future research should test this in an intervention and further elucidate strength-based resources that single mothers utilize to assist them during challenging times, reduce stressors, and improve their mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Correlation between depth of subarachnoid space in the lumbar region estimated by Stocker's formula, ultrasound, and depth of needle insertion: A prospective observational study.

Background and Aims: The main challenge in administration of spinal anesthesia in patients is the unpredictability of the exact skin to subarachnoid space depth (SSD). Approximation of SSD and needle length comes at the expense of patient comfort and multiple attempts increases complications. Our study aimed to evaluate the validity of Stocker's formula to estimate SSD in comparison to ultrasonography and depth of needle insertion. We also aimed to determine an equation to describe the relationship between patient weight and SSD in an Indian population. Material and Methods: This was a prospective observational study. A total of 234 adults of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) category 1 and 2 were selected for the study. The patients underwent spinal anaesthesia and SSD data were determined using weight-based Stocker's formula (DS), ultrasonography (DU), and actual depth of needle insertion (DA). Correlation analysis was performed to determine variables that can predict the SSD. A linear regression was calculated to describe the relationship between patient weight and SSD. SSD data were determined using weight-based Stocker's formula ultrasonography, and actual depth of needle insertion. Results: Mean SSD using Stocker's formula, ultrasonography, and actual depth of needle insertion was 4.92 ± 0.6 cm, 4.47 ± 0.6 cm, and 4.81 ± 0.6 cm. Our study showed a significant correlation between Stocker's formula and SSD measured by actual depth of needle insertion (R 2 = 0.376). This was described by the derived formula: SSD (cm) =2.522+ [0.031 × weight (kg)]. Conclusion: SSD correlates well with the weight of adult patients. Measurement with Stocker's formula and actual depth showed better correlation than Stocker's formula and ultrasonography. This is valuable in resource-poor areas with a lack of ultrasound machines or expertise in training.

Lability in Parent- and Child-Based Sources of Parental Monitoring Is Differentially Associated with Adolescent Substance Use.

Parental knowledge about adolescents' whereabouts and activities remains one of the strongest predictors of reduced adolescent substance use. A recent study found that across middle childhood and adolescence, parental knowledge is characterized by fluctuations on a year-to-year basis, termed lability, even more-so than by linear trends, and that lability too is a predictor of adolescent substance use (Lippold et al., Dev. Psychol. 17, 274-283, 2016). The present study replicates Lippold et al. (Dev. Psychol. 17, 274-283, 2016) by quantifying developmental change and lability in parental knowledge across adolescence and examining associations with drinking, smoking, and other drug use later in adolescence, and extends the study by examining the sources of knowledge: child disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control, separately. Using a community-based sample of 1023 youth in the Northeastern region of the USA, all three sources of knowledge were characterized by developmental change and lability. In general, higher levels and steeper developmental declines in knowledge were associated with substance use outcomes. Findings for child disclosure replicated the prior findings: increased lability of child disclosure predicted substance use. Unexpectedly, decreased lability of parental solicitation and control was associated with worse substance use outcomes. Findings suggest different mechanisms by which lability in child- and parent-driven cultivation of knowledge is associated with substance use. If replicated in studies that address causality, these mechanisms could be leveraged for prevention/intervention efforts. For example, increasing the consistency of child disclosure may help prevent substance use, but teaching parents to be more responsive to time-specific challenges with adolescents may be more effective than increasing the consistency of parents' knowledge-building parenting behaviors.

Developmental antecedents of adolescent optimism in rural midwestern U.S. Latinx youth.

AIMS: Decades of scientific research have found optimism to have wide-ranging effects on individuals' health and well-being. Researchers have largely examined optimism in adults, but have begun addressing the benefits of optimism in adolescents. Challenges and stressors in adolescence can threaten youths' subjective well-being; therefore, identifying factors that contribute to the growth of optimism could have important health implications. However, researchers have more often examined the effect of optimism on youth outcomes rather than factors that might positively or negatively contribute to the development of optimism. METHODS: We assessed how salient developmental tasks (resilience, ethnic pride, and school attachment), family stress, and depressive problems individually contribute to Latinx youths' optimism at two time points (N = 123, 58.8% female, M age = 11.54 years). RESULTS: We found support for associations between both resilience and school attachment and optimism, but findings were weaker across time and with stressors included in the model. Depressive problems also appeared to weaken optimism across time. CONCLUSION: Given the established links between optimism and health, it will be important for researchers to continue to identify factors that contribute to the development of youth optimism, and assess whether they could be used in interventions to foster optimism.

Associations between Effortful Control, Cortisol Awakening Response, and Depressive Problems in Latino Preadolescents.

The present study examined associations between effortful control, a trait marker of self-regulation, adaptive HPA system functioning (as reflected by the CAR), and concurrent and longitudinal depressive problems, in a sample of preadolescent Latino youth (N = 119, mean age = 11.53 years, 59% female). We hypothesized that trait readiness for self-regulation (e.g., effortful control) could be related to physiological state readiness for self-regulation (e.g., CAR), and that both may counter depressive problems. We found that youth's CAR was positively associated with effortful control, and negatively with youth depressive problems. Effortful control and youth depressive problems were also negatively associated. Longitudinal relations of CAR and effortful control on depressive problems at T2 were not significant in the structural equation model after controlling for T1 depressive problems, although these variables were significant in the bivariate correlations. Results suggest that both trait-regulation and physiological regulation may counter depressive problems in Latino youth.

Post-traumatic stress symptom development as a function of changing witnessing in-home violence and changing peer relationship quality: Evaluating protective effects of peer relationship quality.

In the present study, witnessing in-home violence and peer relationship quality are evaluated as to their relative impact on Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms among children aged 8 to 17 investigated by child protective services (CPS) for maltreatment exposure. The sample included 2151 children from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II (NSCAW II). Linear growth models were estimated to assess associations between changes in PTS symptoms, witnessing in-home violence, and peer relationship quality over time. Greater frequency of witnessing in-home violence at baseline (i.e. wave 1) was associated with higher baseline PTS symptoms (ß = 0.44). Increases in witnessing in-home violence frequency over time (average annual change across three years) had a strong association with increases in PTS symptoms over time (ß = 0.88). Baseline peer relationship quality was associated with fewer PTS symptoms at baseline (ß = -0.45). Increases in peer relationship quality over time were strongly associated with declines in PTS symptoms over time (ß = -0.68). Peer relationship quality at baseline did not moderate baseline or over time associations between witnessing in-home violence and PTS symptoms. The average decline in PTS symptoms due to decreases in witnessing in-home violence and increases in peer relationship quality was 0.51 and 0.65 standard deviations respectively, over the three-year study period. Reducing chronic witnessing in-home violence and promoting the development of healthy social relationships with peers are critical for PTS symptom recovery.