Witnessing Intimate Partner Violence Across Contexts: Mental Health, Delinquency, and Dating Violence Outcomes Among Mexican Heritage Youth.

Immigrant Mexican American (MA) youth are at greater risk for violence exposure due to risk factors associated with migration-postmigration processes and as they settle into urban U.S. communities marked by crime and poverty. Less is known about the contexts of this exposure. Specifically, what are the ecological contexts in which youth witness intimate partner violence (IPV), how do these experiences differ by immigration generational status, and what is the impact on youth's externalizing and internalizing behaviors? MA adolescents (N = 279; 15-17 years, M = 16.17, SD = 0.81) from the Southwest United States participated in an online survey. Over half of adolescents had witnessed at least one incidence of IPV in the prior 2 weeks, usually involving their peers. Adolescents who had spent more time in the United States were more likely to witness violence and rated it as more severe than more recently immigrated youth. A cross-sectional path model revealed that witnessing IPV was associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. However, the associations between witnessing IPV and dating violence perpetration and victimization were mediated through acceptance of dating violence norms. Each successive generation may be more likely to witness violence across a range of ecological contexts. Witnessing violence may be central to a host of negative outcomes, including deviancy, poor mental health, and dating violence. However, preventive interventions can help youth to challenge violence norms within intimate partnerships as well as to cope with violence in their homes, peer groups, and communities.

Does Gottman's Marital Communication Conceptualization Inform Teen Dating Violence? Communication Skill Deficits Analyzed Across Three Samples of Diverse Adolescents.

Communication skill deficits are thought to contribute to teen dating violence (TDV), parallel to the inclusion of these throughout prevention curricula. Communication research among adolescents is highly underdeveloped, although a preliminary study utilizing Gottman's marital communication conceptualization found that a majority of negative communication behaviors predictive of marital distress were also associated with relationship aggression among primarily White college students. Our aim was to replicate this study with diverse samples of adolescents (50.3% Latino, 23.5% Black; Mage = 16.06). Urban high school youth, pregnant and parenting youth in residential foster care, and youth in urban after-school programs self-reported on their use of maladaptive and adaptive communication behaviors, relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, commitment), and emotional, physical, sexual, relational, and threatening dating violence. Across samples, maladaptive communication and particularly flooding (i.e., the tendency to become overwhelmed, leave the argument) and the four horsemen (i.e., a cascading and negative communication sequence) were associated with higher likelihood of multiple types of TDV. Relationship quality was associated with decreased likelihood for TDV among high school and after-school youth samples, but with increased likelihood among youth in foster care. Results indicate that youth utilize a wide range of both adaptive and maladaptive communication behaviors, and that similar maladaptive patterns predictive of relationship distress in young adulthood and in marriage are also associated with distress in adolescents' dating relationships. Equipping youth with adaptive communication skills as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing TDV and enhancing healthy relationships is meaningful for diverse adolescents. Further research is warranted concerning youth's perceptions of relationship quality and risk of TDV.

Nurse Perceptions of Babywearing for Neonates With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Infants diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) often spend several weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and have difficulty being consoled. Infant carriers may be used to help with irritability, while allowing the adult user to be more mobile, through the practice of babywearing (the facilitated holding of an infant using a soft cloth infant carrier worn on the body). PURPOSE: To examine the experience of babywearing infants diagnosed with NAS while admitted in the NICU from the perspective of the nurses who care for them. METHODS: Nurses (N = 18; mean age = 35.44 years, SD = 9.45) were recruited and interviewed using a semistructured interview method from a 38-bed NICU in the Southwestern United States. RESULTS: A thematic content analyses using an open coding scheme yielded 6 themes that fell into 2 categories: (1) benefits of babywearing infants with NAS in the NICU (Infant Consoling, Adult Multitasking, Caregiver-Infant Trust); and (2) suggestions to maximize babywearing in the NICU (Infection Control, Reoccurring Infant Carrier Education, and Reduced Patient Load). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Many NICUs incorporate kangaroo care (or skin-to-skin contact) as a treatment option; however, NICU staff cannot participate in kangaroo care. Babywearing is a practical alternative for nurses and support staff. Nurses supported the practice of babywearing as a means to improve the well-being of infants with NAS while also allowing for increased efficiency in nursing tasks. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: More prospective studies are needed that evaluate the carryover effects and long-term impact of babywearing for infants diagnosed with NAS.

"Babywearing" in the NICU: An Intervention for Infants With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The US opioid epidemic has resulted in an increase of infants at risk for developing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Traditionally, treatment has consisted of pharmacological interventions to reduce symptoms of withdrawal. However, nonpharmacological interventions (eg, skin-to-skin contact, holding) can also be effective in managing the distress associated with NAS. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether infant carrying or "babywearing" (ie, holding an infant on one's body using cloth) can reduce distress associated with NAS among infants and caregivers. METHODS: Heart rate was measured in infants and adults (parents vs other adults) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) pre- (no touching), mid- (20 minutes into being worn in a carrier), and post-babywearing (5 minutes later). RESULTS: Using a 3-level hierarchical linear model at 3 time points (pre, mid, and post), we found that babywearing decreased infant and caregiver heart rates. Across a 30-minute period, heart rates of infants worn by parents decreased by 15 beats per minute (bpm) compared with 5.5 bpm for infants worn by an unfamiliar adult, and those of adults decreased by 7 bpm (parents) and nearly 3 bpm (unfamiliar adult). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results from this study suggest that babywearing is a noninvasive and accessible intervention that can provide comfort for infants diagnosed with NAS. Babywearing can be inexpensive, support parenting, and be done by nonparent caregivers (eg, nurses, volunteers). IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Close physical contact, by way of babywearing, may improve outcomes in infants with NAS in NICUs and possibly reduce the need for pharmacological treatment.See the video abstract for a digital summary of the study. VIDEO ABSTRACT AVAILABLE AT:.

Methods and rationale to assess the efficacy of a parenting intervention targeting diet improvement and substance use prevention among Latinx adolescents.

Latinx adolescents are at higher risk for chronic diseases relative to adolescents of other ethnic groups, in part because of their lack of adherence to diet recommendations and their higher rates of substance use. Given the proximal influence of family factors during the developmental stage of adolescence, parenting interventions may be an effective way to promote healthy nutrition and substance use prevention simultaneously. This article describes the design and theoretical rationale of a study assessing the effects of Families Preparing the New Generation Plus (FPNG Plus), a 10-week culturally-tailored nutrition and substance use prevention parenting program, on diet and substance use outcomes among Latinx middle school students (6th-8th grade). The 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial compares FPNG Plus (substance use prevention and healthy nutrition), FPNG (substance use prevention only), and a comparison condition (focusing on academic success) in 1494 parent-child dyads from 18 schools, randomized at the school level. Adolescents and parents will complete surveys pre- and post-intervention, and 16-weeks after program participation, regarding diet behaviors, substance use, and parenting practices. A random subsample of 126 dyads (42 from each program), will participate in additional data collection to assess the home food environment, detailed dietary intake (via two 24-h recalls), and provide biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk (blood pressure, total cholesterol and HbA1c). If successful, this study will provide evidence contributing to helping Latinx parents assist their adolescent children develop and maintain long-lasting positive lifestyle behaviors in order to prevent concurrent substance use and diet-related chronic diseases.

Infant carrying as a tool to promote secure attachments in young mothers: Comparing intervention and control infants during the still-face paradigm.

Infants of adolescent mothers have a greater risk of developing insecure attachment types and attachment disorders into adulthood. Previous research suggests that skin-to-skin contact predicts secure attachment; however, it is largely unknown whether infant carrying or "babywearing" has similar benefits. We hypothesized that adolescent mothers (Mage=19.1 years, SD = 2.0; 40.6 % Hispanic; 40 %< = 11th grade) who were randomly assigned to an infant carrying condition at 2-4 weeks' post-partum (n = 16; 1 h daily for 3 months), compared to a control group (n = 17; reading), would be more likely to have securely attached infants at 7 months (M = 29.0 weeks, SD = 3.4). We coded infant gaze orientation, fretfulness, affect, self-soothing behaviors, and vocalizations in the reunion phase of the Still-Face Paradigm, and used an algorithm derived from the infant Global Rating Scales to determine attachment type. Infants in the intervention condition were more likely to have secure attachments and less likely to have disorganized attachments compared to the control condition. Hours spent babywearing was positively correlated with secure attachment, rpb = .40, and negatively correlated with disorganized attachment, rpb =-0.36. There were no statistically significant differences between the conditions or babywearing hours for avoidant or resistant attachment types. The results suggest that infant carrying may be an effective tool at promoting secure attachments, particularly for mothers and infants at greater risk for attachment insecurity.

Mexican American adolescent couples' vulnerability for observed negativity and physical violence: Pregnancy and acculturation mismatch.

Stress and vulnerability for dating violence may be heightened among acculturating Mexican American (MA) adolescents, and MA adolescent parents, because of differing cultural values and norms within romantic relationships. We hypothesized, in a sample of MA heterosexual couples (N = 30, 15-17 years), that: 1) within-couple level acculturation discrepancies, and pregnancy/parenting, would predict physical violence perpetration, and 2) that this association would have an indirect effect through couple-level negativity during an observed dyadic video-taped discussion of conflict. Using a path model we found that pregnant/parenting adolescents (B = .37, SE = .16, p = .002), and couples with greater acculturation mismatch resulted in greater couple negativity (B = .16, SE = .06, p = .01), which was associated with self-reported physical violence perpetration (B = .41, SE = .22, p = .02; indirect effect, B = .15, SE = .07, p = .03). Within-couple acculturation discrepancies and pregnancy/parenting may be a pathway to dating violence through poor communication skills around conflict for MA youth. Support services that strengthen communication skills, particularly for pregnant/parenting couples, are recommended.

Unintended Effects of an Intervention Supporting Mexican-Heritage Youth: Decreased Parent Heavy Drinking.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a parenting intervention, Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación (FPNG), intended to support children, on parents heavy drinking. We hypothesized that parent participants of FPNG would reduce their heavy drinking at 1-year follow-up. METHODS: Parents (N = 281) of middle school children from a large, low-income metropolitan area in the Southwest United States participated in a randomized control trial over 2 years. RESULTS: A logistic regression analysis using the maximum likelihood test determined that at Wave 3, parents receiving FPNG reduced heavy drinking behaviors compared to parents in the youth-only condition (odds ratio = .86, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Participating in the parenting program can effectively curb heavy drinking behaviors in parents-an important mechanism through which one may expect changes in youth risk behavior. The practice, policy, and research implications of these unintended findings are promising to the overall effectiveness of a parenting intervention for Mexican-heritage families.

A Latent Profile Analysis of Latino Parenting: The Infusion of Cultural Values on Family Conflict.

The purpose of the present study was to (a) examine how acculturation and social support inform Latinos' parenting behaviors, controlling for gender and education; (b) describe parenting styles among Latino immigrants while accounting for cultural elements; and (c) test how these parenting styles are associated with family conflict. A 3 step latent profile analysis with the sample (N = 489) revealed best fit with a 4 profile model (n = 410) of parenting: family parenting (n = 268, 65%), child-centered parenting (n = 68, 17%), moderate parenting (n = 60, 15%), and disciplinarian parenting (n = 14, 3%). Parents' gender, acculturation, and social support significantly predicted profile membership. Disciplinarian and moderate parenting were associated with more family conflict. Recommendations include integrating culturally based parenting practices as a critical element to family interventions to minimize conflict and promote positive youth development.

Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación: A Randomized Control Trial Testing the Effects on Positive Parenting Practices.

OBJECTIVES: This article reports the effects of a culturally grounded parenting intervention to strengthen positive parenting practices. METHOD: The intervention was designed and tested with primarily Mexican origin parents in a large urban setting of the southwestern United States using an ecodevelopmental approach. Parents (N = 393) were randomly assigned three treatment conditions: (1) a parenting and youth intervention, (2) a youth only intervention, or (3) a control group. A measurement model for positive parenting was first evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modeling to estimate the effects of the intervention on positive parenting (i.e., baseline to follow-up). RESULTS: As hypothesized, parents in the intervention group reported higher rates of positive parenting compared to parents in youth-only condition. CONCLUSION: The results are promising and add to growing evidence that interventions tailored to the cultural characteristics and environments of parents and their children can strengthen positive parenting.

Assessing risk of recidivism among juvenile offenders: the development and validation of the recidivism risk instrument.

A recidivism risk instrument was developed and validated on a sample of juvenile offenders (N = 1,987) based on the need to classify juveniles by their likelihood of re-offense. Female recidivism (R(2) = 27%) was predicted by younger age at first expulsion from school, history of parent incarceration, gang involvement, felony class offense, and firearm use. Male recidivism (R(2) = 12%) was predicted by younger age at first adjudication, referrals, school suspensions, history of maternal incarceration, firearm use, running away, gang involvement, and destroying property/stealing. Cross-validation analyses indicated that high-risk offenders recidivated at more than five times the rate of low-risk offenders.

Shared social and emotional activities within adolescent romantic and non-romantic sexual relationships.

Typically, "non-romantic" sexual relationships are assumed to be casual; however, the emotional and social distinctions between romantic and non-romantic contexts are not well understood, particularly in adolescence. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) was used to compare shared emotional (e.g., telling partner that they love her/him) and social (e.g., going out in a group) activities within romantic and non-romantic sexual relationships. Adolescents who reported exclusively romantic sexual relationships (n = 1,891) shared more emotional, but not social, activities with their partners than adolescents who were in non-romantic sexual relationships (n = 315; small effect size, r = .07-.13), akin to adolescents who experienced both relationship types (n = 519; small-to-medium effect size, r = .18-.38). Girls shared more emotional and social activities with their partners than boys when in romantic relationships (small effect size, r = .06-.10); there were no significant gender differences within non-romantic sexual relationships. Findings suggest that gendered scripts remain for sexual relationships that are romantic but not for those that are non-romantic. Notably, for the majority of adolescents, non-romantic relationships still held many emotional and social dimensions typical of romantic relationships and differences between relationship types were small. Although non-romantic relationships were less intimate than romantic sexual relationships, there was remarkable heterogeneity within this relationship type. Caution is advised when working with adolescents engaged in "casual" sexual relationships. Understanding the complexity of adolescent sexual relationships is critical for the advancement of effective sex education programming.

Young drivers' perceptions of culpability of sleep-deprived versus drinking drivers.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep-deprived driving can be as dangerous as alcohol-impaired driving, however, little is known about attitudes toward sleep-deprived drivers. This study examined the extent to which young drivers regard sleep-deprived compared to drinking drivers as culpable for a crash, and how their perceptions of driving while in these conditions differ. METHOD: University student participants (N=295; M=20.4years, SD=1.3; 81% women) were randomly assigned to read one of five fatal motor-vehicle crash scenarios, which differed by aspects of the driver's condition. Culpability ratings for the drinking driver were higher than those for the sleep-deprived driver. RESULTS: Qualitative findings revealed that driving while sleep-deprived was viewed as understandable, and driving after drinking was viewed as definitely wrong. The dangers of sleep-deprived driving remain under-recognized.

Efficacy of a Culturally Based Parenting Intervention: Strengthening Open Communication Between Mexican-Heritage Parents and Adolescent Children.

This article presents the results of an initial efficacy trial of a parenting intervention, Familias: Preparando la Nueva Generación (FPNG), used to strengthen parenting practices, specifically, open family communication. Using community-based participatory research, including stakeholder involvement, the FPNG curriculum was developed, evaluated for feasibility, and revised to complement the classroom-based keepin' itREAL youth substance-use prevention program. FPNG focuses on family influences that characterize Mexican-heritage youth and families, including the impact of acculturation. The 9 middle schools were block-randomized into 3 groups: parents and youth (PY), youth only (Y), and control (C) conditions. Parents of 7th grade youth (N = 393, 82.8% mothers) completed self-report surveys at baseline and immediately following the intervention. Structural equation model analyses confirmed that PY parents reported significantly greater levels of open family communication at the follow-up compared with Y parents; C parents were not significantly different from Y parents at follow-up. The inclusion of parents in adolescent-focused preventive interventions might increase the effect size of an original and efficacious youth prevention intervention.

Reciprocal relations between parenting and adjustment in a sample of juvenile offenders.

The over-time reciprocal links between parenting and adolescent adjustment were examined in a sample of 1,354 serious adolescent offenders followed for 3 years (16 years of age at baseline, SD = 1.14). Parallel processing growth curve models provided independent estimates of the impact of parenting on adolescent functioning as well as the impact of adolescent functioning on parenting. Positive adolescent development was facilitated by high parental warmth and low parental hostility. Parental monitoring predicted less problematic behavior, but less positive functioning as well. Predictably, parents became warmer and less hostile in response to positive adolescent development, and less warm in response to problematic adolescent functioning. Parental monitoring declined when adolescents exhibited either positive or problematic functioning.

Ups and downs of alcohol use among first-year college students: Number of drinks, heavy drinking, and stumble and pass out drinking days.

Given the dynamic fluctuating nature of alcohol use among emerging adults (Del Boca, Darkes, Greenbaum, & Goldman, 2004), patterns of alcohol use were modeled across 70 days in an intensive repeated-measures diary design. Two hundred first-year college students provided 10 weekly reports of their daily alcohol consumption via computer-assisted telephone interviews. Multi-level models demonstrated large within-person variability across days in drinks consumed, binge drinking, and days exceeding self-reported limits for stumbling around and passing out; these outcome variables were predicted by weekdays vs. weekend days (within-person) and gender, age of drinking initiation, fraternity/sorority membership, and alcohol motivations (between-persons). Repeated measurement of alternate indicators of alcohol use permits the examination of novel and important questions about alcohol use and abuse particularly in young adult and other erratically drinking populations.

"He cheated on me, I cheated on him back": Mexican American and White adolescents' perceptions of cheating in romantic relationships.

A qualitative approach was used to explore the meaning and perceptions of cheating in adolescent romantic relationships. Mexican American and White adolescents (N = 75; 53.3% girls; 56.1% Mexican American), separated by gender and ethnicity into 12 focus groups (three groups per type), discussed personal and peer experiences of cheating in dating relationships as both the victim and perpetrator. Dialogue was coded using inductive content analysis; two broader cheating themes encompassing six sub-themes emerged 1) perceptions of cheating (individual-oriented, peer-oriented, and frequency of occurrence) and 2) consequences of cheating (commitment, emotional responses, and relationship outcomes). Mexican American girls spoke most frequently and strongly about cheating, followed by White girls. The meaning and contexts of cheating by ethnicity and gender has important implications for promoting healthy dating behavior during adolescence.

Early temperament, propensity for risk-taking and adolescent substance-related problems: a prospective multi-method investigation.

One hundred thirty seven adolescents (M=15.3 yrs, SD=1.0 yr, n=72 girls) were recruited into temperament groups when they were 4 months of age based on reactivity to novel auditory/visual stimuli (Fox, Henderson, Rubin, Calkins, & Schmidt, 2001). Behavioral inhibition was observed across infancy (14 and 24 months). Additionally, self-reported substance-related problems and behavioral risk-taking was assessed during adolescence. High behavioral inhibition increased risk for substance-related problems among boys, whereas high behavioral inhibition protected against substance-related problems among girls, B=-1.18, SE=.48, 95% CI=-2.13 to -.24; p<.05. Additionally, high behavioral inhibition protected lower risk-taking children from adolescent substance-related problems whereas high behavioral inhibition increased risk for substance-related problems among higher risk-taking children, B=.04, SE=.02, 95% CI=.00 to .08. Findings from this prospective, multi-informant, longitudinal study suggest that risk-taking and gender may interact with temperamental traits to place adolescents at differential risk for substance-related related behavior problems.