Debra H. Bernat

Racial Identity and Academic Attainment Among African American Adolescents

In this study, the relationships between racial identity and academic outcomes for African American adolescents were explored. In examining race beliefs, the study differentiated among (a) importance of race (centrality), (b) group affect (private regard), and (c) perceptions of societal beliefs (public regard) among 606 African American 17-year-old adolescents. Using cluster analysis, profiles of racial identity variables were created, and these profile groups were related to educational beliefs, performance, and later attainment (high school completion and college attendance). Results indicated cluster differences across study outcomes. Also, the relationships between academic attitudes and academic attainment differed across groups. Finally, the paper includes a discussion on the need to consider variation in how minority youth think about group membership in better understanding their academic development.

Racial Identity, Maternal Support, and Psychological Distress among African American Adolescents.

This study investigated the role of racial identity and maternal support in reducing psychological distress among African American adolescents. Both direct and indirect influences of multiple dimensions of racial identity (i.e., centrality, private regard) and maternal support on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety were examined among 521 African American twelfth graders. Findings indicated that maternal support was positively related to both centrality and private regard. Results provided little support for a direct association between racial identity or maternal support and depressive symptoms and anxiety within a multivariate context. Rather, the influences of racial identity attitudes and maternal support on these mental health outcomes were mediated by perceived stress. Further, the two racial identity attitudes were associated with perceived stress in different ways. Study findings suggest that the significance and meaning that African American adolescents attribute to being Black may be critical to their psychological well-being, and that maternal support and perceived stress are important considerations.

Adolescent Smoking Trajectories: Results from a Population-Based Cohort Study

PURPOSE To identify distinct smoking trajectories during adolescence and assess how smoking-related factors relate to trajectory membership. METHODS The sample includes 3637 youth from across the state of Minnesota. Measures include tobacco use, smoking behaviors of parents and friends, youth smoking-related attitudes and beliefs, and home smoking policies. A cohort-sequential design was used to identify smoking trajectories, including five cohorts of youth (ages 12-16) followed for 3 years. RESULTS Six distinct trajectories of tobacco use were found: nonsmokers (54%), triers (17%), occasional users (10%), early established (7%), late established (8%), and decliners (4%). Several factors were associated with increased likelihood of being in a smoking trajectory group (vs. the nonsmoking group): parental smoking, friend smoking, greater perceptions of the number of adults and teenagers who smoke, and higher functional meaning of tobacco use. In contrast, higher perceived difficulty smoking in public places, negative perceptions of the tobacco industry, and home smoking policies were associated with less likelihood of being in one of the smoking trajectories (vs. the nonsmoking trajectory). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents exhibit diverse patterns of smoking during adolescence and tobacco-related influences were strong predictors of trajectory membership.

Risk and direct protective factors for youth violence: results from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health

BACKGROUND The majority of studies on youth violence have focused on factors that increase the risk for youth violence. PURPOSE To assess whether determinants of violence operate as risk factors, direct protective factors, or both during adolescence and young adulthood. METHODS Data from participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, aged 13 years at Wave 1, were analyzed. Individual, family, school, peer, and community factors during adolescence (Wave 1 [1995]; age 13 years) were examined as predictors of violence involvement during adolescence (Wave 2 [1996]; age 14 years) and in young adulthood (Wave 3 [2001-2002]; ages 18-20 years). RESULTS Twelve percent of participants aged 14 years and 8% of participants aged 18-20 years reported serious violence involvement during the past 12 months. Bivariate analyses revealed risk and direct protective factors for violence at both time points. Risk for violence at age 14 years was increased by earlier attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, low school connectedness, low grade-point average, and high peer delinquency. Direct protective factors for youth violence at age 14 years included low ADHD symptoms, low emotional distress, high educational aspirations, and high grade-point averages. Bivariate analyses showed a lower risk of violence among youth aged 18-20 years who reported low peer delinquency at age 13 years. Multiple logistic regression analyses predicting violence involvement showed direct protective effects for low ADHD symptoms and low emotional distress at age 14 years, and a direct protective effect for low peer delinquency at ages 18-20 years, after controlling for demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that violence involvement remains difficult to predict but indicate the importance of assessing both risk and direct protective factors for understanding violent behavior.

Smoking Initiation During Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study of a Population-Based Cohort

PURPOSE To examine the extent to which young adults initiate smoking between the ages of 18 and 21 years; to characterize the frequency and quantity of use among initiators; and to examine predictors of initiation. METHODS Participants included youth who were part of the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort Study and had not smoked a whole cigarette before age of 18 (n = 2,034). Initiation in the present study was defined as having smoked a whole cigarette or more between the ages of 18 and 21. Predictors of initiation were measured at age 18 and included sociodemographic characteristics, social influences, and attitudes and beliefs about smoking. RESULTS Twenty-five percent (n = 510) of participants initiated smoking between the ages of 18 and 21 years. Among those who initiated, the majority (64%) reported smoking during the past 30 days, and approximately one-quarter (24%) reported smoking 100 cigarettes or more. Predictors of young adult initiation included being male, living in a metropolitan area, having friends who smoke, and the belief that smoking can calm someone down when they are angry or nervous. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that smoking initiation during young adulthood is not uncommon. These results highlight the need for tobacco prevention programs that target young adults.

Multilevel Predictors of Smoking Initiation among Adolescents: Findings from the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort (MACC) Study

OBJECTIVE To understand how factors at multiple levels of influence impact adolescent smoking initiation. METHOD Data from the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort, a population-based cohort, were analyzed. Adolescents were recruited from randomly selected geopolitical units (GPUs) in Minnesota at ages 12 to 13 (n=1953), and were surveyed every six months (2000-2006) until 18. The association between baseline social factors and smoking initiation was analyzed using logistic regression. Linear regression was used to analyze predictors and age of initiation among smokers (n=603). RESULTS Higher proportion of 15-16 year-olds who smoke at the area-level (GPU) was associated with younger initiation (15.47 vs 15.87, p<.05). Higher proportion of the population employed and higher median household income were associated with older initiation (15.90 vs. 15.56 p<.05). Parent education, living with parents or siblings who smoke, living in homes that allow smoking, and having friends who smoke at baseline were associated with smoking initiation or younger initiation (p<.05). Participants whose parents had less than a high school education were 1.6 times more likely than those with college educated parents to have smoked at least a whole cigarette (CI=1.06, 2.26). CONCLUSION Factors at multiple levels of influence effect adolescent smoking initiation. Smoking by older age peers and lower SES predicts earlier smoking.

Parental perspectives on sources of sex information for young people

PURPOSE To examine parental perspectives toward sources of sex information. METHODS Interviews were conducted with 1605 parents. RESULTS Most parents indicated that youth should receive information from their parents; however, in reality, believe they obtain most of their information from friends and the media. CONCLUSION Nearly all parents want young people to receive information about sex from their parents.

Generalized anxiety disorder in a nonclinical sample of children: Symptom presentation and predictors of impairment

Presentation of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in a nonclinical sample of children (7-11 years old) and factors that predict overall impairment were examined. Symptom presentation was compared in children with GAD (n=49) and anxious children without GAD (n=42). Children with GAD endorsed significantly more worries, greater intensity of worries, and more DSM-IV associated symptoms than anxious children without GAD. Eighty-six percent of children with GAD had a comorbid diagnosis with 4% having a depressive disorder. Number of associated symptoms was most predictive of GAD impairment based on child perspective and intensity of worry was most predictive based on clinician perspective. Overall, findings from the current study are consistent with reports based on clinical samples. The DSM-IV-TR criteria for GAD were supported, with the exception that children with GAD typically present with several associated symptoms, rather than only one.

Parental Support for the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

This study examined support for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among a representative sample of Minnesota parents after approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Support for the vaccine was high; 87% supported its use. Although individual characteristics predicted support, support was high across subgroups with two-thirds or more of parents supporting the vaccine.

Characterizing and Comparing Young Adult Intermittent and Daily Smokers

We interviewed 732 smokers (from five US upper Midwestern states) via telephone in 2006 to examine young adult smoking patterns. We first defined two groups of intermittent smokers—low (who smoked for 1–14 days in the past 30 days) and high (who smoked for 15–29 days in the past 30 days), and then analyzed differences between these two groups and daily smokers. Low intermittent smokers were much less likely to consider themselves smokers, feel addicted, or smoke with friends than high intermittent smokers. Daily smokers were more likely to feel addicted and have trouble quitting smoking than high intermittent smokers. Implications, limitations, and ideas for future studies will be discussed.