Jacqueline Lamb

Optimism and its relationship to depression, coping, anger, and life events in rural adolescents

Optimism is a stable personality trait that has important implications for behavior, yet little attention has been given to examining optimism in adolescents. This article describes levels of optimism in rural adolescents and the relationship of optimism with depression, coping, anger, and life events. The identification of optimism may be a vulnerability factor when screening adolescent mental health and, as such, has implications for the psychiatric nurse clinician.

Screening and predicting adolescent depressive symptoms in rural settings.

Adolescent depression with related suicidal behavior is a serious health problem. This article describes depressive symptoms, reported life events, and demographic risk factors in 846 rural adolescents. The results indicate that self-reported depressive symptoms in rural adolescents is significantly (p < .05) related to gender, death in the family, and the perceived positive and negative impact of life events, as well as the specific events of losing a close friend, an increase in number of arguments with parents, trouble with classmates, and trouble with police. The type of school program and trouble with siblings was marginally significant (p < .10). These demographic factors and life events may assist health-care professionals in identifying adolescents at risk for depressive symptoms.

Life Events, Problems, Stresses, and Coping Methods of Adolescents

The purpose of this pilot study is to explore the life events, problems, stressful situations, and coping methods used by adolescents. A sample of 69 volunteer adolescents age 16-18 was obtained from a rural western Pennsylvania high school. The following instruments were administered: The Life Event Scale, senior high version (Coddington, 1972); Mooney Problem Checklist (1951); Stress Questionnaire (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984); and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). Descriptive statistics revealed the most frequent life event listed was breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend; most frequent problems were related to adjustment to school; and most common stress situations related to family. Coping methods were delineated with a few gender differences noted. The most common method of coping was self-control. The adolescent population has many issues to deal with during a time of psychosocial and physiological change and vulnerability. The psychiatric-mental health nurse specialist could be a valuable asset to help school systems teach health promotion and prevention concepts about mental health, identify students at high risk for mental health disorders, and offer counseling and guidance for students and consultative services for both teachers and parents.

Examining the common stressors and coping methods of rural adolescents.

The major objective of this study was to explore and examine common stressors and coping strategies of rural adolescents. Coping was defined as a cognitive and transactional process between a person and the persons environment. A survey of 222 normal adolescents attending a rural southwestern Pennsylvania high school reported experiencing stressful events related to school, family, friendship, health, and transportation. The coping strategy reported as being the most commonly used was optimistic. However, the coping strategy reported to be most effective in dealing with stressful events was supportant. The results of this study contribute to the limited information on adolescent coping in rural areas. This study should help health care providers further their understanding of this vulnerable population. Clinicians can enhance the effective coping and overall health of the rural adolescent by screening for and discussing coping strategies.

Anger Assessment In Rural High School Students

Anger and aggression in school children are a major concern in American society today. Students with high anger levels and poor cognitive processing skills are at risk for poor relationships, underachievement in school, and health problems. This article describes characteristics of children who are at risk for high anger levels and aggression as well as those who are able to modulate their anger. Results of a survey are reported which describe levels of anger in 624 rural high school students. This sample reported lower levels of anger, compared to the normative group. Differences among the sample include higher internal anger expression in girls, higher trait anger in boys ages 15–16, and higher trait anger in girls ages 16–17. Recommendations are made for future research and specific steps that school nurses can take.

Substance Use Among High School Students in Rural PennsyIvania

Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe alcohol and drug use in a sample of high school students from rural southwestern Pennsylvania. Results from rural adolescents are compared with a national longitudinal study, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The importance of the nurses role in prevention and intervention with adolescent substance use is discussed.

Smoking Cessation Intervention for Pregnant, Minority, Adolescent Smokers

Historically, smoking has presented a serious health risk among Americans. Although the number of adult smokers in the U.S. has decreased in the last 20 years, American teens smoke in increasing numbers. In 1990, an estimated 8.5 million teens, or 42% of the adolescent population, were smokers. Unfortunately, these figures encompass adolescents who are pregnant, a group whose numbers are increasing each year and whose smoking jeopardizes their own health and the health of their infants. Pregnant teenagers who smoke present a double obstetrical risk. In addition to the detrimental effects on the fetus, teen mothers are at risk for toxemia, anemia and uterine dysfunction. Low birth weight and pregnancy-induced hypertension continue to be significant problems for pregnant adolescents who smoke. An additional risk factor for pregnant minority teens (African American) who smoke is a higher neonatal mortality rate which is seen in non-white mothers.