JeeWon Cheong

Gay-related Development, Early Abuse and Adult Health Outcomes Among Gay Males

This study examined relationships between timing of gay-related developmental milestones, early abuse, and emergence of poor health outcomes in adulthood among 1,383 gay/bisexual men in the Urban Men’s Health Study. Latent Profile Analysis grouped participants as developing early, middle or late based on the achievement of four phenomena including age of first awareness of same-sex sexual attractions and disclosure of sexual orientation. Participants who developed early were more likely, compared to others, to experience forced sex and gay-related harassment before adulthood. They were more likely to be HIV seropositive and experience gay-related victimization, partner abuse and depression during adulthood. Early forced-sex, gay-related harassment and physical abuse were associated with several negative health outcomes in adulthood including HIV infection, partner abuse, and depression. This analysis suggests that the experience of homophobic attacks against young gay/bisexual male youth helps to explain heightened rates of serious health problems among adult gay men.

Young Adult Educational and Vocational Outcomes of Children Diagnosed with ADHD

Decreased success at work and educational attainment by adulthood are of concern for children with ADHD given their widely documented academic difficulties; however there are few studies that have examined this empirically and even fewer that have studied predictors and individual variability of these outcomes. The current study compares young adults with and without a childhood diagnosis of ADHD on educational and occupational outcomes and the predictors of these outcomes. Participants were from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS), a prospective study with yearly data collection. Significant group differences were found for nearly all variables such that educational and occupational attainment was lower for adults with compared to adults without histories of childhood ADHD. Despite the mean difference, educational functioning was wide-ranging. High school academic achievement significantly predicted enrollment in post-high school education and academic and disciplinary problems mediated the relationship between childhood ADHD and post-high school education. Interestingly, ADHD diagnosis and disciplinary problems negatively predicted occupational status while enrollment in post-high school education was a positive predictor. Job loss was positively predicted by a higher rate of academic problems and diagnosis of ADHD. This study supports the need for interventions that target the child and adolescent predictors of later educational and occupational outcomes in addition to continuing treatment of ADHD in young adulthood targeting developmentally appropriate milestones, such as completing post-high school education and gaining and maintaining stable employment.

Dimensions of callousness in early childhood: Links to problem behavior and family intervention effectiveness

This study examined dimensions of callous behaviors in early childhood and the role of these behaviors in the development of conduct problems, as well as responsiveness to a family-centered preventative intervention. Caregiver reports of callous behaviors were examined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Problem behavior was examined using within- and cross-informant reports of these behaviors. Parenting was measured using observational methods within the context of a randomized control trial of the Family Check-Up with a sample of 731 ethnically diverse boys and girls (followed from ages 2 to 4) at high risk for later conduct problems. Results demonstrated that a measure of deceitful-callous (DC) behaviors had acceptable factor loadings and internal consistency at ages 3 and 4. DC behaviors at age 3 predicted problem behavior concurrently and longitudinally within and across informant. However, DC behaviors did not reduce the effectiveness of the family preventative intervention. These findings have implications for our understanding of behaviors that may precede later callous-unemotional traits and for our understanding of the development and prevention of early starting conduct problems.

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and growth in adolescent alcohol use: the roles of functional impairments, ADHD symptom persistence, and parental knowledge.

Research on the relation between childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adolescent alcohol use has found mixed results. Studies are needed that operationalize alcohol use in developmentally appropriate ways and that test theoretically plausible moderators and mediators in a longitudinal framework. The current study tested childhood ADHD as a predictor of alcohol use frequency at age 17 and age-related increases in alcohol use frequency, through adolescence for 163 adolescents with ADHD diagnosed in childhood and 120 adolescents without ADHD histories. Childhood ADHD did not predict either alcohol outcome. However, parental knowledge of the teens friendships, activities, and whereabouts moderated the association such that childhood ADHD predicted alcohol use frequency at age 17 when parental knowledge was below median levels for the sample. Mediational pathways that explained this risk included social impairment, persistence of ADHD symptoms, grade point average, and delinquency. Social impairment was positively associated with alcohol use frequency through delinquency; it was negatively associated with alcohol use frequency as a direct effect independent of delinquency. These nuanced moderated-mediation findings help to explain previously inconsistent results for the ADHD-adolescent alcohol use association. The findings also imply that future research and intervention efforts should focus on ADHD-related social and academic impairments as well as symptom persistence and parenting efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Risk of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Adult Males With Childhood ADHD

Objective: Research has clearly documented the social dysfunction of youth with ADHD. However, little is known about the interpersonal relationships of adults diagnosed with ADHD in childhood, including rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Method: Using data from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study, analyses compared the level of IPV (verbal aggression, violence) reported by young adult (18- to 25-year-old) males with childhood ADHD (n = 125) with reports by demographically similar males without ADHD histories (n = 88). Results: Males with childhood ADHD, especially those with conduct problems persisting from childhood, were more likely to be verbally aggressive and violent with romantic partners than males without histories of ADHD or conduct problems. Conclusions: Research is needed to replicate these findings, to explore potential mechanisms, and to develop effective interventions for romantic relationship discord among young adults with ADHD histories, especially those with persistent conduct problems.

Polymorphisms in the CRP gene moderate an association between depressive symptoms and circulating levels of C-reactive protein.

Although many studies have found psychological depression associated with higher circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), not all findings are consistent. Since DNA sequence variation in the CRP gene has also been shown to predict plasma CRP levels, we hypothesized that plasma CRP may covary with depressive symptomatology as a function of allelic variation in the CRP gene. We tested this hypothesis in 868 healthy community volunteers of European ancestry. Depressive symptomatology was measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CESD) scale, and plasma CRP was assayed from whole blood. Three polymorphisms [rs1417938 (A/T), rs1800947 (C/G) and rs1205 (C/T)] were genotyped and three-locus haplotypes were generated. Regression models adjusting for demographic and lifestyle-related covariates showed no direct association of CESD depression scores with CRP. In regression models adjusting for age, gender, education, smoking status and statin use, one CRP haplotype (T-G-C) was associated with CRP level (p=0.014) and a second haplotype (A-G-T) showed marginal association (p=0.064, respectively). Neither haplotype was related to depressive symptoms. However, plasma CRP was predicted by the interaction of A-G-T haplotype with depressive symptomatology (p=0.009). Higher CESD scores were associated positively with CRP levels among individuals with the A-G-T haplotype (p=0.004). In secondary analyses, body mass index was found to partially account for the moderating effects of the A-G-T haplotype on the association of depression with circulating CRP. In conclusion, we found that haplotypic variation in the CRP locus moderates an association of depressive symptoms with circulating CRP, which is partially mediated by BMI.

Accuracy of Estimates and Statistical Power for Testing Meditation in Latent Growth Curve Modeling

The latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) approach has been increasingly utilized to investigate longitudinal mediation. However, little is known about the accuracy of the estimates and statistical power when mediation is evaluated in the LGCM framework. A simulation study was conducted to address these issues under various conditions including sample size, effect size of mediated effect, number of measurement occasions, and R 2 of measured variables. In general, the results showed that relatively large samples were needed to accurately estimate the mediated effects and to have adequate statistical power, when testing mediation in the LGCM framework. Guidelines for designing studies to examine longitudinal mediation and ways to improve the accuracy of the estimates and statistical power were discussed.

Behavioral Control in At-Risk Toddlers: The Influence of the Family Check-up

This study examines the role of one component of emotion regulation, behavioral control, in the growth of childrens early behavior problems by examining whether increases in parental positive behavior support brought about by a family-centered intervention were associated with greater child behavioral control, and whether greater behavioral control at age 3 mediated the association between improvements in aspects of positive behavior support from ages 2 to 3 and decreases in growth of behavior problems from ages 2 to 4. The sample included 713 at-risk children (50% female) and their primary caregivers (50% European American, 28% African American, 13% biracial, 9% other) who were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Children had a mean age of 29.91 months at the initial assessment. Data were collected through home visits at child ages 2 to 4, which involved questionnaires for primary caregivers and structured and unstructured play activities for children with primary and alternative caregivers and siblings. Results indicated that the intervention improved parental positive behavior support and reduced growth of child behavior problems. One dimension of positive behavior support, proactive parenting, was modestly associated with behavioral control at age 3, which in turn was significantly associated with growth in behavior problems from ages 2 to 4, with greater behavioral control related to lower levels of growth in behavior problems. Results provide support for the notion that proactive parenting is an important factor in the development of childrens behavioral control and that behavioral control plays an important role in the growth of behavior problems.

An Evaluation of the Stress-Negative Affect Model in Explaining Alcohol Use: The Role of Components of Negative Affect and Coping Style

The stress-negative affect model for alcohol use was examined. The mediating roles of different components of negative affect were tested in the context of coping style. Data from 1,057 drinking adults (Mage = 44.45) and 352 drinking college students (Mage = 19.07) collected during 2001–2005 and in 2010, respectively, were examined separately. Participants completed self-administered measures of alcohol use, coping strategies, negative life events, and negative affect. A structural equation modeling framework detected stress-related drinking only in the adult sample. Sadness, anger, and guilt were significant mediators and the significant pathways differed based on coping style. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Social networks and substance use among at‐risk emerging adults living in disadvantaged urban areas in the southern United States: a cross‐sectional naturalistic study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Substance use and risk-taking are common during emerging adulthood, a transitional period when peer influences often increase and family influences decrease. Investigating relationships between social network features and substance use can inform community-based prevention programs. This study investigated whether substance use among emerging adults living in disadvantaged urban areas was influenced by peer and family social network messages that variously encouraged and discouraged substance use. DESIGN Cross-sectional, naturalistic field study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Lower-income neighborhoods in Birmingham, Alabama, USA with 344 participants (110 males, 234 females, ages 15-25 years; mean = 18.86 years), recruited via respondent-driven sampling. MEASUREMENTS During structured interviews conducted in community locations, the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test assessed substance use and related problems. Predictor variables were network characteristics, including presence of substance-using peers, messages from friends and family members about substance use and network sources for health information. FINDINGS Higher substance involvement was associated with friend and family encouragement of use and having close peer network members who used substances (Ps < 0.001). Peer discouragement of substance use was associated with reduced risk (b = - 1.46, P < 0.05), whereas family discouragement had no protective association. CONCLUSIONS Social networks appear to be important in both promoting and preventing substance use in disadvantaged young adults in the United States.