Keith E. Saylor

Bullies, Victims, and Bully/Victims: Distinct Groups of At-Risk Youth

Bullying and victimization are prevalent problems in the area of adolescent peer relationships. Middle school students (N = 4,263) in one Maryland school district completed surveys covering a range of problem behaviors and psychosocial variables. Overall,30.9% of the students reported being victimized three or more times in the past year and 7.4% reported bullying three or more times over the past year. More than one half of the bullies also reported being victimized. Those bully/victims were found to score less favorably than either bullies or victims on all the measured psychosocial and behavioral variables. Results of a discriminant function analysis demonstrated that a group of psychosocial and behavioral predictors—including problem behaviors, attitudes toward deviance, peer influences, depressive symptoms, school-related functioning, and parenting—formed a linear separation between the comparison group (never bullied or victimized), the victim group, the bully group, and the bully/victim group.

Peer and Parent Influences on Smoking and Drinking among Early Adolescents

Social influences can promote or discourage adolescent substance use. The authors surveyed 4,263 sixth- to eighth-grade students to assess the effect of peer and parent influences on adolescent substance use. The authors conducted separate multiple logistic regression analyses for smoking and drinking, controlling for grade, sex, and race. Positive independent associations with smoking and drinking were found for direct peer pressure and associating with problem-behaving friends. Independent negative associations with smoking and drinking were also found for parent involvement, parent expectations, and parent regard. In an analysis of interactions, peer pressure was positively associated with drinking for girls but not for boys and problem-behaving friends was positively associated with drinking for both boys and girls. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that associating with deviant peers promotes and that authoritative parenting protects against smoking and drinking.

Depressive symptoms and substance use among adolescent binge eaters and purgers: a defined population study.

We surveyed 646 tenth grade females in Northern California to assess the prevalence of binge eating and purging behaviors. Of these, 10.3 per cent met study criteria for bulimia and an additional 10.4 per cent reported purging behaviors for weight control. Bulimics and purgers were heavier, had greater triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, and reported higher rates of drunkenness, marijuana use, cigarette use, and greater levels of depressive symptomatology.

The Stanford Adolescent Heart Health Program

This study was designed to create, implement, and test a school-based multiple risk factor reduction program for high school students. All tenth graders in four senior high schools (N = 1447) from two school districts participated in the study. Within each district, one school was assigned at random to receive a special 20-session CVD risk reduction intervention and one school served as a control. The schools were matched for size and distribution of racial groups before randomization. At a two-month follow-up, knowledge gains were significantly greater for students in the treatment group on each of the risk factor domains tested: nutrition/diet (p less than 0.0001), physical activity (p less than 0.0001), and cigarette smoking (p less than 0.0001). Compared to controls, a higher proportion of those in the treatment group who were not exercising regularly at baseline, reported regular exercise at follow-up (p less than 0.0003). Almost twice as many baseline experimental smokers in the treatment group reported quitting at follow-up while only 5.6% of baseline experimental smokers in the treatment group graduated to regular smoking compared to 10.3% in the control group (p = 0.009). Students in the treatment group were more likely to report that they would choose heart healthy snack items (p less than 0.0001). Beneficial treatment effects were observed for resting heart rate (p less than 0.0001), BMI (p = 0.05), triceps skinfold thickness (p = 0.003), and subscapular skinfold thickness (p = 0.01). The results suggest that it is feasible to provide CVD risk reduction training to a large segment of the population through school-based primary prevention approaches.

Correlates of seat-belt use by adolescents: Implications for health promotion

This study examined the psychosocial and behavioral correlates of seat-belt use among 1,728 10th-graders in four Northern California high schools. Parent and friend seat-belt use patterns were most highly correlated with student seat-belt use (r = 0.66 and r = 0.61, respectively) and together accounted for 46% of the variation in use. These relationships held across differences in sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Failure to wear seat belts was associated with a higher use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine; more tolerance toward speeding and drinking while driving; less exercise; and more preference for fat in the diet. Our findings attest to the power of parent and peer influences in shaping seat-belt use by adolescents and suggest that not wearing seat belts can be conceptualized as one facet of a pattern of general risk-taking behavior. These findings suggest several possible educational interventions to increase seat-belt use by adolescents.

The Effects of the Going Places Program on Early Adolescent Substance Use and Antisocial Behavior

This study evaluated the effects of a school-based intervention on growth trajectories of smoking, drinking, and antisocial behavior among early adolescents. Seven middle schools were randomized to intervention or comparison conditions and students in two successive cohorts (n = 1484) provided five waves of data from sixth to ninth grade. The Going Places Program, included classroom curricula, parent education, and school environment components. Latent growth curve analyses demonstrated significant treatment group effects, including reducing increases in friends who smoke, outcome expectations for smoking, and smoking progression, but had non-significant effects on drinking or antisocial behavior. The Going Places Program was effective in preventing increases in smoking progression, but its efficacy as a more cross-cutting problem behavior preventive intervention was not confirmed.

Impact Analysis and Mediation of Outcomes: The Going Places Program

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of the Going Places Program and mediation of treatment effects. Seven middle schools were randomized to intervention or comparison conditions and students (n = 1,320) in two successive cohorts provided five waves of data from sixth through eighth grade. The Going Places Program included classroom curriculum, parent education, and school environment components. Latent growth curve analyses demonstrated significant treatment group effects on outcome expectancies, friends who smoke, and smoking. Friends who smoke mediated the program effect on adolescents’ smoking progression. The protective effect of the Going Places Program on smoking progression was due in part to the prevention of increases in friends who smoke.

Evidence for an alcohol‐stress link among normal weight adolescents reporting purging behavior

A survey of 1728 tenth grade students was conducted to assess the prevalence of purging behavior, alcohol and drug use, and reported physical and psychological distress. Thirteen percent reported purging behavior. Female purgers outnumbered males 2 to 1. Male purgers were significantly heavier than male nonpurgers. The prevalence of drunkenness and daytime drinking among female purgers was significantly higher than for female nonpurgers. Female purgers were more likely to report using alcohol to reduce stress than nonpurging female peers. Female purgers reported a higher level of psychological distress when perceived situational control is low than female nonpurgers. Significant differences were not found between male purgers and male nonpurgers on variables assessing alcohol use and psychological distress. Educational programs aimed at prevention of eating disorders may need to be developed.

Nutrition Education Research: Fast or Famine?

Publisher Summary There is increasing evidence that diet plays a role in the etiology and progression of contemporary chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, and some cancers. Effective primary prevention is needed if these diseases are to be controlled. Recommended dietary changes to prevent chronic diseases include adjusting caloric intake to maintain ideal weight, reducing intake of saturated fatty acids and dietary cholesterol, and increasing intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The issues addressed in this chapter can help bridge the gaps in knowledge about the differential efficacy of specific nutrition education strategies in children and adolescents. Once efficacious behavior change strategies and approaches are identified, they can be used to overcome existing barriers in knowledge, availability, policy, continuity, and provision of health-related services to children, especially to adolescents. The chapter also examines the empirical evaluations of nutrition education conducted in school settings at all grade levels.

Drug Tests in Prevention Research

Firm, clear, and consistent consequences, such as termination from employment or suspension from athletic participation, enhance the preventive effects of drug tests, since outcome expectations and perceived self-efficacy influence people’s actions and behaviors. The drug-testing programs of the U.S. military services illustrate the dramatic effects that can be achieved by use of random drug testing based on standardized testing procedures and backed by strict disciplinary consequences. These findings from two decades of experience are ripe for study in prevention research. While drug-testing programs have also reduced illicit drug use in many arenas, including the workplace, the criminal justice system, and athletic competitions, broader and more consistent efforts are needed in prevention research. Based on these results, it appears that model drug-testing programs in prevention research need to be developed to advance the use of reliable and cost-effective drug-testing programs. More study is also needed on the preventive effects of drug testing on adolescents and young adults. Random drug testing has been implemented in several U.S. school districts, including Dade County, Florida, but the practice is uncommon, and outcome data are unavailable. Research is needed on the results of these pioneering programs. Overall, drug testing provides valuable information to researchers on preventing drug use and extends the information provided by self-reported data on drug use.