Kenneth H. Beck

Development and Validation of a Condom Self-Efficacy Scale for College Students

This study proposed to develop and validate a scale for the college population that measures self-efficacy in using condoms. The Condom Use Self-Efficacy Scale (CUSES) was derived from several sources and consisted of 28 items describing an individuals feelings of confidence about being able to purchase condoms, put them on and take them off, and negotiate their use with a new sexual partner. This scale was administered to a sample of 768 college students. It was found to possess adequate reliability (Cronbachs alpha = .91; test-retest correlation = .81) and correlated well with the Attitude Toward the Condom Scale (r = .51) and the Contraceptive Self-Efficacy Scale for women (r = .55). Our scale also correlated with a measure of intention to use condoms (r = .40) but was unrelated to a measure of social desirability. Students who differed on measures of previous condom use as well as on sexual intercourse experience also showed significant differences on this scale in the expected direction, indicating evidence of this scales discriminant validity. The potential uses of this scale in a college population are discussed, along with the issues underlying condom usage self-efficacy.

The relationship of social context of drinking, perceived social norms, and parental influence to various drinking patterns of adolescents

An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a sample of over 890 adolescent drinkers. The questionnaire contained measures of their social context of drinking, perceived social norms, and perceived parental behaviors regarding drinking. These measures were related to a variety of alcohol problem behaviors including binge drinking, driving while alcohol-impaired, riding with an alcohol-impaired driver, and experiencing one or more negative consequences because of drinking. Results indicated that drinking frequently in a social context of social facilitation, stress control or school defiance, as well as having close friends engage in these behaviors, tended to separate alcohol abusers from nonabusers. The implications for program development are discussed.

Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol: Relationship to Attitudes and Beliefs in a College Population

Two social psychological theories (the Fishbein Model and the Health Belief Model) were used to derive attitude and belief factors to predict intentions to drive while under the influence of alcohol and actual drinking-driving behavior in a college population. The results revealed strong support for the Fishbein theory; attitudes and normative beliefs predicted intentions, while intentions were the best predictor of subsequent behavior. From the Health Belief Model, specific beliefs regarding ones effectiveness at being able to avoid getting caught by the police and cause an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol were also significantly related to drinking-driving intentions and behavior. These findings indicate that decisions to drink and drive are the result of ones personal evaluation of this behavior and ones perceived ability to control the threatening consequences. Thus drinking and driving may continue to be so prevalent in a college population because they erroneously believe that they are still safe drivers and effective at controlling the attendant risks.

The social context of drinking scales: construct validation and relationship to indicants of abuse in an adolescent population

A series of items that measure the social context of alcohol consumption among adolescents was administered in a questionnaire survey to over 1,300 high school students. Emerging from a factor analysis were five factors which suggested that drinking occurs in the following social contexts: drinking for social facilitation where adults are not present, drinking at school or during school-related activities, drinking for stress control, drinking for conformity or to be part of a group, and drinking under parental supervision at home. Scales based on these factors appeared to be reliable, free from social desirability bias, and able to discriminate problem drinkers from nonproblem drinkers. The most important of these factors was drinking for social facilitation that is not restrained by the presence of adults. These findings reinforce the validity of examining the social context of drinking (which involves situational as well as motivational reasons for drinking) to uncover important etiological contributors of alcohol abuse in an adolescent population.

Persistence of effects of a brief intervention on parental restrictions of teen driving privileges

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which effects of exposure to a brief intervention designed to increase parental restrictions on teen driving privileges persisted over time. Design: A total of 658 parents and their 16 year old adolescents were recruited from a local motor vehicle administration (MVA) site as adolescents successfully tested for provisional licenses. At the MVA, parents completed written surveys about expected teen driving during the first month of provisional licensure. Afterwards, on weeks assigned as intervention, parents watched a video and were given the video and a driving agreement to take home. Both parents and teens completed follow up telephone interviews about communication, amounts, and limits on teen driving at one month (579 dyads), four months (529 dyads), and nine months (528 dyads). Results: The results indicated that both intervention parents and teens were much more likely to report using a driving agreement at each follow up during the nine month period. Significant treatment group differences persisted for communication about driving, but effects related to limits on teen driving that were evident at one month declined over time. Reports for passenger, road, and overall limits remained significant at four months; fewer were present at nine months. There were no differences in amounts of teen driving at four or nine months. Conclusions: It is possible to reach parents through brief interventions at the MVA and successfully promote increases in initial parental restrictions on teen driving with modest persistence for at least four months.

Teen Driving Risk: The Promise of Parental Influence and Public Policy

An analysis is presented of adolescent driving risk, the advantages of graduated licensing programs, and the potential for parent-based programs to moderate teen driving risks. Risk factors associated with youthful driving illustrate the potential importance and benefits of limiting the amount and conditions under which teens can drive. State policies, such as graduated driver licensing systems that formalize restrictions on youthful driving, have been shown to be effective. However, teen driving risks remain elevated. Parents are in a prime position to extend the benefits of state restrictions by developing and implementing their own tailored family policies on adolescent driving. Unfortunately, parents of adolescent drivers are often under-aware of the need to do so and fail to impose effective driving restrictions. An ongoing parent-based intervention to increase parental restriction on teen driving is described, and issues involved in implementing and evaluating family-centered approaches to reduce teen driving risk are raised.

Psychosocial Correlates of Physical Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Early Adolescents

This study examined the association between dating violence victimization and psychosocial risk and protective factors among Latino early adolescents. An anonymous, cross-sectional, self-reported survey was administered to a convenience sample of Latino youth (n = 322) aged 11 to 13 residing in suburban Washington, D.C. The dependent variable was physical dating violence; the independent variables included violence, substance use, emotional well-being, prosocial behaviors, and parenting practices. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed and adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were examined. Overall, 13.5% (n = 43) of Latino early adolescents reported being a victim of physical dating violence within the past year. The prevalence was 14.4% for girls and 12.9% for boys. Among the girls, binge drinking was the sole risk behavior associated with dating violence. Gun carrying, alcohol consumption, and having considered suicide were associated with dating violence among the boys. Physical dating violence appears to affect a small but significant proportion of Latino early adolescents and is associated with other risk behaviors. Healthy dating relationship programs are warranted for middle school youth with some tailoring to reflect gender differences in risk profiles.

Increased Parent Limits on Teen Driving: Positive Effects from a Brief Intervention Administered at the Motor Vehicle Administration

The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to a brief intervention administered at the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) increases parental limits on teen driving. A total of 658 parents and their 16-year-old adolescents were recruited from a local MVA site as adolescents successfully tested for provisional licenses. At the MVA, participating parents completed written surveys about expected teen driving during the 1st month of provisional licensure. One month later, 579 parent–teen dyads completed follow-up telephone interviews about teen driving within the past month. On weeks assigned as intervention, parents were exposed to a video and given the video and a driving agreement to take home. In multivariate linear regression analyses, the results indicated that when controlling for selected demographic and baseline psychosocial variables, intervention parents reported more driving rules, restricted driving, limits for high-speed roads, weekend night restrictions, and overall driving limits than did parents in the control group. When compared to control teens, intervention teens reported more limits on passengers, high-speed roads, and night driving, and on overall driving limits, but there were no differences for overall driving or driving under high-risk conditions. In addition, intervention parents were about 3 times, and intervention teens were about 5 times, more likely than controls to report using a parent–teen driving agreement. These results indicate that brief exposure to intervention at an MVA office may help increase parental limits on teen driving.

Trends in Alcohol-Related Traffic Risk Behaviors Among College Students

BACKGROUND Alcohol-impaired driving is a major public health problem. National studies indicate that about 25% of college students have driven while intoxicated in the past month and an even greater percentage drive after drinking any alcohol and/or ride with an intoxicated driver. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the change in these various alcohol-related traffic risk behaviors as students progressed through their college experience. METHODS A cohort of 1,253 first-time first-year students attending a large, mid-Atlantic university were interviewed annually for 4 years. Repeated measures analyses were performed using generalized estimating equations to evaluate age-related changes in prevalence and frequency of each behavior (i.e., ages 19 to 22). RESULTS At age 19, 17%(wt) of students drove while intoxicated, 42%(wt) drove after drinking any alcohol, and 38%(wt) rode with an intoxicated driver. For all 3 driving behaviors, prevalence and frequency increased significantly at age 21. Males were more likely to engage in these behaviors than females. To understand the possible relationship of these behaviors to changes in drinking patterns, a post hoc analysis was conducted and revealed that while drinking frequency increased every year, frequency of drunkenness was stable for females, but increased for males. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-related traffic risk behaviors are quite common among college students and take a significant upturn when students reach the age of 21. Prevention strategies targeted to the college population are needed to prevent serious consequences of these alcohol-related traffic risk behaviors.

Parent–Teen Disagreement of Parent-Imposed Restrictions on Teen Driving After One Month of Licensure: Is Discordance Related to Risky Teen Driving?

The purpose of the investigation was to determine if parent-teen discordance for parent-imposed restrictions on driving conditions, driving rules, and the consequences for driving rule violations were related to risky teen driving. A total of 579 parents and their newly licensed teens were interviewed by telephone, 1 month after teens obtained provisional licenses. In multiple regression analyses, the degree of disagreement with parent restrictions on driving conditions and parent-imposed consequences for driving rule violations were negatively associated with a composite measure of teen risky driving. Female parents were negatively associated and male teens were positively associated with risky driving, but discordance with restricted driving conditions was the most important predictor. Discordance may reflect poor parent–teen relations or inadequate communication about parental expectations. The findings suggest that increasing parent–teen concordance on parent-imposed driving restrictions may help reduce risky teen driving.