Kristin Cole

Enhancing the Educational Achievement of At-Risk Youth

This study examined a non-school program aimed at enhancing the educational performance of economically disadvantaged early adolescents who live in public housing. The educational enhancement program included discussions with adults, writing activities, leisure reading, homework, helping others, and games using cognitive skills. A three-arm research design juxtaposed program youth who received educational enhancements with comparison youth in affiliated facilities who did not receive the program and with control youth in other community programs without educational enhancements. From youths, follow-up data collected 2 1/2 years after baseline revealed uniformly positive outcomes for program youth on measures of reading, verbal skills, writing, and tutoring. Teacher reports at final follow-up favored program and comparison youth over controls on measures of reading, writing, games, overall school performance, and interest in class material. School grades were higher for program youth than for comparison and control youth for reading, spelling, history, science, and social studies. Overall grade averages were higher for program youth versus comparisons and controls, as was school attendance. Study data lend empirical support to the provision of educational enhancements in non-school settings for at-risk youths.

Preventing Substance Use Among Black and Hispanic Adolescent Girls: Results From a Computer-Delivered, Mother–Daughter Intervention Approach

This 2008 study involved 546 Black and Hispanic American adolescent girls and their mothers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Participants provided self-report data. Analysis of covariance indicated that the experimental intervention reduced risk factors, improved protective factors, and lowered girls’ alcohol use and their future intentions to use substances. The study supports the value of computer-based and gender-specific interventions that involve girls and their mothers. Future work needs to replicate and strengthen study results.

Drug abuse risk and protective factors among black urban adolescent girls : A group-randomized trial of computer-delivered mother-daughter intervention

A group-randomized design tested a mother-daughter intervention in which researchers aimed to increase protective factors in a community sample of Black urban adolescent girls. Girls and their mothers at 2 community agencies were pretested and, by agency, were randomized to either an intervention arm or a control arm. Intervention arm girls and their mothers received a program for improving mother- daughter rapport. Posttest data collected 3 weeks after program delivery revealed that intervention arm mothers and daughters improved more than did control arm mothers and daughters on measures of communication and closeness. At 3-month follow-up, intervention arm mothers, relative to control arm mothers, continued to report better communication with and closeness to their daughters. Girls and mothers in the intervention arm rated the computer program favorably on parameters of enjoyment, comfort, relevance, usefulness of information, improvements to their relationship with one another, and whether they would recommend the computer program to friends.

Prevalence and correlates of Hepatitis C among injection drug users: The significance of duration of use, incarceration and race/ethnicity.

The study examined associations between hepatitis C (HCV) seropositivity and a lifetime history of jail or correctional facility incarceration among injection drug users. The sample consisted of 351 injection drug users recruited in inner-city neighborhoods of Baltimore. Multiple logistic regressions were fit to assess associations between HCV seropositivity and a lifetime history of incarceration for the total sample and stratified by race. Analyses demonstrated HCV nearly two times greater for whites than African Americans. In addition, HCV was 2.6 times greater in participants incarcerated in correctional facilities and HCV was 7.4 times greater in participants reporting more than 5 years of injection drug use compared to participants reporting less than 1 year of injection drug use. The study findings suggest that incorporating systematic HCV screening, prevention, and treatment programs within correctional systems represents a vital yet under-utilized strategy to reduce HCV transmission in society as a whole.