Séamus A. Harvey

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: A Bifactor Answer to a Two-Factor Question?

Despite its long-standing and widespread use, disagreement remains regarding the structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). In particular, concern remains regarding the degree to which the scale assesses self-esteem as a unidimensional or multidimensional (positive and negative self-esteem) construct. Using a sample of 3,862 high school students in the United Kingdom, 4 models were tested: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a correlated 2-factor model in which the 2 latent variables are represented by positive and negative self-esteem, (c) a hierarchical model, and (d) a bifactor model. The totality of results including item loadings, goodness-of-fit indexes, reliability estimates, and correlations with self-efficacy measures all supported the bifactor model, suggesting that the 2 hypothesized factors are better understood as “grouping” factors rather than as representative of latent constructs. Accordingly, this study supports the unidimensionality of the RSES and the scoring of all 10 items to produce a global self-esteem score.

The differential impact of a classroom-based, alcohol harm reduction intervention, on adolescents with different alcohol use experiences: a multi-level growth modelling analysis.

While evidence has accumulated suggesting that prevention initiatives may have a limited impact on alcohol use behaviour, reviews suggest that interventions with most potential for behavioural change are interactive and developmental in design. The School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP) is an example of such an intervention. Researchers are increasingly attempting to understand the differential effects of programmes in population subgroups. The present study is a secondary analysis of data from a non-randomised trial of SHAHRP, a classroom-based alcohol education intervention, involving school children (aged 13-16 years old) in the United Kingdom. Results showed that there were significant positive changes in knowledge about and attitudes towards alcohol in baseline abstainers, supervised drinkers and unsupervised drinkers. Significant positive behavioural effects in terms of amounts consumed, frequency of drinking and self-reported alcohol related harms, were observed almost exclusively among baseline unsupervised drinkers. These behavioural effects support those previously observed in Australia and suggest that the intervention is a viable health promotion tool in the UK.

Perspectives on adolescent alcohol use and consideration of future consequences: results from a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT Consideration of future consequences (CFC) is described as the attention that individuals pay to the potential outcomes of their behaviour, and how their behaviour is affected as a result of attention to these outcomes. Greater CFC has been associated with less alcohol use, thus indicating its potential utility in health-promotion initiatives. A focus group methodology was employed with 13–14 year olds (N = 129) in 16 high schools in Northern Ireland and Scotland to attain their thoughts on how adolescents in general consider the future consequences of alcohol consumption; and to provide some clarity on the nature of CFC and whether it is singular or dichotomous in nature (i.e. do individuals distinguish between immediate and long-term consequences and are they influenced by these in different ways). The participants indicated that the majority of adolescents do not consider the consequences of alcohol consumption at all; while to a lesser extent, some adolescents consider the consequences but ignore them. If adolescents do refrain from alcohol, immediate consequences are more influential in their decision-making than long-term consequences. These findings should help to inform and guide the development and delivery of health-promotion initiatives, and provide some clarity about the nature of CFC and the manner in which the construct should be examined or utilised during future research.

Adolescents' reflections on school-based alcohol education in the United Kingdom: education as usual compared with a structured harm reduction intervention

Abstract Alcohol consumption by adolescents in the United Kingdom (UK) remains high. School-based interventions are expected to play a key role in preventing adolescent alcohol consumption. A series of focus groups were conducted with pupils who received alcohol education as usual and pupils who received a Northern Ireland adaptation of the School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP), a universal alcohol education program designed to reduce the harms experienced by young drinkers. This study sought to compare and contrast the participants’ engagement with and enjoyment of the different alcohol education that they had received. Focus groups were completed with 129 pupils in 16 schools in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Alcohol education as usual was viewed negatively and was regarded as unstructured, boring, repetitive, and unrealistic. In contrast, the adaptation of SHAHRP was viewed positively and was regarded as enjoyable and worthwhile, and engaging and relevant to the participants’ experiences of alcohol use. These findings suggest that one reason why alcohol education as usual may not be successful in preventing adolescent drinking and protecting adolescents from negative outcomes may be due to its failure to engage participants. Higher acceptability by pupils means that the adaptation of SHAHRP may be one viable alternative.

Alcohol Behaviors across Perceived Parental Security Profiles in Adolescents

Background: Previous research has suggested a bivariate or correlational relationship between attachment scores and alcohol use behaviors among adolescents. Methods: The present study is a person-oriented analysis of the association between perceived parental security and alcohol behaviors in Northern Irish adolescents (N=1,126, 61% male, school grades 8 to 12; aged 12 to 16 years). Results: Model-based clustering of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Revised (IPPA-R) scores yielded five profiles: (a) High Security (n=146, 13%), (b) Moderately High Security (n=371, 33%), (c) Ambivalent Security (n=344, 31%), (d) Moderately Low Security (n=198, 18%), and (e) Low Security (n=67, 6%). High Security adolescents perceived high levels of communication and trust with, and low levels of alienation from, parents. Alcohol use ranked from least to highest in the order provided above. Conclusions: When compared to peers with High Security profiles, adolescents with Low Security profiles were almost 8 times more likely to be moderate drinkers and 55 times more likely to be problematic drinkers than abstainers.

Perceptions of school-based alcohol education by educational and health stakeholders: “Education as usual” compared to a randomised controlled trial

Abstract The present study sought the views of stakeholders, including school leaders and statutory stakeholders, on the content and evaluation of a classroom-based alcohol education intervention in a Randomised Controlled Trial in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Purposive sampling was used to ensure that schools from both the Intervention and Control groups were equally represented, and to ensure that similar numbers and grades of stakeholders in both countries were represented. A total of 27 participants (Male = 13 (48%); Female = 14 (52%)) engaged in a semi-structured interview prior to the end of the trial. Results suggest that: schools generally design their own alcohol education programmes; that intervention schools thought highly of the particular intervention tested; and that both groups engaged meaningfully in the research. The threshold for acceptance of the intervention was lower than the successful outcome of the trial. More pragmatic considerations were considered equally important. From the point of view of the statutory stakeholders, funding of an intervention depends on a successful outcome evaluation, but that “success” may mean a positive impact on at-risk groups, and not necessarily at a universal level. School-based participants also focussed on ease of delivery and user friendliness as key determinants of programme utilisation.

Steps Towards Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programme (STAMPP): a school-based and community-based cluster randomised controlled trial

Objectives To assess the effectiveness of a combined classroom curriculum and parental intervention (the Steps Towards Alcohol Misuse Prevention Programme (STAMPP)), compared with alcohol education as normal (EAN), in reducing self-reported heavy episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol-related harms (ARHs) in adolescents. Setting 105 high schools in Northern Ireland (NI) and in Scotland. Participants Schools were stratified by free school meal provision. Schools in NI were also stratified by school type (male/female/coeducational). Eligible students were in school year 8/S1 (aged 11–12 years) at baseline (June 2012). Intervention A classroom-based alcohol education intervention, coupled with a brief alcohol intervention for parents/carers. Primary outcomes (1) The prevalence of self-reported HED in the previous 30 days and (2) the number of self-reported ARHs in the previous 6 months. Outcomes were assessed using two-level random intercepts models (logistic regression for HED and negative binomial for number of ARHs). Results At 33 months, data were available for 5160 intervention and 5073 control students (HED outcome), and 5234 and 5146 students (ARH outcome), respectively. Of those who completed a questionnaire at either baseline or 12 months (n=12 738), 10 405 also completed the questionnaire at 33 months (81.7%). Fewer students in the intervention group reported HED compared with EAN (17%vs26%; OR=0.60, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.73), with no significant difference in the number of self-reported ARHs (incident rate ratio=0.92, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.05). Although the classroom component was largely delivered as intended, there was low uptake of the parental component. There were no reported adverse effects. Conclusions Results suggest that STAMPP could be an effective programme to reduce HED prevalence. While there was no significant reduction in ARH, it is plausible that effects on harms would manifest later. Trial registration number ISRCTN47028486; Post-results.

The Association between Scholastic Measures, Alcohol Outcome Expectancies and Alcohol Use: A Cross-sectional Study in Northern Ireland

Alcohol use among adolescents is associated with both short-term (truancy, illness, trouble with police) and long-term (dependence, unemployment) negative consequences. Moreover, because of its developmental nature, adolescent drinking behaviour is difficult to accurately assess. Individual-level scholastic variables and alcohol outcome expectancies have been found to be associated with drinking behaviours. This study used a cross-sectional design to investigate: the relationship between alcohol use and individual-level scholastic variables, namely academic motivation and academic self-efficacy; and the relationship between alcohol use and alcohol outcome expectancies, while controlling for a wide range of other variables. Participants were post-primary (high) school pupils in the greater Belfast area of Northern Ireland. They completed a range of questionnaires including measures assessing academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, alcohol outcome expectancies, and a composite measure of alcohol use. Results showed that, controlling for the hierarchical nature of the data, socio-demographic variables and other possible confounders, lower reported scores on the individual-level scholastic measures, higher reported scores on positive alcohol outcome expectancies, and lower reported scores on negative alcohol outcome expectancies remained significantly associated with more problematic drinking. Results are discussed in the context of contemporaneous school-related research.