Sycarah Fisher

Video modeling and word identification in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Video modeling involves the learner viewing videos of a model demonstrating a target skill. According to the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders (2011), video modeling is an evidenced-based intervention for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in elementary through middle school. Little research exists evaluating video modeling for individuals with ASD in high school. This study examined the effectiveness of video modeling to facilitate the development of word recognition and pronunciation in three male high school students with ASD. A single-case multiple baseline experimental design across participants (i.e. video modeling sequentially implemented across three students) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling. Results indicate that video modeling was effective in facilitating word recognition and pronunciation. Findings suggest that video modeling may be a viable intervention to foster the reading development of adolescents with ASD.

What Can Parents Do? Examining the Role of Parental Support on the Negative Relationship Among Racial Discrimination, Depression, and Drug Use Among African American Youth

African American youth who experience racial discrimination are at heightened risk to use drugs as a coping response to distress. Based on the buffer-stress hypothesis, we proposed that parental support would attenuate this effect. Participants were 1,521 African American youth between 4th and 12th grade. As hypothesized, a mediation pathway was observed among racial discrimination, depression symptoms, and drug use. This effect was observed for both genders, although the pathway was partially mediated for males. In addition, as hypothesized, parental support buffered the negative effect of depression symptomatology on drug use as a consequence of discrimination. Our findings highlight the impact racial discrimination has on health outcomes for African American youth and the importance of managing youths’ emotional responses to discrimination. Moreover, findings illuminate the protective role of supportive parenting within the risk model and should thus be considered as an important component within prevention programming for this population of youth.

Examining the Protective Effect of Ethnic Identity on Drug Attitudes and Use Among a Diverse Youth Population

Ethnic identity is an important buffer against drug use among minority youth. However, limited work has examined pathways through which ethnic identity mitigates risk. School-aged youth (N = 34,708; 52 % female) of diverse backgrounds (i.e., African American (n = 5333), Asian (n = 392), Hispanic (n = 662), Multiracial (n = 2129), Native American (n = 474), and White (n = 25718) in grades 4–12 provided data on ethnic identity, drug attitudes, and drug use. After controlling for gender and grade, higher ethnic identity was associated with lower past month drug use for African American, Hispanic, and Multiracial youth. Conversely, high ethnic identity was associated with increased risk for White youth. An indirect pathway between ethnic identity, drug attitudes, and drug use was also found for African American, Hispanic, and Asian youth. Among White youth the path model was also significant, but in the opposite direction. These findings confirm the importance of ethnic identity for most minority youth. Further research is needed to better understand the association between ethnic identity and drug use for Multiracial and Hispanic youth, best ways to facilitate healthy ethnic identity development for minority youth, and how to moderate the risk of identity development for White youth.

An analysis of social justice research in school psychology

ABSTRACT The purpose of the current content analysis was to build upon previous empirical research both within school psychology and in other subdisciplines of psychology to refine the operationalized definition of social justice within school psychology research. Operationalizing the definition and substantiating it within the empirical literature is a critical next step for moving the discussion within the field of school psychology from the abstract to the concrete and measurable. We analyzed the research in school psychology to identify how much of the applied literature in school psychology journals between 2010 and 2013 had a social justice focus, what components of social justice were addressed, how they aligned with an established social justice framework from the literature, and what sociodemographic groups were represented. Of the 1,190 school psychology articles reviewed, 13% reported on applied research that included a focus on at least one component of our social justice definition. The majority of studies were conducted using elementary school-aged, English-speaking, White, and typically developing children as participants. Implications and future directions for school psychology research, practice, and training are discussed.

John Henryism Active Coping as a Cultural Correlate of Substance Abuse Treatment Participation Among African American Women.

The rates of illicit drug use among African American women are increasing, yet African American women are least likely to participate in treatment for substance use disorders when compared to women of other racial groups. The current study examined family history of substance use, perceived family support, and John Henryism Active Coping (JHAC) as correlates to seeking treatment for substance abuse. The underlying theoretical frame of JHAC (James et al., 1983) suggests that despite limited resources and psychosocial stressors, African Americans believe that hard work and self-determination are necessary to cope with adversities. The current study is a secondary data analyses of 206 drug-using African American women (N=104 urban community women with no criminal justice involvement and N=102 women living in the community on supervised probation) from urban cities in a southern state. It was expected that African American women with a family history of substance abuse, higher levels of perceived family support, and more active coping skills would be more likely to have participated in substance abuse treatment. Step-wise logistic regression results reveal that women on probation, had children, and had a family history of substance abuse were significantly more likely to report participating in substance abuse treatment. Perceived family support and active coping were significant negative correlates of participating in treatment. Implication of results suggests coping with psychosocial stressors using a self-determined and persistent coping strategy may be problematic for drug-using women with limited resources.

The Protective Effects of Adaptability, Study Skills, and Social Skills on Externalizing Student–Teacher Relationships

Although students with externalizing behaviors inherently exhibit behaviors that contribute to poor teacher relationships, little research has examined the positive characteristics these students may possess that serve to facilitate positive teacher relationships. This study explores the moderating effects of adaptability, social skills, and study skills on the teacher relationships of students with externalizing behaviors. Participants were a sample of 418 first through fifth graders (63% male). Fifty-four teachers completed the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) and Behavioral Assessment System for Children–Teacher Rating Scales for Children (BASC TRS-C) to provide information on student relationships, students’ levels of externalizing behavior, adaptability, social skills, and study skills. The findings suggested that adaptability, social skills, and study skills are important characteristics that contribute to all teacher–student relationships. However, adaptability and social skills contribute more positively to teacher–student relationships for students who exhibit externalizing behaviors. These findings suggest areas for intervention to improve teacher relationships for children with externalizing behaviors.

The Indirect Effect of Ethnic Identity on Marijuana Use Through School Engagement: An African American High School Sample

ABSTRACT Background: African American marijuana use is associated with many negative social, emotional, and health-related consequences. Of significance, over recent years this population has shown an increase in use. In the literature, ethnic identity and school engagement are prominent protective factors against substance use. Objective: This study will examine how these protective factors are related, specifically whether ethnic identity mitigates risk through school engagement to reduce marijuana use. Method: A path analysis was conducted with 437 African American high school students (41% male) from Midwestern schools to examine the role of school engagement in the relationship between ethnic identity and marijuana use. Results: The results revealed that students high in ethnic identity have higher school engagement, which lessens their frequency of marijuana use. Therefore, ethnic identity reduces marijuana use by increasing students school engagement. Conclusions/Importance: The results offer a clearer picture of how ethnic identity and school engagement protect against marijuana use. The results also present insight into how to protect students who are low in ethnic identity.

Peer victimization and substance use: Understanding the indirect effect of depressive symptomatology across gender

OBJECTIVE Peer victimization in school is common, with emerging literature suggesting that it may also increase risk for substance abuse. Yet, little is known about the underlying mechanisms within this risk pathway. The objective of this study is to use a prospective 3-wave design to examine the mediating role of depressive symptomatology on the relationship between peer victimization and substance use, as well as examine if the pathway varies based on gender. METHOD 801 youth between 6th and 12th grade completed surveys across three years, which included measures on school peer victimization, depression symptomatology and substance use. Models tested the mediational pathway between victimization, depressive symptoms, and substance use. Models were stratified by gender. RESULTS Controlling for grade and the effect of each variable across waves, a significant indirect effect of peer victimization on substance use through depressive symptoms was found for females, with a non-significant indirect effect for males. CONCLUSION Results suggest that female youth who are victimized by peers engage in substance use behaviors, at least in part, due to increases in depressive symptoms. Given its effect on depression, female victims may therefore benefit from coping skills training that targets emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills in order to combat increased risk for substance use behaviors as a coping response to their victimization. Further research is warranted to better understand the risk pathway for male youth who also experience peer victimization.

Alcohol-Related Disorders and Other Substance Use Disorders

Adolescent substance use is a national health concern. About 7% of adolescents aged 12–17 meet diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders, and approximately 145,000 adolescents enroll annually in outpatient substance use treatment nationwide. The purpose of the present chapter is to provide an overview of the changes in the DSM-V concerning alcohol and other related substance use disorders as well as the research surrounding these disorders. Substance use disorders have undergone several changes in the DSM-V, including the addition of drug craving and the removal of problems with law enforcement from the criteria, among others. Further, the chapter provides a review of the current state of literature related to the etiology, risk factors for use, associated comorbidities, as well as evidence-based interventions and prognosis.

A Prospective Examination of Anxiety as a Predictor of Depressive Symptoms Among Asian American Early Adolescent Youth: The Role of Parent, Peer, and Teacher Support and School Engagement

Objective: The current study sought to examine the prospective relationship between anxiety and depressive symptoms among Asian American (AA) early adolescents, a crucial period for the development of depression among youth. Further, as guided by cultural-ecological frameworks, a second aim of this study was to identify protective factors (i.e., parent support, peer support, teacher support, and school engagement) that might buffer the relationship between anxiety and depressive symptoms among this understudied population. Method: Participants included AA youth (N = 186; Mage = 12.50, SD = 1.16; 51.1% male) who completed questionnaires on 2 occasions with a 1-year interval. Results: Results from path analysis indicated that high anxiety symptoms were related to increased depressive symptoms over time. Further, teacher support was related to decreased depressive symptoms over time. Additionally, teacher and parent support moderated the association between adolescents’ anxiety and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Findings contribute to our understanding of the development of depression among early adolescent youth and have implications for the development of programming for Asian American youth with anxiety and depression.