Tara M. Dumas

Positive Parenting in Adolescence and Its Relation to Low Point Narration and Identity Status in Emerging Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis

In this longitudinal study, we examined identity development using the life story model (McAdams, 2001), in addition to a traditional identity status approach, in order to explore the association between perceived parenting in adolescence and the subsequent quality of life story narration in emerging adulthood. Participants (N = 100) were given a battery of questionnaires at ages 17 and 26 years and were asked to narrate a story at age 26 about their most difficult life experience. Low point narratives were analyzed for evidence of concluding clarity, resolution, and affective tone, termed coherent positive resolution (Pals, 2006). Structural equation modeling showed that participants who experienced more positive parenting at age 17 narrated their low points with clearer evidence of coherent positive resolution at age 26. Coherent positive resolution of the low point was also related to concurrent measures of identity achievement and emotional adjustment at age 26. Discussion centers on the potential impact of positive parenting as a contributor to healthy low point narration and identity in emerging adulthood.

Predrinking, alcohol use, and breath alcohol concentration: a study of young adult bargoers

Predrinking (preloading, pregaming) has been found to be related to alcohol use and intoxication. However, most research relies on estimates of blood alcohol concentration and does not control for usual drinking pattern. We assessed whether predrinking was associated with subsequent alcohol consumption and breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) among 287 young adult bargoers (173 men [60.3%], Mage = 21.86 years, SD = 2.55 years) who were recruited in groups in an entertainment district of a midsized city in Ontario, Canada. We also examined whether predrinking by other group members interacted with individual predrinking in relation to amount consumed/BrAC. Adjusting for nesting of individuals within groups in hierarchical linear models, predrinkers were found to consume more drinks in the bar district and over the entire night compared to nonpredrinkers and had higher BrACs at the end of the night controlling for drinking pattern. A group- by individual-level interaction revealed that individual predrinking predicted higher BrACs for members of groups in which at least half of the group had been predrinking but not for members of groups in which less than half had been predrinking. This study confirms a direct link of predrinking with greater alcohol consumption and higher intoxication levels. Group- by individual-level effects suggest that group dynamics may have an important impact on individual drinking. Given that predrinking is associated with heavier consumption rather than reduced consumption at the bar, initiatives to address predrinking should include more effective policies to prevent intoxicated people from entering bars and being served once admitted.

Street intercept method: An innovative approach to recruiting young adult high-risk drinkers

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Many young adults are risky drinkers who are often missed by general population surveys. The aim of the present study was to assess factors affecting participation rates in a street intercept approach to recruiting young adult bar-goers for an online survey. DESIGN AND METHODS Two hundred eighty-seven young adults were approached as they entered the bar district of a medium-sized city on two consecutive weekend nights. Of these, 170 met eligibility requirements and were invited to complete a 2 min street survey for which they were paid

Effect of Victimization on Impulse Control and Binge Drinking among Serious Juvenile Offenders from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

5 and given a gift card for

The longitudinal associations between substance use, crime, and social risk among emerging adults: A longitudinal within and between-person latent variables analysis

50 or

Being cool is risky business: Young men’s within-peer-group status, heavy alcohol consumption and aggression in bars

100 to be redeemed when they completed a follow-up online survey. RESULTS Sixty-one per cent of eligible persons (n = 104) participated in the street survey, with greater participation on the second night (74% vs. 50%). Sixty-eight per cent (n = 71) of those who participated in the street survey completed the online survey, with no differences in response by age or student status; however, men were significantly more likely to complete the online survey if they received the higher incentive, had consumed less alcohol and were recruited before midnight. The larger incentive was especially effective at increasing completion rates for men who had consumed a larger amount of alcohol. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Street intercept is an effective and efficient recruitment method that can measure both drinking and other experiences in the event and link these data to information collected in follow-up research. Unlike recruitment through convenience samples, response rates and response bias can also be assessed.

Six Month Outcomes of a Peer-Enhanced Community Reinforcement Approach for Emerging Adults with Substance Misuse: A Preliminary Study.

A vast literature has found longitudinal effects of early life stress on substance use and self-regulatory processes. These associations may vary by period-specific development among youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The current study used an accelerated longitudinal design and auto-regressive latent trajectory with structure residuals (ALT-SR) model to examine the within-person cross-lagged associations between binge drinking, impulse control, and victimization from 15 to 25 years of age. A large sample (N = 1100) of justice-involved youth were followed longitudinally for 7 years (Mage baseline = 15.8, Mage conclusion = 22.8). In general, the sample was ethnically diverse (41% Black, 34% Hispanic, 21% White, 4.3% Other) and primarily male (87.2%). Participants reported on their frequency of binge drinking, impulse control, and frequency of victimization at each time point. The results indicated that, during adolescence, victimization and binge drinking attenuated impulse control, which resulted in more binge drinking and victimization during young adulthood. The current study highlights the importance of assessing developmental processes and period-specific transitions among at risk youth, especially for youth experiencing early life stress.

Social Ecological Determinants of Substance Use Treatment Entry Among Serious Juvenile Offenders From Adolescence Through Emerging Adulthood

BACKGROUND The reciprocal relationship between crime and substance use is well known. However, when examining this relationship, no study to date has disaggregated between- and within-person effects, which represents a more methodologically sound and developmentally-appropriate analytic approach. Further, few studies have considered the role of social risk (e.g., deviant peers, high-risk living situations) in the aforementioned relationship. We examined these associations in a group of individuals with heightened vulnerability to substance use, crime and social risk: emerging adults (aged 18-25 years) in substance use treatment. METHODS Participants were 3479 emerging adults who had entered treatment. We used auto-regressive latent growth models with structured residuals (ALT-SR) to examine the within-person cross-lagged association between crime and substance use and whether social risk contributed to this association. A taxonomy of nested models was used to determine the structural form of the data, within-person cross-lagged associations, and between-person associations. RESULTS In contrast to the extant literature on cross-lagged relations between crime and substance use, we found little evidence of such relations once between- and within-person relations were plausibly disaggregated. Yet, our results indicated that within-person increases in social risk were predictive of subsequent increases in crime and substance use. Post-hoc analyses revealed a mediation effect of social risk between crime and substance use. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest the need to re-think the association between crime and substance use among emerging adults. Individuals that remain connected to high-risk social environments after finishing treatment may represent a group that could use more specialized, tailored treatments.

Competition and intergroup bias: Toward a new construal process framework distinguishing competitive perceptions from competitive motivations

Abstract Although research suggests that male peers play an important role in young men’s bar aggression, little is known about specific peer-related predictors of this behaviour. Both bar aggression and heavy alcohol consumption are associated with traditional masculinity and peer-acceptance among young men; thus, engagement in these behaviours may help young men maintain positive social standings within their male peer groups. Further, increased heavy alcohol consumption may, in turn, facilitate bar aggression. We conducted the first empirical analysis of the association between young men’s within-peer-group status and propensity to respond aggressively to provocation in bars. We also examined the mediating role of heavy episodic drinking in this relationship. In this study, male bar-going university students (N = 116; Mage = 19 years) completed self-reported measures of their within-peer-group status, frequency of heavy episodic drinking in the past month, and their likelihood to physically aggress in response to hypothetical provocation at a bar. As hypothesised, the higher participants’ within-peer-group status, the more likely they were to report that they would respond to provocation at a bar with physical aggression. Moreover, the positive association between status and bar aggression was explained by increased engagement in heavy alcohol consumption. Results suggest that future intervention efforts to prevent bar aggression and harmful drinking practices may benefit from addressing issues of status among young men.

A meta-analysis of the association between substance use and emerging adult development using the IDEA scale: Substance Use and Emerging Adult Development

Little substance use disorder (SUD) treatment research with emerging adults ages 18-25 has been done in community settings, and it is well-known that peers influence emerging adult substance use. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the feasibility of a peer-enhanced behavioral treatment for emerging adults with substance use problems. Emerging adults (n=35) received a peer-enhanced version of the Community Reinforcement Approach (Peer-CRA), in which their peers (n=34) were trained to provide alcohol-specific social support. Both identified clients and peers were interviewed at treatment intake, and again three and six months later. Six month outcomes included days of abstinence adjusted for controlled environment days, social costs due to substance use, and binge drinking days in the past 90 days. Treatments were delivered with high fidelity, and a high proportion of participants were retained in treatment and follow-up assessments. Growth curve analyses revealed that emerging adults and their peers significantly increased their days of abstinence and reduced their binge drinking over time. Larger randomized trials should a) test whether peer-enhanced treatments are efficacious relative to treatment as usual, b) investigate whether secondary benefits exist for non-treatment seeking peers supporting anothers treatment, and c) examine whether proposed mechanisms of change (i.e., peer support and peer reductions in substance use) account for any differences in outcomes.