Tom ter Bogt

Different types of Internet use, depression, and social anxiety : the role of perceived friendship quality

The current study examined the longitudinal associations of time spent on Internet activities for communication purposes (i.e., IM-ing) versus time spent on Internet activities for non-communication purposes (i.e., surfing) with depression and social anxiety, as well as the moderating role of perceived friendship quality in these associations. Questionnaire data were gathered from 307 Dutch middle adolescents (average age 15 years) on two waves with a one-year interval. For adolescents who perceive low friendship quality, Internet use for communication purposes predicted less depression, whereas Internet use for non-communication purposes predicted more depression and more social anxiety. These results support social compensation effects of IM-ing on depression and poor-get-poorer effects of surfing on depression and social anxiety, respectively.

Preventing heavy alcohol use in adolescents (PAS): cluster randomized trial of a parent and student intervention offered separately and simultaneously

AIMS To evaluate the effectiveness of two preventive interventions to reduce heavy drinking in first- and second-year high school students. DESIGN AND SETTING Cluster randomized controlled trial using four conditions for comparing two active interventions with a control group from 152 classes of 19 high schools in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS A total of 3490 first-year high school students (mean 12.68 years, SD=0.51) and their parents. Intervention conditions (i) Parent intervention (modelled on the Swedish Örebro Prevention Program) aimed at encouraging parental rule-setting concerning their childrens alcohol consumption; (ii) student intervention consisting of four digital lessons based on the principles of the theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory; (iii) interventions 1 and 2 combined; and (iv) the regular curriculum as control condition. Main outcome measures Incidence of (heavy) weekly alcohol use and frequency of monthly drinking at 10 and 22 months after baseline measurement. FINDINGS   A total of 2937 students were eligible for analyses in this study. At first follow-up, only the combined student-parent intervention showed substantial and statistically significant effects on heavy weekly drinking, weekly drinking and frequency of drinking. At second follow-up these results were replicated, except for the effects of the combined intervention on heavy weekly drinking. These findings were consistent across intention-to-treat and completers-only analyses. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that adolescents as well as their parents should be targeted in order to delay the onset of drinking, preferably prior to onset of weekly drinking.

“Partying” Hard: Party Style, Motives for and Effects of MDMA Use at Rave Parties

This study examines motives for and consequences of MDMA use at different types of dance parties in the Netherlands (2001 and 2002). Participants were 490 visitors of three different types of rave parties, “club/mellow,” “trance/mainstream,” and “hardcore” (34% female, mean age 22.3 years, 76.5% MDMA users). Partygoers are motivated primarily by the energetic and euphoric effects they expect from MDMA. Quantity of MDMA use is associated with hardcore and trance/mainstream party style, with the motives of euphoria, sexiness, self-insight, and sociability/flirtatiousness (negative), and with gender, educational level (negative), and MDMA use by friends. Women report more (acute) negative effects—depression, confusion, loss of control, suspiciousness, edginess, nausea, dizziness—than men; and in particular, women who are motivated to cope with their problems by using MDMA are at risk. Mens polydrug use and notably their motivation to conform to friends by using MDMA are associated with negative effects.This study examines motives for and consequences of MDMA use at different types of dance parties in the Netherlands (2001 and 2002). Participants were 490 visitors of three different types of rave parties, “club/mellow,” “trance/mainstream,” and “hardcore” (34% female, mean age 22.3 years, 76.5% MDMA users). Partygoers are motivated primarily by the energetic and euphoric effects they expect from MDMA. Quantity of MDMA use is associated with hardcore and trance/mainstream party style, with the motives of euphoria, sexiness, self-insight, and sociability/flirtatiousness (negative), and with gender, educational level (negative), and MDMA use by friends. Women report more (acute) negative effects—depression, confusion, loss of control, suspiciousness, edginess, nausea, dizziness—than men; and in particular, women who are motivated to cope with their problems by using MDMA are at risk. Mens polydrug use and notably their motivation to conform to friends by using MDMA are associated with negative effects.

The role of music preferences in early adolescents' friendship formation and stability.

The present study examines the role of similarity in music preferences in the formation and discontinuation of friendships over a 1-year period. Questionnaire data were gathered from 283 Dutch same-sex mutual best friends (mean age=12.97) in two waves with a 1-year interval. Results show consistent evidence for high similarity in specific music dimensions among friends at both waves. Moderate similarity was found in the overall patterning of preferences for music genres at both waves, even after controlling for similarity in social background. Specific music similarity in more non-mainstream music dimensions and overall music similarity at Wave 1 were related to selecting a new friend at Wave 2. However, similarity in music preferences was not related to the discontinuation of an existing friendship at Wave 2. Thus, results suggest that similarity in music preferences is related to friendship formation, and not to friendship discontinuation.

Not Early Drinking but Early Drunkenness Is a Risk Factor for Problem Behaviors Among Adolescents from 38 European and North American Countries

BACKGROUND Many studies have reported that the earlier the age at first drink (AFDrink) the higher the later drinking levels and related problems. However, unless adolescents proceed into drunkenness, it is unclear why consuming small quantities at early age should lead to later problems. This study investigates the link between AFDrink and problem behaviors (smoking, cannabis use, injuries, fights, and low academic performance) among 15-year-olds who did and did not proceed into drunkenness. Among those with drunkenness experience, we tested whether AFDrink predicted problem behaviors over and above the age at first drunkenness (AFDrunk). METHODS Multilevel structural equation models were estimated based on a sample of 44,801 alcohol-experienced 15-year-olds from 38 North American and European countries and regions who participated in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children cross-national survey. RESULTS Overall, there was a significant association between AFDrink and all 5 problem behaviors. However, this was the case only among those with drunkenness experiences but not among those never drunk. Among the former, AFDrunk was a strong predictor for all 5 problem behaviors, but time from first drink to first drunk did not predict problem behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Not early alcohol initiation but early drunkenness was a risk factor for various adolescent problem behaviors at the age of 15, that is, there was not consistent relationship for the time before the first drunkenness (i.e., since first drinking). Besides targeting early drinking, particular efforts are needed to impede early drunkenness to prevent associated harm in adolescence and beyond.

Shake It Baby, Shake It: Media Preferences, Sexual Attitudes and Gender Stereotypes Among Adolescents.

In this study exposure to and preferences for three important youth media (TV, music styles/music TV, internet) were examined in relation to adolescents’ permissive sexual attitudes and gender stereotypes (i.e., views of men as sex-driven and tough, and of women as sex objects). Multivariate structural analysis of data from a school-based sample of 480 13 to 16-year-old Dutch students revealed that preferences, rather than exposure were associated with attitudes and stereotypes. For both girls and boys, preferences for hip-hop and hard-house music were associated positively with gender stereotypes and preference for classical music was negatively associated with gender stereotypes. Particularly for boys, using internet to find explicit sexual content emerged as a powerful indicator of all attitudes and stereotypes.

Moved by Music: A Typology of Music Listeners.

A typology of music listeners was constructed on the basis of importance attributed to music and four types of music use: mood enhancement; coping with problems; defining personal identity; and marking social identity. Three Listener Groups were identified through Latent Class Analysis of internet survey data of 997 Dutch respondents, aged 12—29. High-Involved listeners (19.7%) experienced music as a very important medium and used music most often for mood enhancement, coping with distress, identity construction and social identity formation. Medium- (74.2%) and Low- Involved (6.1%) listeners formed two distinct groups with less intense importance/use patterns Furthermore, High-Involved listeners reported that they liked a broad range of genres (Pop, Rock, High Brow, Urban and Dance) and experienced the most intense positive affect when listening. However, both High- and Medium-Involved listeners also reported more negative affects (anger and sadness) when listening, compared to the Low-Involved group. Even the Low-Involved group listened frequently to music and used music as a mood enhancer. Generally, people who are ‘moved by music’, either positively or negatively, use it for mood enhancement and coping more often. Therefore, the High-Involved group seems to benefit most from music’s capacity to enliven and enlighten life.

Music Taste Groups and Problem Behavior.

Internalizing and externalizing problems differ by musical tastes. A high school-based sample of 4159 adolescents, representative of Dutch youth aged 12 to 16, reported on their personal and social characteristics, music preferences and social-psychological functioning, measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Cluster analysis on their music preferences revealed six taste groups: Middle-of-the-road (MOR) listeners, Urban fans, Exclusive Rock fans, Rock-Pop fans, Elitists, and Omnivores. A seventh group of musically Low-Involved youth was added. Multivariate analyses revealed that when gender, age, parenting, school, and peer variables were controlled, Omnivores and fans within the Exclusive Rock groups showed relatively high scores on internalizing YSR measures, and social, thought and attention problems. Omnivores, Exclusive Rock, Rock-Pop and Urban fans reported more externalizing problem behavior. Belonging to the MOR group that highly appreciates the most popular, chart-based pop music appears to buffer problem behavior. Music taste group membership uniquely explains variance in both internalizing and externalizing problem behavior.

Decreases in adolescent weekly alcohol use in Europe and North America: evidence from 28 countries from 2002 to 2010

BACKGROUND This study examined trends in adolescent weekly alcohol use between 2002 and 2010 in 28 European and North American countries. METHODS Analyses were based on data from 11-, 13- and 15-year-old adolescents who participated in the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study in 2002, 2006 and 2010. RESULTS Weekly alcohol use declined in 20 of 28 countries and in all geographic regions, from 12.1 to 6.1% in Anglo-Saxon countries, 11.4 to 7.8% in Western Europe, 9.3 to 4.1% in Northern Europe and 16.3 to 9.9% in Southern Europe. Even in Eastern Europe, where a stable trend was observed between 2002 and 2006, weekly alcohol use declined between 2006 and 2010 from 12.3 to 10.1%. The decline was evident in all gender and age subgroups. CONCLUSIONS These consistent trends may be attributable to increased awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol for adolescent development and the implementation of associated prevention efforts, or changes in social norms and conditions. Although the declining trend was remarkably similar across countries, prevalence rates still differed considerably across countries.

Cross-national comparison of adolescent drinking and cannabis use in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands

BACKGROUND This research examined the prevalence of drinking and cannabis use among adolescents in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, countries with substantially different laws and policies relating to these substances. METHODS Laws regarding drinking and cannabis use were rated for each country. Substance use prevalence data among 10th graders from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey conducted in each country in 2005-2006 were examined. RESULTS Laws regarding alcohol and cannabis were found to be strictest in the United States, somewhat less strict in Canada, and least strict in the Netherlands. On most measures of drinking, rates were lower in the United States than in Canada or the Netherlands. With United States as the referent, relative risks (RR) for monthly drinking were 1.30 (1.11-1.53) for Canadian boys and 1.55 (1.31-1.83) for girls, and 2.0 (1.73-2.31) for Dutch boys and 1.92 (1.62-2.27) for Dutch girls. Drunkenness was also higher among Canadian boys and girls and Dutch boys. However, rates of cannabis use did not differ between the countries, except that Dutch girls were less likely to use cannabis in the past year (RR=.67; .46-.96). CONCLUSIONS The lower prevalence of adolescent drinking and drunkenness (except among Dutch girls) in the United States is consistent with the contention that strict drinking policies may limit drinking among 10th graders. However, the finding that cannabis use rates did not differ across countries is not consistent with the contention that prohibition-oriented policies deter use or that liberal cannabis policies are associated with elevated adolescent use. Based on these findings, the case for strict laws and policies is considerably weaker for cannabis than for alcohol.