Biomedical subjects

A W Stacy

Publications and source records attributed to A W Stacy.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1990

Adolescents' first and most recent use situations of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes: similarities and differences.

This study compared first and most recent use situations of adolescent smokeless tobacco experimenters with those of adolescent cigarette experimenters. Structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 320 seventh and tenth grade youths in 16 Southern California schools. Students were categorized as nonusers (those who had never experimented with any tobacco product), minimal experimenters (those who had experimented with smokeless tobacco or cigarettes between 1 and 9 times), and persistent experimenters (those who had experimented with smokeless tobacco or cigarettes 10 or more times). The situations reported by smokeless tobacco were similar to those reported by cigarette experimenters. The most important differences between the two groups are highlighted. In particular, smokeless tobacco users seemed less concerned about negative social consequences of use than cigarette smokers. In addition, nonusers' observations of use and implications for prevention and cessation are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Peer-group association and adolescent tobacco use.

Mosbach & Leventhal (1988) examined the relation of cigarette smoking to peer-group identification in rural Wisconsin adolescents. They found that among dirts (problem-prone youth), regulars (average youth), hot-shots (good social or academic performers), and jocks (athletes), youth most likely to smoke were dirts and hot-shots. We performed a replication with a Southern California cohort and also for use of smokeless tobacco. We hypothesized that jocks would be the main users of smokeless tobacco. We identified the same groups and an additional one, skaters (skateboarders or surfers). As Mosbach & Leventhal found, cigarettes were used most by dirts. Contrary to their results, but consistent with other research, we found that hot-shots were least likely to smoke. Contrary to our prediction, we found that skaters and dirts were more likely to use smokeless tobacco than were jocks. Our data show that both tobacco forms are used by problem-prone youth.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Expectancy models of alcohol use.

The primary goal of the present article is to compare expectancy models with competing attitude models of alcohol use. First, several methodological issues in expectancy research were addressed, to more adequately compare the theoretical models. Study 1 examined the effect of possible self-report biases on associations among expectancy constructs and alcohol use. In Studies 2 and 3, the basic distinction between general factors of positive and negative alcohol expectancies was investigated in both cross-sectional and prospective models. Alternative predictions that were based on competing expectancy and attitude theories were evaluated primarily in Study 3. Results from these studies supported the validity of the expectancy constructs and the proposed distinctions among expectancy and attitude constructs-in terms of strong discriminant validity, absence of self-report bias, and differential prediction of alcohol use. Furthermore, the findings favored certain expectancy models over alternative attitude models of alcohol use, reaffirming the usefulness of the expectancy framework.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Problem behavior theory and adolescent alcohol use.

The prevalence of adolescent alcohol use has prompted interest in identifying the factors associated with its use. A comprehensive theory that provides a framework for understanding alcohol use is Jessor and Jessor's Problem Behavior Theory (PBT). We adopted PBT in a study of alcohol use among 226 Catholic high school students. PBT explained 38% of the variation in quantity-frequency of alcohol use and 31% of the variation in problem drinking. The three major systems (personality, perceived environment, behavioral) of the theory were about equally predictive of alcohol use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Structural-equation models of current drug use: are appropriate models so simple(x)?

The simplex and common-factor models of drug use were compared using maximum-likelihood estimation of latent variable structural models in two samples: a sample of 226 high school students, using ratio-scale measures of current drug use, and a sample of 310 industrial workers and 811 college students, using ordinal-scale measures of current drug use. Latent variables of alcohol, marijuana, enhancer hard drugs, and dampener hard drugs were specified in a series of structural models. Contrary to previous findings with cumulative drug-use data, the common-factor model provided a more acceptable representation of the observed current-use data than did the simplex model in both samples. In addition, the similarity of results across both of these samples supports recent contentions by Huba and Bentler (1982) that quantitatively measured variables are not necessarily superior to qualitative, ordinal indicators in latent variable models of drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Validity of self-reports of alcohol and other drug use: a multitrait-multimethod assessment.

Four methods (self-reported rating, self-reported intake, peer-reported rating, peer-reported intake) and multiple analytical criteria were employed to assess the construct validity of reports of three types of substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes) in a study of 194 college students who were members of friendship pairs. The resulting multitrait-multimethod matrix was analyzed in the traditional fashion as well as with confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent and discriminant validity for the three substance use traits were quite adequate, although the validity of one measure (the peer-reported intake measure of alcohol use) may be considered inadequate according to some criteria. This study demonstrates the usefulness of multimethod assessment and confirmatory factor analysis for research on construct validity and for derivation of more accurate measures of drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Covariation among health-related behaviors.

There is substantial covariation in the use of alcohol, cigarettes, and hard drugs and it has been suggested that different types of drug use are part of a "syndrome" of behavior that may include other health-related and "problem" behaviors. A critical challenge is the determination of the behaviors included within this syndrome and the mapping of the perimeter. In this study, six health-related behaviors (meal regularity, hard drug use, alcohol use, cigarette use, exercise, hours of sleep) were intercorrelated and factor analyzed in both a high school and a college sample. Consistent with previous research, alcohol use, cigarette use, and hard drug use were significantly associated in each of four subsamples (sex by sample) and formed a cohesive drug use factor. The measures of meal regularity, exercise, and hours of sleep were found to lie outside the perimeter of the drug use behaviors, with meal regularity consistently residing closest to the perimeter.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

One-year outcomes of Project Towards No Drug Abuse.

OBJECTIVES: This paper presents the 1-year outcomes evaluation of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND), a large-scale indicated drug abuse prevention program in southern California applied to continuation high school youth, who are at high risk for drug abuse. METHODS: The efficacy of nine-lesson health motivation--social skills--decision-making curriculum was evaluated in a three-condition experimental design. Twenty-one schools were randomly assigned by block to one of three conditions--standard care (control), classroom program, and classroom program plus a semester-long school-as-community component. A pretest was followed by a 3-week-long drug abuse prevention program and then a posttest at 14 continuation high schools. The 7 standard care schools received only the pretest followed by the posttest (same time duration). Subjects were followed up 1 year later. RESULTS: Changes in use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs were assessed in a pretest-1-year follow-up time interval. The follow-up rate was 67% (analysis n = 1,074). Indicated preventive effects were found on alcohol and hard drug use. No differences were found across the two program conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Project TND is the first program to demonstrate 1-year self-reported behavioral effects on alcohol use and hard drug use among older, high-risk youth by using a school-based, limited-session model.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Self-reported high-risk locations of adolescent drug use.

The present study provides a detailed multiple-choice self-report analysis of home, school, and other public locations where youth report using drugs. In addition, these settings were examined as a function of gender, ethnicity, type of drug used, and drug abuse status. The participants for the present study are 413 continuation high school youth, who are at relatively high risk for substance abuse. The single most frequent location of use was the participants' bedroom with a small group of friends. However, heavier users used different drugs across a greater variety of locations. Not surprisingly, drugs were used least at school. Interestingly, the prototypical party drug use situation is not a popular situation for drug use, at least among these high-risk youth.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The association of current stimulant use with demographic, substance use, violence-related, social and intrapersonal variables among high risk youth.

This paper reports the association of current stimulant use with demographic, other substance use, violence-related, social and intrapersonal variables among a large sample of high risk adolescents. A total of 21.4% of the sample reported using stimulants in the last 30 days. In a final, multivariable model, nonredundant concurrent predictors of current stimulant use were reports that friends use stimulants, reports that stimulants were likely to be used again in the next 12 months, use of alcohol, hallucinogens, or cocaine in the last 30 days, use of alcohol or other drugs to feel more safe, and reports of depression in the last week. Being above the median on 0 to all 7 of these correlates predicted from 0% to 85% of those who were above the median on current stimulant use. One may speculate that programming for these stimulant-using youth should include treatment of multiple substances, depression, and correction of social-cognitive misperceptions.

Adolescent↗