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Biomedical subjects

L Dusenbury

Publications and source records attributed to L Dusenbury.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Preventing adolescent drug abuse through a multimodal cognitive-behavioral approach: results of a 3-year study.

Students (N = 4,466) attending 56 schools in New York State were involved in a 3-year study testing the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention. In a randomized block design, schools were assigned to receive (a) the prevention program with formal provider training and implementation feedback, (b) the prevention program with videotaped provider training and no feedback, or (c) no treatment. After pretest equivalence and comparability of conditions with respect to attrition were established, students who received at least 60% of the prevention program (N = 3,684) were included in analyses of program effectiveness. Significant prevention effects were found for cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and immoderate alcohol use. Prevention effects were also found for normative expectations and knowledge concerning substance use, interpersonal skills, and communication skills.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Ethnicity and psychosocial factors in alcohol and tobacco use in adolescence.

Research on ethnic group differences has suggested that (a) adolescents from various groups differ on a number of dimensions that have been related to risk for substance use initiation, and (b) adolescents of different groups choose different substances. However, there is little consensus regarding the reasons for such differences. There is an especially high rate of alcohol use among Hispanic adolescents, and Hispanics are at high risk for alcohol abuse. In light of ethnic group differences in both substance use and the precursors of substance use in adolescence, this study examined differences among black, Anglo, Puerto Rican, and Dominican adolescents in the relation between cigarette and alcohol use and psychosocial functioning. Comparisons between the Puerto Rican and Dominican subjects were of special interest due to preexisting differences between these groups that may be attributed to acculturation. Results provided evidence of the importance of acculturation in modifying psychosocial vulnerability, especially for alcohol use, with the Dominican group at highest risk.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1989

A skills training approach to smoking prevention among Hispanic youth.

The present study was designed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a 15-session smoking prevention intervention with a predominantly hispanic (74%) sample of seventh-grade students (N = 471) in eight urban schools in the New York area. The smoking prevention curriculum teaches social resistance skills within the context of a broader intervention promoting general personal and social competence and was implemented in this study by regular classroom teachers. Results of logistic regression analyses provided preliminary evidence of the efficacy of this type of smoking prevention strategy with urban minority youth when implemented with a reasonable degree of fidelity. The significance of these findings is that they provide support for the generalizability of an approach previously found to be effective with white middle-class populations to a predominantly hispanic inner-city population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Smokeless tobacco use among adolescents: correlates and concurrent predictors.

Seventh grade students (N = 1539) from three regions of New York State were surveyed to determine the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use and its relationship to seven background variables, 13 substance use variables, and 19 psychosocial variables. Significant correlations with smokeless tobacco use were found within each of these variable domains. Concurrent predictors for each domain were determined using logistic regression analysis. The resulting three models were combined in a stepwise fashion in an effort to determine the most complete prediction model. The final model indicated that individuals at the highest risk for using smokeless tobacco were rural males who had smoked more than four cigarettes in their lifetime, were more heavily involved with alcohol, had a lower degree of assertiveness and social anxiety, and had reported eating as a coping response. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors promoting cigarette smoking among black youth: a causal modeling approach.

A longitudinal model of Black adolescent smoking was tested using 223 seventh-grade students attending public schools in northern New Jersey. Interpersonal and intrapersonal factors were hypothesized to have an impact on Black seventh graders' decision to smoke. After conducting an exploratory Principal Factor Analysis (PFA) using a varimax rotation with the Time 1 data, a structural equation model was developed and refined through successive iterations. The final model revealed friends' smoking to be the most significant predictor of Black adolescent smoking at Time 1, but perceived smoking norms and intrapersonal factors such as decision making, self-efficacy, and self-esteem at home and at school exerted an important influence on smoking at Time 2. These results suggest that social influence factors may be important early in the smoking initiation process, but factors such as perceived smoking norms and intrapersonal factors may play an important role in maintaining the smoking habit in Black adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social influence predictors of alcohol use among New York Latino youth.

We examined demographic and social influence predictors of adolescent drinking among New York City Latino adolescents, including specific Latino subgroups (i.e., Puerto Rican, Dominican, Colombian, and Ecuadorian). Sixth- and seventh-grade students (N = 3129) who identified themselves as Latino or Hispanic on the survey questionnaire comprised our Latino sample. The survey included self-reported frequency of alcohol use, demographic items, and measures of social influences for drinking. Logistic-regression analyses revealed that social influences (how many friends drink, attitudes of parents and friends toward respondent's drinking) are strong predictors of current drinking (defined as drinking at least once a month) for the overall sample of Latino youth, as well as for Puerto Rican youth and Dominican youth. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A psychosocial approach to smoking prevention for urban black youth.

Despite the high rates of smoking-related cancers among black Americans, little is known about the type of smoking prevention program that might be effective with black youth. The current study pilot-tested a promising smoking prevention approach to determine its feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness. A total of 608 students in nine predominantly black urban junior high schools were stratified by community and randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Students in the treatment condition participated in a 12-session smoking prevention program which taught resistance skills and general life skills. Process data indicated that this prevention approach was feasible and acceptable to students, teachers, and administrators. Outcome data indicated that this program reduced the proportion of children who smoked in the past month by 56 percent, and it increased knowledge of the adverse consequences of smoking and normative expectations concerning adult and peer smoking. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention and modifications which might further strengthen the efficacy of this approach for urban black adolescents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking behavior of adolescents exposed to cigarette advertising.

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between the exposure of adolescents in the seventh and eighth grades to cigarette advertising and their being smokers. A survey questionnaire given to 602 adolescents assessed their exposure to cigarette advertising and provided measures of their smoking behavior, demographic characteristics, and some psychosocial variables. The results indicated that exposure to cigarette advertising and having friends who smoked were predictive of current smoking status. Adolescents with high exposure to cigarette advertising were significantly more likely to be smokers, according to several measures of smoking behavior, than were those with low exposure to cigarette advertising. The findings extend previous research identifying factors that may play a role in the initiation and maintenance of smoking among adolescents.

Adolescent↗