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Biomedical subjects

M D Newcomb

Publications and source records attributed to M D Newcomb.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Two varieties of helping in drunk-driving intervention: personal and situational factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined personal characteristics and contextual factors among college students who had made an attempt to prevent someone from driving drunk. The study was guided by findings from prior research and the arousal/cost-benefit model of helping. Both passive and assertive interventions and their efficacy were considered. METHOD: Questionnaire data were obtained from 388 students: 206 (68%) had intervened in a DUI situation (63% women). Self-reports of the person (e.g., moral obligation), the situation (e.g., perceived danger) and the type (passive, assertive) and success of the interventions were gathered. RESULTS: Of all interventions used 73% were successful; the median number of interventions used was three. Of the assertive interventions used in DUI situations 57% were successful compared to 47% of the passive interventions. Path analyses revealed that being older relative to the intervenee and greater sobriety of the intervenor predicted more interventions of both types. Personal commitment to intervention, amount of perceived danger and less alcohol consumption increased assertive interventions, whereas talking with someone about the potential DUI person increased the number of passive interventions. The success of both passive and assertive interventions were dependent upon the number of each of these interventions used. However, the more passive interventions were attempted, the less likely the success of an assertive intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings extend our understanding of the psychosocial factors associated with informal DUI intervention, particularly concerning the choice and success of passive versus assertive interventions. Several of these significant predictors support laboratory research findings on helping and the arousal/cost-benefit model, while others do not.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

On fighting versus accepting stressful circumstances: primary and secondary control among HIV-positive men in prison.

The primacy of primary control over secondary control and ethnic differences in control processes were tested in HIV-positive male state prison inmates. They rated their perceptions of control and psychological distress at an initial interview (N = 95) and 3 months later (N = 78). Regression analyses revealed that primary control had primacy as it had greater adaptive value. However, secondary control did not function as a backup to primary control, and temporal differences in control were not found. No mean differences due to ethnicity (African American vs. White) were found, but there was a strong ethnic difference in the effects of primary control. White participants showed the expected negative relationship between distress and primary control, but African American participants did not. The idea that the benefits of primary control would be the same across various subcultures was not supported.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

Demographic and psychosocial risk for alcohol use: ethnic differences.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the influence of demographic variables, and social (parents and peers), attitudinal and intentions variables regarding alcohol use on actual drinking behavior among Asian and white populations. METHOD: Asian (n = 148; 79 female, 69 male) and white (n = 132; 72 female, 60 male) college students completed a questionnaire. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that social and attitudinal factors reflected a common construct of Psychosocial Vulnerability which, in a structural equation model, was significantly predicted by ethnicity. The white population was exposed to more psychosocial risks to alcohol use compared to the Asian population. Ethnicity, however, did not directly predict either drinking intentions or drinking behavior, after the effects on Psychosocial Vulnerability were considered. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that ethnic differences in alcohol use between Asians and whites are mainly due to different levels of exposure to risk factors. Effective prevention programs must consider, not only psychosocial factors, but also certain contextual factors such as sex and ethnicity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Childhood aggression and unconventionality: impact on later academic achievement, drug use, and workforce involvement.

The interrelation of childhood aggression, unconventionality, academic orientation, work involvement, and drug use was explored. Data were obtained for the research participants when they were 5 to 10 years old. Follow-up interviews were conducted when the participants were 15 to 20 years old and again at 21 to 26 years old. Latent variable causal analysis was used, and the findings reveal long-term relations between early childhood aggression and adolescent problem behavior in the academic and occupational areas. The findings also indicate that adolescent drug use generates an early involvement with adult role behaviors, such as work at the expense of further education. Implications of the findings for prevention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Types of drunk-driving intervention: prevalence, success and gender.

OBJECTIVE: Survey research suggests that there are few, if any, gender differences in the types and frequency of informal drunk-driving intervention. This contrasts sharply with laboratory studies of helping behavior which report that men are more likely to help than are women. The present study examined the frequency and success rate of several different types of informal drunk-driving intervention for women and men. The influence of the gender of the intervenor and the intoxicated individual and the intervenor's familiarity with the individual on the use and success of the different interventions were also examined. METHOD: Students (N = 388) at a major West Coast university completed a drinking and driving questionnaire. Of these subjects 303 (78%) reported having been in a DUI situation within the last year, and 68% at these students (n = 206) who reported having intervened at least once in the past year were used in the present study. RESULTS: Women were just as likely as men to intervene. There were few gender differences in the frequency and success rates of the different types of intervention examined. Familiarity with the intoxicated individual increased the frequency and success of intervention. However, intervention with strangers occurred under certain circumstances. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that there are few gender differences in the use and success rate of different types of informal drunk-driving intervention. However, since the interventions examined in this study were determined a priori, gender differences may still be operative. There is some research evidence that suggests that men and women approach potential drunk drivers differently. Furthermore, the role of familiarity in drunk-driving intervention needs to be further examined.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1994

Drug use and intimate relationships among women and men: separating specific from general effects in prospective data using structural equation models.

This article presents the use of specific paths in structural equation models (SEMs) that allow separation and tests of both unique and common (latent) aspects of measured variables. Cross-sectional studies have established that problems in intimate relationships are related to drug use, but the direction of these effects is unclear and is best addressed by using SEMs with prospective data. Reciprocal effects between constructs of polydrug use and relationship quality were examined for 307 young women and 117 young men over a 4-year period while social conformity was controlled for. No cross-lagged effects were found between latent constructs, except for polydrug use, which increased later divorces for women. However, specific paths allowed tests of types of drug use and relationship quality as both predictors and consequences. There were 8 effects for women and 6 for men from specific measures of drug use that adversely affected aspects of relationship quality. Conversely, only one effect was found from relationship quality to drug use variables for both genders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Psychosocial correlates and predictors of AIDS risk behaviors, abortion, and drug use among a community sample, of young adult women.

Relations among latent constructs of Social Conformity, Sensation Seeking, Polydrug Use, Sexual Experience, Abortion, and Risky AIDS Behaviors were examined among a community sample of women (N = 438, mean age = 25.5 years) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and predictive structural equation models (SEM). In the CFA, Risky AIDS Behavior was strongly related to more Polydrug Use and less Social Conformity and modestly related to Sexual Experience and Abortions. In SEMs, Social Conformity significantly predicted less Risky AIDS Behavior and less Polydrug Use but did not predict Abortions. Prior Sexual Experience predicted more Polydrug Use and Abortions. We conclude that the same psychological processes and predispositions that relate low social conformity to drug use and other unhealthy behaviors also influence AIDS-risk behaviors, even among a community sample of women.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1994

Children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors and maternal health problems.

Examined the impact of a range of health related constructs reflecting maternal physical symptomatology, health services utilization, subjective health status, depressed mood, medical-psychological complaints, and marital adjustment on children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in a community sample (N = 145). Physical symptomatology predicted a general second-order latent factor of children's behavior problems. Depressed mood predicted a primary latent factor of internalizing child behavior problems. Seizure symptoms, and more health problems in the last 4 years specifically predicted child psychosomatic complaints/anxiety. Thus, general physical symptoms predicted a broad spectrum of problem behaviors, whereas specific mental or physical health problems predicted similar distinct problem behavior syndromes. Implications of these results for identifying children at risk for psychopathology, and the relevance of social learning theory and a broader based family systems approach are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Risk, protection, and vulnerability to adolescent drug use: latent-variable models of three age groups.

Much research has focused on the relationships between risk factors and adolescent drug use (DU). Less is known regarding the role of protective factors and how they may inoculate youth from initiating or escalating their DU. Using latent-variable modeling and a risk factor method, we examined the cross-sectional role of risk and protective factors in predicting teenage DU for three age groups, separately by gender. Data are from a biannual statewide survey of California students. A Vulnerability latent construct was reflected in three unit-weighted indexes: risk for initiation to DU, risk for problem DU, and protection from DU. A Polydrug Use construct was reflected in eight measures of alcohol and drug use. Structural equation models revealed that for all age/gender groups, Vulnerability was strongly related to Polydrug Use as well as having specific effects on the DU measures. Effects between Vulnerability and DU were more numerous for seventh and eleventh grade than ninth grade students. Ninth grade females had the fewest effects overall. Number of specific effects between protection and DU remained stable with increasing age. Results underscore two important foci for prevention: 1) the importance of considering age-related developmental phenomena in the overall context of DU prevention; and 2) that programs continue to emphasize risk reduction, while simultaneously developing and reinforcing protective agents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Effect of hyperalimentation on body composition in swine.

Fifty growing pigs were used in two experiments to evaluate the effects of cannulation and hyperalimentation on performance and body composition responses. Surgical implantation of a cannula into the greater curvature of the stomach and subsequent management associated with maintenance of the cannula did not result in a reduction (P > .05) of voluntary feed intake. Cannulation did not negatively affect gain (P > .05). Over the entire trial, feed efficiency was not changed by cannulation (P > .05). Cannulation itself did not affect protein or fat deposition (P > .05) in the carcass. Hyperalimentation to approximately 120% of control intake resulted in increased daily gain (P < .05) and similar feed efficiency (P > .05) compared with that of control animals. Hyperalimentation decreased protein deposition (P < .05) and tended to increase fat deposition.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1992

Substance abuse and control in the United States: ethical and legal issues.

In 1986, the United States began to wage its most recent War on Drugs. This has involved establishing various policies and making investments to implement these policies and approaches. In general, the U.S. has taken a tough-guy stand to drug abuse and control that emphasizes punishment, restriction, and 'social warfare', as opposed to a public health oriented position. Current policy reflects a 'quick fix' solution to a complex problem, which may partially explain its failure and why we appear to be losing the War on Drugs. In this review I summarize the current debates and controversies surrounding drug abuse in the U.S. regarding the extent of the drug problem, the need for drug control, prevention efforts, legalization controversy, workplace strategies, treatment dilemmas, and maternal drug abuse. I argue that a radically different approach must be taken that is grounded in public health methods and an appreciation of the larger social context in which drug abuse occurs. We must look for a long-term solution to this complex problem that is integrated into society, and which is certainly resistant to the current quick fix approaches.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed1992

General deviance syndrome: expanded hierarchical evaluations at four ages from early adolescence to adulthood.

Problem behavior theory predicts that norm-violating attitudes and activities reflect a syndrome. Hierarchical latent-factor models examined the integrity of this syndrome at 4 developmental stages from early adolescence to adulthood. Latent constructs of Drug Use, Academic Orientation, Social Conformity, Criminal Behavior, and Sexual Involvement were assessed up to 4 times at 4-year intervals in a community sample. Second-order constructs of General Deviance confirmed integrity of the syndrome at these life stages, although subtle changes in certain components of the construct emerged. Criminal Behavior was more determined by General Deviance in adulthood than in young adulthood, whereas Sexual Involvement became less determined by the common factor between these times. Drug Use and low Social Conformity were consistently strong indicators of General Deviance.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Multiple protective and risk factors for drug use and abuse: cross-sectional and prospective findings.

A conceptual elaboration was developed that incorporates many risk and protective factors, and both direct and moderating (buffering) influences on drug involvement were tested. From prospective data, 14 factors related to drug use were selected and assigned empirically to either a multiple protective index (PFI) or a risk factor index (RFI). Analyses examined the relationships of the RFI, PFI, and their interaction on measures of cigarette, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and hard drug use cross-sectionally in late adolescence and later in young adulthood. These same variables were used to predict alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine abuse 8 years later. Vulnerability as measured by the RFI, PFI, and their interaction was highly associated with drug use in adolescence, moderately associated with certain types of drug use in young adulthood, and strongly associated with heightened drug problems in adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Social status and drunk-driving intervention.

The decision to intervene to prevent an inebriated peer from driving drunk is examined in a survey administered to one lower division and two upper division university classes. Of the 303 students who had been in a situation in which someone was too drunk to drive, 65% reported having intervened. Differences in the likelihood of intervention are examined through a log-linear analysis of the age, race and sex of the respondent and the potential drunk driver. The decision to intervene is seen as a naturally occurring form of helping behavior. Two hypotheses derived from the literature on helping behavior are examined: (1) persons are more likely to intervene with persons of lower status in terms of age, race and sex than with persons of higher status and (2) persons are more likely to intervene with those who are similar to themselves in terms of age, race and sex than with those who are different. Analysis reveals that persons are much more likely to experience drunk-driving situations in which the potential driver is similar to them in terms of these social characteristics than situations in which the driver is different. However, neither status differences nor similarity affects the likelihood of intervention.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗
PubMed1992

Interactive and higher-order effects of social influences on drug use.

The study of moderators and higher-order effects of social influences on drug use has many implications for theories of health behavior. In the present study, we investigated the longitudinal predictive effects of some of the prominent moderator variables that represent forms of susceptibility toward social influence in teenage drug use. We also studied the possibility that social influence may predict drug use in nonlinear (quadratic) forms, consistent with theories proposing that threshold or decelerating effects may occur in social influences on normatively sanctioned behaviors. Results showed that several of the interactive and quadratic predictive effects were significant. The findings supported the views that certain moderator variables act as buffers, which either protect the individual from social pressures to use drugs, or make the individual more susceptible to such pressures. In addition, two of the obtained quadratic effects of social influence lent support to the application of social impact theory to drug use. Overall, our findings suggest that interactive and nonlinear approaches to social influences on drug use provide a unique and viable theoretical perspective from which to construe this problem health behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Differentiation of early adolescent predictors of drug use versus abuse: a developmental risk-factor model.

Many psychosocial factors are associated with adolescent drug use, though most have not been tested as true predictors of drug use in prospective studies. Studies to date have also not differentiated predictors of drug use from abuse and have not addressed differential effects for specific substances. To address these concerns, we expanded the multiple risk-factor approach using 2-year longitudinal data from a sample of seventh graders. Frequencies of use for alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and hard drugs were assessed at Time 1 and Time 2 and used to reflect latent constructs of polydrug use. From a set of 29 risk factors, unique predictors of any substance were separated conceptually according to whether they most related to initiation/experimental or problem/heavy drug use and were then summed into two-unit weighted indexes at each time. Distribution-free structural equation models were used to accommodate the nonnormal distributions of the illicit drug use measures. The problem risk index was strongly correlated with polydrug use at Time 1 and increased polydrug use at Time 2. Several specific relationships between risk and drug use across time also were noted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Cognitive motivation and drug use: a 9-year longitudinal study.

The predictive precedence of expectancy constructs, operationally defined as cognitive motivations, and drug use was investigated over a 9-year period from adolescence to adulthood. Alternative predictions from three different classes of theories of expectancy-behavior relations, including expectancy theory, a Skinnerian approach, and a reciprocal determinism perspective, were evaluated. The results are most consistent with the notion based in expectancy theory that cognitive motivations are nonspurious and possibly functionally autonomous influences on the use and abuse of drugs. More limited support is found for the view that drug use leads to cognitive motivations, as postulated in other theoretical perspectives. Other findings reveal the presence of expectancy generalization processes consistent with Rotter's (1954) expectancy theory, as well as the unique status of cognitive motivations for alcohol as an independent predictor of problem drug use.

Adolescent↗