Emotional health predictors of substance use initiation during middle school.

This study aimed to evaluate whether emotional health factors, including anxiety and depression, stress, and social support, are associated with earlier youth initiation of alcohol and illicit substances during middle school (from the sixth to the eighth grade). Data for this study were from the Developmental Pathways Project, a longitudinal study of 521 youth sampled from the Seattle Public Schools. Discrete time survival analyses were used to assess the effects of depression, anxiety, stress, and support on initiation of substance use, measured every 6 months at five time points between sixth and eighth grade.

Trends in perinatal and infant health disparities between rural American Indians and Alaska natives and rural Whites.

Objectives: We examined disparities in perinatal care, birth outcomes, and infant health between rural American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) persons and rural Whites over time.

Methods: We compared perinatal and infant health measures for 217 064 rural AIAN births and 5 032 533 rural non-Hispanic White births.

Results: Among American Indians and Alaska Natives, unadjusted rates of inadequate prenatal care (1985-1987, 36.

Condom use, frequency of sex, and number of partners: multidimensional characterization of adolescent sexual risk-taking.

Sexual health research often relies on single risk indicators. However multi-variable composites may better capture the underlying construct of risk-taking. Latent Profile Analysis identified subgroups based on condom use consistency, partner numbers, and sex frequency among 605 adolescents.

Predictors of children's cortisol activation during the transition to kindergarten.

The purpose of the present study was to identify predictors of children's cortisol responses after the transition to kindergarten. Morning salivary cortisol was measured in 50 children 1 week before and 1 week after they began kindergarten. Children who experienced a greater degree of change between their preschool and kindergarten routines and who had infrequent preschool experiences exhibited the largest increases in morning cortisols after kindergarten entry.

Children's beliefs about smoking.

Children's beliefs about smoking were examined in a multi-ethnic urban sample of 4th through 7th grade children. Results showed that, relative to those in earlier grades, children in higher grades held more positive beliefs about the positive outcomes of smoking and the long-term negative consequences of smoking, but there was no association between grade level and beliefs about the immediate negative consequences of smoking. Children in higher grades also perceived more favorable norms toward smoking.