Objectives: American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) populations have the highest rate of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Binge drinking is a known predecessor of AUD and is prevalent in college-attending populations. However, little is known about the prevalence and risk factors related to AIAN college student binge drinking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cannabis consumption has increased in recent years, as has cannabis use disorder. While researchers have explored public online community discussions of active cannabis use, less is known about the popularity and content of publicly available online communities intended to support cannabis cessation.
Objective: This study aims to examine the level of engagement and dominant content of an online community for cannabis cessation through 3 specific aims.
Introduction: The number of U.S. adults who own and carry a firearm for self-defense is rising.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDepressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors that emerge during adolescence pose both short- and long-term negative outcomes. Though there is growing evidence that exposure to teen dating violence is also associated with a greater likelihood of depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors such as engaging in peer violence and substance use, less is known about the effects of specific forms of electronic dating violence (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreased access to information online (e.g., social media) provides opportunities for exposure to rape myths (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, millions of unintended pregnancies occur each year resulting in a host of social, economic, and health-related problems. Improving knowledge of and access to family planning services is an effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy, and research suggests that men's involvement promotes greater contraceptive uptake. To explore this issue, we assess contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among Sierra Leonean men who experienced an unplanned pregnancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYouth violence remains a significant public health problem despite efforts to address it. We describe the evaluation results of Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES), an after-school active learning program implemented by trained local teachers and designed to engage middle school youth in multi-systematic promotive behaviors at the individual-, interpersonal-, and community-level to make lasting positive changes within the context of institutional disadvantages, such as racism. First, we used a modified randomized controlled trial design to examine the direct and indirect influence of YES on prosocial and delinquent behaviors 12 months after the conclusion of the program, through youth empowerment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, one in three women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) within her lifetime. IPV attitudes are highly predictive of IPV. While a wealth of literature on risk factors related to IPV exist, an overarching critique in the field is the lack of studies examining risk factors across the socioecological framework.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectronic dating violence is a form of violence perpetrated through electronics between dating partners and is associated with worse mental health, greater risk of substance use, and increased risk of in-person forms of dating violence. Though prevalent and seeming to increase in occurrence across adolescence, little is known about trajectories of electronic dating violence throughout adolescence and both risk and protective factors predicting a given trajectory. Latent growth models were used to evaluate change over time in three specific domains of electronic dating violence: harassment, coercion, and monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConflict settings are often the context of some of the highest rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Although women are disproportionately the victims of SGBV, they are not the only victims. Indirect impacts of SGBV also impact men, families, and communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectronic forms of dating violence among youth are common yet little is known about how these forms of violence overlap with the commonly studied domains of physical, sexual and verbal teen dating violence. Using factor analysis and latent class analysis, this study identifies patterns of electronic, verbal, physical and sexual dating violence victimization and perpetration in 9th and 12th graders. Data are from 470 9th (n = 190; 60.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Exposure to adverse experiences during adolescence may have significant implications for intimate partner violence during adulthood because it is during this developmental stage that many youth begin to have romantic relationships. Yet, few prospective longitudinal analyses on this topic exist. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by examining the adverse childhood experiences during adolescence and intimate partner violence 15 years later during adulthood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally, over 13% of children and adolescents are affected by mental disorders, yet relatively little scholarship addresses how risk factors, symptoms, and nosology vary by culture and context, especially in young children living in post-conflict and low-resource settings. To address this gap, we conducted a qualitative study to identify and describe the most salient mental health problems facing children aged 6 to 10 years in Sierra Leone, as well as the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to these problems. Free list interviews ( = 200) and semi-structured interviews ( = 66) were conducted among caregivers, children, and other relevant key informants to explore risk factors and locally meaningful concepts of distress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWithin a lifetime, one in four women and more than one in 10 men will experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Researchers have begun to examine physical and social neighborhood risk factors of IPV, often using cross-sectional data. Most studies focus on risk or promotive factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While the literature on physical punishment concludes that it has negative effects on children, the practice remains common in many countries. In post-conflict countries with nongovernmental organizations (NGO) operating in child protection, traditional disciplinary practices may conflict with international child rights agendas. The country of Sierra Leone has a unique history of conflict, abject poverty, low literacy, and weak governance - often, NGO agents are responsible for providing social services that the government is unable to consistently provide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBusy streets theory predicts that engaging residents in physical revitalization of neighborhoods will facilitate community empowerment through the development of sense of community, social cohesion, collective efficacy, social capital, and behavioral action. Establishing safe environments fosters positive street activity, which reinforces neighborhood social relationships. A community-engaged approach to crime prevention through environmental design (CE-CPTED) is one promising approach to creating busy streets because it engages residents in collaborative interactions to promote safer environments.
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