Objectives: Since the number of individuals who use substances in the United States has markedly increased every year, substance use is a significant public health concern. The current study examines the possible risk and protective factors associated with triple comorbid trajectories of longitudinal alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use from age 14 to 36.
Methods: A community sample of 674 participants (53% African Americans and 47% Puerto Ricans; 60% females) were recruited from the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study.
In New York City, over 90% of women newly diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are Black and Latina; a quarter of these infections occur among 30-39 year-olds. A survey was administered to 343 Black and Puerto Rican women (2014-2016) to examine two HIV infection risk factors: relationship exclusivity and having experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). A majority of male partners (69.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe adverse consequences of major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affect a significant portion of the US population every year (i.e., 15 million for MDD; 8 million for PTSD) and are of public health concern.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis longitudinal study assesses the associations between developmental trajectories of religious service attendance from mean age 14 to mean age 43 and nicotine dependence and alcohol dependence/abuse at mean age 43 (N = 548). Six trajectories of religious service attendance were identified. As compared with belonging to weekly stable trajectory group, a higher probability of belonging to the weekly/none decreasing, occasional stable, and non-attendance trajectory group was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of nicotine dependence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApproximately 9% of adults report the symptoms of insomnia, and there are a number of adverse consequences of insomnia. This could be a public health concern. The current study seeks plausible longitudinal predictors of insomnia for prevention purposes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfrican Americans have the most severe burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Also, HIV continues to be a serious threat to the health of the Hispanic/Latino community. For prevention purposes, the present study examined the relationship of both cannabis use and self-control with HIV risk behaviors in a sample of African American and Puerto Rican female adolescents, young adults, and adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In this longitudinal study, we applied linear regression analyses to examine season of birth as related to symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in early midlife.
Method: We gathered longitudinal data on a prospective cohort of community-dwelling men and women (N = 548) followed from adolescence to early midlife.
Findings: The findings indicate that, as compared with participants who were born in the summer, those who were born in the spring (Beta = 0.
Millions of people are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). African American and Hispanic/Latino communities suffer the most severe burden of HIV in the US. The ultimate goal of this study was to better understand risk factors for this infection: Do impulsivity and self control operate independently or synergistically with respect to HIV sexual risk behaviors in women? An enhanced understanding of these risk factors may better inform future interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeavy cannabis use is associated with a wide array of physical, mental, and functional problems. Therefore, cannabis use disorders (CUDs) may be a major public health concern. Given the adverse health consequences of CUDs, the present study seeks to find possible precursors of CUDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are related to a number of adverse consequences such as substance use and general medical conditions. The present longitudinal study seeks to find the longitudinal patterns of cannabis use as precursors of PTSD symptoms. Such information will serve as a guide for intervention programs for PTSD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA quarter of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States are women. Furthermore, African American and Hispanic/Latina women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, compared with women of other races/ethnicities. Cannabis use prior to intercourse may be associated with increased risky sexual behaviors which are highly related to HIV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Due to the increasing prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD), the impact of cannabis use on public health may be significant.
Objective: The present study seeks the possible precursors (e.g.
Objective: To study the degree to which individuals in different trajectories of cigarette smoking from adolescence to the early forties are similar or different in terms of lack of preventive health behaviors (e.g., underuse of preventive health services, unhealthy eating habits) in early midlife.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To study the intergenerational transmission of externalizing behaviors.
Methods: Participants came from a community-based random sample of residents in two upstate New York counties (N = 548). Data were collected from mothers at mean age 40 and from their children from adolescence (mean age = 14, SD = 2.
The aims of this study were to examine the associations between compulsive buying and quality of life and to estimate the monetary cost of compulsive buying for a cohort of men and women at mean age 43. Participants came from a community-based random sample of residents in two New York counties (N=548). The participants were followed from adolescence to early midlife.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current study examines longitudinal patterns of cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms as predictors of generalized anxiety disorder using data from the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study. There were 674 African American (53%) and Puerto Rican (47%) participants. Among the 674 participants, 60% were females.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Community Health Res
January 2017
Background: In the United States (US), there are 19 million new sexually transmitted disease (STD) infections each year. Untreated STDs can lead to serious long-term adverse health consequences, especially for young women. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that undiagnosed and untreated STDs cause at least 24,000 women in the US each year to become infertile.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
November 2016
Few studies have examined the sociocultural determinants of risky sexual behavior trajectories among adult Latinas. To longitudinally examine the link between sociocultural determinants of risky sexual behaviors, we followed a sample of adult Latina mother-daughter dyads ( = 267) across a 10-year span through four waves of data collection. The present study investigates how risky sexual behavior (operationalized as sex under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, sex without a condom, or multiple sex partners) is affected by: (a) socioeconomic conditions; (b) mental health; (c) medical health; (d) acculturation to U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
October 2016
Background And Objectives: The excessive consumption of alcohol is a major issue in the United States and elsewhere. It is associated with a number of adverse health consequences, as well as difficulty in relationships and employment. Therefore, the present longitudinal study investigates the direct and indirect adolescent predictors of alcohol use in adulthood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Child Adolesc Ment Health
July 2016
Objective: Tobacco and alcohol use by adolescents are major public health concerns in South Africa. However, the extent to which key psychosocial risk factors for tobacco use and alcohol use by adolescents in South Africa are shared or unshared is unclear. This study sought to examine the shared and unshared risk factors for tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents in Johannesburg.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this longitudinal study, we applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the historical, predisposing, enabling/barrier, and need factors as related to the underuse of medical services during early midlife. We gathered longitudinal data on a prospective cohort of community-dwelling men and women (N = 548) followed from adolescence to early midlife. The findings supported a mediational model: A mutually affectionate parent-child relationship in early adolescence was inversely related to underuse of medical services in early midlife via the mediational roles played by later predisposing factors (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFew studies have examined the socio-cultural determinants of alcohol and drug misuse trajectories among adult Latinas. To assess the associations between socio-cultural determinants and alcohol and drug misuse, we used a longitudinal design to follow a sample of adult Latina mother-daughter-dyads (N = 267) for ten years, and collected four waves of data. They were adult Latinas of Caribbean, South and Central American descent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine longitudinal associations between patterns of comorbid cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use and Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), Major Depressive Episode (MDE), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in adulthood.
Method: A random community-based sample [X̅ age=36.6 (SD=2.
In this longitudinal study, we applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the psychosocial factors from adolescence to adulthood as related to symptoms of Internet addiction (IA) during early midlife. We gathered longitudinal data on a prospective cohort of community-dwelling men and women (N=548) followed from adolescence to early midlife (mean age=43; SD=2.8).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF