Publications by authors named "Mate A Balazs"

Background: Alcohol use continues to be an important global public health problem and adolescence seems to be a decisive period of time in the development of drinking patterns into adulthood. While most studies concentrate on frequency and amount of alcohol, fewer studies address "problem drinking." Gathering information on youth's alcohol-related behavioral consequences is especially important.

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While peer influences have often found to be a risk factor in terms of adolescent substance use, parental variables may continue to serve as an adaptive and protective function, although the role of parents is more latent and controversial. Therefore, the main goal of this paper was to investigate the role of authoritative parenting style and other family variables in adolescents' smoking and drinking. Using a sample of Hungarian youth (N=2072; age range between 12 and 22; Mean=15.

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Background: Hungary will continue to experience a high burden of disease and death from lung cancer and other tobacco-induced disease unless there is a significant reduction in youth smoking. Social factors have been found to be among the most important determinants of adolescent smoking, yet few studies have investigated social normative beliefs in Hungarian youth. The purpose of the current study was to investigate three measures of smoking normative beliefs thought to influence adolescent smoking: perceived prevalence of smoking; perceived popularity of smoking among successful/elite elements of society; and perceived disapproval by friends and family.

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Background And Aims Of The Study: A number of studies have pointed out that parenting style has a longstanding impact on psychological health. Besides parental/familial risk factors certain aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship may serve as a protective factor and help prevent adolescent depression such as the authoritative parenting style. The aim of the present study has been to analyze interrelationships between adolescent depressive symptomatology, authoritative parenting style, negative and positive parental links.

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