Publications by authors named "Paula Nurius"

Purpose: Few studies have examined disparities in-and social determinants of-contraception use among rural adolescents despite evidence of higher teen birth rates and greater STI risk in rural communities. Guided by a social determinants of health (SDoH) framework, this cross-sectional study aimed to address these gaps.

Methods: Data come from the 2018 Healthy Youth Survey, including N = 3757 sexually active, rural-based adolescents.

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In the peripartum, putative mechanisms in the transmission of prenatal contextual risk and maternal psychological distress include biological and social processes. In this study, path analyses were used to test unique, cascading pathways of prenatal contextual risk and pre- and postnatal maternal psychological distress through social mediators (parenting) and biological mediators (infant stress physiology) on infant temperament and toddler adjustment. The sample is comprised of racially and ethnically diverse first-time mothers ( = 200) living in low-income contexts (< 200% poverty) who were followed from pregnancy to 18-36 months postpartum.

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Introduction: Gang-involved youth experience greater disparities in sexual health compared to non-gang-involved youth. Yet, little is known about how and why sexual behaviors vary within the youth gang population. Developing relevant and effective service approaches requires an understanding of this variation and the environmental factors that influence patterns of sexual health risk.

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Objectives: This study examined specificity in the effects of three perinatal mindfulness-based prevention programs that differed in their timing (prenatal, postpartum) and target (maternal well-being, parenting). Effects on maternal mental health (depression, anxiety, resilience), mindfulness, and observed parenting, as well as observed, physiological, and mother-report indicators of infant self-regulation, were examined.

Methods: The programs were evaluated in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of first-time mothers ( = 188) living in low-income contexts using intention-to-treat analysis.

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Childhood adversity is linked to adolescent aggression and antisocial attitudes, which are common predictors of delinquency and violence. Early interruption of these negative trajectories is important for preventing serious criminality. Efforts to bolster protective factors such as social-emotional skills and positive relationships may attenuate this link, but research is needed to clarify salient factors for court-involved youth.

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"Green space" effects on health have been amply demonstrated, but whether specific features of green space exert differential effects remains unknown. Driven by developmental psychology theory highlighting the importance of play for young children, we investigated the association between parks with playgrounds, as a subtype of "green space", and young child mental health. After adjusting for individual race, sex, income, and cumulative risk as well as neighborhood disadvantage, we find that children (N=95) living near parks with playgrounds have better mental health than those near parks without playgrounds ( (95% CI: -3.

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This study addresses mental health concerns among university students, examining cumulative stress exposure as well as resilience resources. : Participants were 253 first- and second-year undergraduate students (age = 18.76; 49.

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This mixed-method study examined the experiences of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic through surveys, experience sampling data collected over two academic quarters (Spring 2019 n1 = 253; Spring 2020 n2 = 147), and semi-structured interviews with 27 undergraduate students. There were no marked changes in mean levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, or loneliness between 2019 and 2020, or over the course of the Spring 2020 term. Students in both the 2019 and 2020 cohort who indicated psychosocial vulnerability at the initial assessment showed worse psychosocial functioning throughout the entire Spring term relative to other students.

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Juvenile justice-involved youth with special education eligibility may have distinct needs from other justice-involved youth that place them at higher risk of re-offending. This study examines the extent to which the comorbidity of risk factors, such as school challenges and mental and emotional health problems, is related to recidivism among probation youth with a diagnosis eligible for special education. Data came from the Washington State Juvenile Court Assessment provided to 4,317 youth adjudicated to probation for at least 3 months.

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Strong school engagement is crucial for school success among adolescents and particularly important for reducing recidivism. Yet, little is known about school engagement among youth serving probation while attending community schools. This study tested the multivariate associations between risk and promotive factors with three components of school engagement (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional).

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Violence experience has been consistently associated with HIV risks and substance use behaviors. Although many studies have focused on intimate partner violence (IPV), the role of violence at a structural level (i.e.

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Substance use is a frequently cited health risk behavior in the youth gang literature, yet little is known about how substance use patterns vary among gang-involved youth or the social ecological factors that contribute to potential variation. Developing relevant and effective service approaches will require an understanding of this variation and the malleable factors that are likely to promote or inhibit particular patterns of use. Using latent class analysis, we identified four substance use classes within a school-based sample of gang-involved youth (n = 2,770): Non-Users (38%), Past Users (15%), Casual Users (27%), and Frequent Multi-Users (21%).

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This study applies cumulative adversity and stress proliferation theories to examine risk and protective resource profiles of youth with three different levels of housing and parental care instability. Data derive from a state representative sample (n=27,087) of school-based adolescent students. ANCOVA analyses identified significant differences in sociodemographic and psychosocial functioning variables for youth with 0, 1, or 2 forms of housing and parental care instability, with more deleterious functioning being observed among youth with greater levels of instability.

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Exposures to adverse childhood experiences compromise the early developmental foundation of people long before they become parents. These exposures partly take place within the family environment - a context tightly shared by parents and children. Despite considerable evidence regarding effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), differential patterns of childhood and adulthood adversity accumulation among currently parenting adults is relatively less understood.

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Growing evidence suggests that exposure to early life adversity poses risk to youth development, with impaired mental health a central concern. This population-representative study of adolescent students (n=11,222) investigates the effects of two key forms of early adversity- victimization and poverty-on adolescent mental health in a step-wise fashion, also accounting for mutable and accessible resilience resources. Victimization and poverty prevalence reflected social patterning wherein being female, racial and ethnic minority youth, and those with lower resilience resources all reported significantly higher levels of victimization and family poverty.

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Background: Court-involved youth have high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which can impact functioning in adolescence and throughout adulthood. Yet there is limited research to help clinicians translate these histories into trauma-responsive programming guidelines.

Objective: This manuscript utilizes data that is routinely collected to inform practitioners about how to utilize trauma histories to inform program and practice decisions.

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Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE), can give rise to long-term mental and physical health consequences as well as additional stressors later in the life course. This study aims to examine differing profiles of trajectories of adversity over the life course and investigate their association with socioeconomic and health outcomes.

Methods: We used population representative data from the Washington State 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System BRFSS survey n = 7953.

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A consequence of a growing incarceration rate is that an increasing number of children face having an incarcerated household member, a known contributor to diverse lifelong behavioral health risks such as substance use and mental health impairment. Few studies have explored how household incarceration uniquely contributes to these subsequent behavioral health concerns, nor mediational contributors to these associations, within a theoretical framework. Using state Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey data ( = 14,001), this study tests pathways of household incarceration and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to mental health impairment and substance use in adulthood.

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A deep understanding of how discrimination impacts psychological health and well-being of students could allow us to better protect individuals at risk and support those who encounter discrimination. While the link between discrimination and diminished psychological and physical well-being is well established, existing research largely focuses on chronic discrimination and long-term outcomes. A better understanding of the short-term behavioral correlates of discrimination events could help us to concretely quantify such experiences, which in turn could support policy and intervention design.

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Multiply disadvantaged youths exhibit worse health and academic success than their less disadvantaged peers, possibly due to greater exposure to social status-based discrimination. Models that capture the additive burden of disadvantage in tandem with multiple forms of discrimination are needed to explicate the unique and combined impact of these factors on adolescent health and academic outcomes. In addition, protective factors like positive family and peer relationships may attenuate these relationships.

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Research on spatial injury patterns is limited by a lack of precise injury occurrence location data. Using linked hospital and death records, we examined residence and injury locations for firearm assaults and homicides in or among residents of King County, Washington, USA from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. In total, 670 injuries were identified, 586 with geocoded residence and injury locations.

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Background: Early career faculty experiences and perspectives on transdisciplinary research are important yet understudied.

Methods: Assistant professors at 50 top-ranked social work programs completed an online survey assessing perspectives on the salience of transdisciplinary training in their field, obstacles to or negative impacts of transdisciplinary training, and current environments. Content analysis and descriptive statistics were used.

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Introduction: Substance use, mental disorders, and arrest are markers of increased firearm injury risk. It is unclear how these markers vary by intent. Examining these interrelated factors together can clarify their associations with assault-related, self-inflicted, unintentional, and legal intervention firearm injuries, informing intent-specific interventions.

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Objective: Former youth in foster care (YFC) are at greater risk of chronic health conditions than their peers. Although research in general population samples has shown a dose-response relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult health outcomes, few studies have conducted similar analyses in highly stress-exposed populations such as YFC. In this study we used person-centered latent class analysis methods to examine the relationship between different profiles of ACE exposures and divergent health trajectories among this high-risk population.

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Although the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult mental health is becoming well established, less is known about the complex and multiple pathways through which ACEs exert their influence. Growing evidence suggests that adversity early in life conveys not only early impacts, but also augments risk of stress-related life course cascades that continue to undermine health. The present study aims to test pathways of stress proliferation and stress embodiment processes linking ACEs to mental health impairment in adulthood.

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