2020 design and methods of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a nationally representative, longitudinal study of the US population on tobacco use and its effects on health, collecting data annually since 2013. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted in-person survey data collections around the world. In the USA, this included a PATH Study data collection focused on youth (13-17) and young adults (18-19) as well as other US surveys on tobacco use.

The Gap between the Knowledge and Current Practices--A Case of Tobacco Control Programs in Croatia.

Despite the availability of numerous evidence-based smoking prevention and cessation programs, many countries are still not implementing these research-proven programs. The primary aim of this paper is to summarize the extent to which evidence-based smoking control programs have been implemented in Croatia over the last two decades. Data from the systematic reviews of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, which are readily available worldwide, were used as criteria to evaluate whether effective, evidence-based programs have been implemented in Croatia.

Substance abuse among adolescents.

Substance use and dependence are among the most prevalent causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality in the United States. This paper provides a review of differences between adolescent and adult substance abuse, prevention and treatment approaches, and future potential directions and needs for more effective programming in the treatment of adolescent substance abuse(1) and dependence on psychoactive substances.

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND): needs assessment of a social service referral telephone program for high risk youth.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs assessment of a potential social service resource telephone program component among high risk youth who received the Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND) classroom-based program (approximately 1 year earlier). Results supported youths' overwhelming receptiveness of a social service referral program. The vast majority of respondents indicated a strong desire for resource and referral information on vocational, educational, recreational, transportation, and mental health and drug counseling.

Physical and relational aggression as predictors of drug use: gender differences among high school students.

The present study investigated the longitudinal relationships between physical and relational aggression and later drug use, as moderated by gender. Self-reported data were gathered from 2064 high school students at pretest and 1-year post-test to test the hypotheses that (1) males would engage in more physical aggression than females, whereas females would engage in more relational aggression than males; and (2) physical aggression would be a stronger drug use predictor for males and relational aggression a stronger predictor for females. Results indicated that males reported engaging in more physical aggression than females at baseline; however, females and males reported engaging in similar rates of relational aggression.

Translation of evidence-based tobacco use prevention programming in Croatia.

Croatia faces a major threat of smoking-related health burdens given the monumental changes this newly formed country has undergone in the past 15 years because of its postcommunist democratic and economic transitions and the destructive 1991-1995 war with Serbia. This article provides information on Croatia's general background, current smoking prevalence and attitudes, and current evidence-based smoking prevention efforts. Furthermore, various cultural and contextual conditions within Croatia that facilitate or impede smoking prevention research utilization are discussed.

Fidelity of implementation in Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND): a comparison of classroom teachers and program specialists.

This paper presents the results of an effectiveness trial of Project Towards No Drug Abuse [TND], in which we compared program delivery by regular classroom teachers and program specialists within the same high schools. Within 18 schools that were randomly assigned to the program or control conditions, health classrooms were assigned to program delivery by teachers or (outside) specialists. Classroom sessions were observed by pairs of observers to assess three domains of implementation fidelity: adherence, classroom process, and perceived student acceptance of the program.

Non drug use- and drug use-specific spirituality as one-year predictors of drug use among high-risk youth.

The present article explored two different dimensions of spirituality that might tap negative and positive relations with adolescent drug use over a 1-year period. Non-drug-use-specific spirituality measured how spiritual the person believes he or she is, participation in spiritual groups, and engagement in spiritual practices such as prayer, whereas drug-use-specific spirituality measured using drugs as a spiritual practice. Self-report questionnaire data were collected during 1997-1999 from a sample of 501 adolescents in 18 continuation high schools across southern California.

An evaluation of the fidelity of implementation of a school-based drug abuse prevention program: project toward no drug abuse (TND).

This article provides an implementation fidelity evaluation of the fourth experimental trial of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND). Two theoretical content components of the curriculum were examined to increase our understanding of the active ingredients of successful drug abuse prevention programs. A total of 18 senior high schools were randomly assigned by block to receive one of three conditions: cognitive perception information curriculum, cognitive perception information + behavioral skills curriculum, or standard care (control).

Translation in the health professions: converting science into action.

The systematic translation of evidence-based research findings, tools, and information into practice is critical to improving the quality of our nation's health. However, despite several decades of advances in developing medical knowledge based on high-quality empirical evidence, widespread implementation of these findings into practice in diverse applied settings has not been achieved. This article reviews definitions and conceptual models that describe the translation of research from basic discovery to real-world applications, summarizes the various issues involved in the process of translation, discusses multiple barriers, and provides recommendations to surmount these hurdles.

Project Towards No Drug Abuse: long-term substance use outcomes evaluation.

Objectives: This paper presents up to 5 years post-program outcomes of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND), a drug abuse prevention program conducted in South California alternative high school system during years 1994-1999.

Methods: The effects of a 9-session health motivation--social skills--decision-making curriculum were evaluated. Twenty-one schools recruited were randomly assigned to standard care (control), classroom only, or a classroom plus semester-long school-as-community component.

Prediction of violence perpetration among high-risk youth.

Objectives: To prospectively examine demographic background, personality, perceived environment, and behavior as violence perpetration predictors in emerging adulthood among high-risk adolescents using problem-behavior theory as a conceptual perspective.

Methods: Self-report questionnaires were administered 5 years apart to 676 participants.

Results: Hard drug use, belief that hurting another's property while drunk was acceptable, and high-risk group self-identification predicted later violence perpetration independent of baseline violence perpetration.

A review of 25 long-term adolescent tobacco and other drug use prevention program evaluations.

Background: Although the initial effectiveness of psychosocial strategies programming in preventing smoking and other drug abuse among adolescents has been well established through literature reviews and meta-analyses, much less evidence exists for the long-term follow-up success of these interventions. The primary goal of this paper, therefore, is to summarize the effectiveness of published program evaluation studies that have followed adolescents across the transitional period between junior high and high school for a period of at least 2 years.

Methods: Studies for inclusion in this review were accessed primarily through a computerized search of Medline, Healthstar, and PsychINFO databases.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD): a new domain for prevention efforts.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a leading cause of death; yet relatively little has been written about it in the health behavior research literature. This paper will describe ALD, what factors predict ALD including findings from analyses of the 1998 state of California and Los Angeles County hospital discharge data, and possible means of preventing this disease. It is hoped that new interest among health behavior researchers and practitioners will be stimulated.