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Background: Concurrent substance use among adolescents has been associated with an increase in physical and mental health problems. These outcomes tend to be exacerbated among adolescents of color in underserved urban settings. The purpose of this study was to understand alcohol and concurrent drug use patterns among adolescents in an underserved urban community to provide targeted prevention and treatment recommendations.Method: This study examined data among adolescents in an underserved urban community (N = 1789; 56.90% female; 70.86% Hispanic/Latino/a; meanage= 15.96 ± 1.56). Using latent class analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression modeling, analyses identified independent correlates of latent class membership.Results: Five latent classes (LC) were identified including LC group 1: Predominant alcohol use and limited to no concurrent-drug use (n = 213; 11.9%); LC group 2: Concurrent drug and alcohol use including methamphetamine, marijuana and synthetic marijuana use, and alcohol use (n = 74; 4.2%); LC group 3: Concurrent drug and alcohol use, with no marijuana use (n = 204; 11.39%); LC group 4: High Concurrent drug use and alcohol use (n = 204; 11.40%); and LC group 5: Concurrent drug use without alcohol use (n = 1101; 61.52%). Significant between group differences were noted between latent class groups and sociodemographic characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression models identified the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and corollary clinical features of substance use on latent class groupings of alcohol and concurrent drug use.Conclusion: Understanding concurrent substance use LC groups among adolescents is essential to providing targeted interventions and treatment programs, as well as early intervention programs that may help reduce substance use during adolescence.

African American and US Latinx families have faced over two centuries of systemic racism and discrimination, elevating risk for trauma, adversity, and disparities for their youth. These circumstances have compromised the health and well-being of many of these youth. However, many other African American and US Latinx youth are able to succeed despite these challenges. In recent years, scholars have begun to identify ways in which minoritized youth adapt and respond to adversity to become competent, well-functioning individuals. Drawing on two conceptual models of cultural resilience, one grounded in the study of African American youth and one grounded in the study of US Latinx youth, we summarize supportive research associated with each model. Using these conceptual models to guide our critical review of extant studies, we present an integrative review of work to guide the design of strength-based, cultural asset-centered research studies and preventive interventions targeting African American and US Latinx youth.

Social injustices toward minority groups are pervasive around the world, and further exacerbated by global threats such as COVID-19 and climate change. Prosocial tendencies, such as empathy, moral reasoning, and helping behaviors directed only toward members of one's own social groups, discriminate against outgroups, and can perpetuate an unjust status quo. Yet, recent meta-analyses point to effective intervention programs that can foster prosocial responses across group lines. Developmental science has identified evidence-based interventions, policies, and programs to foster inclusiveprosocial tendencies (toward both in-group and out-group members) to redress social injustices and inequities, and ultimately, lead to more just and peaceful societies. The recent developmental science informs five policy principles (e.g., developmental science, resilience, culture, collaboration, and sustainability) that can advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around inclusion and peace.

With a growing population of Latinx youth immigrating to the United States, it is important to understand how Latinx youth adapt to mainstream U.S. culture. Given that the majority of research examining social development among recent immigrant adolescents has focused on negative adjustment outcomes, research examining positive social behaviors is needed to avoid deficit approaches to their development, gain a holistic understanding of youth development, and improve interventions with this population.This study examined the associations among trajectories in cultural integration and multiple prosocial behaviors among recent immigrant U.S. Latinx adolescents in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California. Adolescents (N =302; 53.3% males; Mage = 14.51 years) completed measures of integration and prosocial behaviors across six time points. Latent growth curve models indicated that integration significantly increased, though this growth tapered off over time. The growth in prosocial behaviors depended on the specific form of helping assessed. While the growth in altruistic and compliant prosocial behaviors was stagnant, there was an increase in anonymous prosocial behaviors and a decrease in public and dire prosocial behaviors. Emotional behaviors did not linearly change, though slightly tapered off by the final time points. Parallel process latent growth curve model results indicated positive correlations between the slopes of cultural integration and most forms of prosocial behaviors. These findings highlight the positive role of cultural integration as an acculturative process for U.S. Latinx youth and the multidimensionality of prosocial behaviors.

Children are among the most vulnerable to certain air pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds. Analysis of indoor air has been analytically challenging and costly. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop and validate a sensitive analytical method for assessing the exposure of children to volatile organic compounds at child care centers and (2) characterize the indoor concentrations of target volatile organic compounds in classrooms at child care centers. The volatile organic compounds were sampled by using thermal desorption samplers and the concentrations of the volatile organic compounds were determined by a thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Among the 73 target indoor volatile organic compounds, 47 were identified and quantified in the air samples collected from the selected child care center. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation ranged from 0.001 to 0.123 μg m−3, and 0.002 to 0.406 μg m−3, respectively. The correlation coefficients (R2) of the calibration were between 0.982 and 0.999. The mean recoveries of the analytes ranged from 87% to 112%. The precision expressed as the coefficient of variation was between 0.6% and 16.2%. The volatile organic compounds identified in our pilot study include a wide range of potential toxic chemicals and endocrine disruptors, such as the ingredients in dry cleaning agents (e.g., tetrachloroethylene), surfactants (e.g., butoxyethanol), and personal care products (e.g., homosalate). Due to the portability, affordability, and flexibility, the developed sampling and analytical method has several advantages over conventional techniques for large-scale multi-position air quality monitoring studies at child care centers.