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Dysmenorrhea is pelvic pain associated with menstruation and is one of the most common pain conditions among reproductive-age women. It is commonly treated with medications, complementary and alternative medicine, and self-management techniques. However, there is increased focus on psychological interventions which modify thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and behavioral responses to dysmenorrhea. This review examined the efficacy of psychological interventions on dysmenorrhea pain severity and interference. We conducted a systematic search of the literature using PsycINFO, PubMed, CINHAL, and Embase. A total of 22 studies were included; 21 examined within-group improvement (i.e., within-group analysis) and 14 examined between-group improvement (i.e., between-group analysis). Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on pain severity and interference, with average effect sizes calculated using Hedges’s g. Within-group analyses showed decreased pain severity and interference at post-treatment (g = 0.986 and 0.949, respectively) and first follow-up (g = 1.239 and 0.842, respectively). Between-group analyses showed decreased pain severity at post-treatment (g = 0.909) and decreased pain severity and interference at first follow-up (g = 0.964 and 0.884, respectively) compared to control groups. This review supports the efficacy of psychological interventions for dysmenorrhea, but conclusions are tempered by suboptimal methodological quality of the included studies and high heterogeneity across studies. Additional, rigorous research is needed to determine the clinical utility of psychological interventions for dysmenorrhea.

The Short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior (SUPPS-P) scale assesses impulsive traits; however, its use among racial/ethnic minorities needs further testing. The aims of this study are to (a) test the measurement invariance of the SUPPS-P scale between White and racial/ethnic minority groups and (b) determine whether impulsive personality traits differentially relate to substance use outcomes across these groups. Participants were 1,301 young adults and recruited through a large public university or Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis concluded strong measurement invariance for Black, Asian American, and Hispanic/Latino groups, each compared with a White group. Most relationships between SUPPS-P traits and substance use did not differ across the groups compared, although two differences emerged with alcohol use. The SUPPS-P can validly and reliably measure impulsive traits in Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American young to middle adults. Previous findings on risk patterns with the SUPPS-P likely generalize to these groups.

Despite data suggesting that recovery high schools are largely effective in reducing substance use, relapse in these settings is common. The goal of the current study was to characterize factors proximal to relapse among adolescents in a local recovery high school.Data for this study were 200 de-identified node maps (i.e., graphical break downs of a relapse event; randomly chosen from 600 available node maps) from the charts of students at a local recovery high school in a large Midwest city (Mean Age = 16.8 ± 1.9 years, 64.1% male, 89.1% White). A four-phase process of qualitative data sorting examined features most frequently described in relapse episodes.The most common elements reported were using with others (n = 153, 76.5%), away from home (n = 156, 78.0%), and in response to negative affect (n = 93, 48.4%). Six relapse pathways emerged: coping (n = 30), acting out (n = 15), unexpected temptation (n = 30), planned lapse (n = 19), resistant to recovery (n = 27), and passive agency (n = 30). The pathways identified represent three critical failures in the recovery system: failure to cope, failure to guard against temptation, and failure of belief. Identifying these system failures can contribute to increased rapport and engagement, as well as planning for detailed and specific factors proximal for relapse for any given individual, both on the individual and system levels.The use of node maps aligned with previous work, showed good face and content validity, can be used to reduce blame and increase engagement in substance use treatment among adolescents, and produced novel micro-frames with new vocabulary to accurately understand common factors associated with relapse among adolescents.

BACKGROUND Adolescence is a developmental period marked by engagement in risk-taking behaviors, especially among impulsive or emotionally dysregulated youth. Thus, interventions that teach skills to reduce the risk of negative outcomes associated with emotional dysregulation are required. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have been developed to address both adolescent emotional dysregulation and risk-taking behaviors; however, current programs have mostly been implemented among younger youth and are used as a tier 1 universal intervention rather than a targeted tier 2 intervention for youth identified with emotional regulation difficulties. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to address the need for SEL programming that can be delivered in schools, particularly for older youth who have difficulties with emotional or behavioral dysregulation, to reduce the risk of health-risk behaviors among this population. METHODS Here, we outline the implementation of an SEL intervention titled Going 4 Goals, a 9-session adaptation of the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) program delivered to at-risk high school students in a school setting. The primary objectives of the study are to test whether participating in the skills group intervention produces significant increases in the core DBT-A skills of mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, while also producing significant decreases in substance use and risky behaviors. These primary outcomes are based on changes in participant scores between baseline and after the intervention and follow-ups at 1, 3, and 6 months compared with a control group of youth participating in the school’s health curriculum at the same time points. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted with intervention participants and school staff to examine acceptability and facilitators of and barriers to the intervention. RESULTS A total of 171 participants across 13 groups had been enrolled in the intervention, with data collection ending December 2021. Data analysis will begin in the spring of 2022, with expected results to be published in the spring of 2023. CONCLUSIONS This paper describes the protocol of the 9-session school-based adaptation of the DBT-A intervention and discusses the strengths and limitations of the study and future directions. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/32490

To estimate longitudinal pathways from childhood socio-economic position (SEP) to educational attainment and mid-life heavy drinking in black Americans in order to identify potential points of early intervention to reduce risk for alcohol-related problems in adulthood.Data are from 1299 black Americans in the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, followed from 1979 (aged 15-19 years) to 2012. Given gender differences in factors related to education and alcohol outcomes, gender-stratified path models were analyzed.Youth socio-economic indicators included parental education (approximating childhood SEP) and adolescent poverty duration. Education-related measures included high-poverty school, perceived school safety, academic problems, suspension from school, educational expectations and educational attainment. Adulthood measures included repeated unemployment, poverty duration and mean frequency of heavy drinking (six or more drinks/day) in young adulthood and mid-life. Covariates included age, dual-parent household, marital status, early drinking onset and family history of alcohol problems.For both genders, two main pathways originating from low childhood SEP flowed to educational attainment through (1) educational expectations and (2) suspension and from educational attainment to mid-life heavy drinking [total indirect effect = 0.131, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.072-0.197 for women and 0.080, 95% CI = 0.035-0.139 for men]. For both genders, adolescent poverty (standardized βs ≥ 0.139), academic problems (βs ≥ 0.221) and school suspension (βs ≥ 0.166) were significantly (Ps 0.05) related to lower educational expectations. In adulthood, educational attainment was indirectly protective against mid-life heavy drinking through its significant effects (Ps 0.05) on young adult heavy drinking for both genders (βs ≤ -0.204) and economic hardships for women (βs ≤ -0.372).Low childhood socio-economic position among black Americans appears to be associated with subsequent, adverse socio-economic and school experiences that lead to lower educational attainment and, ultimately, greater heavy drinking at mid-life. Interventions that mitigate these earlier, adverse experiences might have indirect effects on mid-life heavy drinking.

Background Adolescence is a developmental period marked by engagement in risk-taking behaviors, especially among impulsive or emotionally dysregulated youth. Thus, interventions that teach skills to reduce the risk of negative outcomes associated with emotional dysregulation are required. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have been developed to address both adolescent emotional dysregulation and risk-taking behaviors; however, current programs have mostly been implemented among younger youth and are used as a tier 1 universal intervention rather than a targeted tier 2 intervention for youth identified with emotional regulation difficulties. Objective This study aimed to address the need for SEL programming that can be delivered in schools, particularly for older youth who have difficulties with emotional or behavioral dysregulation, to reduce the risk of health-risk behaviors among this population. Methods Here, we outline the implementation of an SEL intervention titled Going 4 Goals, a 9-session adaptation of the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) program delivered to at-risk high school students in a school setting. The primary objectives of the study are to test whether participating in the skills group intervention produces significant increases in the core DBT-A skills of mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, while also producing significant decreases in substance use and risky behaviors. These primary outcomes are based on changes in participant scores between baseline and after the intervention and follow-ups at 1, 3, and 6 months compared with a control group of youth participating in the school’s health curriculum at the same time points. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted with intervention participants and school staff to examine acceptability and facilitators of and barriers to the intervention. Results A total of 171 participants across 13 groups had been enrolled in the intervention, with data collection ending December 2021. Data analysis will begin in the spring of 2022, with expected results to be published in the spring of 2023. Conclusions This paper describes the protocol of the 9-session school-based adaptation of the DBT-A intervention and discusses the strengths and limitations of the study and future directions. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/32490