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Background: Perceived risk of harm has long been a key preventive factor for adolescent marijuana use. However, in recent years, perceived risk has decreased markedly and marijuana use has increased only slightly, leading to new questions about their association. This study investigates the magnitude and stability of the US adolescent marijuana risk/use association from 1991 to 2016, overall and by gender and race/ethnicity.Methods: Self-reported data on past 12-month marijuana use, perceived risk of regular marijuana use, gender, and race/ethnicity were obtained from 275,768 US 12th grade students participating in the nationally representative Monitoring the Future study. Time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) was used to examine the marijuana risk/use association over time.Results: Both before and after controlling for gender and race/ethnicity, perceived risk was a strong protective factor against adolescent marijuana use. The magnitude of the great risk/use association strengthened for Hispanic students; remained generally stable over time for 12th graders overall, males, females, and White students; and weakened for Black students. The magnitude of the moderate risk/use association strengthened for 12th graders overall, males, females, White and Hispanic students, but did not continue to strengthen for Black students from 2005 onwards. In general, marijuana use prevalence decreased over time within all levels of perceived risk.Conclusions: Perceived risk remains a strong protective factor for adolescent marijuana use, and the protective association for moderate risk (vs. no/slight risk) is actually increasing over time. Results suggest that accurate and credible information on the risks associated with marijuana use should remain a key component of prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Vaping has recently increased in popularity among adolescents. Little is known about heterogeneity of vapers, particularly in terms of why they vape. Identifying major subgroups of adolescent vapers by reasons for vaping is important to understand adolescent vaping behavior and to identify those most at risk for other substance use. Methods Monitoring Future data from 2015 and 2016 were used in a latent class analysis to identify subgroups of 12th graders based on their endorsement of 10 potential reasons for vaping. Multinomial regression with a latent class outcome was used to predict class membership. Results Three distinct classes of vapers were identified: adolescents who were (1) Vaping to Experiment (29.4%), (2) Vaping to Replace Cigarettes (7.3%), and (3) Vaping for Taste + Entertainment (63.4%). Vaping only flavors was associated with lower odds of membership and cigarette use was associated with higher odds of membership in the Vaping to Replace Cigarettes subgroup, and marijuana was associated with lower odds of membership in the Vaping to Experiment subgroup, compared with the Vaping for Taste + Entertainment subgroup. Conclusions This study identified multiple subgroups of vapers based on reasons for vaping. Whereas a small subgroup vaped for reasons related to cigarette use, most adolescent vapers reported vaping for reasons unrelated to cigarette use. There were considerable differences in primary reasons for vaping and risk for traditional cigarette and other substance use, suggesting different intervention strategies may be needed for different subgroups of vapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess whether infrequent and frequent marijuana use at age 19/20 years predicts receipt of educational degrees by the mid-20s, independent of confounding age 18 adolescent risk factors. Methods Data were from the Monitoring the Future study, an annual nationally representative survey of high school seniors followed into adulthood. Thirteen cohorts (1990–2002) of high school seniors were followed longitudinally to their mid-20s (n = 4,925; 54% female). We used logistic regression and propensity score matching with successive inclusion of age 18 risk factors and substance use to compare age 19/20 frequent marijuana users (six or more occasions in past 30 days) to nonusers, frequent users to infrequent users (1–6 occasions), and infrequent users to nonusers on their likelihood of degree attainment by the mid-20s. Results Frequent marijuana users were less likely than infrequent users and nonusers to earn bachelor's degrees, even after controlling for a host of age 18 risk factors (e.g., family socioeconomic background, academic performance, educational expectations, truancy). However, these differences were reduced in magnitude to statistical nonsignificance when we controlled for age 18 substance use. Across analyses, the proportion reaching this educational milestone did not differ significantly between infrequent users and nonusers. Conclusions Results support a growing body of work suggesting that frequent marijuana use predicts a lower likelihood of postsecondary educational attainment, and this difference may originate during secondary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine driving-related consequences associated with levels of drinking intensity among a national sample of young adult drinkers. Methods Data come from a nationally representative sample of 12th graders sampled annually in 2005–2014 with subsamples surveyed at age 19/20 years. Multivariable logistic regressions examined associations of 12th-grade drinking intensity (0–4, 5–9, 10–14, and 15+ drinks in a row) with driving consequences at age 19/20 years. Results Twelfth-grade binge drinkers (compared with nonbinge drinkers) were more likely to experience negative driving consequences at age 19/20 years. Among binge drinkers, 15+ drinkers (compared with 5–9 drinkers) in 12th grade had increased the risk of negative drinking consequences at age 19/20 years. Conclusions These results suggest that while underage binge drinkers are at an increased risk for having driving consequences, those who engage in higher intensity drinking are at even greater risk for these consequences. High-intensity drinkers may require additional screening or intervention to reduce future driving-related consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use raises significant concern due to the potential for additive or interactive psychopharmacological effects. However, no nationally representative studies are available that document prevalence, trends, or related factors in US youth SAM use. Methods: Nationally representative cross-sectional samples of 12th grade students surveyed in the Monitoring the Future project from 1976 to 2011 provided data on SAM use. Analyses were conducted in 2012. Results: In 2011, 23% of all US high school seniors reported any SAM use. Among seniors reporting any past 12-month marijuana use, 62% reported any SAM use and 13% reported SAM use most or every time they used marijuana. SAM use consistently followed trends for past 30-day alcohol use over time. SAM use showed significant variation by psychosocial and demographic characteristics and was strongly associated with higher substance use levels, but occurred across the substance use spectrum. Certain reasons for alcohol or marijuana use (to increase effects of another drug; I’m hooked) and situations of alcohol or marijuana use (park/beach, car, party) were strongly associated with SAM use. Conclusions: A sizable proportion of US high school seniors reported SAM use, and it appeared to occur frequently in social use situations that could impact both the public as well as youth drug users. SAM use appears to be a complex behavior that is incidental to general substance use patterns as well as associated with (a) specific simultaneous reasons (or expectancies), and (b) heavy substance use and perceived dependence, especially on alcohol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) such as soft drinks has been associated with significantly increased energy intake and body weight. One strategy used to reduce soft drink consumption among adolescents has been reducing availability in schools; however, research is limited on associations between availability of soft drinks in school and student consumption. Purpose: This study examines associations between regular and diet soft drink availability in schools and student consumption using data from 329 secondary schools and 9284 students. Methods: Data were obtained from two sources: (1) nationally representative cross-sectional samples of students in Grades 8, 10, and 12 from U.S. public and private schools in 2010 and 2011 in the Monitoring the Future study and (2) administrators of the same schools in the Youth, Education, and Society study. Multilevel modeling conducted in 2012 examined associations between school availability and student consumption controlling for student sociodemographics and school characteristics. Results: In the total sample of more than 9000 students, regular and diet soft drink availability in school was not related to student consumption of these beverages in multivariate models. Yet, among African-American high school students, school regular and diet soft drink availability was significantly related to higher daily consumption (both before and after controlling for student and school factors). Conclusions: Although removal of soft drinks from schools may not result in significantly lower overall student consumption, such actions may result in significant decreases in soft drink consumption for specific student groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: This study uses 14 years of data from nationally representative samples of U.S. middle and high school students in the Monitoring the Future study to examine associations between school student drug testing (SDT), substance use, and participation in extracurricular activities. Methods: Analyses use questionnaire data collected from 1998 to 2011 from 89,575 students in 883 middle schools and 157,400 students in 1,463 high schools to examine: (1) the current prevalence of SDT; (2) SDT trends over time; (3) associations between substance use and SDT type, volume, or duration among the general student population or students participating in activities subject to testing; (4) associations between students’ beliefs/attitudes about marijuana use and SDT; and (5) associations between extracurricular participation rates and SDT. Results: Moderately lower marijuana use was associated with any random testing of the general high school student population and for SDT of middle and high school sub-populations specifically subject to testing (athletes or participants in nonathletic extracurricular activities). However, SDT generally was associated with increased use of illicit drugs other than marijuana. Conclusions: Because the study design is observational and the data are cross-sectional, no strong causal conclusions can be drawn. However, there is evidence of lower marijuana use in the presence of SDT, and evidence of higher use of illicit drugs other than marijuana. Until further research can clarify the apparent opposing associations, schools should approach SDT with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: Social capital and social attachment theories of substance use argue that positive bonds to society and the conventional values they promote deter adolescents from substance use. Using nationally representative samples of U.S. high school seniors, we hypothesized that adolescents'' community attachments, measured by social trust, social responsibility, and religiosity, would be negatively associated with lifetime and 30-day substance use. Method: We used repeated cross-sectional nationally representative high school senior data from 1976 to 2008 Monitoring the Future Study cohorts (weighted N = 64,246; 51.6% female). Participation rate ranged from 77% to 86% across years. A series of multiple linear and logistic regressions examined unique associations of adolescents'' social trust, social responsibility, and religiosity with lifetime and 30-day use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and narcotics. Models controlled for gender, race, college aspirations, high school grades, parents'' education, and survey year. Results: Social trust, social responsibility, and religiosity showed independent negative associations with use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and six other types of drugs. After accounting for controls, community attachments related to lower lifetime and past 30-day use. Associations were consistent across measures, except social responsibility was not associated with binge drinking or lifetime illicit drugs besides marijuana. Conclusions: Study strengths included nationally representative samples, diverse substance use measures, and inclusion of controls. We extend theory by suggesting that distinct aspects of adolescents'' community attachments uniquely relate to lower substance use. Results suggest potential public health benefits of integrating promotion of community attachments with substance use prevention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The National Institute on Drug Abuse has called for increased research into the use of physical activity in substance abuse prevention, specifically research into physical activity type and context. Purpose: This paper examines the relationships between (1) secondary school student substance use and (2) exercise in general and school athletic team participation, and examines such relationships over time. Methods: Nationally representative cross-sectional samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students were surveyed each year from 1991 to 2009. Substance use measures included past 2-week binge drinking and past 30-day alcohol, cigarette, smokeless tobacco, marijuana, and steroid use. Analyses were conducted during 2009–2010. Results: Across grades, higher levels of exercise were associated with lower levels of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Higher levels of athletic team participation were associated with higher levels of smokeless tobacco use and lower levels of cigarette and marijuana use across grades and to higher levels of high school alcohol and steroid use. Exercise helped suppress the undesired relationship between team participation and alcohol use; exercise and athletic team participation worked synergistically in lowering cigarette and marijuana use. Observed relationships were generally stable across time. Conclusions: There appear to be substantive differences between exercise and team sport participation in relation to adolescent substance use. These findings from cross-sectional data suggest that interventions to improve levels of general physical activity should be evaluated to determine if they help delay or reduce substance use among youth in general as well as among student athletes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: This study examined the association between the level of physical activity (PA) friendliness of the built environment and adolescent PA and body mass index using a national sample of youth and data collected from the communities where they reside. Methods: Data on height, weight, and PA were taken from annual nationally representative cross-sectional Monitoring the Future surveys of 8th and 10th graders in schools, from 2001 through 2003. Measures of safety, outdoor and commercial PA settings, and urban sprawl were constructed using data collected from the communities in which the students reside. Multilevel models were run and controlled for youth and community demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: Increased levels of physical disorder were associated with decreased PA and higher weight. A greater number of commercial PA facilities was associated with increased PA. More compact communities were associated with lower weight and less sports participation. Conclusions: It is important to explore these associations to help guide future development patterns and land use policies to create more active neighborhoods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Purpose: This article reports long-term trends by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) in the percent of American students who are overweight and who engage in three health-related behaviors hypothesized to be associated with overweight. Methods: Data are from the Monitoring the Future annual surveys, using nationally representative samples of eighth, 10th, and 12th grade students. Participants include 62,156 eighth and 64,899 10th graders who completed the 1993–2003 surveys and 35,107 12th graders who completed the questionnaire form containing the measures pertaining to this study in the 1986–2003 surveys. Trends are presented separately by gender and grade level for different racial/ethnic and SES subgroups, in: (a) percent overweight (body mass index ≥ 85th percentile), (b) percent who always or almost always eat breakfast, (c) percent who regularly exercise vigorously, and (d) average hours of weekday television viewing. Results: The prevalence of overweight and of engaging in less healthy behaviors is considerably greater among youth from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, of lower socioeconomic status, and in higher grades. Trends in overweight and these behaviors are found to vary substantially by gender, racial/ethnic group, socioeconomic status, and grade level. Conclusions: The study findings show well-established and persistent differences in the percent of racial/ethnic minority and low SES youth who are overweight and whose dietary and exercise habits are less healthy. Documentation of these problems may lead to research and policy agendas that will contribute both to our understanding and to the reduction of these important health disparities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in middle and high school students' perceived ease, methods, and locations of access to cigarettes, and to assess differences related to their sociodemographic characteristics and smoking status.Methods: Annual data from nationally representative samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students were analyzed for the 1997-2002 period. Analyses were conducted in 2003.Results: Perceived ease of access decreased significantly among never and past smokers. Decreased individual purchasing in retail outlets, as well as decreased purchasing from vending machines, were reported by 8th- and 10th-grade students. All grades reported decreased purchasing from self-service placements of cigarettes. Decreases in access were not reported across all retailer types, and no significant increases were seen in the percent of underage purchasers who reported being asked to show identification. Both gender and ethnicity were significantly related to where and how underage youth reported obtaining cigarettes.Conclusions: Cigarette access for minors has been declining, but remains high. Findings show that (1) perceived access to cigarettes clearly increases with level of smoking, and (2) policies to reduce such access may be having an impact as evidenced by decreased retail and vending machine purchases and self-service purchases. However, states should continue to strengthen efforts to reduce youth cigarette access, especially in the areas of confirming buyer age via identification checks, and should make efforts to decrease access across all retailer types. Federal regulations like those previously implemented by the Food and Drug Administration might strongly assist in reducing youth access to cigarettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes many of the findings of the Youth in Transition project. The article begins with a very brief introduction to the major purposes and design for the Youth in Transition project. The second section explores some of the factors which influence amount of education attained, and then considers how these factors plus education influence occupational outcomes. The third section summarizes analyses of change and stability across time, with special emphasis on how these are related to educational attainment. The article concludes with an integration of the findings and a discussion of their implications for education. Some comments may be in order concerning the fact that the Youth in Transition project is limited to an all-male sample. The project began with a sharp focus on the causes and consequences of dropping out of high school, and a broader interest in the dynamics of educational and occupational attainment. For males during the high school years, the two major role possibilities are student and/or worker. The additional role possibilities of parent and homemaker are remote for practically all males during the high school years, but for females, especially those who drop out, these roles are often quite central.

Aims: In the last decade the relatively lower levels of marijuana use for black relative to non-black high school seniors has grown smaller and disappeared, drawing to a close a unique disparity that actually favored a disadvantaged group for at least thirty years. In this study we test trends in cigarette smoking and religiosity as possible explanations for this closing disparity. The study also examines whether increasing marijuana levels for black adolescents is better characterized as a cohort effect or an historical period effect.Design: Analyses use relative risk regression and focus on data from yearly, cross-sectional surveys from the time period 2008-2017.Setting and Participants: Data comes from the nationally-representative Monitoring the Future survey, which conducts in-school surveys of secondary school students. The analysis uses data from 114,552 high school seniors (in 12th grade), 123,594 in 10th grade, and 136,741 in 8th grade.Findings: Past 12-month marijuana prevalence significantly increased for black as compared to non-black adolescents from 2008 to 2017 in 12th grade, 10th grade, and 8th grade. The increase attenuated by more than half and was not statistically significant after adjusting for cigarette smoking. In contrast, the increase was little changed after adjusting adolescent levels of religiosity. The increase is better characterized as a cohort effect than a period effect.Conclusions: These results support the increase in marijuana use for black relative to non-black adolescents as an unexpected consequence of the great decline in adolescent cigarette smoking, which has occurred slower for black adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the current levels of physical education (PE) and sports participation among American secondary school students, and to establish the extent to which they vary by grade level, racial/ethnic background, and socioeconomic status (SES) of the students.Methods: Nationally representative data were used from over 500 schools and 54,000 students surveyed in 2003, 2004, and 2005 as part of the Youth, Education, and Society (YES) study and the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study. As part of YES, school administrators completed questionnaires on physical activity (including rates of sports and PE participation) of students in their schools. Students in the same schools completed self-administered questionnaires in the same year as part of MTF, providing individual background data, including their gender, racial/ethnic identification, and parents' education level. Data were analyzed in 2006.Results: Physical education requirements, and actual student participation rates, decline substantially between 8th and 12th grades. About 87% of 8th graders were in schools that required them to take PE, compared to only 20% of 12th graders. Principals estimate that over 90% of 8th graders actually take PE, compared to 34% of 12th graders. Subgroup differences in PE participation rates were small. Only a fraction of all students participate in varsity sports during the school year, with girls participating only slightly less than boys (33% vs 37%). Participation correlates negatively with SES and was lower among black and Hispanic students than white students, even after controlling for other variables. Participation rates in intramural sports were even lower, declined in higher grades, and were lower among low-SES and Hispanic students (after controlling for other variables).Conclusions: Physical education is noticeably lacking in American high schools for all groups. Racial/ethnic minorities and low-SES youth, who are at higher than average risk of being overweight in adolescence, are getting less exercise due to their lower participation in school sports. Disparities in resources available to minorities and lower-SES youth may help explain the differences in participation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study assessed the prevalence of current high-intensity drinking (i.e., having ten or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks) among national samples of U.S. eighth and tenth grade students (at modal ages 14 and 16 years, respectively).Methods: Data on high-intensity drinking were provided by 10,210 students participating in the nationally representative Monitoring the Future study in 2016, and analyzed in 2016-2017. Prevalence levels and interactions between grade and key covariates were estimated using procedures that adjusted for the Monitoring the Future study's complex sampling design.Results: Approximately 2% of adolescents reported current high-intensity drinking, with significant differences by grade (1.2% of eighth graders; 3.1% of tenth graders) and gender (1.7% female; 2.3% male). High-intensity drinking was significantly higher among eighth and tenth grade students who reported any cigarette or marijuana use than among students who reported never using either substance.Conclusions: A meaningful percentage of young adolescents in the U.S. engage in high-intensity drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: This study identifies trends in the availability of various food choices in United States'' middle and high schools from 2004 to 2007, and examines the potential associations between such food availability and students'' self-reported eating habits and body mass index (BMI)–related outcomes. Methods: Data are based on nationally representative samples of 78,442 students in 684 secondary schools surveyed from 2004 to 2007 as part of the Youth, Education, and Society (YES) study and the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study. In the YES study, school administrators and food service managers completed self-administered questionnaires on their school''s food environment. In the MTF study, students in the same schools completed self-administered questionnaires, providing data used to construct BMI and food consumption measures. Results: Overall, there was a decrease in the availability of regular-sugar/fat food items in both middle and high schools, and some indication of an increase in high school availability of reduced-fat food items through school lunch or a la carte. Some minimal evidence was found for relationships between the school food environment and student BMI-related outcomes and food consumption measures. Conclusions: United States secondary schools are making progress in the types of foods offered to students, with food items of lower nutritional value becoming less prevalent in recent years. Continued monitoring of food environment trends may help clarify whether and how such factors relate to youth health outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Purpose: To explore whether characteristics of the U.S. secondary school physical activity environment are associated with student body mass index (BMI) and physical activity. Methods: This report uses data from two studies: Monitoring the Future (MTF; an annual nationally representative survey of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade public and private school students) and Youth, Education, and Society (a survey of administrators in schools that have completed their 2-year participation in the MTF study). School policies and programs related to various health issues, including physical education (PE) and sports activity, were examined for relationships with student self-reported height, weight, being active in sports, exercising vigorously, and participating in school athletics. Results: The results show that in 2004–2007, the percentage of students who attended schools that required PE in their grade differed sharply by grade level: 88% of 8th graders, 48% of 10th graders, and 20% of 12th graders. There were few statistically significant associations between school PE requirements and student BMI. The average percentage of students who participated in interscholastic or varsity sports was associated at the bivariate level with a lower percentage of students being overweight in all three grades. Other measures of PE and sports activity showed varying associations with BMI and physical activity measures. Conclusions: Relationships between the school physical activity environment and student BMI and physical activity were not uniformly strong. We conclude that, as currently practiced in schools, existing variations in physical activity policies may not be sufficient to produce discernible school-wide differences; thus, there is a need for more vigorous PE programming than is typically provided. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is known to vary by individual characteristics, but little is known about whether BMI varies by school and by school characteristics. Methods: Nationally representative samples of United States schools and students are used to determine the extent to which BMI and percent of students at or above the 85th percentile of BMI vary by school and by school characteristics. Data from the 1991–2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study were analyzed in 2006 and 2007. Results: A relatively small proportion of variance in BMI lies between schools; intraclass correlations are on the order of 3%. Still, this is sufficient variation to provide very different environments for students attending schools that are low versus high in average BMI. There is some modest variation by school type (public, Catholic private, non-Catholic private); school size (number of students in the sampled grade); region of the country; and population density. There is more variation as a function of school socioeconomic status (SES) and racial/ethnic composition of the school. School SES in particular was negatively associated with BMI levels, even after controlling individual-level SES and racial/ethnic status. Conclusions: The residual differences in BMI by school suggest that some characteristic of the school and/or community environment—perhaps cultural factors or peer role modeling or differences in school food, beverage, or physical education policies—facilitate obesity in schools with a high concentration of lower socioeconomic students, beyond individual-level factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The purposes of this study are to examine the extent to which (1) more-healthy and less-healthy food choices are available to American secondary students in their schools, and (2) there are differences in the availability of such foods as a function of grade, racial/ethnic background, and socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: United States nationally representative samples of over 37,000 students in 345 secondary schools were surveyed in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Youth, Education, and Society (YES) study and the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study. In the YES study, school administrators and food service managers completed self-administered questionnaires on food policies and food offerings in their schools. In the MTF study, students in the same schools completed self-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed in 2006. Results: A greater percent of high school students have access to both more-healthy and less-healthy food choices than middle school students. Compared to white students, fewer black students have access to certain healthy foods (lowfat salty snacks, lowfat cookies and pastries). Hispanic high school students have greater access to regular ice cream and to fruits and vegetables. Otherwise the racial/ethnic group differences are modest. However, there is a positive linear association between SES (as indicated by parental education) and (1) access to most types of healthier snacks from vending machines, school/student stores, or snack bars/carts and (2) the number of healthier foods offered à la carte in the cafeteria. The association between SES and access to less-healthy snacks varies more by item. Conclusions: Indisputably, less-healthy foods are more available than more-healthy foods in the nation’s schools. At a time when food and beverage offerings are under intense policy scrutiny, this study provides a comprehensive assessment of the types of foods made available to students. While it is encouraging to see schools offering healthy food alternatives, such as lowfat snacks and fruits and vegetables, the findings strongly suggest that the availability of more-healthy snacks needs to be increased, particularly for racial/ethnic minorities and youth of lower SES. Simultaneously, schools could considerably decrease the availability of less-healthy snack choices available to students. Future monitoring is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the food industry’s recent agreement to play a role in helping to solve these problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The study describes the most common reasons for using vaporizers (such as e-cigarettes) among US adolescents and investigates how reasons for use differ by grade, lifetime cigarette use, frequency of vaporizer use, gender, race/ethnicity, and parent education.Method: Data were collected from 4066 students in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades in 2015 as part of the Monitoring the Future study, a cross-sectional and nationally representative US survey.Results: Common reasons for vaporizer use reported by respondents who had ever used a vaporizer were experimentation (53.0%), taste (37.2%), boredom (23.5%), having a good time (22.4%), and relaxation (21.6%). Reasons differed little across grades or parent education; reasons differed by lifetime use of regular cigarettes, frequency of vaping, gender, and race/ethnicity.Conclusions: Overall, results suggest that decisions to vape are based on curiosity, taste, and pleasure, rather than for reasons such as quitting regular cigarettes or substituting for regular cigarette smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Preference for risky activities is an important developmentally graded predictor of substance use. Population-level trends in adolescent risk preference, as well as the way in which risk preference may be a conduit to risk behavior, have never been documented. The present study examines population-level trends in risk preference among U.S. high school seniors for the 36 years from 1976 to 2011, as well as trends in the association between risk preference and substance use and other problem behaviors.Methods: Data were drawn from yearly nationally representative cross-sectional surveys of US high school seniors (N=91,860). Risk preference was measured consistently with two items. Marijuana and cocaine use, binge drinking, and conduct problems were assessed. Trends were tested using JoinPoint software.Results: The mean level of reported risk preference among US 12th graders has increased over time, especially in the 1980s. For example, the proportion of high school females who reported enjoying activities that were "a little dangerous" more than doubled, from 4.9% in 1976 to 10.8% in 1988. While risk preference reports among adolescent males leveled off in 1992, risk preference reports among females show a continued positive overall slope through 2011. The magnitude of the association between risk preference and marijuana use has increased over time.Conclusions: Reported preference for risky activities has increased among adolescents in the US, especially among young women. Reported risk preference is increasingly associated with a higher use of marijuana. Our findings argue for the importance of placing risk preference within a multi-level framework that attends to historical variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Beginning in the 2014–2015 school year, all U.S. schools participating in federally reimbursable meal programs are required to implement new nutrition standards for items sold in competitive venues. Multilevel mediation modeling examining direct, mediated, and indirect pathways between policy, availability, and student consumption might provide insight into possible outcomes of implementing aspects of the new standards. Purpose To employ multilevel mediation modeling using state- and school district–level policies mandating school soda bans, school soda availability, and student soda consumption. Methods The 2010–2012 Monitoring the Future surveys obtained nationally representative data on high school student soda consumption; school administrators provided school soda availability data. State laws and district policies were compiled and coded. Analyses conducted in 2014 controlled for state-, school-, and student-level characteristics. Results State–district–school models found that state bans were associated with significantly lower school soda availability ( c , p <0.05) but district bans showed no significant associations. No significant direct, mediated, or indirect associations between state policy and student consumption were observed for the overall sample. Among African American high school students, state policy was associated directly with significantly lower school soda availability ( a , p <0.01), and—indirectly through lower school availability—with significantly lower soda consumption ( a ⁎ b , p <0.05). Conclusions These analyses indicate state policy focused on regular soda strongly affected school soda availability, and worked through changes in school availability to decrease soda consumption among African American students, but not the overall population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study estimated self-reported perceived negative marijuana use consequences among a national sample of U.S. young adults, examining consequence prevalence differences by use frequency, college attendance, living situation, employment, sex, and race/ethnicity; and use frequency/sociodemographic characteristic interactions.Methods: A subsample of 1,212 respondents from the 2004-2018 class cohorts of 12th grade students participating in the nationally-representative Monitoring the Future study was surveyed up to two times from modal ages 19 through 22 (in 2008-2019). Respondents self-reported negative consequences related to their own past 12-month marijuana use. Bivariate and multivariable models examined subgroup differences in consequence prevalence.Results: Approximately 60% of those using frequently (20+ use occasions in the past 30 days) and 35% of those using non-frequently reported negative consequences. Among all young adult marijuana users, 31.1% reported emotional/physical consequences, 12.9% performance/financial consequences, and 12.3% relational consequences. Use frequency was positively associated with consequence likelihood, excluding regret and unsafe driving. Among college students, frequent use was more strongly associated with any and performance/financial consequences. Controlling for use frequency, men reported more performance/financial consequences; relational consequences were higher among Hispanic (vs. White) respondents, and those living with parents, employed full-time, and not attending 4-year colleges.Conclusion: Young adults using marijuana reported a wide range of negative use consequences; likelihood of most consequences increased with higher use frequency. Perceived consequences varied by college attendance, living situation, employment, sex, and race/ethnicity. Efforts to reduce negative marijuana consequences may be strengthened by recognizing and addressing the different types of negative consequences users perceive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The IOM recommends schools adopt a Whole-of-School (WOS) approach—one that is comprehensive, coordinated, and provides opportunities for students to be active before, during, and after school. This study examined, in a nationally representative sample of secondary students in the conterminous U.S., (1) the degree of implementation of a WOS approach and (2) the association between WOS implementation and student physical activity. Methods A WOS index—based on six school practices—was calculated using self-reported school administrator data gathered in 2010 and 2011 (N=1,031). Student-level data were obtained from nationally representative samples of eighth-, tenth-, and 12th-grade students during the same years (eighth grade, n schools =96, n students =3,689; tenth/12th grades, n schools =178, n students =4,670). Multilevel Poisson models were estimated in 2013–2014 to examine the relationship between the WOS index and self-reported physical activity. Results Few students attended schools with high WOS index scores. Middle school students attending schools with higher WOS index scores were physically active for at least 60 minutes on more days than students attending schools with lower WOS index scores (exp[β]=1.031, 95% CI=1.008, 1.054). The WOS index score was not associated with physical activity among high school students. Conclusions This study finds that many schools are not offering the full array of practices comprising a WOS approach to physical activity, especially at the high school level. Yet, middle school students could have increased physical activity levels if schools were to implement a WOS approach to physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since 2006–2007, education agencies (e.g., school districts) participating in U.S. federal meal programs are required to have wellness policies. To date, this is the only federal policy that addresses foods and beverages sold outside of school meals (in competitive venues). Purpose: To examine the extent to which federally required components of school wellness policies are associated with availability of foods and beverages in competitive venues. Methods: Questionnaire data were collected in 2007–2008 through 2010–2011 school years from 892 middle and 1019 high schools in nationally representative samples. School administrators reported the extent to which schools had required wellness policy components (goals, nutrition guidelines, implementation plan/person responsible, stakeholder involvement) and healthier and less-healthy foods and beverages available in competitive venues. Analyses were conducted in 2012. Results: About one third of students (31.8%) were in schools with all four wellness policy components. Predominantly white schools had higher wellness policy scores than other schools. After controlling for school characteristics, higher wellness policy scores were associated with higher availability of low-fat and whole-grain foods and lower availability of regular-fat/sugared foods in middle and high schools. In middle schools, higher scores also were associated with lower availability of 2%/whole milk. High schools with higher scores also had lower sugar-sweetened beverage availability and higher availability of 1%/nonfat milk, fruits/vegetables, and salad bars. Conclusions: Because they are associated with lower availability of less-healthy and higher availability of healthier foods and beverages in competitive venues, federally required components of school wellness policies should be encouraged in all schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Differences in the prevalence of youth at or above the 85th percentile of age- and gender-adjusted body mass index (BMI) by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status were examined among youth in 8th and 10th grades. The possible role of a number of lifestyle behaviors and family/parenting factors in explaining these differences was then explored. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were used from nationally representative samples in the Monitoring the Future study from 1998 to 2003 (N=39,011 students). Data were analyzed in 2006. Results: Minority, low-income males, and male youth were more likely have a BMI at or above the 85th percentile. Frequency of eating breakfast, eating fruits and vegetables, and exercising regularly were inversely associated with being at or above the 85th percentile. The number of hours youth spend per week watching television was positively associated with being at or above the 85th percentile. These lifestyle behaviors proved more important than the family/parenting variables examined. Conclusions: The overrepresentation of youth at risk of overweight or overweight among racial/ethnic minority and low-income populations mimics the excess morbidity of overweight and obesity-related health conditions in these same populations. Differences in lifestyle behaviors and family characteristics might help to explain these subgroup differences starting at an early age. While there is growing need to modify these behaviors in the population at large, the need is greatest among minorities and low-socioeconomic status youth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Soft drinks have been widely available in the nation’s schools for some years, but recently, in response to rising concern about the epidemic of obesity among youth, concerns have been raised as to whether they should be available, and if so, under what circumstances. This paper looks at how widespread soft drink availability is at present in schools, as well as the availability of other classes of beverages. Because overweight occurs disproportionately among minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status (SES), this paper also seeks to determine to what extent environmental conditions differ for these students. Differences between middle and high schools are also examined. Methods: Data for 2004 and 2005 were used from two ongoing United States national surveys: the Youth, Education, and Society (YES) study of school administrators (N=345), and the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study of secondary school students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades surveyed in those same schools (N=37,543). Data were gathered in YES on the availability of various beverages in schools from vending machines and other venues, as well as about the presence and nature of pouring rights contracts with soft drink bottlers. Data were analyzed in 2006. Results: The vast majority of high school students today have soft drinks available to them in the school environment both through vending machines (88%) and in the cafeteria at lunch (59%), with middle schools providing somewhat less access. Diet soft drinks are less available, particularly at lunch. Most students (67% in middle and 83% in high school) are in schools that have a contract with a bottler. Revenues to schools generated by soft drink sales are quite modest. Hispanics are most likely to have soft drinks available throughout the school day. The SES of the students correlates negatively with whether the school allows advertising and promotion of soft drinks. Conclusions: Current school practices regarding soft drink availability, advertising, and sales would seem likely to be contributing to the extent of overweight among American young people, and to some extent to the higher risk faced by Hispanic and lower SES youth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Drinking by youth remains prevalent. The Reducing Underage Drinking through coalitions (RUD) project funded ten states for 8 years to form coalitions designed to change the policy and normative environment regarding youth access to alcohol. An independent national outcome evaluation of this $21-million effort was conducted. Methods: Using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design, the ten intervention states were compared with the other 40 states, with repeated annual measures of outcomes from 1995 to 2004. Measures included print news media coverage, legislative bills enacted, youth drinking behavior, and youth alcohol-related driving behaviors and traffic crash mortality. Analyses using latent growth curve modeling methods were conducted in 2005. Results: Significant differences in slopes between treatment and comparison states were found for several outcome measures, particularly in the more-proximal outcome domains. Across all outcome domains, the pattern of effects was in the direction of positive effects of the RUD coalitions, although for most individual measures the differences were not statistically significant. The magnitude of observed differences associated with the RUD coalitions were sizable, with an estimated effect size of 1.10 on media coverage, 0.46 on state policies enacted, −0.44 on youth drinking behaviors, and −0.16 on alcohol-related driving and fatal car-crash mortality. Conclusions: The pattern of results and the magnitude of estimated effects provides evidence of effect of the RUD coalitions. The lack of statistically significant differences for most individual outcome measures indicates the difficulty of unambiguously demonstrating the full effects of an effort designed to change behaviors and health outcomes of the entire youth population of multiple states. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: This study uses large nationally representative samples of White, Black, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Other Latina, Asian American, and American Indian 8th-grade girls to examine racial/ethnic differences and similarities in patterns, trends, and socioeconomic correlates of cigarette use. Methods: The data are drawn from the University of Michigan''s Monitoring the Future study. Prevalence and trend data (from 1991 to 2007) in girls’ cigarette use were examined by racial/ethnic subgroup. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which socioeconomic factors predict girls’ cigarette use, and whether the relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and smoking differed across racial/ethnic subgroup. Results: Cigarette use was highest among American Indian girls; at an intermediate level among Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Other Latinas, and White girls; and lowest among Black and Asian American girls. Trend data show that cigarette use has declined for all racial/ethnic subgroups, and that small but consistent racial/ethnic differences in girls’ cigarette use have persisted. Generally, girls who did not live in two-parent households, whose parents had lower levels of educational attainment, who attended lower SES schools, and who had more disposable income were more likely than their peers to smoke. That said, however, the relationships between smoking and parental education and school SES were, on average, stronger for White girls than for Black or Hispanic (Mexican American, Other Latina, Puerto Rican) girls. Conclusions: Future research should seek to understand the mechanisms by which low SES impacts smoking. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Environmental factors such as the availability of local-area food stores may be important contributors to the increasing rate of obesity among U.S. adolescents. Methods: Repeated cross-sections of individual-level data on adolescents drawn from the Monitoring the Future surveys linked by geocode identifiers to data on food store availability were used to examine associations between adolescent weight and the availability of four types of grocery food stores that include chain supermarkets, nonchain supermarkets, convenience stores, and other grocery stores, holding constant a variety of other individual- and neighborhood-level influences. Results: Increased availability of chain supermarkets was statistically significantly associated with lower adolescent Body Mass Index (BMI) and overweight and that greater availability of convenience stores was statistically significantly associated with higher BMI and overweight. The association between supermarket availability and weight was larger for African-American students compared to white or Hispanic students and larger for students in households in which the mother worked full time. Conclusions: Economic and urban planning land use policies which increase the availability of chain supermarkets may have beneficial effects on youths’ weight outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: A significant number of American youth do not participate in sufficient levels of physical activity. Methods: This article reports the association between the availability of commercial physical activity–related facilities and self-reported physical activity behavior among United States adolescents. Geographic identifiers at the ZIP-code level were used to combine repeated cross-sections of individual-level data on 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade adolescents from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey with external commercial physical activity–related facility outlet density measures obtained from business lists from Dun and Bradstreet for the years 1997 through 2003. The estimation samples based on questions from different survey forms included a total of 195,702 observations on which information on physical activity (sports, athletics, or exercise) was available and 58,876 observations on which information on vigorous exercise behavior was available. Results: The results showed a statistically significant but very small association between local-area per capita availability of commercial physical activity–related facilities and physical activity behavior among U.S. adolescents. An additional local-area facility per 10,000 capita was associated with only a 0.22 percentage point increase in frequent vigorous exercise among the full sample of adolescents. By gender and grade level, the study found significant associations among female and older students: increasing availability from a low (1 facility) to a high (8 facilities) number of local-area facilities was associated with a 6.6% and 9.0% increase in frequent physical activity and frequent vigorous exercise among 12th-grade girls, respectively, and a 6.4% increase in frequent vigorous exercise among 12th-grade boys. Conclusions: Improving the availability of commercial physical activity–related opportunities among underserved populations may help to increase activity levels among older adolescents and girls. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]