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BackgroundIdentifying factors associated with post-disaster youth substance use is a crucial element of developing evidence-based prevention and intervention efforts. Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico in September of 2017 and the wide-spread impact from this disaster, including exposure to trauma, displacement, and disrupted social supports had the potential to negatively impact levels of substance use among youth across the archipelago. However, post-disaster substance use remains under-investigated in this context. The current study sought to identify risk and protective factors associated with substance use among Puerto Rican youth in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.MethodsCross-sectional, secondary data analyses were conducted using school-based survey data collected at all schools in Puerto Rico between February 1 and June 29, 2018 (5-9 months after Hurricane María). Social supports, substance use, and trauma symptoms were assessed. An ordinal regression analysis was conducted to identify student factors associated with greater likelihood of post-disaster substance use.ResultsA total of 36,485 participants (50.7% female, grades 7-12), were included in an ordinal regression analysis that compared the likelihood of respondents endorsing high, low, or no substance use after Hurricane María based on reported adult social support, counselor/teacher social support, peer social support, ptsd symptomatology, and gender. Findings showed that, when compared to students that endorsed low or no substance use, those who reported having adult social support demonstrated a 58% reduction in odds (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.34-0.53) of reporting high substance use after Hurricane María, while students who reported having teacher/counselor social support demonstrated a 21% reduction in odds (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.69-0.89) of reporting high substance use. Additionally, those that reported having peer social support demonstrated a 31% increase in odds (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.58) of reporting higher substance use, compared to those that reported low or no substance use.ConclusionsWhile social support was generally protective, prevention efforts to build positive family and community connections may be indicated. Evidence-based school screenings of substance use and trauma may help direct intervention to those most at risk for co-occurring issues.

Abstract Background Identifying factors associated with post-disaster youth substance use is a crucial element of developing evidence-based prevention and intervention efforts. Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico in September of 2017 and the wide-spread impact from this disaster, including exposure to trauma, displacement, and disrupted social supports had the potential to negatively impact levels of substance use among youth across the archipelago. However, post-disaster substance use remains under-investigated in this context. The current study sought to identify risk and protective factors associated with substance use among Puerto Rican youth in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Methods Cross-sectional, secondary data analyses were conducted using school-based survey data collected at all schools in Puerto Rico between February 1 and June 29, 2018 (5–9 months after Hurricane María). Social supports, substance use, and trauma symptoms were assessed. An ordinal regression analysis was conducted to identify student factors associated with greater likelihood of post-disaster substance use. Results A total of 36,485 participants (50.7% female, grades 7–12), were included in an ordinal regression analysis that compared the likelihood of respondents endorsing high, low, or no substance use after Hurricane María based on reported adult social support, counselor/teacher social support, peer social support, ptsd symptomatology, and gender. Findings showed that, when compared to students that endorsed low or no substance use, those who reported having adult social support demonstrated a 58% reduction in odds (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.34-0.53) of reporting high substance use after Hurricane María, while students who reported having teacher/counselor social support demonstrated a 21% reduction in odds (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.69-0.89) of reporting high substance use. Additionally, those that reported having peer social support demonstrated a 31% increase in odds (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.58) of reporting higher substance use, compared to those that reported low or no substance use. Conclusions While social support was generally protective, prevention efforts to build positive family and community connections may be indicated. Evidence-based school screenings of substance use and trauma may help direct intervention to those most at risk for co-occurring issues.

The study sought to: (1) describe the mental health and substance use profiles among participants of a specialty trafficking court program (the Succeed Though Achievement and Resilience Court); (2) describe youths' mental health and substance use treatment prior to participating in the program; and (3) examine whether abuse influences report of mental health problems and/or substance use. Retrospective case review of court files was performed on commercially sexually exploited youth who volunteered to participate in the court from 2012 to 2014 (N = 184). All participants were female. Mental health problems and report of substance use was high among this population. Substance use differed at statistically significant levels between youth with a documented abuse history compared to those with no abuse history. Substance use also differed by report of mental health problems. Unexpected findings included the high rate of hospitalization for mental health problems and relatively low substance use treatment prior to STAR Court participation. Opportunities for improvement in critical points of contact to identify commercially sexually exploited youth and address their health needs are discussed.

Connect to Protect (C2P), a 10-year community mobilization effort, pursued the dual aims of creating communities competent to address youth's HIV-related risks and removing structural barriers to youth health. We used Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT) to examine the perceived contributions and accomplishments of 14 C2P coalitions. We interviewed 318 key informants, including youth and community leaders, to identify the features of coalitions' context and operation that facilitated and undermined their ability to achieve structural change and build communities' capability to manage their local adolescent HIV epidemic effectively. We coded the interviews using an a priori coding scheme informed by CCAT and scholarship on AIDS-competent communities. We found community mobilization efforts like C2P can contribute to addressing the structural factors that promote HIV-risk among youth and to community development. We describe how coalition leadership, collaborative synergy, capacity building, and local community context influence coalitions' ability to successfully implement HIV-related structural change, demonstrating empirical support for many of CCAT's propositions. We discuss implications for how community mobilization efforts might succeed in laying the foundation for an AIDS-competent community.

This study explores the types and extent of potentially traumatic events that youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking (CSE/T) report, and how these experiences influence mental health. CSE/T youth (N = 110, 11–19 years old) referred to Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapists affiliated with Project Intersect provided self-report data between August 2013 and March 2020 at the start (baseline), mid-point, and completion of therapeutic services. This study focuses on the baseline data collected. Bivariate relationships were analyzed, and where bivariate associations were statistically significant, associations were assessed in adjusted regression models. Two logistic regressions were performed: one for the adjusted associations between types of potentially traumatic events reported by CSE/T youth and the outcome PTSD, and a second for the outcome emotional distress. Results indicated that polytrauma was significantly associated with PTSD diagnosis among CSE/T youth. Direct violence victimization and polytrauma were significantly associated with CSE/T youth emotional distress. Results inform behavioral medicine practitioner considerations for how to appropriately assess the potentially traumatic experiences of CSE/T youth, and how these experiences may differentially impact the mental health presentations of youth in clinical treatment. Effective treatment may include precision-based customization of evidence-based practices to ensure that the diverse traumatic experiences and related symptomatology of CSE/T youth are effectively addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirteen studies were reviewed to explore the promise of school- and community-based solutions in reducing the impact of exposure to violence and chronic traumatic events among urban minority youth aged 11 to 19 years old. Because the variables of spirituality and religion are often overlooked in empirical research, studies that measured or included these concepts were prioritized. Out of a total of 35 studies, 13 were included in this review. The 13 studies included 5 intervention studies, 5 cross-sectional studies, and 3 nonexperimental studies that met our criteria. Six of the studies included spirituality or religion as a variable. The review confirmed significant associations between rates of exposure to chronic community violence and presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms within this population. Five intervention studies confirmed the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy or group therapy in reducing trauma symptoms expressed through PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms. Two cross-sectional studies identified spiritual or religious factors as buffering or moderating the impact of chronic community violence, and 1 revealed higher rates of spirituality/creativity among adolescents with more exposure to traumatic events. Recommendations for future research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Preliminary results of our survey of 1066 adolescent members of a Canadian Forces (CF) community, comparing the mental health and well-being of CF and civilian youth in a secondary school adjacent to an army base, yielded surprising results. The data were collected in 2008 with an instrument that replicated parts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Our findings suggested that there are few statistically significant differences between CF and civilian youth on mental health and well-being measures. On the other hand, both the CF and civilian youth scored lower on crucial health and well-being measures than their peers in the national NLSCY sample. This research note attempts to explain these complementary findings, using data from follow-up semi-structured interviews we conducted in 2009/10 with 60 of the CF adolescents. It also considers the possibility of a ‘‘spillover effect’’ of military life stressors on civilian youth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Through cable and wireless connections at home and at work, through Wi-Fi networks and wireless spots in hotels, coffee shops, and town squares, we are indeed connected to each other. But what is the phenomenology of this connection? Technologies of expression such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social networking technologies increasingly become like Momus windows of Greek mythology, revealing one's innermost thoughts for all to see. They give access to what used to be personal, secret, and hidden in the lives of its users, especially the young. In this article I explore the pedagogy of Momus effects of social networking technologies in the way they may alter young people's experience of privacy, secrecy, solitude, and intimacy. In addition, I examine the forms of contact afforded by instant messaging and texting on wireless mobile technologies such as the cell phone (and its wireless hybrids) for the way young people are and stay in touch with each other, and how intimacies and inner lives are attended to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To test the applicability of an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour for the study of condom use intentions among large samples of young people in South Africa and Tanzania. Methods: Baseline data of a randomized controlled trial of school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programmes were used. The setting comprised secondary schools in the regions of Cape Town, Polokwane and Dar es Salaam. Participants were 15,782 secondary school students. The main measures were scales for intentions, knowledge, risk perceptions, attitudes, perceived social norms and perceived self-efficacy regarding condom use. Results: Seven variables accounted for 77% of the variance in intentions to use condoms: attitudes (β=0.17), injunctive norms (β=0.27), self-efficacy (β=0.41), gender (lower condom use intentions among females), being a student at the Dar es Salaam site (lower scores than students in Cape Town and Polokwane), socioeconomic status (higher intentions with higher status), and access to condoms (higher intentions with higher access). Conclusions: Our results are comparable to those of studies conducted in Europe and the USA. Social cognition models such as the theory of planned behaviour are applicable in understanding the correlates of condom use intentions in African contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]