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We examined whether a housing voucher intervention influenced adolescent risky sexual behavior (RSB) across 15 years in the Moving to Opportunity Study. Low-income families in public housing that resided in 5 cities were randomized to one of three treatment groups: a housing voucher to move to low-poverty neighborhoods (i.e., < 10% poverty rate), a Sect. 8 voucher but no housing relocation counseling, or a control group that could remain in public housing. Youth and their caregivers completed baseline surveys, as well as two uniform follow-ups: interim (2001–2002; 4–7 years after baseline) and final (2008–2010; 10–15 years after baseline). Approximately 4,600 adolescents (50.5% female) aged 13–20 years participated at the final timepoint. Adolescents reported on their RSB, including condom use, other contraceptive use, early sexual initiation (< 15 years old), and 2+ sexual partners in the past year. We modeled each indicator separately and as part of a composite index. We tested baseline health vulnerabilities as potential effect modifiers. The low-poverty voucher group and the Sect. 8 voucher group were combined due to homogeneity of their effects. Applying intent-to-treat (ITT) regression analyses, we found no significant main effects of voucher receipt (vs. control) on any RSB. However, we found protective effects of voucher receipt on RSB among youth with health problems that limited activity, and youth < 7 at baseline but adverse effects among females, youth > 7 at baseline, and youth who were suspended/expelled from school. Results highlight the importance of understanding how housing interventions differentially influence adolescent health and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community violence exposure is associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescents. This study examined whether coping style moderates this relationship over time. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (M age = 13.36, 50% female, 95% African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study. Youth reported on their community violence exposure and coping style at Wave 1, and their depressive symptoms at Waves 1 and 2 (17 months apart). Problem-focused coping attenuated the effect of community violence exposure on depressive symptoms (β = −.47, p <.05), whereas avoidant coping amplified the effect of community violence on depressive symptoms (β =.63, p <.05). Adolescents exposed to community violence are at an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms if they use low levels of problem-focused coping or high levels of avoidant coping. Interventions targeting coping strategies may improve psychological adjustment of urban youth exposed to community violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of religious coping (RC) in psychosocial outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with cystic fibrosis has not been addressed. Multivariate regressions evaluated the effects of baseline RC on depressive and anxiety symptoms and HRQoL at 3-month follow-up in 123 adult cystic fibrosis patients. Higher positive RC attenuated the effects of perceived stress on greater depressive and anxiety symptoms. Negative RC predicted less vitality and social HRQoL, as well as more digestion symptoms. Positive RC may buffer the impact of stress on patients' psychological distress, whereas negative RC may contribute to lower health-related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community violence exposure is associated with externalizing problems in adolescents, yet little research has examined the moderating role of coping in these relationships. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (Mage = 13.36, 50%male, 95%African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study a year and a half apart. Youth reported their community violence exposure and coping styles at Wave 1, and their delinquent behavior, physical aggression, and substance use at Waves 1 and 2. Conduct problems were assessed by parent-report at Waves 1 and 2. Results showed that avoidant coping predicted less delinquency, aggression, substance use, and conduct problems over time. Further, avoidant coping attenuated the effect of community violence on delinquency. Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping did not moderate community violence exposure effects. Findings suggest that among low-income, minority urban youth, avoidant coping may protect against the development of externalizing problems in the context of community violence exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and academic performance among college students are not well understood. The following aims were examined in this longitudinal study: the direct association of ACEs on academic problems after 4 years without (1) and with accounting for other academic risk factors (2a), the possible mechanisms linking ACEs and academic problems (2b). First-semester freshmen (N = 268; 71.3% female; M age = 18.30; 76.9% White, 14.6% Asian, 3.7% Black, 2.6% multiracial, 1.1% Native American, and 1.1% other) were recruited from a Midwestern U.S. university. Participants reported their ACEs, intrinsic motivation, psychological distress, and financial status as first-semester freshmen. Administrative records (i.e., SAT/ACT scores, GPA, courses taken not counted toward degree progress, and graduation) were collected prospectively over 4 years. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research aims. Post-hoc analyses without SAT/ACT scores were conducted. ACEs were associated with academic problems assessed 4 years later, when studied in isolation (β = 0.36, p <.001) but not after adjusting for other risk factors (β = 0.08, p =.278). Psychological distress and SAT/ACT scores during the first semester predicted academic problems 4 years later (β = 0.33 and − 0.38, p <.001). There was an indirect effect of ACEs on academic problems through psychological distress (β = 0.13, p <.001). There is a need to expand mental health services and address barriers to utilization on college campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The ARDES is a valid measure of driver inattention in novice adolescent drivers. • Three factors of the ARDES (control, maneuvering, and navigation) were identified. • The ARDES was correlated with self-report and performance-based attention. • Attention-related driving errors were associated with other driving measures. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a leading cause of death among adolescents. Identifying factors that contribute to adolescent MVCs is a pressing public health need. Exogenous (cell phones, passengers, music) and endogenous (stress, worry, mind-wandering) forms of driver inattention account for approximately 78% of all MVCs in the United States. Though both exogenous and endogenous distraction contribute to crash risk, prior work investigating adolescent crash risk has largely focused on exogenous distractors. The Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale (ARDES) is a promising measure assessing individual differences in endogenous driver inattention that has been validated in adult drivers. Its validation in an adolescent sample may prove useful in tailoring future interventions to decrease MVC risk in young drivers. This study sought to validate the ARDES in novice adolescent drivers by investigating its underlying factor structure and its relations with self-reported measures of daily inattention, performance-based attention assessments, and a self-report measure of driving behavior. Replicating earlier work in adults, results suggested ARDES items can be classified according to their operational level of the driving. The ARDES had good internal reliability and construct validity, suggesting it is a valid self-report measure of the propensity for adolescents' attentional errors while driving. The ARDES provides a useful tool for researchers to identify adolescents at greater risk of attentional errors while driving. Future research should use the ARDES to better understand the role of driver inattention in adolescent crash risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence suggests that state policies impact constituents' health, but political determinants of health and health inequities remain understudied. Using state and year fixed-effects models, we determined the extent to which changes in electoral partisan bias in lower chambers of U.S. state legislatures (i.e., discrepancy between statewide vote share and seat share) were followed by changes in five state policies affecting children and families (1980–2019) and a composite of safety net programs (1999–2018). We examined effects on each policy and whether the effect was modified when bias was accompanied by unified party control. Next, we determined whether the effect differed depending on which party it favored. Less bias resulted only in higher AFDC/TANF benefits. Both pro-Democratic and pro-Republican bias was followed by decreased AFDC/TANF benefits and increased Medicaid benefits. AFDC/TANF recipients, unemployment benefits, minimum wage, and pre-K-12 education spending increased following pro-Democratic bias and decreased following pro-Republican bias. Estimated effects on the composite measure of safety net policies were all close to null. Some effects were modulated by unified party control. Results demonstrate that increasing fairness in elections is not a panacea by itself for increasing generosity of programs affecting children's well-being. Indeed, bias can be somewhat beneficial for the expansiveness of some policies. Furthermore, with the exception of unemployment benefits and AFDC/TANF recipients, Democrats have not been using the additional power that comes with electoral bias to spend more on major programs that benefit children. Finally, after decades in which electoral bias was in Democrats' favor, bias has started to shift toward Republicans in the last decade. This trend forecasts more cuts in almost all the policies in this study, especially education and AFDC/TANF recipients. There is a need for more research and advocacy emphasis on the political determinants of social determinants of health, especially at the state level. • Changes in partisan bias are followed by changes in 5 policies affecting children. • Less electoral bias 1980–2019 resulted only in higher AFDC/TANF benefits. • Changes in other policies depended on which party the bias favored. • More research and advocacy are needed on political determinants of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exercise maximum flexibility in scheduling to optimize data collection. • Secure a variety of contact methods to support successful communication. • Study eligibility requirements should be well thought out and clearly defined. • Driving exposure should be measured frequently to explain changes in driving behaviors. Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of mortality among teenagers. Teen driving research has a longstanding history; however, much of this work is cross-sectional. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development funded a study, REACT (R oadway E xperiences and A ttentional C hange in T eens) which combined factorial and longitudinal designs to investigate the independent and joint effects of age and driving experience on driving attention over time among young drivers. Longitudinal methods offer important contributions to teen driving research by enabling characterization of driving trajectories. This paper describes methodological considerations for longitudinal studies of teen drivers. Such considerations are organized into overarching themes, including population, recruitment, enrollment, and retention, throughout this paper. These considerations were compiled as a combination of our own experiences in REACT and previous literature. We elaborate on these considerations below to illustrate the value of each consideration. Issues encountered are discussed and strategies for dealing with various issues are described. Transportation barriers, scheduling difficulties, and skipped study milestones were among the most frequent challenges; we outline these and other issues encountered in REACT and corresponding considerations for such issues in Table 2. Sharing these experiences should aid future longitudinal investigations of young drivers, which are critically needed to reduce teen MVCs. Studies similar to REACT are considerable undertakings due to the comprehensive nature of longitudinal design. Such investigations must maintain a delicate balance between appropriate amounts of rigor and flexibility in the development of thoroughly defined research questions and theoretically driven frameworks. Key considerations that have contributed to the success of REACT are outlined, challenges encountered throughout data collection are documented, and recommendations based on choices made and lessons learned to inform future longitudinal investigations on young drivers are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This scoping review summarizes ACEs research between 1999 and 2019. • More attention is paid to ACEs' effects than to causes, inequities, or interventions. • We suggest incorporating ACEs into broader frameworks of determinants of health. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) lead to excess morbidity and mortality. However, this evidence has not resulted in large-scale efforts to prevent ACEs. We conducted a scoping review of ACEs research to determine its direction and identify advancement toward solutions to prevent ACEs. The review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Articles were considered eligible for inclusion if they were empirical studies based on original quantitative data from humans published between 1999 and 2019 and used the term "adverse" or adversity" to refer to a construct under study or a specific measure in the methodology. After a comprehensive search across nine databases, screening of the abstracts of 3,944 articles and the full texts of 2,341 articles, 1,361 empirical articles met inclusion criteria. We coded year of publication; journal name; stated study purpose (e.g., descriptive, intervention); types of adversities used to define ACEs; funding sources and declared conflicts of interest; country of the sample; and affiliation with other studies. To characterize the extent to which ACEs research focuses on ACE prevention, we then coded "narratives" reflected in research goals, with a particular focus on whether this research focuses exclusively on ACEs as the primary predictor variables, or if it integrates "upstream" social determinants of health and health inequities that may lead to ACE exposure. Thus, we coded how the elements of the stated research goals related to ACEs (e.g., predictor, mediator, moderator, and outcome variables) using the World Health Organization's framework on social determinants of health (Solar & Irwin, 2010). Finally, we coded whether protective factors were included in research designs and the level of these factors (e.g., individual vs. community), and researchers' recommendations for translating their findings to action. All variables were coded by at least two coders; inter-rater reliabilities ranged from 79 to 100%. We found that 60.6% of articles were based on samples recruited from the U.S.; funding sources have shifted to U.S. institutions with biomedical or clinical concerns; that only 47.2% of articles included in their definition of ACEs all seven items from the original ACE study; and that the dominant narrative about ACEs started with ACEs as the "villains" who begin a story of decline and ended with "victims" who have behavioral and/or emotional problems. Studies overwhelmingly examined the downstream effects of ACEs rather than upstream causes or preventive interventions. That is, only 6.6% of articles proposed protective factors that went beyond the individual or family level; and researchers' recommendations favored amelioration of ACEs after they occur, with only 20% of articles mentioning primordial or primary prevention. This disproportionate focus on downstream determinants after ACEs have already occurred limits the impact of this research in terms of potential cost-benefit, social justice, and mitigation of health inequities. We recommend that future ACEs research be incorporated into broader, strengths-based and action-oriented frameworks focused on social determinants of health and health inequities; link ACEs to their putative causes as a bridge to primordial/primary prevention; address obstacles to this shift toward upstream causes of ACEs; and communicate findings and recommendations more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Post-COVID-19 restrictions, driving days per week decreased 37 % among adolescents. • Vehicle miles driven in past two weeks decreased 35 % among adolescents. • Decrease was lower among ethnic minorities, older and employed adolescents. • Those with greater dire prosocial tendencies showed greater driving decline. Understanding who heeds the driving-related COVID-19 restrictions is critical for assisting public health professionals improve response to this and future pandemic events. The purpose of the current study was to characterize driving behavior changes among adolescents as a function of COVID-19 restrictions. It was hypothesized that adolescent driving would be reduced by COVID-19 restrictions, especially for younger teens, non-minorities, females, non-working teens, and those with higher prosocial tendencies. Participants were licensed drivers in "REACT," a longitudinal study of adolescent driving attention. Upon enrollment in REACT, drivers were required to be age 16 or 18, have been issued a driver's license within the last two weeks, and be fluent in written/spoken English. The current observational cohort study was of drivers reporting driving exposure between February 8 and April 22, 2020. Linear mixed-effects models estimated differences in driving changes between COVID-19 periods. Results indicated a decrease across pre-COVID-19 period (February 8 – March 13, 2020) in days driven per week and vehicle miles driven (VMD) was explained by the change of slope post-COVID-19 restrictions (March 14 – April 22, 2020). Post-COVID-19, driving days per week decreased by 37 % and VMD decreased by 35 %. This decrease was lower in ethnic minorities, older adolescents, and employed adolescents. Those with greater dire prosocial tendencies showed greater post-COVID-19 driving decline. Findings provide early evidence of COVID-19 restriction-related adolescent driving changes suggesting older, employed, minority teens and teens with lower prosocial tendencies are less likely to reduce driving behavior. These observations provide a foundation for more extensive studies of adolescent drivers during various driving and contact restrictions and inform future public health campaigns for social distancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]