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Objective: Emerging adulthood is characterized by maturation of executive functions (EF) and changes in health behaviors (HB). Interestingly, EF are bi-directionally related to many specific HB; yet how EF performs in relation to overall patterns of HB engagement is unclear. Groupings of HB and the relationship between these HB groupings and EF were examined. Participants: Full-time college students were recruited from three large Mid- and Southwest universities (N = 1,387). Methods: Online self-report questionnaires assessing demographics, HB, and EF were completed. Results: Latent class analysis of HB revealed three classes: (1) "High Substance Use," (2) "Moderately Healthy," (3) "Healthy." In general, the Healthy class had significantly greater EF compared to no significant differences between the other two classes. Conclusions: Collective engagement in HB is associated with EF. Interventions targeting both HB and EF simultaneously may be most efficacious.

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is the dominant staple food crop in the Highlands Provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG), but productivity is constrained by pests and diseases including viral pathogens. Meristem-tip culture and thermotherapy can be used to eliminate viral pathogens in planting material, overcoming productivity constraints caused by viral infections. In this study, the performance of four PNG sweetpotato cultivars grown from virus-cleaned or farmer-sourced planting material were assessed at four production locations in PNG Highlands Provinces. Total root yields were significantly increased in three of the four cultivars by using virus-cleaned material, with root number and root weight increasing as well as root quality. A weak interaction between the origin region of a cultivar and trial site location was observed, suggesting that response to virus-cleaning may be lower when cultivars selected for tolerance to pathogens in a production region are grown in the same region after virus-cleaning. The results demonstrated that under traditional production practices in gardens frequently used for sweetpotato production, the use of virus-cleaned planting material is a viable practice for farmers aiming to transition from subsistence production to commercial production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodResultsConclusionsWe used longitudinal youth- and caregiver-reports of adolescent psychological symptoms from three samples of youth receiving mental health services in routine treatment settings to derive expected change trajectories and identify cases at risk for treatment failure.Participants were 1906 youth (1053 caregivers) receiving treatment in community mental health settings, merged across three samples. The Symptoms and Functioning Severity Scale (SFSS) was used as an indicator of weekly clinical change. Multilevel modeling methods were used to develop expected change trajectories and identify cases at risk for treatment failure (not on track; NOT). Logistic regression was used to predict client improvement as a function of NOT status.The SFSS was a reliable indicator of therapeutic change according to youth-reported symptoms. Caregiver reports were not as robust. Whereas predictive accuracy of NOT status yielded moderately high sensitivity in detecting improvement according to youth report, caregiver reports were not as predictive.The youth-reported version of the SFSS-based algorithm seems appropriate for implementation in clinical care. Future studies should search for similarly predictive measures for caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that physical activity and alcohol use are positively related among young adults. Two studies have examined daily relations, and results have shown conflicting findings. We examined relations between physical activity and alcohol use at both within- and between-individual levels and investigated moderators of the relation at both levels. 269 college students wore accelerometers to collect physical activity data over a 2-week period. At the end of each day, they indicated whether or not they drank alcohol. Multilevel logistic regression indicated neither within- nor between-subject relations were statistically significant. Positive affect, negative affect, and drinking motives moderated these relations at the between-subject level. Contrary to previous research, we did not observe a relation between physical activity and alcohol use at the daily level. Unique features of the current study suggest next steps for future research examining the perplexing PA-alcohol relation in this population., Author(s): Craig E. Henderson [sup.1] , John M. Manning [sup.1] , Cindy M. Davis [sup.1] , David E. Conroy [sup.2] , M. Lee Van Horn [sup.3] , Kim Henry [sup.4] [...]

Pragmatic procedures for sustaining high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based interventions are needed to support implementation in usual care. This study tested an online therapist training system, featuring observational coder training and self-report fidelity feedback, to promote self-report acumen and routine use of family therapy (FT) techniques for adolescent behavior problems. Therapists (N = 84) from nine substance use and mental health treatment sites reported on 185 adolescent clients. Therapists submitted baseline data on FT technique use with clients, completed a workshop introducing the 32-week training system, and were randomly assigned by site to Core Training versus Core Training + Consultation. Core Training included a therapist coder training course (didactic instruction and mock session coding exercises in 13 FT techniques) and fidelity feedback procedures depicting therapist-report data on FT use. Consultation convened therapists and supervisors for one-hour monthly sessions with an external FT expert. During the 32 weeks of training, therapists submitted self-report data on FT use along with companion session audiotapes subsequently coded by observational raters. Therapist self-report reliability and accuracy both increased substantially during training. Observers reported no increase over time in FT use; therapists self-reported a decrease in FT use, likely an artifact of their improved self-report accuracy. Consultation did not enhance therapist self-report acumen or increase FT use. Online training methods that improve therapist-report reliability and accuracy for FT use may confer important advantages for treatment planning and fidelity monitoring. More intensive and/or different training interventions appear needed to increase routine FT delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core elements of family therapy for adolescent mental health and substance use problems, originally distilled from high-fidelity sessions conducted by expert clinicians, were tested for validity generalization when delivered by community therapists in routine settings. The study sampled recorded sessions from 161 cases participating in one of three treatment pools: implementation trial of Functional Family Therapy (98 sessions/50 cases/22 therapists), adaptation trial of Multisystemic Therapy (115 sessions/59 cases/2 therapists), and naturalistic trial of non-manualized family therapy in usual care (107 sessions/52 cases/21 therapists). Adolescents were identified as 60% male and 40% female with an average age of 15.4 years; 49% were Latinx, 27% White Non-Latinx, 15% African American, 3% another race/ethnicity, 6% race/ethnicity unknown. Session recordings (n = 320) were randomly selected for each case and coded for 21 discrete family therapy techniques. Archived data of one-year clinical outcomes were gathered. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the factor structure from the original distillation study, retaining all four clinically coherent treatment modules comprised of all 21 techniques: Interactional Change (ICC =.77, Cronbach's α =.81); Relational Reframe (ICC =.75, α =.81); Adolescent Engagement (ICC =.72, α =.78); Relational Emphasis (ICC =.76, α =.80). Exploratory analyses found that greater use of core techniques predicted symptom improvements in one treatment pool. Core techniques of family therapy distilled from manualized treatments for adolescent behavioral health problems showed strong evidence of validity generalization, and initial evidence of links to client outcomes, in community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most commonly cited psychological sequelae of HIV/AIDS is anxiety regarding death due to the illness (i.e., death anxiety; DA). However, extant research is inconclusive on several empirical issues, such as DA's relation to HIV/AIDS diagnostic status, the impact of illness-related symptoms on DA, and factors that may protect against DA. We conducted a systematic review of the empirical literature and meta-analysis to answer specific questions concerning correlates of DA in persons with HIV/AIDS and important factors that may help explain variability in effect size estimates. The meta-analysis included 18 studies (N = 1,757) examining DA in adults with HIV/AIDS. Meta-analytic findings indicated a small-to-medium effect of HIV/AIDS diagnostic status on DA, which was moderated by duration since diagnosis and by relation to the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Results also indicated a small effect of illness-related symptoms on DA, which was moderated by participant age. Social support and intrinsic religiosity were modest protective factors, but results indicated that extrinsic religiosity may exacerbate or be exacerbated by DA. Finally, results indicated a medium-to-large relation between psychological symptoms and DA. The implications of these results and other study findings are discussed. (Contains 5 figures, 2 tables and 2 footnotes.)