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College drinking is a serious health concern. Few studies have examined screening measures and methods of administration. This study compares two alcohol screens (NIAAA 5/4 binge drinking question or Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)) in a college student health clinic waiting room and two modes of administration (self-administered either on a computer kiosk or on a tablet computer). Participants were 259 undergraduates from the University of Miami. Most (78-98%) students completed screening. More students were identified with risky alcohol use with the 5/4 (49%) than AUDIT (14%). On the 5/4, administration method was not linked to completion, 93% kiosk vs. 95% tablet, p = .554, but was related to identification as a risky alcohol user, 42% kiosk vs. 56% tablet, p = .033. On the AUDIT, administration method was significantly related to completion, 73% kiosk vs. 98% tablet, p < .001, and identification, 8% kiosk vs. 23% tablet, p = .003. Method of administration of the single item 5/4 binge drinking question was related to the a higher proportion of students identified with risky alcohol use when screened by a computer tablet, but not completion rates; the AUDIT method of administration was related to both completion and identification rates (higher rates with the tablet in both cases). Education of student health providers who make decisions about what screening tools to use in their centers and who interpret the results of alcohol screening in college health centers should consider the potential influence of administration method. Future research should examine the reasons that method of administration might influence screening results.

Hispanic problem behavior youth are at an increased risk of engaging in HIV risk behaviors, including low condom use. However, relatively little research has examined factors that affect condom use in this population. Although research indicates that family processes, such as higher levels of family functioning and open parent-adolescent communication about sex, and condom use attitudes, norms, and control beliefs as depicted by the theory of planned behavior have an effect on condom use behaviors, the combination of the two factors has received minimal attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of family functioning on condom use intentions and behaviors through communication about sex and condom use attitudes, parental norms, and control beliefs. A cross-sectional study of 171 predominately male (73.1%) sexually active Hispanic problem behavior adolescents (mean age = 14.88 years) was conducted. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypothesis. Findings largely support the overall model and suggest that family functioning had an indirect effect on condom use intention and behavior through communication about sex, condom use attitudes, and control beliefs. Family functioning, however, did not have an indirect effect on condom use intention and behavior through communication about sex and parental norms. Implications for prevention science and future research are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Ecodevelopmental theory is a theoretical framework used to explain the interplay among risk and protective processes associated with HIV risk behaviors among adolescents. Although ecodevelopmentally based interventions have been found to be efficacious in preventing HIV risk behaviors among Hispanic youth, this theory has not yet been directly empirically tested through a basic research study in this population. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to empirically evaluate an ecodevelopmentally based model using structural equation modeling, with substance use and early sex initiation as the two outcomes of the ecodevelopmental chain of relationships. The sample consisted of 586 Hispanic youth (M age = 13.6; SD = 0.75) and their primary caregivers living in Miami, Florida. Adolescent, parent, and teacher reports were used. The results provided strong support for the theoretical model. More specifically, the parent-adolescent acculturation gap is indirectly related both to early sex initiation and to adolescent substance use through family functioning, academic functioning, perceived peer sexual behavior, and perceived peer substance use. Additionally, parent's U.S. orientation is associated with adolescent substance use and adolescent sex initiation through social support for parents, parental stressors, family functioning, academic functioning, and perceived peer sexual behavior and substance use. These findings suggest that HIV risk behaviors may best be understood as associated with multiple and interrelated ecological determinants. (Contains 1 note, 1 table, and 2 figures.)

This study examines the relationship between neighboring behavior and depressive symptoms across 3 years in a prospective study of 273 community-dwelling, Hispanic older adults in Miami, Florida. The analyses extend the literature by testing for a bidirectional or reciprocal relationship between neighboring behavior and depressive symptoms over time and examining the relationship between these variables in Hispanic older adults, a group at risk of developing depressive symptoms. Structural Equation Modeling with a cross-lagged panel design showed that depressive symptoms were unrelated to subsequent neighboring behavior. However, neighboring behavior was related to subsequent depressive symptoms at every time point, such that higher levels of neighboring behavior were related to lower levels of depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that neighboring behavior may be a protective factor against depressive symptoms in community-dwelling Hispanic older adults. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

The present study was designed to investigate trajectories of identity development and their relationship to family functioning in a sample of Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers. Two hundred fifty adolescents completed measures of identity coherence and confusion and of family functioning, and parents completed measures of family functioning. Significant variability over time and across individuals emerged in identity confusion, but not in identity coherence. As a result, the present analyses focused on identity confusion. Changes in adolescent-reported, but not parent-reported, family functioning were significantly related to changes in identity confusion. Follow-up analyses suggested that family functioning primarily influences identity confusion in early adolescence, but that identity confusion begins to exert a reciprocal effect in middle adolescence. Exploratory latent growth mixture modeling (LGMM) analyses produced three classes of adolescents based on their baseline values and change trajectories in identity confusion. The potential for family-strengthening interventions to affect identity development is discussed. (Contains 7 notes, 2 tables and 3 figures.)

This study examined the influence of family and neighborhood contexts on Hispanic youth problem behavior. The effects of parents' perceptions of neighborhood context and parenting practices on problem behavior were examined in 167 one-parent (n = 75) and two-parent (n = 92) families. Results from multigroup path analyses showed significant main effects of perceived neighborhood context on parenting practices and on youth problem behavior and significant main effects of parenting practices on problem behavior in one- and two-parent families. Neighborhood context was indirectly related to problem behavior through positive parenting in one-parent families. The results demonstrate that parenting is embedded within greater ecological contexts and show that their relations with youth can vary across family structure. Implications for further longitudinal investigation and prevention research are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

The present study was designed to examine (a) family and school functioning and (b) personal and ethnic identity are associated with conduct problems, drug use, and sexual risk taking in a sample of 227 high-risk Hispanic adolescents. Adolescents participated in the study with their primary parents, who were mostly mothers. Adolescents completed measures of family and school functioning, personal and ethnic identity, conduct problems, and drug use. Parents completed measures of family functioning and adolescent conduct problems. Results indicated that school functioning and personal identity confusion are related to alcohol use, illicit drug use, and sexual risk taking indirectly through adolescent reports of conduct problems. Adolescent reports of family functioning are related to alcohol use, illicit drug use, and sexual risk taking through school functioning and conduct problems. Results are discussed in terms of the problem behavior syndrome and in terms of the finding of relative independence of contextual and identity variables vis-a-vis conduct problems, substance use, and sexual risk taking. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 4 notes.)

This study examined correlates of early adolescent alcohol and drug use in a community sample of 217 eighth-grade adolescents with behavior problems and from Hispanic/Latino immigrant families. Structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships of multiple contexts (e.g., family, school, and peers) to alcohol and drug use. Results suggest that conduct disorder in youth with high levels of hyperactivity symptoms, poor school functioning, and peer alcohol and drug use was directly related to early adolescent alcohol and drug use. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder with comorbid conduct disorder and family functioning was indirectly related to early alcohol and drug use through poor school functioning and through peer alcohol and drug use. Results are discussed in terms of possible targets for interventions to prevent alcohol and drug use in Hispanic adolescents. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

This cross-sectional study explores potential mediating effects of parental monitoring of peers on three adolescent problem behaviors (externalizing behavior, drug use, sexual risk behavior) among juvenile delinquents and their families. Participants are 190 African American and Hispanic adolescents and parent guardians enrolled in a family therapy treatment efficacy study targeting delinquency. Parental monitoring of peers mediates the association between family functioning and externalizing behavior in the full sample. Comparable results are not found in post hoc analyses of each racial and ethnic sample or among drug use and sexual risk behaviors. Research and health service implications are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

The present study evaluated the efficacy of Familias Unidas + Parent-Preadolescent Training for HIV Prevention (PATH), a Hispanic-specific, parent-centered intervention, in preventing adolescent substance use and unsafe sexual behavior. Two hundred sixty-six 8th-grade Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: Familias Unidas + PATH, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) + PATH, and ESOL + HeartPower! for Hispanics (HEART). Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postbaseline. Results showed that (a) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious in preventing and reducing cigarette use relative to both control conditions; (b) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious, relative to ESOL + HEART, in reducing illicit drug use; and (c) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious, relative to ESOL + PATH, in reducing unsafe sexual behavior. The effects of Familias Unidas + PATH on these distal outcomes were partially mediated by improvements in family functioning. These findings suggest that strengthening the family system, rather than targeting specific health behaviors, may be most efficacious in preventing and/or reducing cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, and unsafe sex in Hispanic adolescents.

Similarities and differences in predictors of retention/attendance patterns between African American and Hispanic parent participants (N=143) from a family-focused preventive intervention were examined. Three broad retention pattern groups, nonattenders, variable attenders, and consistent high attenders, and 2 subgroups of the variable attendance group, decreasing low attenders and decreasing high attenders, were identified. In subgroup analyses, 3 significant discriminant functions were evident: 1 function classified Hispanic parents' retention patterns using sociodemographic indicators (e.g., educational attainment, household income) and 2 functions discriminated Hispanic and African American parents' patterns using family-level predictors (e.g., multiple caregivers attending the intervention, perceived barriers to participation). Implications are discussed in terms of strategies for improving methods of retaining participants in family-centered interventions conducted with ethnic minority families.

Understanding the processes of acculturation in ethnic minority populations is one of the central tasks of crosscultural research. Addressing challenges of theory, methods, and application in acculturation research requires ongoing advancements in methods and theoretical and model development. The current study was designed to explain a person-centered approach to investigating acculturation and biculturalism and to illustrate this method with a sample of 315 Hispanic youth. Pattern analyses of the Hispanicism and Americanism scores from the Bicultural Involvement Scale yielded four distinct acculturation types, including one characterized by moderate scores on both scales. Relations between acculturation types and indicators of individual, family, and peer adaptation were tested. Results indicated that bicultural youth tended to show the most adaptive pattern of functioning across multiple sociocultural domains. Assimilated youth did not show as strongly negative a pattern as has been reported elsewhere. Implications and benefits of a person-centered approach are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 footnote.)

The present study investigated the role of identity in the relationship between family functioning and behavior problems in a sample of Hispanic immigrant early adolescents and their families. The sample consisted of 181 Hispanic immigrant adolescents (92 males, 89 females) and their participating caregivers (who were mostly mothers). Identity was measured using adolescent reports, whereas family functioning and early adolescent behavior problems were measured using both adolescent and parent reports. Correlational analyses indicated that previously obtained relationships among family functioning, identity, and behavior problems were replicated in the present sample. Structural equation models indicated that 20% of the relationship between family functioning and behavior problems operated indirectly through identity, and identity confusion partially mediates the relationship between family functioning and early adolescent behavior problems. Implications for intervention are discussed.

An intervention targets cultural and eco-developmental risk factors that predispose Hispanic adolescents to substance abuse. Parent participatory-learning groups foster family cohesiveness and communication, facilitate parent-school connections, and create supervisory networks among peers' parents. The multidimensional focus, parent empowerment, and culturally appropriate interventions offset the risks associated with immigration and differential acculturation. (Contains 38 references.) (TD)