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Parental influences on youth drinking are well documented but not the influence of extended family members. This article explores extended family influences on alcohol use among Mexican youths and whether extended family members can be considered natural mentors. We conducted a qualitative study using ethnographic open ended interviews with 117 first year university students in Mexico City. The ethnographic interviews revealed six drinking groups: excessive, heavy, regular, occasional, abstainers and non drinkers. Youths reported close relationships with extended family members who provided counsel and acted as representatives of familial norms and values. The alcohol beliefs and behaviors of these family members, including their alcohol misuse, had a positive influence on youths' alcohol attitudes. The naturally occurring mentoring relationships of Mexican extended family members can positively influence moderate youth drinking. Natural mentoring relationships should be encouraged and facilitated in prevention efforts for Mexican youths, Mexican-American youths and potentially other Hispanic/Latino youths.

This study examines the role of social identity (acculturation and gender) in moderating the association between discrimination and Somali adolescent refugees' mental health. Participants were English-speaking Somali adolescent refugees between the ages of 11 and 20 (N = 135). Perceived discrimination, trauma history, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms, and behavioral acculturation were assessed in structured interviews. Fourteen in-depth qualitative interviews and 3 focus groups were also conducted. Results indicated that discrimination was common and associated with worse mental health. For girls, greater Somali acculturation was associated with better mental health. Also, the association between discrimination and PTSD was less strong for girls who showed higher levels of Somali acculturation. For boys, greater American acculturation was associated with better mental health, and the association between discrimination and depression was less strong for boys with higher levels of American acculturation. DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01061.x

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01216.x Byline: Alisa K. Lincoln (1), Andrew White (2), Casandra Aldsworth (3), Peggy Johnson (4), Lee Strunin (3) Keywords: psychiatric emergency room; observations; mental healthcare Abstract: Abstract Staff in the psychiatric emergency room (PER) have demanding jobs requiring a complex balance between the needs and safety of the individual and the community, systemic resources, and job responsibilities while providing timely, effective care. Little research exists concerning day-to-day work activities of PER staff, their interaction, and their perceptions of their work. This study explored the work of PER staff and the organisational context of the PER work setting. Observations of staff were conducted in the public spaces of a public urban PER using two observational techniques. The first was designed to measure the types of work activities staff engaged in and the time spent in these work activities (work task data). The second technique was the gathering of observational data by a peripheral-member-researcher (participant observation data). Analyses were conducted of both the work task and participant observation data. Results indicate that most PER staff time is spent in administrative and phone tasks, while less than a third is spent on direct clinical work. Four important issues for PER work were identified: a workload that is unmanageable, managing the unmanageable, bogus referrals and dumping and insurance problems. The PER remains the front-line of the medical and social service systems. Work done in these settings is of critical importance; however little attention is paid to the content and nature of the work. Our study demonstrates that staff of the PER face challenges on many levels as they struggle with the task of working with people presenting in psychiatric and social crisis. Author Affiliation: (1)Health Sciences and Sociology, Northeastern University, Boston, USA (2)Portland DBT, Portland, Oregon, USA (3)Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University, USA (4)Division of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, USA Article note: Address for correspondence: Alisa K. Lincoln, Health Sciences and Sociology, Northeastern University, 316 Robinson Hall, Boston, MA 02115, USA, e-mail: Al.Lincoln@neu.edu

This paper considers occupational back injuries as they are described by injured workers, including the impact on their abilities to function in family and social roles. In this study, we interviewed people with work-related back injuries in Florida and Wisconsin. The sample was chosen from among workers who either lost more than 28 days from work or who received workers' compensation permanent partial disability benefits. Respondents indicated a wide range of limitations on family and social roles, including physical impacts that hampered respondents' ability to do household chores, to take part in raising children, and to engage in leisure activities with their spouses. Spouses and children took over family responsibilities once carried on by injured workers. The impacts of limitations resulted in a restructuring of family and social roles, relationships, and self-identities. In addition, these impacts led to depression and anger among the injured workers and to stress and strain in family relationships. Unlike the effects on work, many of these outcomes are not valued in the marketplace and, as a consequence, are less visible. They are nonetheless important and suggest that priorities based only on economic outcomes may understate the importance of preventive activities. Moreover, they suggest that attention should be focused on social structural factors such as the provision of medical services and social support to reduce the impact of chronic back pain on family members. Keywords: Injured workers; Back pain impacts; Effects on family; Qualitative methods; Gender differences; Social structural factors; USA

Alcohol use may increase likelihood of HIV infection by decreasing the likelihood of condom use during intercourse. Both HIV prevention programs and acohol education programs should warn about the relationship [...]

Many US residents who live in urban areas that are particularly plagued by AIDS and HIV infection were not born in this country. Little is known about the sexual behaviors and drug use of foreign-born residents or about their knowledge of HIV. To gain insight into this, 3,049 foreign-born Boston public school students were surveyed in their native language. Only 35 percent of the immigrants surveyed knew how HIV could be transmitted. This was a significantly lower percentage compared with nonimmigrants. Only 38 percent of immigrants reported that they always used condoms. Four percent reported having sex with intravenous drug users (compared with 1 percent of nonimmigrants), and 31 percent of immigrants reported being sexually active compared with 53 percent of nonimmigrants. AIDS education is needed by immigrant students and should be available in their native languages. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Few studies have investigated adolescents' perceptions of their risk for HIV infection. Findings from two studies of adolescents in Massachusetts indicate that there are differences in the knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, and perception of risk among adolescents and suggest the need for understanding the differences among adolescents from different racial or ethnic backgrounds. In both studies, white students were the most knowledgeable about casual, sexual, and drug use transmission of HIV followed by black, Hispanic, and Asian students. In both studies more black adolescents than other racial or ethnic groups were sexually active, and black and Hispanic adolescents began having sexual intercourse at an earlier age than white or Asian adolescents. Asian and Hispanic adolescents were most worried about getting AIDS. Although more Hispanics than other groups reportedly changing their behavior because of AIDS, fewer of them who had changed their sexual or contraceptive behavior were using effective methods. Despite clear diffrences in the perceived risk of getting AIDS among these adolescents, the underlying reasons remain to be explicated, using, among other data collection methods, ethnograhic techniques to probe adolescents' risk perceptions, their understandings of sickness, and their explanatory models of AIDS. Life events affect risk taking behaviors and also shape perceptions of risk. To understand what it is that adolescent consider 'risky' requires seeing their life options as they do in the larger context of their aspirations and worries about how 'to fit in'.

Twenty percent of the cases of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) reported in the United States have been diagnosed in people aged 20 to 29. Because of the relatively long incubation period of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS), it is likely that many of these people were infected during or soon after the high school years. Most teenagers have been informed about ways to prevent HIV transmission, but since two-thirds always or sometimes engage in sexual intercourse without using condoms, it is necessary to determine how their behavior can be influenced. Certain health beliefs have been found to predict health behaviors. A telephone survey was conducted to assess the AIDS-related health beliefs and behaviors of 16- to 19-year-old youths; the study was carried out in Massachusetts in August 1988. Sixty-one percent of the respondents reported that they were sexually active; in this group of 1,050 subjects, factors related to condom use were assessed. Those teenagers who believed condoms are effective in preventing HIV transmission and were worried about getting AIDS were 3.1 and 1.8 times, respectively, more likely to use condoms all the time. Individuals who carried condoms were 2.7 times more likely to use them, and those who had talked to a physician about AIDS were 1.7 times more likely to use condoms. Respondents who stated that condoms do not reduce sexual pleasure and that they would not feel embarrassed if a partner suggested using them were 3.1 and 2.4 times, respectively, more likely to use them. Teenagers who were heavy drinkers or used marijuana were two to three times less likely to use condoms, and some reported using them less often after drinking or using drugs. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Twenty-one percent of all patients with AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) were diagnosed between age 20 and 29. Given the latency period for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection, this means that many persons with AIDS became infected as teenagers. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and drug use is high in this age group, suggesting that adolescents are at great risk for contracting AIDS. Two telephone surveys of Massachusetts teens, aged 16 to 19 years, were conducted in 1986 and 1988. The numbers of participants was 860 in 1986 and 1,762 in 1988. During the two-year interval, the number of teenagers who had discussed AIDS in school increased from 52 to 82 percent, and students were better informed about how AIDS is transmitted. Self-reported use of intravenous drugs dropped from 1 percent to 0.1 percent. In 1986, 2 percent used condoms to prevent AIDS, while in 1988 this figure had risen to 19 percent. But in the second survey, 37 percent of sexually active teenagers said they never used condoms and 33 percent used them only sporadically. The percentage of teenagers who reported having sexual intercourse in the past year also increased, from 55 to 61 percent. It was concluded that AIDS prevention education at school and by the media may prompt some teenagers to adopt safer lifestyles, but other adolescents may need personal counseling. Physicians may be particularly effective at convincing teenagers to change their behaviors; those who had talked with a physician about HIV were much more likely to use condoms. But contact with a physician did not guarantee this effect, since 80 percent saw a physician but only 13 percent were counseled by the physician about AIDS. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Background: Alcohol use and misuse is widespread among university students in many countries. Specific cultural factors may impact alcohol use after entering university. Objective: This paper considers changes in alcohol use among first year university students in Mexico. Methods: A qualitative study using ethnographic interviews with 57 female and 60 male student drinkers in Mexico City from March to June 2011. Each interview was evaluated by a set of thematic codes developed inductively from the interviews. Findings from excessive, heavy, regular, occasional drinkers, abstainers, and non-drinkers were analyzed to explore whether or not linkages existed between and/or among particular themes. Results: Students reported factors associated with changes in role and status, friendships, and increased autonomy as reasons for increasing or decreasing their alcohol use after entering university. Conclusions/Importance: Understanding the influence of Mexican cultural norms on alcohol use among Mexican and Mexican Americans can be helpful in informing studies and preventive efforts among both Mexican and Mexican American young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Adolescents are a group at high risk for exposure to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Results of a random-sample survey of 860 adolescents 16 to 19 years of age, in Massachusetts indicate that many adolescents are still misinformed or confused about AIDS and AIDS transmission. Of the adolescent respondents, 70% said they were sexually active (having sexual intercourse or other sexual contact) but only 15% of them reported changing their sexual behavior because of concern about contracting AIDS, and only 20% of those who changed their behavior used effective methods. Of both sexually active and nonactive adolescents, 8% did not know that AIDS is transmitted by heterosexual sexual intercourse. Psychoactive drugs other than alcohol and marijuana had been used by 13% of those responding, and 1% reported injecting drugs. Of those psychoactive drug users, 8% did not know that AIDS can be transmitted by injecting drugs. There was no significant difference in knowledge between the sexually active and nonactive adolescents concerning sexual behavior and AIDS transmission or between the drug users and nonusers concerning drug use and AIDS transmission. The majority of respondents knew a relationship exists between AIDS and blood, and other body fluids, but knowledge of the mode of transmission was limited. Hence, many adolescents, including those in the highest risk subgroups of sexually active or psychoactive drug users, did not know what sexual and drug precautions are needed to prevent transmission of the virus. School systems and health care providers should systematically educate this population about AIDS to counter the current misinformation and confusion. Additional surveys of adolescents can help monitor whether misunderstandings can be reduced and knowledge of the means necessary to avoid... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although physical inactivity is a concern for all adolescents, physical activity levels are especially low among minority adolescents and minimal among girls from low-income families. After-school programs can reduce high-risk behaviors and strengthen schools, families, and communities., Context: We conducted an operational research project that provided free access to a program of regular, organized physical activity combined with health education sessions for adolescent girls in 2 public housing developments in Boston, Massachusetts., Methods: From July 2002 through October 2005, at each of 2 public housing sites, the GirlStars program participants met each week for two 2-hour sessions, 1 dedicated to physical activity and 1 dedicated to health education. Sessions were led by the project coordinator and a resident assistant at each development., Outcome: Participants in the GirlStars program increased their health knowledge, self-confidence, and decision-making skills, but rates of participation were low. Factors that affected participation included safety concerns, lack of community support for the program, interpersonal conflicts, attrition in staff, and conflicts with other activities., Interpretation: Programs in public housing developments that address these barriers to recruitment and retention may be more successful and reach more girls.