Neonatal Ultrasound Results Following Very Preterm Birth Predict Adolescent Behavioral and Cognitive Outcome

This study investigated the association between different neonatal ultrasonographic classifications and adolescent cognitive, educational, and behavioral outcomes following very preterm birth. Participants included a group of 120 adolescents who were born very preterm (33 weeks of gestation), subdivided into three groups according to their neonatal cerebral ultrasound (US) classifications: (a) normal (N = 69), (b) periventricular hemorrhage (PVH, N = 37), and (c) PVH with ventricular dilatation (PVH + DIL, N = 14), and 50 controls. The cognitive functions assessed were full-scale IQ, phonological and semantic verbal fluency, and visual-motor integration. Educational outcomes included reading and spelling; behavioral outcomes were assessed with the Rutter Parents' Scale and the Premorbid Adjustment Scale (PAS). Adolescent outcome scores were compared among the four groups. A main effect for group was observed for full-scale IQ, Rutter Parents' Scale total scores, and PAS total scores, after controlling for gestational age, socioeconomic status and gender, with the PVH + DIL group showing the most impaired scores compared to the other groups. The current results demonstrate that routine neonatal ultrasound classifications are associated with later cognitive and behavioral outcome. Neonatal ultrasounds could aid in the identification of subgroups of children who are at increased risk of neurodevelopmental problems. These at risk subgroups could then be referred to appropriate early intervention services.

Estimates of peer effects in adolescent smoking across twenty six European countries

Although it is widely believed that one of the key factors influencing whether an adolescent smokes or not is the smoking behaviour of his or her peers, empirical evidence on the magnitude of such peer effects, and even on their existence, is mixed. This existing evidence comes from a range of studies using a variety of country-specific data sources and a variety of identification strategies. This paper exploits a rich source of individual level, school-based, survey data on adolescent substance use across countries - the 2007 European Schools Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs - to provide estimates of peer effects between classmates in adolescent smoking for 75,000 individuals across 26 European countries, using the same methods in each case. The results suggest statistically significant peer effects in almost all cases. These peer effects estimates are large: on average across countries, the probability that a 'typical' adolescent smokes increases by between.31 and.38 percentage points for a one percentage point increase in the proportion of classmates that smoke. Further, estimated peer effects in adolescent smoking are stronger intra-gender than inter-gender. They also vary across countries: in Belgium, for example, a one percentage point increase in reference group smoking is associated with a.16 to.27 percentage point increase in own smoking probability; in the Netherlands the corresponding increase is between.42 and.59 percentage points. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Adolescent men’s pregnancy resolution choices in relation to an unintended pregnancy: A comparative analysis of adolescent men in three countries.

This paper investigates adolescent men's pregnancy resolution choices in Australia, Ireland and Italy. It addresses two main gaps in the literature: the lack of research on (adolescent) men's views on unintended pregnancy and pregnancy resolution; and the lack of international comparative case studies on men and reproductive choices. Consistent with theories of the transformation of intimacies in society and the growth of individualization, the results suggest that adolescent men are interested in the effect of an unintended pregnancy on their individual biographies as well as the effect on their girlfriend's health and well-being. However, Australian male adolescents were much more likely to choose abortion than Italian or Irish adolescents, suggesting adolescent males have also internalized country level debates surrounding abortion. Methodologically, the paper demonstrates an innovative approach to data-collection using a computer-based interactive drama to facilitate participants' deliberation and responses. It was shown to engage a large number of adolescent men and is likely to have wider generalisability in developing international comparative research on the topic, as well as applications for health promotion.

Psychological management of intractable seizures in an adolescent with a learning disability

Psychological interventions aimed at seizure management are described with a 14-year-old buy with a learning disability and intractable epilepsy. Baseline records suggested that a majority of tonic seizures and 'drop attacks' were associated with going off to sleep and by environmental 'startles'. Psychological formulation implicated sudden changes in arousal levels as an underlying mechanism of action. Cognitive-behavioural countermeasures were employed to alter arousal levels and processes in different ways in different 'at-risk' situations. A multiple baseline design was used to control for non-specific effects of interventions on non-targeted seizures. Results suggested significant declines in the number of sleep onset and startle-response seizures were attained by these methods. Gains were maintained at 2-month follow-up. (C) 1999 BEA Trading Ltd.

The Protective Role of Group Identity: Sectarian Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Emotion Problems

The protective role of strength of group identity was examined for youth in a context of protracted political conflict. Participants included 814 adolescents (M_age = 13.61, SD = 1.99 at Time 1) participating in a longitudinal study in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, the results show that the effect of exposure to sectarian antisocial behaviors has a stronger effect on youth emotion problems for older adolescents. The results also show that youth with higher strength of group identity reported fewer emotion problems in the face of sectarian antisocial behavior but that this buffering effect is stronger for Protestants compared to Catholics. Implications are discussed for understanding the role of social identity in postaccord societies.

The effects of the Omagh bomb on adolescent mental health: a school-based study

Background: The main objective of this study was to assess psychiatric morbidity among adolescentsfollowing the Omagh car bombing in Northern Ireland in 1998.

Methods: Data was collected within schools from adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years via a selfcompletionbooklet comprised of established predictors of PTSD; type of exposure, initialemotional response, long-term adverse physical problems, predictors derived from Ehlers andClark’s (2000) cognitive model, a PTSD symptoms measure (PDS) and the General HealthQuestionnaire (GHQ).

Results:Those with more direct physical exposure were significantly more likely to meet caseness onthe GHQ and the PDS. The combined pre and peri trauma risk factors highlighted in previousmeta-analyses accounted for 20% of the variance in PDS scores but the amount of varianceaccounted for increased to 56% when the variables highlighted in Ehlers and Clark’scognitive model for PTSD were added.

Conclusions: High rates of chronic PTSD were observed in adolescents exposed to the bombing. Whilstincreased exposure was associated with increased psychiatric morbidity, the best predictors ofPTSD were specific aspects of the trauma (‘seeing someone you think is dying’), what youare thinking during the event (‘think you are going to die’) and the cognitive mechanismsemployed after the trauma. As these variables are in principle amenable to treatment theresults have implications for teams planning treatment interventions after future traumas.

Peer effects in UK adolescent substance use: Never mind the classmates?

This article estimates peer influences on the alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use of UK adolescents. We present evidence of large, positive and statistically significant peer effects in all three behaviours when classmates are taken as the reference group. We also find large, positive and statistically significant associations between own substance use and friends' substance use. When both reference groups are considered simultaneously, the influence of classmates either disappears or is much reduced, whereas the association between own and friends' behaviours does not change. The suggestion is that classmate behaviour is primarily relevant only inasmuch as it proxies for friends' behaviour.

Support for the Multidimensional Adolescent Stress Questionnaire in a Sample of Adolescents in the United Kingdom

Adolescence is a time of physical, social and emotional development, and this development can be accompanied by feelings of stress. The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire is a 56-item scale measuring stress in 10 domains. Developed in Australia, the scale has been translated, and its reliability and validity have been tested in a number of countries across Europe, where the 10-factor, 56-item version of the scale has received little support. The present study tested the factor structure, construct validity and reliability in a sample (n=610) of adolescents in the United Kingdom. Support was found for the 10-factor, 56-item version of the scale, and correlations with self-concept measures, sex scores on stress factors and Cronbach's α-values, suggesting that the scale may be a viable assessment tool for adolescent stress. Results for alcohol-specific analyses support the domain-specific nature of the scale. Future work may seek to investigate the stability of age-specific stress domains (e.g. the stress of Emerging Adult Responsibility) in samples that include younger adolescents. 

Adolescent ecstasy use and depression: cause and effect, or two outcomes of home environment?

Background: This study assessed the association between adolescent ecstasy use and depressive symptoms in adolescence. Methods: The Belfast Youth Development Study surveyed a cohort annually from age 11 to 16 years. Gender, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire emotional subscale, living arrangements, parental affluence, parent and peer attachment, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy use were investigated as predictors of Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) outcome. Results: Of 5371 respondents, 301 (5.6%) had an SMFQ > 15, and 1620 (30.2) had missing data for SMFQ. Around 8% of the cohort had used ecstasy by the end of follow-up. Of the non-drug users, ∼2% showed symptoms of depression, compared with 6% of those who had used alcohol, 6% of cannabis users, 6% of ecstasy users and 7% of frequent ecstasy users. Without adjustment, ecstasy users showed around a 4-fold increased odds of depressive symptoms compared with non-drug users [odds ratio (OR) = 0.26; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.10, 0.68]. Further adjustment for living arrangements, peer and parental attachment attenuated the association to under a 3-fold increase (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.15, 0.94). There were no differences by frequency of use. Conclusions: Ecstasy use during adolescence may be associated with poorer mental health; however, this association can be explained by the confounding social influence of family dynamics. These findings could be used to aid effective evidence-based drug policies, which concentrate criminal justice and public health resources on reducing harm.