The reliability and factorial validity of the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale in a large sample in the United Kingdom

The assessment of adolescent drinking behavior is a complex task, complicated by variability in drinking patterns, the transitory and developmental nature of the behavior and the reliance (for large scale studies) on self-report questionnaires. The Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (Mayer & Filstead, 1979) is a 14-item screening tool designed to help to identify alcohol misusers or more problematic drinkers. The present study utilized a large sample (n = 4066) adolescents from Northern Ireland. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analyses and reliability estimates revealed that the 14-items share sufficient common variance that scores can be considered to be reliable and that the 14 items can be scored to provide a composite alcohol use score.

A comparison of the estrous behavior of Holstein-Friesian cows when cubicle-housed and at pasture

This study compared estrous behavior of dairy cows kept in cubicle housing and fed a total mixed ration diet (HOUSED treatment) with that of cows kept at pasture with concentrate supplementation (PASTURE treatment). Behavior was compared both in the 48 h around standing estrus and during the standing estrus period. The 23 spring-calving Holstein-Friesians in each treatment were observed directly three times per day for nine weeks. The occurrence of nine selected behaviors associated with estrus was recorded during 20 min observation sessions. Twelve standing estrus events from each treatment were selected for analysis of the frequency of these nine behaviours over the 48 h around standing estrus. Milk progesterone profiles were used to confirm the dates of standing estrus events. Attempting to mount other cows, sniffing the anogenital region of other cows, resting the chin on other cows, receiving chin rests and head-to-head butts all showed significant changes in frequency in the 48 h around standing estrus in both treatments, reaching a peak during standing estrus (P ≤ 0.05). Mounting other cows increased significantly in the PASTURE treatment around standing estrus (P <0.001), but not in the HOUSED treatment. The frequency of ano-genital sniffs received by the animals in the PASTURE treatment also increased significantly around standing estrus (P <0.01) but not in the HOUSED treatment. When the animals were in standing estrus there was a significantly higher frequency of standing to be mounted in PASTURE than in HOUSED cows (median (q1, q3) PASTURE = 2.5 (1.0, 3.0), HOUSED = 0.0 (0.0, 1.0)) (P <0.01), but no difference in the frequency of the other eight sexual behaviors recorded. HOUSED cows did not exhibit the same increase in mounting during the standing estrus period as PASTURE cows and received fewer mounts in observation sessions during standing estrus. These results have implications for the use of estrus detection systems that rely solely on mounting behavior in cubicle-housed dairy cows. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Recruiting faith and non-faith based schools, adolescents and parents to a cluster randomised sexual-health trial: experiences, challenges and lessons from the mixed-methods Jack Feasibility Trial

Background: The move toward evidence-based education has led to increasing numbers of randomised trials in schools. However, the literature on recruitment to non-clinical trials is relatively underdeveloped, when compared to that of clinical trials. Recruitment to school-based randomised trials is, however, challenging; even more so when the focus of the study is a sensitive issue such as sexual health. This article reflects on the challenges of recruiting post-primary schools, adolescent pupils and parents to a cluster randomised feasibility trial of a sexual health intervention, and the strategies employed to address them.
Methods: The Jack Trial was funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It comprised a feasibility study of an interactive film-based sexual health intervention entitled If I Were Jack, recruiting over 800 adolescents from eight socio-demographically diverse post-primary schools in Northern Ireland. It aimed to determine the facilitators and barriers to recruitment and retention to a school-based sexual health trial and identify optimal multi-level strategies for an effectiveness study. As part of an embedded process evaluation, we conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with principals, vice-principals, teachers, pupils and parents recruited to the study as well as classroom observations and a parents’ survey.
Results: With reference to Social Learning Theory, we identified a number of individual, behavioural and environmental level factors which influenced recruitment. Commonly identified facilitators included perceptions of the relevance and potential benefit of the intervention to adolescents, the credibility of the organisation and individuals running the study, support offered by trial staff, and financial incentives. Key barriers were prior commitment to other research, lack of time and resources, and perceptions that the intervention was incompatible with pupil or parent needs or the school ethos.
Conclusions: Reflecting on the methodological challenges of recruiting to a school-based sexual health feasibility trial, this study highlights pertinent general and trial-specific facilitators and barriers to recruitment, which will prove useful for future trials with schools, adolescent pupils and parents.

Sex Offending and Situational Motivation: Findings from a Qualitative Analysis of Desistance from Sexual Offending

Sex offending is typically understood from a pathology perspective with the origin of the behavior thought to be within the offending individual. Such a perspective may not be beneficial for those seeking to desist from sexual offending and reintegrate into mainstream society. A thematic analysis of 32 self-narratives of men convicted of sexual offences against children suggests that such individuals typically explain their pasts utilizing a script consistent with routine activity theory, emphasizing the role of circumstantial changes in both the onset of and desistance from sexual offending. It is argued that the self-framing of serious offending in this way might be understood as a form of ‘shame management’, a protective cognition that enables desistance by shielding individuals from internalizing stigma for past violence.