Pathways to marijuana use among adolescents: cultural/ecological, family, peer, and personality influences

OBJECTIVE: To examine the linkages, cultural/ecological factors, and major psychosocial risk factors as they relate to drug use in a sample from Colombia, South America. METHOD: The participants were 1.687 adolescents living in mixed urban-rural communities in Colombia, South America. An individual interview was administered to youths in their homes by Colombian interviewers. The scales used were based on item intercorrelations grouped into the following risk categories: (1) adolescent personality, (2) family traits, (3) peer factors, and (4) cultural/ecological variables. RESULTS: Pearson correlations were computed for each variable and the frequency of marijuana use. Results show that each of the domains was related to adolescent marijuana use, with some notable gender differences. As regards the interrelation of domains, a mediational model was operative. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support a family interactional theory. The domains of family, personality, and peer factors had a direct effect on the adolescents' marijuana use. Implications for prevention are also addressed.     

Self-concepts, motivation, and academic achievement of Black adolescents.

Investigated the unique and common contributions made by global self-concept, academic self-concept, and need for academic competence to the variance in academic achievement of inner city Black adolescents. Data on these variables were collected from 328 8th-grade students attending a New York City public junior high school. Results of commonality procedures indicate that academic self-concept and need for academic competence each accounted for significant proportions of criterion variance, whereas global self-concept did not. Explanations of variance in academic achievement were better for males than for females after the possible confounding effects of verbal ability had been partialled out. Directions for intervention strategies aimed at enhancing academic achievement are suggested for the 2 sexes. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting academic achievement: The role of racial identity in buffering perceptions of teacher discrimination on academic achievement among African American and Caribbean Black adolescents.

In this study, the authors examined the moderating effects of different dimensions racial identity (i.e., racial centrality and public regard) on perceptions of teacher discrimination and academic achievement among a nationally represented sample of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents. The findings revealed that perceived teacher discrimination was negatively related to academic achievement for both African American and Caribbean Black youth. In addition, high racial centrality and low public regard buffered the negative consequences of high levels of perceived teacher discrimination on academic achievement among Caribbean Black adolescents. Implications of these findings for academic achievement among Black youth are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Types of social support: Relation to stress and academic achievement among prospective teachers.

Examined the relationship between social support, anxiety and academic achievement among 3 groups differing along demographic variables of age, sex, and marital status. 81 students preparing to qualify as elementary teachers completed 2 anxiety measures and a social support questionnaire that measures a quantitative dimension and perceived satisfaction with 3 types of support (emotional, instrumental, and cognitive). Results indicate a positive correlation between the 2 anxiety measures, nonsignificant negative contribution of anxiety to GPA, and a differential effect of various support types to stress related anxiety among the 3 groups. Stepwise multiple regression analysis of social support variables to anxiety found emotional support negatively related to teaching anxiety, while satisfaction with instrumental support negatively related to trait anxiety. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership: relations to academic achievement in middle school

Polypharmacy is commonly encountered in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, and the risk and frequency of drug-drug interactions are significant in this patient population. Most HIV-positive patients receive the antiretroviral drug zidovudine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, ZDV), the first drug to be approved for the treatment of HIV. Many drug interactions with ZDV have already been reported. As HIV pharmacotherapy becomes more complex, the potential for drug-drug interactions is likely to increase significantly.     

Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement trajectories during adolescence.

Most studies have considered the effects of particular characteristics on academic achievement individually, which means that little is known about how they function together. Using the population-based Minnesota Twin Family Study, the authors investigated the effects of child academic engagement (interest, involvement, effort), IQ, depression, externalizing behavior, and family environmental risk on academic achievement (reported school grades) from ages 11 through 17. Hierarchical linear growth curve modeling showed main effects on initial reported Grades for all variables, and IQ mitigated the deleterious effects of family risk and externalizing. Only engagement affected change in Grades through adolescence. Influences on initial Grades were strongly genetically influenced, associated primarily with IQ, engagement, and externalizing behavior. Shared environmental influences on initial Grades linked engagement, IQ, and family risk. Genetic influences on change in Grades were substantial, but they were not associated with the academic, family risk, and mental health covarying factors. These results indicate that age 11 achievement and change in achievement through adolescence show systematic patterns and document the existence of individual differences in the commonly shared developmental experience of adapting to the school environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family influences on school achievement in low-income, African American children.

The authors examined the achievement-related beliefs and behaviors of parents of economically disadvantaged African American youth, and the relations among parental factors and children's academic self-concept and achievement. Forty-one children and their primary caregivers were interviewed. Parents reported on their academic-related beliefs and behaviors. Children completed measures of academic self-concept and 2 standardized achievement tests: 1 during the summer and 1 at the end of the following school year. Significant and positive relations were found between parental belief and behavior measures within the domains of reading and math; however, parental beliefs were more strongly linked with child outcomes than were parents' achievement-oriented behaviors. The relation between parental beliefs and child outcomes was not mediated by children's academic self-concept. Results are discussed in light of models of family influences on achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family, peer, and individual correlates of depressive symptomatology among U.S. and Chinese adolescents.

This study examined the correlates of symptoms of depressed mood among adolescents in 2 dramatically different cultures (n?=?502 in Tianjin, People's Republic of China; n?=?201 in greater Los Angeles). Gender, stressful life events, perceived parental warmth, and conflict with parents were associated in the expected direction with depressive symptoms in each cultural setting. As predicted, regression analyses showed that the quality of family relationships and grades in school had significantly stronger associations with depressive symptoms among Chinese youths than among U.S. youths, whereas gender differences in depressive symptoms were greater among the U.S. youths. Peer warmth moderated the effects of particular risk factors for depressive symptoms in each cultural setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of peer pressure, peer conformity dispositions, and self-reported behavior among adolescents.

Two samples, consisting of a total of 1,027 6th–12th graders from separate communities, were given measures of peer conformity dispositions (willingness to accede to peer pressure), perceptions of peer pressure, and self-reported frequency of behavior concerning 2 major aspects of teenage life: peer involvement (degree of socializing with friends) and misconduct (drug/alcohol use, sexual intercourse, and minor delinquent behavior). Results indicate that Ss perceived less peer pressure toward misconduct than peer involvement and also were comparatively less willing to follow peers in misconduct. Nevertheless, perceived peer pressure and conformity disposition accounted for more of the variance in self-reported misconduct than in self-reported peer involvement. Age differences were modest and varied among measures and samples. The samples also differed in the magnitude of perceived pressures and conformity dispositions as well as in the degree to which these variables were associated with self-reported behavior. It is concluded that the findings reveal a complexity in adolescent conformity that bears elaboration in future research. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of reciprocal peer tutoring on academic achievement and psychological adjustment: A component analysis.

A component analysis of the reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) strategy was performed, which previous research had demonstrated to be effective in producing cognitive gains, lowering subjective distress, and enhancing course satisfaction. One hundred students were randomly assigned to one of four groups designed to systematically compare the RPT strategy with its hypothesized components: dyadic, mutual exchange, and structured-learning format. Pretest analyses revealed no significant group differences in demographic variables or pretest scores on course examinations and self-report inventories of subjective distress. Further analyses supported past findings on the superiority of the RPT strategy. This superiority was attributed to the RPT group's unique combination of elements: preparing to teach a peer teaching a peer, and accountability for this process. We discuss implications for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term prediction of academic achievement of American, Chinese, and Japanese adolescents.

Representative samples of 729 American, Chinese, and Japanese 1st graders were given achievement and cognitive tests. Mothers were interviewed. Ten years later, 475 of the students participated in a follow-up study in which they were interviewed and given achievement tests. Results revealed high stability of achievement relationships within all 3 societies. Measures of early cognitive abilities were consistently related to the families' socioeconomic status and exerted their influence on later achievement either through 1st grade achievement scores or through evaluations made by their mothers. The percentage of variance in achievement scores accounted for by the path models was between 49% and 59% at 1st grade and between 38% and 51% at 11th grade. Despite statistical differences in mean scores on the achievement tests, the associations between early predictors and later achievement were similar in the 3 cultural groups, indicating that differences in mean scores may not be accompanied by differences in interrelationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting change in academic achievement: A model of peer experiences and self-system processes.

The purpose of this study was to test a model of peer experiences and academic achievement among elementary school children. This model postulates that the quality of children's social relations (e.g., social preference) in the peer group can foster or inhibit feelings of connectedness (e.g., loneliness), which in turn affects children's perceptions of academic competence. Finally, perceptions of academic competence are hypothesized to predict change in academic achievement. Participants were 397 school children (206 girls, 191 boys; mean age?=?108 months, range?=?88–157 months). Results from structural equation modeling provided support for the proposed model. Discussion centers on the mediational role of self-system processes between children's social relations and change in academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender matters, too: The influences of school racial discrimination and racial identity on academic engagement outcomes among African American adolescents.

The authors examined relationships among racial identity, school-based racial discrimination experiences, and academic engagement outcomes for adolescent boys and girls in Grades 8 and 11 (n = 204 boys and n = 206 girls). The authors found gender differences in peer and classroom discrimination and in the impact of earlier and later discrimination experiences on academic outcomes. Racial centrality related positively to school performance and school importance attitudes for boys. Also, centrality moderated the relationship between discrimination and academic outcomes in ways that differed across gender. For boys, higher racial centrality related to diminished risk for lower school importance attitudes and grades from experiencing classroom discrimination relative to boys lower in centrality, and girls with higher centrality were protected against the negative impact of peer discrimination on school importance and academic self-concept. However, among lower race-central girls, peer discrimination related positively to academic self-concept. Finally, socioeconomic background moderated the relationship of discrimination with academic outcomes differently for girls and boys. The authors discuss the need to consider interactions of individual- and contextual-level factors in better understanding African American youths' academic and social development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial identity, academic achievement, and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged adolescents.

The relation between racial identity and personal psychological functioning was examined within the framework of the "racelessness" construct proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (S. Fordham, 1988; S. Fordham & J. U. Ogbu, 1986). These researchers have proposed that academically successful African American students achieve their success by adopting behaviors and attitudes that distance them from their culture of origin, resulting in increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and identity confusion. Studies 1 and 2 describe the development of the Racelessness Scale (RS) designed to test these assumptions. Study 2 also investigated Race?×?Achievement level differences in students' responses to the RS. In Study 3, correlations between the RS and measures of depression, self-efficacy, anxiety, alienation, and collective self-esteem were assessed. The pattern of results in Study 2 suggest that the behaviors and attitudes described by Fordham and Ogbu are common to high-achieving adolescents and not specific to African Americans. However, racial differences in the pattern of associations between the RS and measures of depression suggest that racelessness may have important psychological consequences for African American adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal and situational correlates of academic achievement in young adolescents.

Examined the relationship between academic achievement and various attitudinal and situational factors. Using the regression equation method, 660 male and female middle-class 9th graders were assigned to a high-, average-, or low-achieving group. The classification was based on the relationship between actual GPA and the GPA which would be expected from IQ level. Since this method defines academic achievement in relation to each S's intelligence, it resulted in 3 groups varying highly in academic achievement, but virtually identical in IQ. All Ss completed the Student Interest and Attitude Study. The items which discriminated between the 3 groups were subjected to factor analysis and 6 factors were identified. The levels of achievement in various academic subject areas were also examined separately and a consistent pattern of performance was found. The dynamics of academic achievement are discussed. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement: Structural equation models of longitudinal data.

Academic self-concept, school marks, and teacher ratings of achievement were collected in 3 high-school subjects in each of 3 years (N?=?603). In the structural equation models (SEMs) considered, both school-based performance and academic self-concept were measured with multiple indicators for each school subject. SEMs were used to evaluate the effects of prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement after controlling for the effects of prior achievement, and the effects of prior achievement on subsequent academic self-concept after controlling for the effects of prior academic self-concept. Although the effects of achievement tended to be larger and more systematic, there was clear support for both academic self-concept and achievement effects. Although there was support for this reciprocal effects model for all 3 school subjects, self-concept effects tended to be larger and more systematic for mathematics than for science and, particularly, English. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social anxiety and peer relations among adolescents: testing a psychobiological model

The START cell cycle transition in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is catalyzed by the Cdc28 cyclin-dependent kinase associated with Cln-type cyclins. Since ectopic expression of the B-type cyclin CLB5 can efficiently rescue the inviability that results from CLN depletion, we tested the specificity of the CLN and CLB classes of cyclins for promoting START-associated events. Several aspects of the regulation of the mating factor response were compared for cells in which START activity was provided by either Cln-cyclins or Clb5. Unlike Cln1 and Cln2, high level expression of Clb5 was unable to repress the activity of the mating factor response pathway at START. Downregulation of Far1 protein at START is normal in cln- GAL1::CLB5 cells. Even though the Clb5-Cdc28 kinase activity in cln- GAL1::CLB5 cells is not downregulated in response to mating factor, cells arrest in the first cycle after addition of mating factor with a similar sensitivity as wild-type cells. However, whereas wild-type cells treated with mating factor arrest specifically in G1 phase as unbudded cells with unreplicated DNA (pre-START), most cln- GAL1::CLB5 cells arrest as budded post-START cells with replicated DNA. Our findings demonstrate the ability of post-START cells to arrest in response to mating factor and provide novel evidence for mechanisms that contribute to restrict mating factor-induced arrest in wild-type cells to the G1 phase of the cell cycle.     

Perceived competencies, peer group affiliation, and risk behavior among early adolescents.

This study examined the role of self-esteem and peer group membership in risk behavior among 183 8th graders in a multiethnic school. The hypothesis was that domain-specific rather than global self-esteem would be associated with "crowd" membership that in turn would be related to risk behavior. Data were gathered through informant interviews and individual surveys. Domain-specific self-esteem was related to crowd affiliation as well as to alcohol and cigarette use; global self-esteem was not related. Crowd affiliation related to alcohol use and sexual behavior after controlling for the effects of demographic and self-esteem variables, but crowd membership did not fully mediate the relationship between self-esteem and risk behavior. Availability of alcohol and cigarettes mediated the relationship between crowd affiliation and use of these substances. Findings support growing evidence that multiple adolescent peer groups exist and that group membership is closely tied to behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impatience versus achievement strivings in the Type A pattern: Differential effects on students' health and academic achievement.

Psychometric analyses of college students' responses to the Jenkins Activity Survey, a self-report measure of the Type A behavior pattern, revealed the presence of two relatively independent factors. On the basis of these analyses, two scales, labeled Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience-Irritability (II), were developed. In two samples of male and female college students, scores on AS but not on II were found to be significantly correlated with grade average. Responses to a health survey, on the other hand, indicated that frequency of physical complaints was significantly correlated with II but not with AS. These results suggest that there are two relatively independent factors in the Type A pattern that have differential effects on performance and health. Future research on the personality factors related to coronary heart disease and other disorders might more profitably focus on the syndrome reflected in the II scale than on the Type A pattern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)