A preliminary investigation of family coping styles and psychological well-being among adolescent survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The relation between family coping styles and psychological well-being was compared for adolescents (12-17 years) displaced by Hurricane Katrina and currently living in a relocation camp (n = 50) and nonaffected adolescents (n = 31) matched on age, race, and socioeconomic status. Adolescents in the Katrina sample reported a family mobilizing strategy that reflected an increased reliance and seeking of extra-familial, community-based support but lower self-esteem and more symptoms of distress and depression. Follow-up analyses suggested that the relations between group differences in participants' hurricane-related trauma experiences and greater psychological distress may be mediated in part by the family coping strategy; exposure to increased levels of community-provided support may have unintended consequences on adolescents' psychological health. These results highlight the importance of future research on both potential benefits and costs of family coping styles in adolescents affected by a large-scale disaster. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina on persons with disabilities and independent living center staff living on the American Gulf Coast.

Objectives: To determine the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the psychosocial health of people with disabilities and on the ability of people with disabilities in the affected area to live independently. Participants: Transcribed conversations were analyzed for 56 survivors of Hurricane Katrina on the American Gulf Coast, all of whom were persons with disabilities or persons working with them. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted either individually or in focus groups with participants. Qualitative analysis was undertaken using hermeneutic techniques. Results: Six major themes emerged: faith, incredulousness, blaming others or oneself, family adaptation and resiliency, and work and professional responsibility. Conclusions: The resiliency of persons with disabilities to adapt to disasters can be better understood through factors such as these, providing an effective barometer of social capital that can help societies prepare for future disasters among those most vulnerable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resource loss and relocation: A follow-up study of adolescents two years after Hurricane Katrina.

The long-term psychological impact of Hurricane Katrina was assessed among students (N = 636) at two high schools in southeastern Louisiana. Displaced students from the greater New Orleans area were compared with nondisplaced students on several factors. Displaced students reported higher levels of general psychological distress (GPD) and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Age, resource loss, relocation time, relocation distance, self-esteem, optimism, storm exposure, and gender were then assessed in separate regression models predicting GPD and PTS. Both hierarchical regression models were significantly predictive. Self-esteem, relocation distance, optimism, resource loss, and storm exposure were significant predictors of GPD. Resource loss, relocation time, storm exposure, and self-esteem were significant predictors of PTS. As expected, gender did not make significant contributions to either model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predisaster trait anxiety and negative affect predict posttraumatic stress in youths after Hurricane Katrina.

On the basis of theory and previous research, it was hypothesized that predisaster child trait anxiety would predict disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, even after controlling for the number of hurricane exposure events. Results support this hypothesis and further indicate that predisaster negative affect predicted disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms. Also, Katrina-related posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were predicted by the number of hurricane exposure events and sex (being female). Predisaster generalized anxiety disorder symptoms predicted postdisaster generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, and predisaster trait anxiety predicted postdisaster depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for developing interventions to mitigate the impact of disasters in youths. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family therapy, substance abuse, and adolescents: Moving from isolated cultures to related components.

Reviews the books The family context of adolescent drug abuse, by R. H. Coombs (1988); Practical approaches in treating adolescent chemical dependency: A guide to clinical intervention and assessment, by P. B. Henry (1989); Consequences of adolescent drug abuse, by M. D. Newcomb and P. M. Bentler (1989); Adolescent drug abuse: Analyses of treatment research, by E. R. Rahdert and J. Grabowski (1988); Breakthroughs in family therapy with drug-abusing and problem youth, by J. I. Szapocznik and W. M. Kurtines (see record 1989-98115-000); and Family therapy approaches with adolescent substance abusers, by T. C. Todd and M. Selekman (in press). This spate of books includes representatives of three "cultures" interested in family therapy with substance-abusing adolescents: developmentally oriented research on substance abuse (Combs; Newcomb & Bentler; Rahdert & Grabowski), family therapy applied to substance abuse (Szapocznik et al.; Todd & Selekman), and the addiction/self-help approach (Henry). The coincidental publication of this large number of writings on families and adolescent substance abuse is encouraging. It suggests that all three cultures are vital and contributing. There are important well-written contributions in volumes from each culture. The disjointed status of the field may be a prelude to a significant integrative shift from the isolated cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations between family structure, family functioning, and substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents.

This study examined the role of family structure and functioning in predicting substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents, surveyed in 9th and 10th grade. The sample (N = 1433) was half female, mostly of Mexican descent, and the majority was born in the United States. Living with a single father was associated with less parental monitoring and less family cohesion (γ = ?0.07, ?0.06, respectively). Living with a single mother was associated with less parental monitoring (γ = ?0.10). Living with neither parent was associated with less communication (γ = ?0.08), less parental monitoring (γ = ?0.09), more family conflict (γ = 0.06), and less family cohesion (γ = ?0.06). Less monitoring was associated with substance use at follow-up (β = ?0.17). Low rates of parental monitoring appear to mediate the association between parental family structure and substance use. Results suggest that improving basic parenting skills and offering additional social support and resources to assist parents in monitoring adolescents may help prevent substance use. These interventions may be particularly beneficial for single parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal relations between rumination and bulimic, substance abuse, and depressive symptoms in female adolescents.

The authors examined the reciprocal relations between rumination and symptoms of depression, bulimia, and substance abuse with longitudinal data from 496 female adolescents. Rumination predicted future increases in bulimic and substance abuse symptoms, as well as onset of major depression, binge eating, and substance abuse. Depressive and bulimic, but not substance abuse, symptoms predicted increases in rumination. Rumination did not predict increases in externalizing symptoms, providing evidence for the specificity of effects of rumination, although externalizing symptoms predicted future increases in rumination. Results suggest rumination may contribute to the etiology of depressive, bulimic, and substance abuse pathology and that the former two disturbances may foster increased rumination. Results imply that it might be beneficial for prevention programs to target this cognitive vulnerability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family economic stress and academic well-being among Chinese-American youth: The influence of adolescents’ perceptions of economic strain.

This study examined the pathways by which family economic stress influenced youth’s educational outcomes in a sample of 444 Chinese American adolescents (Mages = 13.0, 17.1 years at waves 1 and 2, respectively). Using latent variable structural equation modeling, results across two waves of data, spanning early to late adolescence, demonstrated that the influence of parent report of economic stress on youth academic achievement (i.e., GPA), school engagement, and positive attitudes about education was mediated through youth’s perceptions of family economic strain and self-reports of depressive symptoms. These relationships were observed to remain significant after accounting for selection bias using individual fixed-effects models. Finally, youth’s perceptions of family economic strain were found to more strongly predict depressive symptoms during later, as compared to earlier, adolescence; all other modeled relationships were equivalent across the two time periods. Implications for expanding theoretical tenets of the Family Economic Stress Model are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victimization and substance abuse among women: Contributing factors, interventions, and implications.

Although the literature indicates that there is an association of victimization with substance abuse, there has been limited research focused on understanding and synthesizing the factors that have been identified as contributing to victimization and substance abuse and on interventions designed to address these contributing factors. The purposes of this article are to (a) review the literature on factors related to victimization and substance abuse, (b) review interventions and outcomes, and (c) discuss clinical implications for interventions and research. Results suggest that there is a high rate of co-occurrence of victimization and substance abuse among women, that the factors contributing to victimization and substance abuse are complex, and that there is a lack of treatment models addressing victimization and substance abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in psychiatric comorbidity among adolescents with substance use disorders.

The authors examined gender differences in rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders among adolescents with 1 or more psychoactive substance use disorders. Baseline diagnostic data were obtained from 135 adolescents, ages 12 to 19, and their parents-guardians, who participated in a study to develop and efficacy test Integrated Family and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder were higher among drug-abusing male adolescents compared with drug-abusing female adolescents. However, high rates of disruptive behavior disorders also characterized drug-abusing female adolescents. Similarly, drug-abusing female adolescents exhibited a higher rate of major depression compared with drug-abusing male adolescents. However, rates of dysthymia, double depression (i.e., major depression and dysthymia), and bipolar disorder were equivalent between genders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of the social action theory to understand factors associated with risky sexual behavior among individuals in residential substance abuse treatment.

Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is a leading cause of HIV/AIDS, particularly among urban substance users. Using the social action theory, an integrative systems model of sociocognitive, motivational, and environmental influences, as a guiding framework, the current study examined (1) environmental influences, (2) psychopathology and affect, (3) HIV-related attitudes and knowledge, and (4) self-regulatory skills/deficits as factors associated with event-level condom use (CU) among a sample of 156 substance users residing at a residential substance abuse treatment center (M age = 41.85; SD = 8.59; 75% male). RSB was assessed using event-level measurement of CU given its advantages for improved accuracy of recall and ability for an examination of situational variables. A logistic regression predicting event-level CU indicated the significant contribution of partner type (environmental influences), less favorable attitudes towards condoms (HIV-related attitudes and knowledge), and higher levels of risk-taking propensity (self-regulatory skills/deficits) in predicting greater likelihood of not having used a condom at one's most recent sexual encounter. This study contributes to the literature examining HIV risk behaviors among substance users within a theory-driven model of risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the effects of academic beliefs and behaviors on changes in substance use among urban adolescents.

This study examines substance use between 10th and l2th grades in a predominantly African American sample of 785 adolescents from an urban environment. Psychological distress, academic factors, and perceptions of parents and peers are used to explain l0th-grade substance use and changes in use using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicate that low achievement and motivation, high truancy, and perceptions of peer substance use are associated with higher 10th-grade substance use. Growth curve analyses reveal that adolescents who perceive negative school attitudes among peers are more likely to increase their cigarette and marijuana use. Among high-achieving students, low motivation is a risk factor for increased cigarette use. Implications focused on enhancing motivation, reducing truancy, and understanding adolescents' perceptions of their peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental involvement, psychological distress, and sleep: A preliminary examination in sleep-disturbed adolescents with a history of substance abuse.

The relationships between family environment and psychological distress and between psychological distress and sleep disturbance in adolescents are well established. However, less is known about the influence of family environment on sleep disturbance. The authors' goal is to examine the effects of parental involvement on psychological distress and sleep disturbance in 34 adolescents with a history of substance abuse. Linear regression techniques and confidence intervals were used to test the significance of mediation analyses. Lower levels of parental involvement were associated with higher levels of psychological distress, and higher levels of psychological distress were associated with lower sleep efficiency and more time spent in bed. Follow-up analyses found that higher levels of parental involvement were associated with earlier morning arising times, when controlling for psychological distress. These data indicate that psychological distress is important to consider when examining the relationship between parental involvement and sleep in adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent and Parent Alliance and Treatment Outcome in Multidimensional Family Therapy.

In this study, the authors examined the relation between adolescent and parent therapeutic alliances and treatment outcome among 65 substance-abusing adolescents receiving multidimensional family therapy. Observer ratings of parent alliance predicted premature termination from treatment. Observer ratings, but not self-report, of adolescent alliance predicted adolescents' substance abuse and dependency symptoms at posttreatment, as well as days of cannabis use at 3-month follow-up. The association between adolescent alliance and substance abuse and dependency symptoms at posttreatment was moderated by the strength of the parent alliance. Results reveal the unique and interactive effects of the 2 alliances on treatment outcome and emphasize the need for a systemic and well-articulated approach to developing and maintaining the multiple alliances inherent to family therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misperceived risk among female adolescents: Social and psychological factors associated with sexual risk accuracy.

This study of 411 urban female adolescents had 3 objectives: (a) assess the relationship between perceived risk and sexual risk behavior (condom use, number of partners, partner risk, presence of STDs, and aggregate sexual risk), (b) assess the accuracy of risk perceptions, and (c) identify variables related to inaccurate sexual risk perceptions. Participants were classified as accurate or inaccurate risk perceivers on the basis of actual sexual behavior and perceived risk. Accurate versus inaccurate risk perceivers were compared on psychological maintenance variables (self-esteem, distress, and coping), relationship context variables (partnership duration and pressure to have unprotected sex), and risk knowledge at different levels of sexual risk. Approximately half of the participants underestimated the risk of their sexual behavior. Accurate and inaccurate risk perceivers differed on risk knowledge, partnership duration, and pressure to have unprotected sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome in individual and family therapy for adolescent behavior problems.

The impact of early therapeutic alliance was examined in 100 clients receiving either individual cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT) or family therapy for adolescent substance abuse. Observational ratings of adolescent alliance in CBT and adolescent and parent alliance in family therapy were used to predict treatment retention (in CBT only) and outcome (drug use, externalizing, and internalizing symptoms in both conditions) at post and 6-month follow-up. There were no alliance effects in CBT. In family therapy, stronger parent alliance predicted declines in drug use and externalizing. Adolescents with weak early alliances that subsequently improved by midtreatment showed significantly greater reductions in externalizing than adolescents whose alliances declined. Results underscore the need for ongoing developmental calibration of intervention theory and practice for adolescent clinical populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of family connectedness among adolescents with mexican, chinese, and european backgrounds.

Multiple dimensions of adolescents' connectedness with their families were investigated among 489 9th-grade students (M = 14.86 years) from families with Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Participants reported on various aspects of their family relationships and completed diary checklists of daily behaviors for a 2-week period. Adolescents from European backgrounds reported levels of family identification and dyadic closeness with parents similar to or greater than those reported by their peers. For adolescents from Mexican and Chinese backgrounds, particularly those from immigrant families, family connectedness included a stronger emphasis on family obligation and assistance. The extent to which family demographic variables, including parental level of education and residence in a single-parent family, accounted for group differences was examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the longitudinal relations among family risk factors and childhood externalizing symptoms.

Despite potential sex differences in base rates, predictors, and maintaining processes for children's externalizing behaviors, little prospective research has examined sex differences in the relations between concurrent, proximal family risk factors and children's externalizing behaviors. The current study examined the relations among maternal depressive symptoms, maternal parenting behaviors (i.e., negativity and low warmth), and child externalizing symptoms at 24 months and first grade in a community-based sample of 1,364 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal depression and negative parental behaviors were associated with concurrent externalizing behaviors, though maternal depression may be differentially linked to boys' and girls' externalizing problems. The relation between depression and boys' externalizing symptoms was more pronounced at 24 months, and over time, the relation between maternal depression and boys' externalizing symptoms decreased in magnitude, whereas this relation increased among girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist behavior as a predictor of black and white caregiver responsiveness in multisystemic therapy.

This study examined whether (a) therapist behaviors thought to enhance family treatment predicted caregiver in-session responses, and (b) caregiver race, racial match between caregiver and therapist, and family financial hardship moderated the relationships between therapist and caregiver behavior. Observers coded caregiver and therapist behavior during one session of multisystemic therapy for substance abusing adolescents. Therapist teaching, focusing on strengths, making reinforcing statements, problem solving, and dealing with practical family needs predicted caregiver engagement and/or positive response, regardless of race, racial match, or financial hardship. Caregiver race, financial hardship, and therapist–caregiver racial match occasionally moderated the relationship between other therapist and caregiver behaviors. Findings suggest both commonalities and differences in how therapist behavior may function to engage caregivers in family treatment, depending on diversity-related factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)