Substance abuse among gays and lesbians may be considered a "neglected area" of drug use research in criminology and criminal justice. In the current study, we seek to address the lack of scientific inquiry on substance use among lesbians, gays, and bisexuals by drawing from an availability sample of 179 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults to examine substance use patterns as well as the relationship of self-esteem with problems associated with using alcohol and drugs. Results showed consistency in the frequency of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use in the past year; however, more gay and bisexual men than gay and bisexual women reported problems stemming from substance use.

Background: Risk for skin cancer is increased by UV exposure and decreased by sun protection. Appearance reasons to tan and not tan have consistently been shown to be related to intentions and behaviors to UV exposure and protection. Purpose: This study was designed to determine the factor structure of appearance motives to tan and not tan, evaluate the extent to which this factor structure is gender invariant, test for mean differences in the identified factors, and evaluate internal consistency, temporal stability, and criterion-related validity. Method: Five-hundred eighty-nine females and 335 male college students were used to test confirmatory factor analysis models within and across gender groups, estimate latent mean differences, and use the correlation coefficient and Cronbach's alpha to further evaluate the reliability and validity of the identified factors. Results: A measurement invariant (i.e., factor-loading invariant) model was identified with three higher-order factors: sociocultural influences to tan (lower order factors: media, friends, family, significant others), appearance reasons to tan (general, acne, body shape), and appearance reasons not to tan (skin aging, immediate skin damage). Females had significantly higher means than males on all higher-order factors. All subscales had evidence of internal consistency, temporal stability, and criterion-related validity. Conclusions: This study offers a framework and measurement instrument that has evidence of validity and reliability for evaluating appearance-based motives to tan and not tan.

In this study, the relation between peer crowd identification and indoor tanning behavioral tendencies was examined. Participants were 174 undergraduate students at a large university in the USA. Results indicated peer crowd identification was significantly associated with indoor artificial UV tanning behavioral tendencies (attitudes, normative beliefs, past year use and intentions) independent of gender and skin type. Participants who identified with the popular peer crowd were at the greatest risk for indoor tanning UV exposure while identification with the brain crowd was protective against such behavior. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for future skin cancer intervention efforts.

The present study examined theoretical mediators of a parent-based intervention on sunbathing tendencies and sunburn frequencies based on the work of Turrisi et al. [Turrisi, R., Hillhouse, J., Heavin, S., Robinson, J., Adams, M., & Berry, J. (2004). Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 27, 393-412.]. Three hundred and forty parents in two regions of the United States were educated about the dangers of risky sun behavior and how to convey information about skin cancer prevention to their children. Attitudes toward sunbathing, health beliefs, appearance beliefs, and social normative beliefs were examined and found to be significant mediators of program effects on sunbathing tendencies and sunburn frequencies. The findings are discussed with respect to maximizing the effectiveness of future skin cancer interventions with children.

A survey of 274 adolescents aged 14-16 years in rural Appalachia showed that unhealthy eating habits were prevalent. A few adolescents were teased about weight whereas 20.1% witnessed weight teasing almost everyday. Perception of parents' healthy eating and better social support for healthy eating were associated with healthier eating habits.

Objective: A collaborative campus-community partnership program provided the framework for an intervention to reduce motor vehicle accident fatalities along a rural Appalachian highway. Students from public health, nursing and medicine worked with community members to identify the problem and plan the strategy to address it. Methods: An inquiry-based learning model proved to be an appropriate approach to engage student teams with community leaders in identifying and resolving health needs. Inquiry-based strategies place students in guided learning situations where their investigations lead to working solutions. The inquiry-based model matched the curricular objectives of the Community Partnership Program (CPP) more closely than the classroom oriented problem-based learning approach. Implementation: In the spring of 1994, students, along with citizens and officials of a rural Appalachian county, initiated a community-based prevention project focused on reducing deaths from motor vehicle accidents employing the principles of an inquiry-based learning model. Discussion: This project effectively demonstrates the role that students can play in mobilizing diverse elements of the community to address identified health and safety concerns. It provides an illustration that a longitudinal, community-based, service-learning approach to health professions education is beneficial to both student learners and communities. Conclusions: Through the use of inquiry-based learning methods, students gained real life experience in applied principles of health statistics, epidemiology, community organization, health risk communication, health education planning and program implementation. Outcomes of the project included a measurable reduction in automobile-related fatalities and the initiation by the state department of transportation of a series of investigations expected to pave the way for physical improvements to the roadway.

The present study aimed to examine intra- and interpersonal associations between poor mental health and mother–daughter relationship closeness in a sample of 467 dyads. An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model was utilized to examine bidirectional processes between mothers (mean age = 42.64, SD = 6.5) and their adolescent daughters (mean age = 15.37, SD = 1.15). The independent variable was self-reported poor mental health and the dependent variable was relationship closeness. Additionally, communication satisfaction was examined as a potential interpersonal mediator of the pathway between poor mental health and relationship closeness. Daughters’ self-reported poor mental health negatively predicted their own perception of closeness as well as mothers’ perception of closeness. Additionally, we find evidence that perceived communication may explain (i.e., mediate) both the actor effect (one’s own poor mental health on one’s own perception of closeness) and the partner effect (partner’s poor mental health on one’s own perception of closeness). Our results suggest that when daughters’ mental health is poor, relationship closeness as perceived by mother and daughter may be weakened, and that this effect may in part be explained by poor communication between mother and daughter. Strategies to promote family communication, especially for families experiencing mental health problems, may aid in the development of closer mother–daughter relationships. Further, our results suggest the importance of investigating the potential bidirectional influence of mothers’ and daughters’ mental health on parent-adolescent relationship quality within a dyadic unit.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted the lives of millions around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused increasing concern among treatment professionals about mental health and risky substance use, especially among those who are struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD). The pandemic's impact on those with an SUD may be heightened in vulnerable communities, such as those living in under-resourced and rural areas. Despite policies loosening restrictions on treatment requirements, unintended mental health consequences may arise among this population. We discuss challenges that under-resourced areas face and propose strategies that may improve outcomes for those seeking treatment for SUDs in these areas.

Background: To explore the effectiveness of a multi-layered health promotion approach in rural China. Methods: A two-year intervention was applied to the 18 intervention rural villages while the 18 controls received standard health communication materials. Data were collected at baseline and post-intervention respectively to evaluate the effectiveness. Results: All intervention villages had developed healthy policies addressing prioritized health issues such as livestock captivity, garbage disposal, etc.; however, no healthy policies had been developed in the controls. The two-week morbidity rate and incidence of diarrhea of the intervention villages decreased to 13.4% from 18.5% (p = 0.009), and to 9.5% from 13.0% (p = 0.038), respectively, whereas no statistically significant change was found in the controls. The knowledge about hepatitis B and rabies transmission had increased significantly among the intervention villagers (hepatitis B from 27.5% to 34.4%, p = 0.005; rabies from 12.0% to 24.6%, p < 0.001) but not in the control for rabies (p > 0.05). Among both intervention and control groups, the proportion of proper hand-washing and chopping board use increased significantly (all p < 0.01). Greater changes had been found in physical inactivity and alcohol drinking among the intervention group than the control. No change was found in smoking rate among both groups. Score values (mean ± SD) for environmental quality, livestock captivity, and vector density (e.g., mosquitoes, flies, rats, and cockroaches) increased significantly from 2.8 ± 0.9 to 3.4 ± 0.7, from 1.9 ± 0.9 to 2.5 ± 0.9, and from 0.6 ± 0.9 to 1.8 ± 0.4, respectively (p < 0.05) in the intervention villages. Conclusions: The two-year multi-layered health promotion approach shows real promise in empowering the rural communities to take control over, and protect their own health.

Unauthorized reproduction of this 8 article is prohibited. Objective:To examine differences in bone mass between children and adolescents swimming competitively at nonelite levels (locally and regionally) and nonathletes and to assess changes in bone mass in these 2 groups over 24 months after taking into consideration several known confounders of bone mass.Design:Observational prospective study.Participants:White nonelite swimmers (n=128) and nonathletes (n=106) 8 to 18 years of age from Memphis, Tennessee, USA.Main Outcome Measures:Participants underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to assess total body and hip bone mineral content (BMC) at baseline and 12 and 24 months later.Results:At baseline, swimmers had 4.2% and 6.1% higher adjusted BMC for the total body and hip, respectively, compared with nonathletes (P values < 0.027). Averaging across assessment points, swimmers had 73.5 and 2.2 g higher BMC for the total body and hip, respectively, than nonathletes. Although there was a significant annual increase in total body and hip BMC in both groups (33.5 and 0.7 g, respectively), there was no difference in annualized bone accrual between swimmers and nonathletes for either total body BMC (swim by time effect; P=0.213) or hip BMC (P=0.265).Conclusions:Competitive swimming at nonelite levels during childhood and adolescence does not seem to compromise bone accrual.