<p> Despite the rapidly expanding body of literature relating to electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) use, notable gaps in the available literature are apparent. Many different models and types of ENDS are available, such as electronic cigarettes, electronic hookahs, and newer-generation ENDS devices (vapes/mods). Yet, the scientific community has been slow to identify and investigate different ENDS products other than &ldquo;e-cigarettes.&rdquo; The current project serves to bring a level of specificity to ENDS research that has not yet been seen in the published literature. The current study used a multi-site, cross-sectional, experimental design to test 1) whether endorsement of ENDS usage is affected by the language used in measurement, and 2) whether the perceived risk associated with ENDS differs by product type. Lifetime ENDS use was significantly affected by the specific terms used in measurement within a sample of 546 undergraduate students. When presented with response options for multiple ENDS types, lifetime use was 17% greater than when asking about e-cigarettes alone. Significant perceptual differences between ENDS devices were apparent. E-hookahs and vapes/mods were seen as significantly less harmful to use during pregnancy, less harmful to one&rsquo;s health, and less addictive than either cigalike e-cigarettes or conventional tobacco cigarettes. Together, these findings suggest using generic, single-item measures that only ask about e-cigarettes are problematic.</p>

This dissertation investigates high school students' drug use and the variables identified as risk factors for such use. Specifically, the purpose of this research was to analyze drug use data with regards to levels of Subjective Distress, Parental Bonding, Parental Supervision, and Sensation Seeking, to understand how experimental marijuana users experience these risk factors when compared to other types of drug users. This research posits that experimental marijuana use may be more reflective of adolescent development than of pathology. The theoretical construct underlying this research is the perspective that certain behaviors are deemed harmful based more on moral judgments and the social construction of risk as opposed to the actual danger the behavior poses for the individual. This research used data from a cross-sectional survey given to high school students from a New England college town. Statistical analyses was conducted on the responses of a quantitative, Likert style survey which included 452 questions all derived from existing national surveys. The survey was voluntary and administered to 993 students in grades nine through twelve in January of 2000. The results indicated that a simple, stepwise progression between the level of drug use and the risk factors Parental Bonding, Parental Supervision, and Subjective Distress did not exist. In most cases, experimental marijuana users were more like abstainers than other drug users. The relationship between Parental Supervision and drug use was more related to an adolescent's age than to the actual supervision. Consideration of gender differences revealed that the genders experience the risk factors, specifically parental bonding, differently. Females, when compared to males, did not experience as strong a relationship between parental bonding and drug use. The application of a quadratic regression equation revealed that males' relationship between drug use and parental bonding was more complex; moderate levels of parental bonding predicted drug use more strongly than low levels of parental bonding. The results suggest that future research must be more sophisticated in its analyses of drug use and adolescents, considering the developmental stage of the adolescent, the type of drug used, and questioning the assumption that experimental marijuana use is unequivocally harmful.

<p> The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of the Autonomous Student Experiences (ASE), a specific course component of OAE programming, on promoting youth developmental outcomes, including youth autonomy and positive youth development (PYD). The ASE component in this study was carried out as the &ldquo;Final Expedition,&rdquo; where students traveled as a group with limited supervision from instructors. Three outdoor courses offered by Northwest Outward Bound School were selected with 25 subjects in total. </p><p> This study used a mixed-method quantitative and qualitative research design to explain and interpret the effect of ASE on youth autonomy and PYD. A questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data measured by three scales, including Noom&rsquo;s (1999) Adolescent Autonomy Questionnaire, Lerner et al.&rsquo;s (2005) Positive Youth Development Short Form Measurement, and Characteristics of the ASE scale adapted from Sibthorp&rsquo;s Characteristics of the Experience Scale (2000). This questionnaire was administered three times throughout the course, including the first day of course, the day before the ASE, and after participants finished the ASE. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. These one-on-one phone interviews were conducted with selected participants about two weeks after they returned home from their field experiences. </p><p> Findings from the quantitative data analysis showed that the overall OAE program can be effective in facilitating adolescents&rsquo; levels of youth autonomy and PYD. ASE may afford the opportunity for &ldquo;learning reinforcement&rdquo;, refers to a chance for adolescents to reinforce developmental outcomes that have evolved early on during the course. However, the differences in adolescents&rsquo; youth autonomy and PYD levels before and after completing the ASE course component did not reach a statistical significance. Higher levels of autonomy were associated more with adolescents who played follower roles in the ASE compared to those who played leadership roles. Findings from the qualitative data further shed light on the underlying mechanisms for linking ASE with youth developmental outcomes.</p><p>

<p> This research explores the cultural, sociopolitical, biological, and psychological aspects of spanking. Utilizing a hermeneutic methodology, it reviews the language used around spanking, such as abuse, trauma, violence, corporal punishment, maltreatment, adverse childhood experiences, interpersonal victimization, and discipline; its history in indigenous and post-Columbian America; and empirical findings about its effects on mental health. It concludes with suggestions as to how to use this information clinically, noting perspectives on treating intergenerational transmission of trauma and the ethical duties of mental health practitioners to advocate against abuse.</p>

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2007. / "Publication number AAT 3277242"

Agitated behavior is a widespread problem that adversely affects the health of nursing home residents and increases the cost of their care. Agitated nursing home residents are more likely to be physically or chemically restrained, to fall and to have a lower quality of life. Current strategies to reduce agitated behavior tend to be costly. This dissertation research examined a relatively inexpensive intervention to reduce the agitated behavior of cognitively impaired nursing home residents. The specific aim was to compare the effect of calming music or hand massage or a combination of calming music and hand massage on the level and type of agitated behavior over time. This four group, repeated measures design used the Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold model (Hall & Buckwalter, 1987) to test the effect of exposure to calming music and hand massage on agitation. This model proposes that in the context of agitation, the stress response can be altered and functionally adaptive behavior achieved by modifying environmental demands and controlling for factors that correlate with the perception of stress. Power calculations indicated that a sample size of 68 would be adequate to detect significant results. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four intervention groups: (1) calming music, (2)hand massage, (3) calming music and hand massage simultaneously, or (4) control. Level of agitation was assessed during each of four ten minute observation periods, immediately before the intervention, during the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at 60 minutes. Each of the experimental interventions produced a reduction in agitation that was greater than that achieved in the absence of any intervention. The benefit was sustained and increased over time. The level of increased benefit over tune was similar in each of the experimental intervention groups. When syndromes of agitated behaviors were examined separately, there were differential levels of reduction of physically aggressive, physically non-aggressive and verbally agitated behaviors. Results of this study provide information on an easily administered intervention that can improve the quality of life for nursing home residents and potentially decrease the cost of their care.

<p> This dissertation explores the relationship between parental incarceration and childhood obesity in African American children by reviewing Adverse Childhood Experiences from the National Survey of Children&rsquo;s Health, revealing the epidemic of childhood obesity, and examining the issues of mass incarceration and its physical, mental, and emotional effect on African American children. </p><p> The results of this study find that we could not show that being an African American child experiencing parental incarceration influences childhood obesity. In this study we could not show that the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences faced by African American children are related to the child&rsquo;s level of obesity. Also, this study finds that we could not show a statistically significant relationship between African American children having incarcerated parents and the rest of the parental-incarcerated population, whites and others, and the difference in obesity. Finally, we could not show an association between obese African American children who experience parental incarceration by gender.</p><p>