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Over the past ten years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of drug addicted teens in this country. Accompanying this increase in drug usage of adolescents has been an rise in the number of treatment and evaluation centers to serve the adolescent drug abusing population. Comprehensive and individualized assessment of drug addicted teens is needed as the basis for adolescent treatment programs. Many adolescent drug treatment programs have relied primarily on in-house, informal questionnaires to assess personality traits. There is a need for more objective measures to assess personality traits in adolescent drug addicted populations. This study used information from intake interviews of 842 inpatient adolescents and examined the amount of drug use in relationship to; personality, negative life events (number of times arrested for drugs, number of times runaway from home, number of suicide attempts, and substance abuse) and gender. Personality was assessed using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). This study family history of decreased the complexity of interpreting MMPI results by reducing the scores to categories reflective of two common personality traits found in drug addicted populations - introversion and extroversion. Codetypes, which reflect the subjects two most heightened clinical MMPI scales, were also utilized in this study. In this investigation personality traits of introversion and extroversion were not found to be related to amount of drug use, or gender. A heightened scale 4 (Psychopathic Deviate) was consistently found in this sample of adolescent drug abusers. Gender differences were found in membership in codetype group and in terms of total amount of drug use. Females who reported a maternal family history of substance abuse were more likely to use greater amounts of drugs than males with either a maternal or paternal family history of substance abuse. Negative life events were found to differ by gender with females having higher rates of suicide attempts than males, and males having greater number of drug arrests than females. A thorough assessment of maternal drug history for drug addicted females, and treatment modalities focused on personality types who score high on MMPI scale 4, may be important issues to be considered in residential treatment of drug addicted adolescents. / Graduation date: 1993

Increased smoking by attractive celebrities in films may be one source of influence on young people's increased smoking behavior. Theories of observational learning and cognitive scripting suggest that actions and perceptions may be influenced by viewing behaviors of attractive models and that observers may be more likely to imitate the observed behaviors when they are in specific contexts similar to the ones viewed. We investigated the effects of viewing characters either smoking or not smoking while having either positive or negative experiences on participants' perceptions of the characters, smoking urge, and intentions to smoke. We found that viewing characters smoking in negative scenes decreased likelihood of smoking for participants. Females were more likely than males to report a likelihood to smoke after viewing negative scenes, regardless of whether characters smoked. Female regular smokers were more likely to smoke in negative scenarios than in positive scenarios, and male occasional smokers and nonsmokers were more likely to smoke in positive scenarios than negative scenarios. / Department of Psychological Science

The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in the utilization of coping mechanisms of minority and White adolescents. By measuring the coping skills in adolescents, it sought to identify which strategies are most frequently used within the construct of race.

BACKGROUND: Goals for reduction of adolescent American health risks include reduction of prevalence of early initiation of sexual activity among teens in the United States to <15% for fifteen year olds and <40% for seventeen year olds. Such a prevalence reduction would concomitantly reduce the risks for both unwanted teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS. METHODS: A population of Seventh-day Adventist youth surveyed in1989 reported a prevalence of teenage sexual activity <22%, less than half the percentage of sexual activity observed in general population high school youth. This study evaluates the hypothesisthat Adventist Lifestyle behaviors modify the risks associated in other studies with precocious intercourse. An analysis of odds ratios for premature sexual activity for each of 40 variables forms the basis for this study. In addition to the odds ratios associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs, odds ratios for participation in popular entertainment, physical activities, social activities and culture specific behaviors are also studied. RESULTS: While Adventist youth show a percentage of youth participating in early intercourse well below that of adolescents in the general population, these youth show odds ratios for known risk behaviors higher than those reported in another adolescent population by a recent similar study. Within this Adventist population, many generally accepted behaviors of the average American populace appear to be risk behaviors. This fact suggests the presence of an "interface" of potential risk behaviors to be found in the undefined boundaries between Seventh-day Adventist culture and the general American culture which bears further study. / Graduation date: 1993

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It is the purpose of this research project to develop a profile of predictive variables that would be helpful in distinguishing a missing juvenile report of a runaway from that of a missing youth who may have met with "foul play" and who does not fit the pattern of the runaway youth. The usefulness of such a tested set of predictive variables would be in designing a report form to be used by the peace officer who takes the initial report enabling him to immediately identify the situation as one of a runaway indicating one type of follow-up as opposed to a situation involving the possibility of "foul play" which would indicate a totally different investigative procedure and priority of action.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study investigated teenage language and its functions. More specifically, after conducting a data analysis which revealed the most common features of “teen speak,” the features were dissected for their usage patterns and significance within the realm of adolescent life and development. The research was based on linguist Marcel Danesi’s model of teenage language, which provided a comparative basis for analysis and categorization.

In America, it is estimated that between 500,000 and two million children run away each year. A majority of these runaways become involved with illegal substance abuse. This study questions whether children experience substance abuse prior to their running away or if their substance abuse is an attempt to cope with the new stressors created by street life. Data collection will include having 50 volunteers complete a questionnaire, with consideration of race and gender. The findings suggested that no relationship exist between runaways engaging in drug use and the amount of stress experienced at home or during the runaway.