The present study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal developmental characteristics of the association between mental health and substance use. N=1182 adolescents aged between 11 and 20 years were recruited from schools in Australia. Participants completed the Youth Self Report (YSR) (Achenbach, 1991a) and reported on their use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, their social ability, their motivation for using substances, their ability to regulate emotion, and the influences of their parents and peers on their substance use. N=561 of time one participants were retained for testing one year later to assess the potential to predict substance use at time two from mental health at time one. Results indicated a clear and consistent cross-sectional association between externalising scores on the YSR and use of the three substances, regardless of gender. The relation between internalising scores and substance use was non-significant. When the relation between externalising scores and substance use was assessed for mediation, only the influence of parents and peers was found to be significant. A cross-sectional structural model developed to account for this association was demonstrated to be invariant across the three substances of interest, and across gender, but not age category. There was no evidence that social skills, emotion regulation, or substance use motives, had roles in mediating the relationship between mental health and substance use. A model was developed to assess the potential to predict substance use at time two from externalising scores at time one. Results showed that externalising scores predicted increases in alcohol use via parent and peer attitudes. Thus, externalising disposition, in the context of a facilitative social environment, was predictive of an increase in alcohol use over time. Structural models developed to account for the predictive relation between externalising scores and use of cigarettes and marijuana proved unstable and could not be tested. Substance use at time one was not predictive of externalising scores at time two. The results of the present research are discussed in relation to their potential to inform the developmental substance use literature, and efforts directed against the development of substance use problems. Limitations of the present research are noted.

The purpose of this study is to compare the drug abusing adolescent, along with his family, with a non-drug abusing adolescent and his family by (l) a comparison of the adolescents on measures of self esteem and perceived parental behavior, (2) a comparison of the parents of drug abusing adolescents with the parents of non-drug abusing adolescents on child-rearing attitudes and on distortion in perceived parental behavior, and (3) an identification of the salient factors contributing to the prediction of drug-using behavior in adolescents. The adolescent's self esteem, his perception of parental behavior, the ability of the parents to predict the child's parental perceptions, and the professed parental attitudes toward confidence and responsibility in child-rearing, all combine to suggest a set of factors differentiating the drug abusing adolescent from the non-drug abusing adolescent.

The purpose of this investigation focused on determining the effects of a physical conditioning program on physical fitness and health attitudes on inpatient adolescent male substance abusers during and following participation in a six week fitness program. The fitness measures chosen for this study were the 1 1/2 mile run, skinfold, sit-and-reach, and grip strength. The first four of these measures make up the AAHPERD test battery (AAHPERD, 1980). The Health Attribution Test (Lawlis and Lawlis, 1980) was administered to determine health locus of control.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems emerged during the 2010s as a novel way to consume (i.e., vape) nicotine. Public health authorities became concerned that vaping could cause nicotine-naïve youth to begin using tobacco products and that a new generation of youth could become tobacco-dependent. Though millions of youth have vaped, authorities' fears about a new generation of youth tobacco dependence has not materialized. A more recent concern is nicotine vaping’s potential effects on cannabis use and the use of other substances. An increase in cannabis use among some adolescent groups and young adults could be because of nicotine vaping’s rise. Additionally, cannabis can be vaped, so transitioning from nicotine vaping to cannabis vaping may be easier than transitioning from nicotine vaping to other forms of cannabis use. Furthermore, nicotine product use was historically associated with later use of cannabis and other substances; this trend may be renewed with the advent of nicotine vaping. To date, most studies on the associations between nicotine vaping and cannabis/other substance use are cross-sectional, so more longitudinal evidence is needed. If evidence suggests that nicotine vaping does affect the use of cannabis and other substances, specifying a mechanism would help with developing potential interventions and with testing the validity of total effects. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to advance evidence of nicotine vaping's potential harmful effects on youth and young adults, which could be used to support interventions aimed at reducing the burden of nicotine vaping's outcomes. First, I conducted a systematic review in which I examined the extent to which confounding, measurement errors, and loss to follow-up could alternatively explain reported longitudinal effects of nicotine vaping on cannabis use or other substance use. I also identified studies that tested effect modification and mediation. This systematic review revealed that nicotine vaping likely increases the risk of subsequent cannabis use and other substance use for up to 24 months. It also revealed that some studies evaluated effect measure modification, while no study assessed mechanisms. These observations suggest that future studies should assess long-term effects on initiation and evaluate potential mechanisms. Second, I evaluated whether nicotine vaping affected the initiation of cannabis and other substances over a six-year period among adolescents as they age into adulthood. Results suggested that nicotine vaping had harmful effects on both outcomes over the six-year period. I also found evidence that nicotine vaping's harmful effects in later years appeared stronger than in earlier years; the absence of age effects suggest the absence of cohort effects. Furthermore, I found that effects appeared stronger among individuals who had a history of non-vaping tobacco product use than among individuals without a history of non-vaping tobacco product use, suggesting that tobacco use is key to nicotine vaping's harms. Finally, I evaluated possible mechanisms of the effects based on a theory that I developed from prior empirical literature and behavioral theory. I posited that nicotine vaping caused deviant peer affiliation, which caused conduct problems and subsequently, the outcomes. I found no evidence that three conduct problems (considered together) were mechanisms of the effects. Future studies of mechanisms can reveal potential intervention targets, lead to studies of other potential mechanisms, and help test the validity of total effects. This dissertation achieved its goal of advancing evidence that nicotine vaping may harm youth and young adults. Public health bodies tasked with addressing potential public health concerns about nicotine vaping products should consider evidence from this dissertation.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

by Eliza Lau Mei Ting. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-71). / Abstract and questionnaire also in Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.v / CHAPTERS / abstract --- p.2 / Chapter 1 --- INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.3-13 / Purpose of the Study --- p.11 / Hypotheses --- p.12 / Chapter 2 --- METHOD --- p.14-24 / Participants --- p.15-18 / Measures --- p.18-24 / Procedure --- p.24 / Chapter 3 --- RESULTS --- p.25-56 / Chapter 4 --- DISCUSSION --- p.57-64 / REFERENCES --- p.65-69 / APPENDIX A / questionnaire for the study

Leung, Wan Chi. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-111). / Abstracts in English and Chinese ; appendix in Chinese. / abstract --- p.i / 內容摘要 --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.V / Chapter Chapter I: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Anti-drug Campaign in Hong Kong --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Harmful Messages on the Internet --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- Theoretical Significance of Study --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- Social implications of this study --- p.8 / Chapter Chapter II: --- Literature Review and Theoretical Framework --- p.10 / Chapter 2.1 --- Third-person effect and perception --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2 --- TPE and Antisocial Messages on the Internet --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3 --- First-person effect and perception --- p.17 / Chapter 2.4 --- Behavioral component of TPE --- p.22 / Chapter 2.5 --- Behavioral component of FPE --- p.27 / Chapter 2.6 --- Perceived effect on self and on others and behavioral consequences --- p.28 / Chapter 2.7 --- Anti-drug Rectifying Behaviors --- p.31 / Chapter Chapter III: --- Methods --- p.37 / Chapter 3.1 --- Data Collection --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- Measurements of Key Variables --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3 --- Measurements of Control Variables --- p.45 / Chapter 3.4 --- Design of Questionnaires --- p.50 / Chapter Chapter IV: --- Findings --- p.52 / Chapter 4.1 --- Descriptive Statistics --- p.52 / Chapter 4.2 --- Hypotheses Testing --- p.55 / Chapter 4.3 --- Answers to Research Questions --- p.57 / Charts and Tables --- p.68 / Chapter Chapter V: --- Discussions and Conclusions --- p.78 / Chapter 5.1 --- TPE of online messages: antisocial and prosocial --- p.78 / Chapter 5.2 --- Perceived effects and behavioral intentions --- p.79 / Chapter 5.3 --- Control Variables --- p.87 / Chapter 5.4 --- Overall Regression Analysis --- p.90 / Chapter 5.5 --- Theoretical Contributions of this study --- p.92 / Chapter 5.6 --- Suggestions for Future Anti-youth-drug-abuse Policies in Hong Kong --- p.93 / Chapter 5.7 --- Limitations and Further Research Directions --- p.102 / Bibliography --- p.103 / Chapter Appendix: --- Questionnaire --- p.112

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is discovering if there are any differences in knowledge and sources of knowledge about illegal drugs between rural and metropolitan high school seniors. The term "drugs" in this project includes those defined by law as illegal and also those drugs subject to abuse through misuse. The report concludes that both correct drug knowledge and attitudes toward drugs seem to depend upon the degree to which drugs have entered into the community and their availability. Since no actual differences in knowledge were discovered, the indication is that possibly rural and metropolitan areas can no longer be separated as to the reasons for, or the extent of, certain social problems.