PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Biglan

Publications and source records attributed to A Biglan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Does sexual coercion play a role in the high-risk sexual behavior of adolescent and young adult women?

Sexual coercion and its relationship to high-risk sexual behavior were examined in five samples of young women. Sample 1 (N = 22) consisted of sexually active adolescents aged 15 to 19. Samples 2 (N = 206) and 3 (N = 70) were recruited from among patients at three sexually transmitted disease clinics. Sample 4 (N = 51) consisted of young homeless women living on the street in a large city. Sample 5 (N = 51) was recruited from among young women on a college campus. Across all samples, 44.4% of women indicated that they had been forced into some form of sexual activity against their will. Self-reports of sexually coercive experiences were consistently related to risky sexual behavior. It appears that many young women are coerced into engaging in high-risk sexual behavior. This implies the need for greater attention to male coercive sexual behavior and women's skills for coping with such behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Translating what we know about the context of antisocial behavior into a lower prevalence of such behavior.

Although we have identified many variables that affect antisocial behavior, there is no evidence that we have learned how to reduce the incidence of such behavior or the proportion of young people who repeatedly engage in antisocial behavior. It is appropriate, therefore, for behavioral scientists to turn some of their energies to research on reducing the incidence and prevalence of antisocial behavior. Small communities may be a particularly useful social unit in which to conduct experimental research. The interventions to be tested include advocacy and community organizing to influence communities to make validated school and clinical interventions widely available and to assist them in increasing other forms of supervision of young people and social and material support of families. Key components of advocacy and community organizing are suggested, and possibilities for research are described.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Intraclass correlation among common measures of adolescent smoking: estimates, correlates, and applications in smoking prevention studies.

Most adolescent smoking prevention studies employ designs in which classrooms, schools, school districts, or sometimes whole communities are assigned to treatment conditions while observations are made on individual students. The critical design feature in such community trials is the nesting of intact social groups within treatment conditions. This combination requires that the treatment effect be assessed against the between-group variance; unfortunately, that variance is usually larger than for randomly constituted groups and its precision is usually less than that for the within-group variance. These factors often combine to reduce power so that it is almost impossible to detect important treatment effects in an otherwise well designed and properly executed study. To address these problems, investigators need good estimates of the intraclass correlation for the variables of interest, which together with the number of observations per unit determine the magnitude of the extra variation in the nested design. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methods and results from a study designed to generate estimates of intraclass correlation for common outcomes in adolescent smoking prevention studies and to discuss the use of these estimates in the planning of new studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The social context for risky sexual behavior among adolescents.

This study supports a model of adolescents' risky sexual behavior in which this behavior is seen as a product of the same peer and family factors which influence a wide range of problem behaviors. The Patterson et al. (1992) model of peer and parental factors associated with adolescents' sexual risk-taking behavior was tested on three independent samples of adolescents, ages 14 through 18. Adolescents whose peers were reported to engage in diverse problem behaviors were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. Poor parental monitoring and parent-child coercive interactions were associated having deviant peers, and poor parental monitoring also had a direct relationship to risky sexual behavior. Family involvement was associated with fewer parent-child coercive interactions. Less availability of parental figures in the family was directly associated with risky sexual behavior and was also associated with poorer parental monitoring.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Nurse-assisted counseling for smokers in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: Physician-delivered advice to stop smoking is effective, but time demands often reduce the number of smokers who receive assistance. We evaluated three nurse-assisted interventions designed to minimize physician burden and increase counseling in primary care settings. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with a 12-month follow-up. SETTING: Internal medicine and family practice offices in a health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: Smokers (n = 3161) who were patients of participating physicians or other medical care providers (n = 60). INTERVENTION: Medical care providers delivered a 30-second stop-smoking prompt to 2707 smokers and referred them to an on-site nurse smoking counselor. The nurse randomly provided a two-page pamphlet (advice control) or one of three nurse-assisted interventions: 1) self-quit training; 2) referral to a group cessation program; or 3) a combination of self-quit training and referral. Each nurse-delivered intervention included a 10-minute video, written materials, and a follow-up phone call. RESULTS: Physicians delivered brief advice to 86% of identified smokers during the 1-year program. The proportion of participants reporting abstinence after both 3 and 12 months of follow-up nearly doubled (P = 0.01) for the nurse-assisted self-quit (7.1%), group-referral (7.6%), and combination (6.9%) interventions, compared to brief physician advice alone (3.9%) (P < 0.05). Saliva cotinine tests confirmed these effects (P < 0.004), although quit rates were lower (3.4%, 4.7%, 4.3%, and 2.3%, respectively) because roughly one half of quitters chose not to provide a saliva sample and were counted as smokers. CONCLUSION: Involving nurses in counseling smokers reduces physician burden, makes counseling more likely, and significantly increases cessation rates compared with brief physician advice alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The social unit: an important facet in the design of cancer control research.

The research phases defined by the National Cancer Institute have prompted behavioral scientists to focus research on decreasing cancer risk behaviors. However, most of the work thus far has focused on the effects of interventions on individuals' behavior. Further progress may require that we also go through similar research phases with larger social units, such as worksites, health care organizations, and communities as the research targets. Research on larger social units is needed to: (a) disseminate interventions that have been shown to affect individuals' cancer risk; (b) sustain the effects of cancer control interventions; and (c) modify practices of larger social units which affect individuals' cancer risk. This article provides examples of how the research phase scheme can be applied productively to larger social units.

Community Participation↗
PubMed1991

Subject attrition in prevention research.

Subject attrition threatens the internal validity of substance abuse prevention studies because differences in the rate of attrition and the substance use behavior of remaining subjects in the different conditions could account for any differences found in substance use rates. Attrition threatens the external validity of prevention studies because, to the extent that study dropouts are different from remaining subjects, the results of the study may not be generalizable to study dropouts. Analysis of these threats to the validity of prevention studies should be routinely conducted. However, studies of alcohol and drug abuse prevention have generally failed to report or analyze subject attrition. Smoking prevention studies have more frequently reported attrition, and they have recently begun to analyze the degree to which attrition may affect the internal and external validity of the study. Evidence thus far suggests that differences in attrition across conditions do occur occasionally. The evidence is substantial that study dropouts are systematically more likely to smoke, to use other substances, and to score highly on other risk-taking measures.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1990

Social and behavioral factors associated with high-risk sexual behavior among adolescents.

Relationships among risky sexual behaviors, other problem behaviors, and the family and peer context were examined for two samples of adolescents. Many adolescents reported behaviors (e.g., promiscuity or nonuse of condoms) which risked HIV or other sexually transmitted disease infection. Such risky behaviors were significantly intercorrelated. Consistent condom use was rare among those whose behavior otherwise entailed the greatest risk of infection. In both samples, an index of high-risk sexual behavior was significantly related to antisocial behavior, cigarette smoking, and illicit drug or alcohol use. Social context variables, including family structure, parenting practices, and friends' engagement in problem behaviors, were associated with high-risk sexual behavior. Finally, for sexually active adolescents, problem behaviors and social context variables were predictive of nonuse of condoms. Results were consistent across the two studies and regression weights held up well under cross-validation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The efficacy of social-influence prevention programs versus "standard care": are new initiatives needed?

This study evaluates the effects of a school-based smoking prevention program after 1 year, using school (22 middle/elementary schools, 15 high schools) as both the unit of randomization and the unit of analysis. The multigrade level (grades 6 through 9) intervention was designed to address comprehensively the social influence factors that encourage smoking. Teacher survey data indicated that treatment schools had a median of 10 classroom sessions devoted to tobacco/drug use education, 5 of which were the sessions designed for this evaluation, and control schools had also dedicated a median of 10 classroom sessions to tobacco/drug education. Thus, the study evaluated the incremental effects of the social influence intervention compared to "standard-care" curricula. Among those who reported smoking one or more cigarettes in the month prior to the intervention, there was a significant treatment effect on rate of smoking at one year, but no grade level, gender, or interaction effects. The 1-year covariate-adjusted smoking rate among pretest smokers in the treatment schools was 76.6 cigarettes per month, compared to 111.6 cigarettes per month in control schools, a 31.4% difference. These effects were not accounted for by differential subject attrition. The analyses for nonsmokers, however, showed no significant effects, and the program did not affect self-reported alcohol or marijuana use. Taken together with the results of other prevention studies, these results point to the need for the development and evaluation of new initiatives to prevent substance use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The tobacco use research program at Oregon Research Institute.

The research program at ORI deals with both adolescent and adult tobacco use and is guided by a behavioral framework which emphasizes the role of the social context in tobacco use onset, maintenance and cessation. Growing appreciation of the importance of social context variables, combined with an emerging recognition of the need for a public health rather than clinical perspective on tobacco use, have led to a focus on interventions in larger social systems such as schools, worksites, health care plans, and communities. This research requires attention to the science of behavior change at both the individual and organizational levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Rationale for the use of passive consent in smoking prevention research: politics, policy, and pragmatics.

The empirical evaluation of school-based smoking prevention programs requires a broad sampling of subjects who are exposed to treatment or control conditions. The low base rate of ongoing smoking among young adolescents, the slow increase in smoking rates, and concerns about the representativeness of samples make it imperative that assessment of smoking and drug use include almost all students. Positive consent procedures outlined by regulations for the protection of human subjects (Department of Health and Human Services. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46: Protection of Human Subjects. #45 CFR 46, 1983) require parental permission for minors to participate in a research project. However, those subjects who are at highest risk to smoke are least likely to have parental consent for such a project. Low participation rates and subject selection bias are serious threats to the external validity of studies that use a positive consent procedure. With passive consent, parents respond only if they wish to withhold consent; a nonresponse is interpreted as approval of their child's participation. The subject retains the right to consent or decline participation. Four criteria must be met to waive the requirement of positive parental consent. The passive consent procedure, as used in smoking prevention research, meets those criteria. Data are presented that support the use of this procedure. Research is recommended to examine how consent procedures can affect the results of prevention studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Impact of distressed and aggressive behavior.

Two studies examined the hypothesis that distressed behavior induces negative emotions in others but also prompts solicitousness and deters aggression. In Study 1, 48 marital dyads rated various behaviors in terms of their feelings and reactions toward a spouse engaging in each behavior. Distressed behavior prompted both negative and solicitous emotions, but deterred hostile reactions. Aggressive behavior prompted negative feelings and hostile and argumentative reactions. In Study 2, 41 couples rated videotaped examples of a woman engaging in distressed, aggressive, or neutral behavior, with variations in verbal content and nonverbal affect. Examples of distressed behavior prompted more negative feelings and more solicitous feelings than neutral behavior. Aggressive examples prompted more negative feelings and hostile reactions. The studies indicate the importance of distinguishing between distressed and aggressive behavior.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Longitudinal changes in adolescent cigarette smoking behavior: onset and cessation.

Employing a 1-year longitudinal design, this study examined factors related to change in adolescent smoking. Predictors of smoking onset differed from predictors of continued smoking, underscoring the importance of studying factors related to adolescent smoking onset separately from mechanisms associated with changes in smoking among current smokers. Peer smoking predicted continuation of smoking after smoking initiation. Smokers received over 26 times more offers to smoke than did nonsmokers, suggesting that smokers attempting to quit need effective refusal skills to be successful. Habitual smoking was found to develop slowly, providing a substantial time window for refusal skill training and other prevention efforts. Predictors of smoking onset differed by developmental level. Peer smoking, and marijuana use were stronger predictors of smoking onset for high-school students, and number of cigarette offers predicted better among middle-school students. Parent variables were not significant predictors of later smoking. Intention to smoke was unrelated to onset and was redundant with pretest smoking behavior in predicting cessation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Videotaped materials in a school-based smoking prevention program.

The theory used to frame school-based tobacco use prevention programs is general, and such programs are difficult to replicate. This article seeks to offer a model for prevention videotape production, which other researchers can replicate and improve, and to present an analysis of potential merits and drawbacks of such production. To accomplish these goals, this article presents a detailed description of a school-based prevention program and the videotaped materials used in its curriculum. The theoretical and empirical bases for the project are delineated, and the study design is summarized. A detailed outline of the multi-grade curriculum program is presented, including the rationale behind critical program features, a description of specific curriculum strands, and the way in which videotaped materials fit into each strand. The rationale for using videotaped materials within the theoretical framework is discussed. Each videotape is briefly described. An account of video production, a process extending over 4 years, is set forth, including the student feedback data that helped to shape the production process, formatting, script decisions, casting, location, and the actual filming procedure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Do smoking prevention programs really work? Attrition and the internal and external validity of an evaluation of a refusal skills training program.

This study investigated the effects of a smoking prevention program that emphasized refusal skills training on 1730 adolescents in three high schools and six middle schools. Classes within these schools were randomly assigned to treatment or no-treatment conditions to avoid confounding schools with treatment condition. The effects of attrition on the internal and external validity of the study were examined. Although the results indicated an apparent effect of the program at the 1-year follow-up in deterring continued smoking among those who were smoking at pretest, this result may have been due to a higher rate of attrition among high-rate smokers in the treatment condition than in the control condition. Attrition also affected external validity. Across both conditions, subjects who were smoking at pretest and who were at risk to smoke were more likely to be missing at follow-up. The program did have an effect on the refusal skills of participants and the validity of this effect was not jeopardized by differential attrition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

How generalizable are the effects of smoking prevention programs? Refusal skills training and parent messages in a teacher-administered program.

This study investigated both substantive and methodological issues associated with school-based smoking prevention programs. Substantive issues included the efficacy of a refusal skills training curriculum and of parent messages mailed to students' homes. Methodological issues included the effects of assigning classrooms versus entire schools to experimental conditions and determination of the effects of attrition on internal and external validity. Results revealed differential impact for different subgroups of adolescents. The refusal skills program produced lower rates of smoking than the control condition for students who were smokers at the pretreatment assessment but may have produced detrimental effects among males who were nonsmokers at pretest. The provision of parent messages did not affect outcome. Method of assignment (schools versus classrooms) failed to produce significant effects, and attrition did not affect internal validity. However, the above differential findings, as well as the impact of attrition on external validity, raise questions concerning the generalizability of smoking prevention programs.

Adolescent↗