Biomedical subjects

D Paul Moberg

Publications and source records attributed to D Paul Moberg.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

FAST and the arms race: the interaction of group aggression and the families and schools together program in the aggressive and delinquent behaviors of inner-city elementary school students.

This study applies a multi-player arms race model to peer contagion in the aggressive and delinquent behaviors of inner-city elementary school students. Because this model of peer contagion differs from the usual model based on positive reinforcement of delinquent behavior, it raises the possibility that the persistent finding of iatrogenic effects of group treatment might not apply to group treatment of elementary school children if the possibility of aggressive behavior in the group is limited. One way of limiting aggressive behavior is to include parents in the groups. The study therefore applies the model to groups of elementary school students assigned to Families and Schools Together (FAST; a group treatment that includes parental participation) or to an intervention focused on individual families. The model effectively describes the relationship between group averages of aggressive behavior in the classroom and aggressive and delinquent behavior outside the classroom for those students assigned to the individual intervention. The model fits those children assigned to FAST less well, suggesting that FAST may make it less likely that aggressive and delinquent behavior is generalized outside of aggressive classroom settings. Editors' Strategic Implications: The authors draw on evolutionary biology, developmental psychology, sociology, and learning theory to present an innovative prevention model and test the promising FAST program. Using longitudinal data from 403 children, their parents, and their teachers, the authors describe how FAST may interfere with the process of escalating aggression.

Aggression↗

PubMed2006

Progress in reducing cigarette consumption: the Wisconsin tobacco control program, 2001-2003.

OBJECTIVES: In 2000, the Wisconsin Legislature allocated $20.8 million annually to establish a comprehensive tobacco control program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Wisconsin's tobacco control program on reducing cigarette consumption during its first 2 years of operation. METHODS: Per capita cigarette sales were used to estimate cigarette consumption. Trends in cigarette consumption in Wisconsin between 2001 and 2003 were compared with trends in the United States as a whole, with groups of states, and with Wisconsin's peer state group. RESULTS: Cigarette consumption in Wisconsin declined 9.2% from 2001 to 2003. In the same time period cigarette consumption in the United States declined only 3.8%. Wisconsin also demonstrated a greater percent decline in its cigarette consumption rate than did 3 of the 4 state groups. Finally, compared to its peer state group Wisconsin performed better between 2001 and 2003, with a decline of 9.2% compared to only a 4.2% reduction in its peer state group. SUMMARY: Wisconsin has shown progress in reducing cigarette consumption during the first 2 years of its tobacco control program. Greater declines in Wisconsin compared to the United States, most state groups and its own peer state group suggest early effectiveness of Wisconsin's tobacco control program. Wisconsin will require continued implementation of evidence-based policy initiatives and aggressive tobacco control activities in order to maintain its progress toward decreasing the public health burden of tobacco.

Health Promotion↗

PubMed2005

A model of contagion through competition in the aggressive behaviors of elementary school students.

This article extends the work of Kellam, Ling, Merisca, Brown and Ialongo (1998) by applying a mathematical model of competition between children to peer contagion in the aggressive behaviors of elementary school students. Nonlinearity in the relationship between group aggression and individual aggression at 2-year follow-up is present. Consistent with the findings of Kellam et al. (1998), hierarchical linear modeling indicates that the relationship is statistically significant for those students whose initial parental ratings of aggressive behavior were above the sample median. In the context of competition between students, the behavior of initially aggressive students may be negatively reinforced. Lowering aggression in the school environment may therefore be the most effective way to lower the level of these students' aggressive behavior.

Aggression↗

PubMed2005

Who smokes? A demographic analysis of Wisconsin smokers.

CONTEXT: Despite the general decline in prevalence of smoking and actual consumption of cigarettes, there is a heightened concern that this decline has not been uniform throughout the population and that specific subpopulations are adversely affected by tobacco use. OBJECTIVE: To estimate smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption among Wisconsin subpopulations by demographic identifiers, gender, race, age, educational attainment, and income. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We estimated tobacco use among primary sub-populations in Wisconsin in 2003 from the Wisconsin Tobacco Survey. Approximately 8000 interviews were completed via a telephone survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption among sub-populations and related policy recommendations. RESULTS: Approximately 20% of the Wisconsin adult population smokes cigarettes. However, the prevalence of smoking is not the same among all population groups. There are also substantial group differences in how many cigarettes people smoke per day. The number of cigarettes smoked is closely tied to the risk of smoking-related illness. The greatest disparities are associated with income and education. People with incomes between 10,000-15,000 dollars per year are more than twice as likely to smoke

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Treatment retention of dually diagnosed offenders in an institutional therapeutic community.

This study investigated treatment retention in an institutional therapeutic community (ITC) for dually diagnosed male inmates. Twenty-five percent of admissions successfully completed the residential substance abuse treatment program. Graduates participated for an average of 9 months, while terminations participated for nearly 4 months. One-third of the terminations participated for at least 3 months and 15% participated for 6 months or more. A striking result was the relationship between retention and risk ratings and psychopathy scores. Both measures assess behavior and interaction styles over a range of situations. The presence of a single type of negative behavior (i.e. the nature of the committing offense) did not predict completion, but a rating based on multiple samples of behavior was a significant predictor of retention.

Adult↗