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Biomedical subjects

J D Hawkins

Publications and source records attributed to J D Hawkins.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Predicting serious delinquency and substance use among aggressive boys.

Early aggressive behavior puts boys at increased risk for involvement in a variety of later problem behaviors, including delinquency and drug abuse. However, not all boys who evidence aggressive behavior in childhood continue to engage in problem behaviors in adolescence. This 3.5-year prospective study examined the role of factors hypothesized by the social development model to inhibit or increase the likelihood of subsequent involvement in serious delinquency and substance use within a sample of boys identified as aggressive by teacher report at ages 10 and 11. At ages 12 and 13, a combination of the constructs of skills for prosocial involvement, school bonding and achievement, family bonding and management practices, norms against substance use, and interaction with peers and adults involved in antisocial behavior significantly discriminated between boys who were and were not involved in serious delinquent behavior and substance use at ages 13 and 14, although family bonding and management practices appeared to contribute little to the discriminant function. Implications of the results for preventive interventions with aggressive boys are discussed.

Adolescent

Preventing school failure, drug use, and delinquency among low-income children: long-term intervention in elementary schools.

A six-year, school-based prevention program, which modified classroom teacher practices, offered parent training, and provided child social skills training, was evaluated for its effects on school failure, drug abuse, and delinquency among low-income urban children. Compared to a low-income control group, children in the intervention group showed enhanced school commitment and class participation. The girls in the group also evidenced lower rates of substance use initiation, while the boys exhibited increased social and school work skills.

Adolescent

Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: implications for substance abuse prevention.

The authors suggest that the most promising route to effective strategies for the prevention of adolescent alcohol and other drug problems is through a risk-focused approach. This approach requires the identification of risk factors for drug abuse, identification of methods by which risk factors have been effectively addressed, and application of these methods to appropriate high-risk and general population samples in controlled studies. The authors review risk and protective factors for drug abuse, assess a number of approaches for drug abuse prevention potential with high-risk groups, and make recommendations for research and practice.

Adolescent

Ethnic differences in family factors related to early drug initiation.

The literature on family predictors of substance use for the general population is reviewed and compared to findings for three specific ethnic groups: black, white and Asian Americans. Rates of substance use initiation are examined in a sample of 919 urban 5th-grade students. Ethnic differences on measures of family predictors are examined and significant ethnic differences are found on several of these factors. Finally, separate regressions for black, white and Asian American youths of family factors on the variety of substances initiated examine ethnic similarities and differences in predictors. The results demonstrate significant differences by ethnicity in family management practices, involvement in family activity, sibling deviance, parental disapproval of children's drinking and family structure. The regression equations identified unique as well as common predictors of the variety of substances initiated by the end of 5th grade. Implications of the results are discussed.

Alcoholism

Race differences in antisocial behaviors and attitudes and early initiation of substance use.

This article examines racial differences in self-reported delinquency, school trouble, antisocial attitudes, and toughness and in teacher-rated aggressive and inattentive behaviors among fifth grade black, white, and Asian American subjects. Also examined are the relationships of these variables to substance initiation within each racial group. Controlling for socio-economic status, racial groups differed from one another in self-reported delinquency, school trouble and toughness, and in teacher-rated aggressiveness and inattention. Antisocial behavior and attitudes were stronger predictors of substance initiation for Asian American than for black and white children. For white children both self-reported and teacher-rated behavior were significantly related to substance initiation. For black children, only self-reported antisocial behavior, and for Asian American children only self-reported delinquent behavior and attitudes predicted substance initiation. Implications for prevention and research are discussed.

Adolescent

Structure of problem behaviors in preadolescence.

Earlier research suggests that diverse adolescent problem behaviors, such as substance use, school problems, early sexual intercourse, and delinquency, reflect a single underlying dimension of behavior. Data from an ongoing longitudinal study were used to examine this issue in a previously unexamined sample (N = 426) of preadolescent sixth-grade youth. Ss included boys and girls from diverse socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds, whose average ages were 11 and 12. By using confirmatory factor analyses to test competing models, multiple factor structures were detected, suggesting that earlier findings supporting a single factor conceptualization may not be generalizable to this age group. Implications of the finding that problem behaviors may be more differentiated in late childhood than in adolescence are discussed.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Reducing early childhood aggression: results of a primary prevention program.

Teacher-rated antisocial behavior in early elementary grades has been shown to be a precursor of adolescent delinquency and drug use. The combined effects of parent and teacher training on the teacher-rated antisocial behavior of a panel of subjects assigned to experimental and control classrooms at entry into the first grade was assessed at the end of the second grade. Lower rates of aggressiveness were found for white boys in the experimental classrooms and lower rates of self-destructive behavior were found for white girls in the experimental classrooms when compared with controls on the Teacher Form of the Child Behavior Checklist. No significant condition differences were found for black subjects. The interventions are described and limits and implications of the study are discussed.

Adolescent

Racial differences in acceptability and availability of drugs and early initiation of substance use.

This paper examines differences among three racial groups in exposure to three risk factors for drug use (availability of drugs, acceptability of drug use, and peer alcohol use), and the relationship of these factors to drug use initiation in a sample of preadolescent urban youths. Tobacco and alcohol initiation rates were highest among Whites, lower among Blacks, and lowest among Asian-Americans. Paralleling these differences, White youths reported the greatest access to marijuana, greatest parental tolerance of substance use, and greatest intentions to use drugs as adults. Blacks somewhat less, and Asian-Americans the least. No racial differences appear in the proportion who reported that their peers used alcohol. Marijuana availability and peer use predicted substance initiation for all three racial groups. However, intentions to use substances as an adult and perceived parental tolerance of substance use predicted drug use only for White and Asian-American youths, while the expectation of punishment for drug use predicted lower drug use only among Black youths. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Adolescent

Skills training for drug abusers: generalization, maintenance, and effects on drug use.

This study reports on the follow-up data for the treatment of drug abuse (Hawkins, Catalano, & Wells, 1986). In the original study, 130 clients in the reentry phase of residential drug treatment programs were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 60) or to a 10-week supplemental behavioral skills training course (n = 70). Eight-two percent of the sample was male, and 75% was White. Subjects' ages ranged from 15 to 55 years, though the majority (71%) were in their twenties. A role-play test assessing skill levels was administered as a pretest, following the 10-week skill training course, and again at 6 and 12 months as follow-ups. Although skills decayed slightly over time, the skill levels of experimental subjects were higher than the control group 12 months after training. Generalization of skills to role-play situations for which no training had been received was also found. However, with the exceptions of marijuana and amphetamine use, skill training did not affect drug use after treatment.

Behavior Therapy

Delinquents and drug use: a model program for community reintegration.

Evidence indicates that serious and persistent delinquency and the frequent use of illicit drugs emerge from common etiological roots. This suggests that treatment efforts which target risk factors of adolescent drug use and crime may be effective in preventing subsequent antisocial behavior. This paper describes Project ADAPT, a treatment program for juvenile delinquents based on the Social Development Model, which integrates this knowledge of risk factors. Project ADAPT is a 3 1/2-year demonstration project which combines behavioral skill training, supportive network development, and involvement in prosocial activities to facilitate the community reentry of youths following placement in a Washington state correctional facility.

Adolescent

A survey on intron and exon lengths.

The lengths of introns and exons in various parts of genes of vertebrates, insects, plants and fungi are tabulated. Differences between the various groups of organisms are apparent. The results are discussed and support the idea that, generally speaking, introns were present in primitive genomes, though in some cases they may have been inserted into pre-existing genes.

Animals

Choosing drug use measures for treatment outcome studies. I. The influence of measurement approach on treatment results.

Drug use is measured in a number of different ways in drug treatment outcome studies. Different measures of outcome may yield different results, making comparison across studies difficult. The utility, sensitivity, and level of measurement of five categories of measures are reviewed. It is suggested that research focus on examining the properties of existing drug use measures, on developing methods of evaluating timing and sequence in the relapse process, and on standardizing measurement approaches across studies.

Follow-Up Studies

Choosing drug use measures for treatment outcome studies. II. Timing baseline and follow-up measurement.

The use of different approaches to measurement in drug abuse treatment outcome studies has resulted in a lack of comparability across studies. This paper reviews different approaches to timing of baseline and follow-up periods and to dealing with time periods during which follow-up subjects are not "at risk" for drug use. Length and timing of baseline and follow-up periods are considered as well as periods of time within which specific drug use outcomes are measured. It is suggested that research focus on describing the natural course of drug use both prior to and following treatment, in order to determine the most appropriate length and timing of follow-up periods. It is recommended that investigators report drug use data from both "at risk" and "not at risk" periods, and that they choose methods of controlling for time "at risk" which do not eliminate important drug use data from analyses.

Follow-Up Studies

Risk factors for adolescent substance abuse. Implications for pediatric practice.

This article describes the range of indicators to observe when considering which teenagers may be at risk for development of substance abuse. Currently, the notion of what constitutes a problem among teenagers is a controversy--thus the subject is approached from several major viewpoints. First, one may look at longitudinal studies and then make an attempt to construct some sort of substance abuser profile. Also, genetic predisposition may be considered.

Adolescent

The social networks of drug abusers before and after treatment.

Changes in the social networks of a sample of 38 drug abusers are studied from pretreatment to 1 and 3 months following treatment. Overall network composition changed to include fewer drug users and fewer long-term acquaintances. While the pretreatment networks of those who used opiates and those who did not use opiates in the follow-up period were virtually the same, the posttreatment networks of opiate abusers contained greater social influence toward drug use following treatment. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Adolescent