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Biomedical subjects

K E Bauman

Publications and source records attributed to K E Bauman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Mediation in a family-directed program for prevention of adolescent tobacco and alcohol use.

BACKGROUND: Family Matters is a universal intervention designed to prevent adolescent tobacco and alcohol use through involvement of family members and by targeting family risk factors for tobacco and alcohol use. Previously reported findings suggest that the program reduced the prevalence of both adolescent smoking and drinking in the 12 months after program completion. This paper reports analyses conducted to identify the mediators through which the program influenced adolescent smoking and drinking. METHODS: One thousand fourteen adolescents ages 12 to 14 years and their families, identified by random-digit dialing, were entered into a randomized trial. Adolescents and their parents provided data by telephone for measuring mediator and behavioral variables at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months after program completion. Repeated-measures logistic regression with generalized estimating equations was used to assess mediation processes. RESULTS: The program resulted in statistically significant changes in several substance-specific aspects of the family, such as rule setting about tobacco and alcohol use. However, the intermediate family effects did not account for the program effects on adolescent behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The variables hypothesized to explain program effects were not identified by direct empirical examination.

Adolescent↗

Correlates of participation in a family-directed tobacco and alcohol prevention program for adolescents.

This study examined correlates of program initiation and completion in a family-directed program that involved families of adolescents throughout the United States. Correlates varied by whether program initiation, program completion, or the number of activities completed was the indicator of participation. In final regression models, participation was relatively likely by non-Hispanic whites when compared with persons of race/ethnicity other than white, black, and Hispanic; by families with a female adolescent as the program recipient; by families with mothers who had many years of education; and by families with both parents living in the household. There was more participation if parents thought their child would smoke in the future and if the parent thought the adolescent did not smoke currently. Participation was higher if the adolescent felt strongly attached to the parent and if parents did not smoke. The findings are considered in the context of similar programs and future research on family-directed programs to prevent adolescent tobacco and alcohol use.

Adolescent↗

The influence of a family program on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined a family-directed program's effectiveness in preventing adolescent tobacco and alcohol use in a general population. METHODS: Adolescents aged 12 to 14 years and their families were identified by random-digit dialing throughout the contiguous United States. After providing baseline data by telephone interviews, they were randomly allocated to receive or not receive a family-directed program featuring mailed booklets and telephone contacts by health educators. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted 3 and 12 months after program completion. RESULTS: The findings suggested that smoking onset was reduced by 16.4% at 1 year, with a 25.0% reduction for non-Hispanic Whites but no statistically significant program effect for other races/ethnicities. There were no statistically significant program effects for smokeless tobacco or alcohol use onset. CONCLUSIONS: The family-directed program was associated with reduced smoking onset for non-Hispanic Whites, suggesting that it is worthy of further application, development, and evaluation.

Adolescent↗

Influence of a family-directed program on adolescent cigarette and alcohol cessation.

Programs to reduce adolescent cigarette or alcohol use by users in general populations have only recently been evaluated. Moreover, in spite of the substantial influence families have on their children, few family-directed programs designed to reduce the prevalence of adolescent smoking and drinking have been rigorously evaluated. This paper reports the findings of research designed to determine whether a family program reduced use of cigarettes or alcohol by users. The program consisted of a series of booklets mailed to families and follow-up telephone calls by health educators. A randomized experimental design involved families with children ages 12-14 throughout the United States. Data were collected by telephone at baseline and 3 and 12 months after the program was completed. No statistically significant program effects were observed for cessation or decrease in smoking and drinking by users.

Adolescent↗

The Safe Dates program: 1-year follow-up results.

OBJECTIVES: An earlier report described desirable 1-month follow-up effects of the Safe Dates program on psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence. Mediators of the program-behavior relationship also were identified. The present report describes the 1-year follow-up effects of the Safe Dates program. METHODS: Fourteen schools were in the randomized experiment. Data were gathered by questionnaires in schools before program activities and 1 year after the program ended. RESULTS: The short-term behavioral effects had disappeared at 1 year, but effects on mediating variables such as dating violence norms, conflict management skills, and awareness of community services for dating violence were maintained. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are considered in the context of why program effects might have decayed and the possible role of boosters for effect maintenance.

Adolescent↗

The paucity of effects in community trials: is secular trend the culprit?

BACKGROUND: The most recent major U.S. trials that evaluated community-level programs to influence risk factors and health behaviors identified secular trends in the risk factors and health behaviors among the factors that might have limited community-level effects. The research reported in this paper uses data from one of the trials to examine the secular trend explanation directly. METHODS: Data from the 22-community Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) were analyzed to test a hypothesis based on secular trend reasoning: program effects for smoking prevalence were larger for treatment communities matched to control communities with small declines in smoking than in treatment communities matched to control communities with larger declines in smoking. RESULTS: Consistent with the secular trend explanation, program effects were larger when control communities had relatively small declines in smoking prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that secular trends masked community-level program effects in COMMIT.

Canada↗

An evaluation of Safe Dates, an adolescent dating violence prevention program.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effects of the Safe Dates program on the primary and secondary prevention of adolescent dating violence. METHODS: Fourteen schools were randomly allocated to treatment conditions. Eighty percent (n=1886) of the eighth and ninth graders in a rural county completed baseline questionnaires, and 1700 (90%) completed follow-up questionnaires. RESULTS: Treatment and control groups were comparable at baseline. In the full sample at follow-up, less psychological abuse, sexual violence, and violence perpetrated against the current dating partner were reported in treatment than in control schools. In a subsample of adolescents reporting no dating violence at baseline (a primary prevention subsample), there was less initiation of psychological abuse in treatment than in control schools. In a subsample of adolescents reporting dating violence at baseline (a secondary prevention subsample), there was less psychological abuse and sexual violence perpetration reported at follow-up in treatment than in control schools. Most program effects were explained by changes in dating violence norms, gender stereotyping, and awareness of services. CONCLUSIONS: The Safe Dates program shows promise for preventing dating violence among adolescents.

Adolescent↗

State-level infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality: the contribution of selected structural socioeconomic variables.

Reducing infant mortality in the United States is a national priority. States' infant mortality rates vary substantially. Public health researchers, practitioners, and leaders have long argued that social and other structural factors must be addressed if health outcomes are to be improved. A knowledge of which structural variables are most strongly related to state-level infant mortality is needed to guide the development of policies and programs to reduce this mortality. The authors examine the importance of several structural (social, economic, and political) variables for state-level infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality. With the state as the unit of analysis, data for all 50 states were analyzed using multiple regression. Together, the structural variables accounted for two-thirds of the variance in infant and neonatal mortality rates and over half of the variance in postneonatal mortality rates. States with proportionately larger black populations had higher infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates. States with greater percentages of high school graduates had lower neonatal mortality rates but higher postneonatal mortality rates. The findings suggest that a better understanding of the relationship between states' social structure and infant health outcomes is needed if state-level infant mortality is to be reduced.

Analysis of Variance↗

Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health.

CONTEXT: The main threats to adolescents' health are the risk behaviors they choose. How their social context shapes their behaviors is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To identify risk and protective factors at the family, school, and individual levels as they relate to 4 domains of adolescent health and morbidity: emotional health, violence, substance use, and sexuality. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of interview data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 12118 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 drawn from an initial national school survey of 90118 adolescents from 80 high schools plus their feeder middle schools. SETTING: The interview was completed in the subject's home. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Eight areas were assessed: emotional distress; suicidal thoughts and behaviors; violence; use of 3 substances (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana); and 2 types of sexual behaviors (age of sexual debut and pregnancy history). Independent variables included measures of family context, school context, and individual characteristics. RESULTS: Parent-family connectedness and perceived school connectedness were protective against every health risk behavior measure except history of pregnancy. Conversely, ease of access to guns at home was associated with suicidality (grades 9-12: P<.001) and violence (grades 7-8: P<.001; grades 9-12: P<.001). Access to substances in the home was associated with use of cigarettes (P<.001), alcohol (P<.001), and marijuana (P<.001) among all students. Working 20 or more hours a week was associated with emotional distress of high school students (P<.01), cigarette use (P<.001), alcohol use (P<.001), and marijuana use (P<.001). Appearing "older than most" in class was associated with emotional distress and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among high school students (P<.001); it was also associated with substance use and an earlier age of sexual debut among both junior and senior high students. Repeating a grade in school was associated with emotional distress among students in junior high (P<.001) and high school (P<.01) and with tobacco use among junior high students (P<.001). On the other hand, parental expectations regarding school achievement were associated with lower levels of health risk behaviors; parental disapproval of early sexual debut was associated with a later age of onset of intercourse (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Family and school contexts as well as individual characteristics are associated with health and risky behaviors in adolescents. The results should assist health and social service providers, educators, and others in taking the first steps to diminish risk factors and enhance protective factors for our young people.

Adolescent↗

Urinary cotinine and parent history (questionnaire) as indicators of passive smoking and predictors of lower respiratory illness in infants.

Studies of the effects of passive smoking on lower respiratory illness (LRI) have relied on questionnaires to measure exposure. We studied the association between two measures of passive smoking and the incidence of acute LRI in infants. We analyzed data from a community-based cohort study of respiratory illness during the first year of life in North Carolina. The incidence of LRI was determined by telephone calls at 2-week intervals. Environmental, demographic, and psychosocial risk factors for LRI were measured during home interviews. Tobacco smoke exposure was measured as the mean number of cigarettes smoked per day in the infant's presence. Smoke absorption by the infants was measured by the urinary cotinine/ creatinine ratio. Of the 485 infants in the study, 325 (67%) had telephone follow-up and at least two home interviews. In bivariate analyses, reported tobacco smoke exposure and urinary cotinine were associated with LRI. Only the association between reported exposure and LRI remained significant after adjusting for confounders, [adjusted incidence of LRI (episodes/child-year) non-exposed: 0.6; < or = 10 cigarettes/day: 0.9 (RR 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.0); > 10 cigarettes/day: 1.3 (RR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.8)]. We conclude that infants reportedly exposed to tobacco smoke have an increased incidence of LRI. There are differences between questionnaire and biochemical measures of passive smoking. Urinary cotinine will not necessarily improve the validity of studies of the relationship of passive smoking to LRI in infants.

Adult↗

State legislators' intentions to vote and subsequent votes on tobacco control legislation.

The predictive validity of state legislators' behavioral intentions in relation to their votes on tobacco control legislation was assessed by using the theory of planned behavior (I. Ajzen, 1991). Intentions to vote for cigarette tax increases were measured through interviews in the summer of 1994. A bill containing cigarette tax increases was considered about 8 months later. Votes were compared with intentions and were found to be consistent for 78% of these legislators (N = 120). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed a strong independent relationship between intentions and voting and a similar effect of political party; results suggested but did not confirm that votes were predicted by interactions between intentions and perceived control. Legislator surveys that use this conceptual model can provide results relevant to understanding tobacco policy development.

Adult↗

The effectiveness of family planning programs evaluated with true experimental designs.

OBJECTIVES: This paper describes the magnitude of effects for family planning programs evaluated with true experimental designs. METHODS: Studies that used true experimental designs to evaluate family planning programs were identified and their results subjected to meta-analysis. RESULTS: For the 14 studies with the information needed to calculate effect size, the Pearson r between program and effect variables ranged from -.08 to .09 and averaged .08. CONCLUSIONS: The programs evaluated in the studies considered have had, on average, smaller effects than many would assume and desire.

Family Planning Services↗

State legislators' attitudes and voting intentions toward tobacco control legislation.

OBJECTIVES: This study describes state legislators' knowledge, attitudes, and voting intentions with regard to tobacco-related issues. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of state legislators was conducted in North Carolina, Texas, and Vermont in 1994. RESULTS: Most legislators agreed that secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in nonsmokers, and a majority believed that smokers are addicted to nicotine. More than 75% stated that they would support a measure to enforce laws preventing tobacco sales to youth. A majority of Texas and Vermont legislators supported an increase in the state cigarette excise tax; 43% of North Carolina legislators would support an increase if revenues were directed toward tobacco farmer diversification. CONCLUSIONS: State legislators believe tobacco to be addictive, and they support policies to protect youth from tobacco. Support for other legislative measures differs significantly across states.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

On the importance of peer influence for adolescent drug use: commonly neglected considerations.

Peer influence is generally believed to be a major cause of adolescent drug behavior. This paper reviews research findings on friend selection and projection to suggest that the magnitude of friend influence may be overestimated. This paper also observes that, although adolescent drug use is assumed to begin in response to peer group influence, peer groups have rarely been measured in studies of drug behavior. Social network analysis is identified as a promising method for measuring peer groups. The implications of this review for research and programs are considered.

Adolescent↗

The relationship between structural and health services variables and state-level infant mortality in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the relative strength of the associations of a set of structural (social, economic, and political) variables and a set of health services variables with state-level infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality. It also examined whether health services mediate the relationships between structural variables and state-level infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality. METHODS: With the state as the unit of analysis, data for all 50 states were analyzed by means of multiple regression. RESULTS: Structural variables accounted for substantially more variance in infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality than health services variables, and health services variables were more strongly related to infant mortality than to neonatal or postneonatal mortality. When health services variables were controlled, the strengths of the associations between the structural variables and infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality were reduced but remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial portion of the variance in state-level infant mortality is accounted for by states' structural characteristics, which are partially mediated by health services.

Adolescent↗

Evaluation of a home-based intervention program to reduce infant passive smoking and lower respiratory illness.

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether a home-based intervention program could reduce infant passive smoking and lower respiratory illness. The intervention consisted of four nurse home visits during the first 6 months of life, designed to assist families to reduce the infant's exposure to tobacco smoke. Among the 121 infants of smoking mothers who completed the study, there was a significant difference in trend over the year between the intervention and the control groups in the amount of exposure to tobacco smoke; infants in the intervention group were exposed to 5.9 fewer cigarettes per day at 12 months. There was no group difference in infant urine cotinine excretion. The prevalence of persistent lower respiratory symptoms was lower among intervention-group infants of smoking mothers whose head of household had no education beyond high school: intervention group, 14.6%; and controls, 34.0%.

Adult↗