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Biomedical subjects

L D Gilchrist

Publications and source records attributed to L D Gilchrist.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Drug use among adolescent mothers: prepregnancy to 18 months postpartum.

PURPOSE: Little is known about the substance use patterns of adolescent mothers, particularly in the postpartum period. This study provides descriptive, longitudinal data on the substance use behavior of a cohort of adolescent mothers. METHODS: A total of 241 pregnant adolescents, under 18 years old and planning to carry the pregnancy to term, completed the initial interview. Respondents were interviewed again at 1, 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum. The data reported here are based on the 229 respondents who completed all five interviews. RESULTS: Use of all substances decreased substantially during pregnancy, but increased steadily in the first 6 months postpartum. A similar pattern was observed for regular use of multiple substances. Regular use before and after the pregnancy, but not during it, was the most common pattern of substance use. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of substance use among adolescent mothers is significant. To capitalize on the large decreases in use during pregnancy, drug prevention programs for adolescent mothers should target the first 6 months postpartum.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Nicotine dependence and intentions to quit smoking in three samples of male and female recovering alcoholics and problem drinkers.

We report gender-specific data on tobacco use and quitting smoking from three studies of nicotine-related issues during alcoholism treatment. Study 1 data are from 309 alcoholism treatment professionals who were current or former smokers with a personal history of alcoholism or problem drinking. Study 2 data are from 496 smokers receiving counseling for their problems with alcohol in outpatient alcoholism treatment centers. Study 3 data are from 90 smokers receiving intensive alcoholism treatment in residential or inpatient programs. Interest in smoking cessation was high in all groups. Significant gender differences were apparent among the recovering alcoholics but not among the problem drinkers. Severity of alcohol use problems also showed some association with smoking cessation behaviors.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Factors related to substance use by pregnant, school-age adolescents.

This study provides information on substance use among pregnant adolescents, and examines social influence, intrapersonal, and environmental factors associated with substance use during pregnancy in adolescence. The sample consists of premaritally pregnant adolescents (N = 241), who were interviewed as part of a longitudinal study of patterns of drug use among pregnant and parenting school-age adolescents. The findings indicate that, although the sample demonstrated a high rate of prepregnancy substance use, a significant drop in use occurred during pregnancy. Logistic regression analysis indicated that perceived harm of using substances while pregnant, best friend's substance use, boyfriend's substance use, and school status were related to substance use during pregnancy, even after controlling for the effects of prepregnancy substance use. The findings have implications for substance use prevention and intervention programs for pregnant and parenting adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Response bias associated with asking former study participants to assist in new research.

To limit research costs, former parent-participants from a completed pediatric neurology study were asked to assist with new research on behavioral contributors to childhood injury. An evaluation of the response bias associated with this recontact effort showed that 224 parents who completed the survey did not differ from the 51 who failed to complete it in race, age, education, or income. Nonresponders were significantly less likely to be married than responders.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed1990

Drug use among pregnant adolescents.

Despite concern over the co-occurrence of substance use, unplanned pregnancy and other problem behaviors in adolescence, little information is available on substance use before, during, and after adolescent pregnancy. The authors report data from the first 100 Ss enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal study on drug use before and during pregnancy in adolescence. Unmarried pregnant adolescents, ages 17 and under, were recruited for the study from urban alternative school programs and community social and health service agencies. Findings indicate that although lifetime prevalence of drug use was relatively high and pregnant respondents appear embedded in drug prevalent environments, substance use declined voluntarily and substantially during pregnancy. Prepregnancy drug use predicted substance use during pregnancy, but neither best friends' nor boyfriends' use of alcohol or marijuana predicted subjects' use of these substances during pregnancy after taking prepregnancy use into account.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Reducing onset of habitual smoking among women.

More women smoke cigarettes than ever before. The untoward health consequences of habitual smoking for women are well documented. The authors argue that, for developmental and social reasons, females may initiate and continue smoking for reasons that differ from the conditions that promote and maintain smoking among males. This article outlines the case for and potential content of a female-specific approach to reducing smoking among women. Gender differences in responsiveness to clinical programs to reduce or deter smoking, findings from social and clinical psychology that suggest explanations for female-specific patterns in cigarette use, data from a smoking prevention trial with adolescents showing differential effects for females, and implications for improving clinical interventions to prevent smoking initiation and habitual smoking among women are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Native youth and smokeless tobacco: prevalence rates, gender differences, and descriptive characteristics.

This is a report on smokeless tobacco use among Native American youth from Indian reservations in Washington State. Study findings indicate that snuff and chewing tobacco are used frequently, heavily, and at an early age by Native Americans. Nearly one-half of our subjects had used smokeless tobacco on 11 to 20 or more occasions; close to one-third of all the females had used smokeless tobacco on more than 20 occasions. Weekly users in this study were young. Of those Native subjects who used snuff or chewing tobacco weekly, 72% were under 12 years of age. Among youth who reported weekly smokeless tobacco use, about 74% of all females and 90% of all males had first used snuff or chewing tobacco before they were 10 years old. Study results have implications for efforts toward detection, treatment, and prevention of snuff and chewing tobacco use among Native American adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

School-based tobacco use prevention.

Although school-based tobacco use prevention programs have had limited short-term success, questions remain about whether these programs would have the same degree of success with youths at risk for habitual tobacco use. This article describes a pilot project to discriminate these high-risk youths from low-risk youths. Two hundred twenty-five consenting youths from a western state completed a questionnaire containing individual, demographic, and environmental correlates of habitual tobacco use. The total sample consisted of 105 males and 119 females. Nineteen percent came from ethnic minorities, and 69% were from traditional households. Discriminant function analyses identified correlates that discriminated between current tobacco users and nonusers as well as students intending to use tobacco from those who did not.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Cigarette smoking cessation attempts by recovering alcoholics.

Survey data on the smoking cessation experiences of 77 recovering alcoholics are reported. A comparison of successful and unsuccessful quitters addressed questions about optimal timing of cessation efforts, relative severity of alcohol and tobacco abuse histories, and the impact of cessation efforts on the maintenance of sobriety. Findings suggest that recovering alcoholics can successfully quit smoking without jeopardizing sobriety but that individuals with more severe substance abuse histories may be less successful. Although successful quitters tended to wait longer before attempting cessation, a comparison of the two groups was not statistically significant.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Skills enhancement to prevent substance abuse among American Indian adolescents.

Skills enhancement programs to prevent drug abuse have shown promise in tests with majority-culture adolescents. To date few applications of this preventive strategy have been evaluated with American Indian youth. A culturally tailored 10-session skills enhancement program was delivered in reservation and nonreservation settings in the Pacific North west. At 6-month follow-up, compared with test-only control condition subjects, intervention condition subjects had better knowledge of drug effects, better interpersonal skills for managing pressures to use drugs, and lower rates of alcohol, marijuana, and inhalant use. Intervention condition subjects were also less likely to label or consider themselves users of these substances. The findings suggest that behavioral skills training approaches hold promise for reducing substance use and abuse among American Indians.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1987

Pacific northwest native American youth and smokeless tobacco use.

This study examined snuff and chewing tobacco use among Alaska Native and American Indian adolescents. Results show frequent and early use of smokeless tobacco products. Almost one fifth of all females and close to one half of all males had used snuff or chewing tobacco on more than 20 occasions. Weekly smokeless tobacco use was reported by 34% of all females and by 42.6% of all males. By product type, 32.6% of all subjects had used snuff and 27.8% had chewed tobacco in the past week. Among females, over one half of all subjects had used snuff or chewing tobacco before age 10 years. Among males, nearly one half of the subjects first used smokeless tobacco prior to 8 years of age. Few subjects had used cigarettes or other smoked tobacco products.

Alaska↗
PubMed1986

Self-control skills for preventing smoking.

This study evaluated the effects of self-control skills intervention to prevent smoking with middle school subjects. Informed and consenting subjects were pretested, then by school were randomly divided into three conditions: experimental, placebo, and test-only control. Experimental condition subjects received self-control skills intervention covering self-instruction, self-reinforcement, problem solving, and interpersonal communication. Placebo condition subjects received a discussion-oriented intervention employing health education methods to prevent smoking. Results at 15-month follow-up indicated that self-control and placebo condition subjects, relative to control condition subjects, improved more on measures of health knowledge and nonsmoking intentions. Self-control skills subjects had better 15-month follow-up scores than subjects in the other two conditions on measures of communication, self-instruction, self-praise, cigarette refusals, and noncompliance to smoke. Self-control condition subjects reported less weekly cigarette smoking compared with placebo and control condition subjects at final follow-up.

Child↗