Biomedical subjects

Meg Gerrard

Publications and source records attributed to Meg Gerrard.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Ethnic pride and self-control related to protective and risk factors: test of the theoretical model for the strong African American families program.

OBJECTIVE: To test a theoretical model of how ethnic pride and self-control are related to risk and protective factors. DESIGN: A community sample of 670 African American youth (mean age = 11.2 years) were interviewed in households. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and sexual behavior (lifetime to past month). RESULTS: Structural modeling analyses indicated parenting was related to self-control and self-esteem, and racial socialization was related to ethnic pride. Self-control and self-esteem variables were related to levels of deviance-prone attitudes and to perceptions of engagers in, or abstainers from, substance use and sexual behavior. The proximal factors (behavioral willingness, resistance efficacy, and peer behavior) had substantial relations to the criterion variables. Participant gender and parental education also had several paths in the model. Results were generally similar for the 2 outcome behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: In this population, self-esteem and self-control are related to parenting approaches and have pathways to attitudes and social perceptions that are significant factors for predisposing to, or protecting against, early involvement in substance use and sexual behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

The Strong African American Families Program: a cluster-randomized prevention trial of long-term effects and a mediational model.

The Strong African American Families Program, a universal preventive intervention to deter alcohol use among rural African American adolescents, was evaluated in a cluster-randomized prevention trial. This 7-week family skills training program is based on a contextual model in which intervention effects on youth protective factors lead to changes in alcohol use. African American 11-year-olds and their primary caregivers from 9 rural communities (N = 332 families) were randomly selected for study participation. Communities were randomized to prevention and control conditions. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that fewer prevention than control adolescents initiated alcohol use; those who did evinced slower increases in use over time. Intervention-induced changes in youth protective factors mediated the effect of group assignment on long-term changes in use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

A theory-based dual-focus alcohol intervention for preadolescents: the Strong African American Families Program.

This study examined mediators of the Strong African American Families Program, a randomized, dual-focus prevention trial intended to delay the onset of alcohol use and reduce alcohol consumption among rural African American youths. More specifically, it demonstrated that changes in consumption 2 yrs after the intervention were mediated through 2 different paths, a social reaction path and a reasoned/intention path. The social reaction path provided evidence that relative to the control condition, the intervention decreased children's willingness to drink by making their images of drinkers less favorable. The reasoned/intention path provided evidence that the intervention influenced the children's intentions to drink by increasing targeted parenting behaviors related to alcohol. Furthermore, the data demonstrate that these changes in willingness and intentions were independently associated with alcohol consumption at the follow-up, and they suggest that a dual-process model approach that targets both intentions and willingness can be more successful than either approach alone.

Black or African American↗

PubMed2006

The strong African American families program: prevention of youths' high-risk behavior and a test of a model of change.

In this study, the efficacy of the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF) was tested. The trial, which included 332 families, indicated that families who participated in SAAF experienced increases over time in regulated, communicative parenting; increases in targeted parenting behaviors, according to youths' reports; and low rates of high-risk behavior initiation among youths. Changes in regulated, communicative parenting mediated the intervention's impact on youths' recognition of changes in parenting, which in turn was linked to changes in youths' high-risk behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Images of smokers and willingness to smoke among African American pre-adolescents: an application of the prototype/willingness model of adolescent health risk behavior to smoking initiation.

OBJECTIVE: This study used the prototype/willingness model of adolescent health risk behavior to examine factors related to onset of smoking. METHODS: Two waves of data were collected from a panel of 742 African American children (mean age=10.5 at Wave 1) and their primary caregivers. Measures included cognitions outlined by the prototype model as well as self-reports of smoking by the parent and child. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling revealed a pattern consistent with expectations generated by the prototype model. The relation between contextual, familial, and dispositional factors-including neighborhood risk, parental smoking, and children's academic orientation-and the initiation of smoking at Wave 2, two years later, was mediated by the children's cognitions. Primary among these cognitions were the children's images of smokers and children's willingness to smoke. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking cognitions mediate the impact of important distal factors (such as context, family environment, and disposition) on the onset of smoking in children. Perhaps more important, it is possible to predict onset of smoking in African American children as young as age 10 by assessing the cognitive factors suggested by the prototype model.

Achievement↗

PubMed2005

Effects of UV photographs, photoaging information, and use of sunless tanning lotion on sun protection behaviors.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the efficacy of UV photographs and information about photoaging (eg, wrinkles and age spots) for increasing the sun protection intentions and behaviors of young adults and to determine whether any effects of this appearance-based intervention could be enhanced by providing a non-UV alternative for achieving a tan (ie, sunless tanning lotion). DESIGN: Randomized control trial with 1-month follow-up. SETTING: Two universities in Southern California. PARTICIPANTS: A volunteer sample of 146 college students, 91.1% of whom completed the "surprise" 1-month follow-up. INTERVENTION: A UV facial photograph and a brief videotape describing the causes and consequences of photoaging. The study tested the effects of the photoaging information/UV photographic intervention only, the intervention plus use of sunless tanning lotion, and a control condition. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants sun protection intentions as assessed immediately after the intervention and sun protection behaviors during the month after the intervention as assessed during a surprise telephone follow-up. RESULTS: The intervention resulted in significantly stronger sun protection intentions (P<.001) and greater sun protection behaviors (P<.05) relative to controls. Furthermore, the group that also used sunless tanning lotion tended to engage in greater sun protection behaviors than the group that received the intervention alone (P<.08). CONCLUSION: The UV photographic intervention holds promise as a cost-effective approach to motivate practices that may ultimately result in health benefits (ie, reduced skin cancer rates).

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Using UV photography to reduce use of tanning booths: a test of cognitive mediation.

Two laboratory studies were conducted in which a new type of intervention was used to reduce ultraviolet radiation (UV) exposure from tanning booth use among college students (Time 1 Ns=70 and 134). The intervention uses UV photography to highlight the damage to facial skin caused by previous UV exposure. When the authors controlled for baseline measures of booth use, students in both studies who viewed their UV photographs reported less booth use at a follow-up session 3-4 weeks later than did students not shown a copy of their photograph. Also, in both studies, the decline in use was significantly mediated by a Tanning Cognition Index composed of variables suggested by the prototype-willingness (prototype) model of health risk: tanning attitudes, tanner prototypes, and willingness to engage in risky UV exposure.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Smoking cessation: social comparison level predicts success for adult smokers.

The affiliation preferences of 151 adult heavy smokers who joined smoking cessation groups were assessed at the 1st group session and were then used to predict their smoking status 6 and 12 months later. Those who preferred to be in groups with other smokers who were having relatively little trouble quitting were more likely to be successful than were those who preferred others who were having more difficulty quitting. This prospective effect was mediated by psychological distancing from the image of the typical smoker: Preference for others who were doing well was associated with a decrease in perceived similarity to the typical smoker, which, in turn, was associated with successful cessation. Implications of these findings for cessation groups and social comparison theory are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Families and risk: prospective analyses of familial and social influences on adolescent substance use.

Parental, peer, and older siblings' contributions to adolescents' substance use were investigated with 2 waves of panel data from 225 African American families. Structural equation modeling showed that older siblings' behavioral willingness (BW) to use substances at Time 1 (T1) predicted target adolescents' Time 2 (T2) use, controlling for other T1 variables. Regression analyses revealed an interaction between targets' and siblings' BW, such that targets were more likely to use at T2 if both they and their siblings reported BW at T1. This interaction was stronger for families living in high-risk neighborhoods. Finally, siblings' willingness buffered the impact of peer use on targets' later use: Low sibling BW was associated with less evidence of peer influence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Using images to increase exercise behavior: prototypes versus possible selves.

This study investigated the impact of health-related prototypes and possible selves on exercise behavior. In addition, this study examined if these effects might be moderated by individual differences-specifically social comparison (SC) and consideration of future consequences (CFC). One hundred and fifty-two students participated in all three waves of the study-premanipulation, manipulation, and follow-up. As expected, results indicated that individuals who were high on SC and exposed to a prototype manipulation increased their exercise behavior at follow-up. Furthermore, individuals who were future-oriented and exposed to a possible selves manipulation increased their exercise behavior at follow-up. Overall, results revealed that health images have an important impact on health behavior. Implications for behavior change are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Perceived discrimination and substance use in African American parents and their children: a panel study.

The relation between perceived racial discrimination and substance use was examined in a panel of 684 African American families, using the prototype-willingness model of adolescent health risk (F. X. Gibbons, M. Gerrard, & D. Lane, 2003). Discrimination was concurrently and prospectively related to use in the parents and the children (mean age=10.5 years at Wave 1). The discrimination-->use relation in the parents was mediated by distress (anxiety and depression). Among the children, the relation was mediated by distress as well as their risk cognitions (favorability of their risk images and their willingness to use) and the extent to which they reported affiliating with friends who were using substances. Each of these relations with discrimination was positive. In contrast, effective parenting was associated with less willingness and intention to use. Theoretical and applied implications of the results are discussed.

Black or African American↗

PubMed2004

Context and cognitions: environmental risk, social influence, and adolescent substance use.

This study examined the cognitions thought to mediate the impact of context on adolescent substance use and also the extent to which context moderates the relations between these cognitions and use. Risk cognitions and behaviors were assessed in a panel of 746 African American adolescents (M age 10.5 at Wave 1, 12.2 at Wave 2). Results indicated that adolescents living in high-risk neighborhoods were more inclined toward substance use and more likely to be using at Wave 2. These context effects were mediated by the adolescents' risk cognitions: their risk images, willingness to use, and intentions to use. Also, context moderated the relation between willingness and use (the relation was stronger in high-risk neighborhoods) but it did not moderate the intentions to use relation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Effects of appearance-based interventions on sun protection intentions and self-reported behaviors.

Two appearance-based interventions designed to increase sun protection intentions and behaviors were evaluated. Sixty-eight college students in Experiment 1 and 76 beachgoers in Experiment 2 were randomly assigned to receive or not receive a photoaging (premature wrinkling and age spots) information intervention and, separately, to receive or not receive a novel ultraviolet (UV) photo intervention that makes the negative-appearance consequences of UV exposure more salient. Both experiments indicated that the UV photo intervention significantly increased intentions to use sunscreen in the future. A follow-up conducted with the beach sample indicated that UV photo information also produced greater protective behaviors for incidental sun exposure and that the combination of UV photo and photoaging information resulted in substantially lower reported sunbathing.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Neighborhood disadvantage moderates associations of parenting and older sibling problem attitudes and behavior with conduct disorders in African American children.

Data from 296 sibling pairs (mean ages 10 and 13 years), their primary caregivers, and census records were used to test the hypothesis that African American children's likelihood of developing conduct problems associated with harsh parenting, a lack of nurturant-involved parenting, and exposure to an older sibling's deviance-prone attitudes and behavior would be amplified among families residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. A latent construct representing harsh-inconsistent parenting and low levels of nurturant-involved parenting was positively associated with younger siblings' conduct disorder symptoms, as were older siblings' problematic attitudes and behavior. These associations were strongest among families residing in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Future research and prevention programs should focus on the specific neighborhood processes associated with increased vulnerability for behavior problems.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Family communication and religiosity related to substance use and sexual behavior in early adolescence: a test for pathways through self-control and prototype perceptions.

This research tested predictions about pathways to substance use and sexual behavior with a community sample of 297 African American adolescents (M age: 13.0 years). Structural modeling indicated that parent-adolescent communication had a path to unfavorable prototypes of substance users; quality of parent-adolescent relationship had paths to good self-control, higher resistance efficacy, and unfavorable prototypes of sexually active teens; and religiosity had inverse direct effects to both substance use and sexual behavior. Self-control constructs had paths to prototypes of abstainers, whereas risk taking had paths to prototypes of drug and sex engagers and direct effects to outcomes. Prototypes had paths to outcomes primarily through resistance efficacy and peer affiliations. Effects were also found for gender, parental education, and temperament characteristics. Implications for self-control theory and prevention research are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Inhibitory effects of drinker and nondrinker prototypes on adolescent alcohol consumption.

This prospective study examined the relation between 308 adolescents' images of typical dinkers and nondrinkers and their subsequent alcohol consumption. The results indicate that both images are associated with changes in consumption between ages 16 and 18 but that they operate in different ways. Contrary to previous assumptions, drinker images do not represent goal states for adolescents in that they are more negative than their self-images and nondrinker images and are not correlated with their ideal selves. In contrast, nondrinker images do appear to represent goal states for adolescents who abstain from drinking. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Comparison-level preferences after performance: is downward comparison theory still useful?

Although often credited with prompting a paradigm shift in social comparison theory, T. A. Wills's (1981) downward comparison (DC) theory has received some criticism recently. In particular, several recent studies have failed to find support for T. A. Wills's (1981) contention that threat and accompanying negative affect lead to a desire for DC. These apparent failures have led some investigators to question basic principles of the theory. To resolve this controversy, 5 studies were conducted examining preferred comparison level (PCL) after performance; 4 of the studies also assessed change in this preference. Results supported DC theory, but with modifications. Specifically, individuals who performed poorly lowered their PCLs. Under some circumstances, this "downward shift" included an increased interest in "true" DC--comparing with worse-off others. A reconciliation of these results with those of previous studies is offered.

Achievement↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Strong African American Families Program: translating research into prevention programming.

A randomized prevention trial contrasted families who took part in the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF), a preventive intervention for rural African American mothers and their 11-year-olds, with control families. SAAF is based on a contextual model positing that regulated, communicative parenting causes changes in factors protecting youths from early alcohol use and sexual activity. Parenting variables included involvement-vigilance, racial socialization, communication about sex, and clear expectations for alcohol use. Youth protective factors included negative attitudes about early alcohol use and sexual activity, negative images of drinking youths, resistance efficacy, a goal-directed future orientation, and acceptance of parental influence. Intervention-induced changes in parenting mediated the effect of intervention group influences on changes in protective factors over a 7-month period.

Adult↗