Biomedical subjects

Phyllis L Ellickson

Publications and source records attributed to Phyllis L Ellickson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

Cross-lagged relationships between substance use and intimate partner violence among a sample of young adult women.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration among a sample of young adult women. METHOD: A sample of 509 women who participated in Waves 8 (age 23) and 9 (age 29) of a multiyear panel study and who indicated they were living with a partner or spouse at both time points provided the data for this investigation. Path analysis was used to examine the cross-lagged relationships between women's substance use and IPV victimization and perpetration over the two waves of data. RESULTS: Although strong within- and across-time associations between substance use and IPV victimization and perpetration were found at the bivariate level, substance use did not predict women's subsequent IPV victimization or perpetration in the cross-lagged model. Instead, victims of IPV at age 23 were found to be at an increased risk for later heavy drinking. Perpetrators of IPV at age 23 were less likely than nonperpetrators to report heavy drinking at age 29. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that substance use does not increase women's long-term risk of experiencing or perpetrating IPV but that victimization by IPV puts women at risk for subsequent heavy drinking.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Effects of early and later marriage on women's alcohol use in young adulthood: a prospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research shows that marriage leads to reductions in alcohol use, especially for women. Because marriage prior to age 20 (early marriage) is a marker for deviance, the protective effects of marriage may not extend to those who marry in adolescence. We compared the effects of marriage in adolescence versus young adulthood on alcohol consumption, negative alcohol-related consequences and heavy episodic drinking at age 29. METHOD: We analyzed data from 1,138 women in a longitudinal cohort followed from ages 18 to 29. The original sample was recruited from 30 California and Oregon middle schools and first surveyed at age 13. RESULTS: Women who had not married, had married early or had married between ages 20 and 29 did not differ on alcohol use at age 18. Women who married as young adults were less likely than singles to engage in any alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking or experience negative consequences and reported less alcohol use at age 29. Women who married in adolescence reported fewer negative consequences at age 29 than did singles and (if they had not divorced) were less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking or experience any negative consequences, reported fewer consequences and consumed less alcohol. The protective effects of marriage in young adulthood were observed whether or not women divorced. Parenthood and college attendance before age 23 did not explain the marriage effect. CONCLUSIONS: Results support role theory, which posits that individuals who marry are socialized into conventional adult roles that discourage deviant behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Processes linking adolescent problems to substance-use problems in late young adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: The current study explores three avenues in early young adulthood through which adolescent problems may be linked to later substance use problems: problematic substance use, failure to assume adult roles and responsibilities, and exposure to pro-drug social influences. METHOD: Participants (N = 1,986; 49% female) filled out surveys at ages 18, 23 and 29. Participants were 67% white, 9% black, 10% Hispanic and 8% Asian. Deviance, poor mental health, substance use, alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems, and school dropout were measured at age 18. AOD problems were also measured at age 23, as were role changes (e.g., marriage) and pro-drug social influences (e.g., friends use drugs). Indicators of substance abuse and dependence were measured at age 29. Demographics and family history of AOD were covariates. RESULTS: Reporting more deviant behavior and heavier drinking at age 18 was associated with a higher likelihood of abuse and dependence at age 29. Alcohol use and pro-drug social influences at age 23 appeared to mediate the effects of adolescent substance use; lack of role assumption did not. The effect of poor mental health at age 18 was not mediated by any set of variables but instead appeared to directly predict dependence at age 29. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of early young adult drinking and substance-using peers in continuing patterns of heavy substance use developed during adolescence and also underscore the long-term impact of poor mental health during adolescence on substance use problems in late young adulthood.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Antecedents and outcomes of marijuana use initiation during adolescence.

BACKGROUND: This study identified similarities and differences in risk factors for marijuana use initiation from grades 7 to 8, grades 8 to 9, and grades 9 to 10, and examined differences between earlier initiates, later initiates, and nonusers on various problem behaviors at grade 10. METHOD: Longitudinal data were used to examine predictors and outcomes associated with marijuana initiation from grade 7 (N = 1,955) to grade 10 (N = 909). Participants completed yearly surveys to assess problem behaviors, social influences, and marijuana-related attitudes and behavior. RESULTS: Earlier initiates were more likely than later initiates to exhibit problem-related marijuana use, hard drug use, polydrug use, poor grades, and low academic intentions at grade 10. Across ages, initiation was predicted by smoking, frequency of marijuana offers, and poor grades. Results provided some evidence for a shift from familial to peer influence on marijuana initiation with increasing age. Marijuana-related beliefs were relatively weak predictors of initiation at all ages after controlling for pro-marijuana social influences and engagement in other types of substance use and delinquent behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the importance of early intervention and identify a wide range of potentially modifiable risk factors that may be targeted.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Developmental trajectories of cigarette smoking and their correlates from early adolescence to young adulthood.

Smoking initiation typically occurs in adolescence and increases over time into emerging adulthood. Thus adolescence and emerging adulthood compose a critical time period for prevention and intervention efforts. To inform these efforts, this study used latent growth mixture modeling to identify 6 smoking trajectories from ages 13 to 23 among 5,914 individuals: nonsmokers (28%), stable highs (6%), early increasers (10%), late increasers (10%), decreasers (6%), and triers (40%). By age 23, the trajectories merged into 2 distinct groups of low- and high-frequency and their standing on age 23 outcomes reflected this grouping. Consideration of these results can help researchers identify at-risk individuals before their smoking becomes too problematic, providing an opportunity for intervention and possible prevention of nicotine dependence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Marijuana use from adolescence to young adulthood: multiple developmental trajectories and their associated outcomes.

This study used latent growth mixture modeling to identify discrete developmental patterns of marijuana use from early adolescence (age 13) to young adulthood (age 23) among a sample of 5,833 individuals. After the a priori removal of abstainers, 4 trajectory groups were identified: early high users, who decreased from a relatively high level of use at age 13 to a more moderate level: stable light users, who maintained a low level of use: steady increasers, who consistently increased use; and occasional light users, who began use at age 14 and used at low levels thereafter. Analyses of covariance comparing the trajectory groups on behavioral, socioeconomic, and health outcomes at age 29 revealed that abstainers consistently had the most favorable outcomes, whereas early high users consistently had the least favorable outcomes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Integrating four theories of adolescent smoking.

The ability of the Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Learning Theory, Social Attachment Theory, and Problem Behavior Theory to predict smoking at Grade 10 was tested against an integrated model incorporating predictors from all the theories. The integrated model also tested whether constructs from each theory contribute distinct variance to the prediction of smoking. Predictors measured at Grade 7 (in 1985) were used to model smoking 3 years later (in 1988) among 4186 youth, using logistic regression. Constructs emphasized by each theory were important, independent predictors of later smoking. The integrated model was superior to all of the theory-based models. A few predictors varied for current vs. frequent smoking outcomes. Results emphasize the need for a multifaceted approach to understanding and preventing adolescent smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Modifying pro-drug risk factors in adolescents: results from project ALERT.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a revised state-of-the-art drug prevention program, Project ALERT, on risk factors for drug use in mostly rural midwestern schools and communities. Fifty-five middle schools from South Dakota were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment-group students received 11 lessons in Grade 7 and 3 more in Grade 8. Effects for 4276 eighth graders were assessed 18 months after baseline. Results indicate that Project ALERT had statistically significant effects on all the targeted risk factors associated with cigarette and marijuana use and more modest gains with the pro-alcohol risk factors. The program helped adolescents at low, moderate, and high risk for future use, with the effect sizes typically stronger for the low- and moderate-risk groups. Thus, school-based drug prevention programs can lower risk factors that correlate with drug use, help low- to high-risk adolescents, and be effective in diverse school environments.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Substance use and vulnerability to sexual and physical aggression: a longitudinal study of young adults.

Using data from 2,170 individuals who participated in Waves 8 (age 23) and 9 (age 29) of a multiyear panel study, this study examined whether alcohol and marijuana use in young adulthood increase one's risk for experiencing subsequent sexual or physical assault victimization, whether victims' own violent behavior or involvement in the sale of drugs explain any effects of substance use on victimization, and whether these associations differ by gender. Controlling for prior victimization, we found that marijuana use, but not alcohol use, predicted women's and men's subsequent sexual victimization and men's subsequent physical assault victimization, and that heavy alcohol use, but not marijuana use, predicted women's subsequent physical assault victimization. Whereas the links from marijuana use to victimization were explained by users' own violent behavior, the link from alcohol use to women's physical assault victimization was not.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

From adolescence to young adulthood: racial/ethnic disparities in smoking.

OBJECTIVES: We used data gathered from 6259 youths between the ages of 13 and 23 years to compare trends in smoking among 4 racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: We weighted trend data to represent baseline respondent characteristics and evaluated these data with linear contrasts derived from multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: Although African Americans exhibited higher initiation rates than Whites, they exhibited consistently lower rates of regular smoking than both Whites and Hispanics. This seeming anomaly was explained by African Americans' lower rates of transition to regular smoking and greater tendency to quit. Racial/ethnic disparities were accounted for by differences in pro-smoking influences. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing racial/ethnic disparities in smoking may require reducing differences in the psychosocial factors that encourage smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Explaining racial/ethnic differences in smoking during the transition to adulthood.

Using data from a longitudinal panel of nearly 3000 adolescents to predict current smoking among young adults, we test whether adding variables that tap prior social bonds and influences to the model eliminates race/ethnicity as a significant predictor of current smoking. At age 23, African Americans and Asians exhibited substantially lower rates of current smoking than Whites and Hispanics. Controlling for social influences during high school, particularly exposure to siblings and friends who smoked plus parental disapproval of smoking, accounted for these differences. Social bonding variables, in contrast, had a limited mediating effect. Interventions aimed at decreasing adolescent vulnerability to prosmoking influences, reducing overall levels of peer cigarette use, and helping parents better convey their disapproval of smoking should help curb young adult smoking and diminish racial/ethnic differences in tobacco use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Predictors of the transition to regular smoking during adolescence and young adulthood.

PURPOSE: To identify predictors of the transition from experimentation to regular smoking in middle adolescence, late adolescence, and young adulthood. METHODS: California and Oregon students completed self-report surveys assessing the following potential predictors of the transition to regular smoking from grades 8 to 10 (n = 2,496), grades 10 to 12 (n = 2,149), and grade 12 to age 23 years (n = 1,534): demographic characteristics; smoking-related attitudes, behaviors and environment; other problem behaviors; academic orientation; parental bonding; and mental health. Huberized regression techniques, which adjust for weighting and clustering of observations, were used to determine the independent associations of the predictor variables on subsequent smoking status. RESULTS: Risk factors for the transition to regular smoking during middle adolescence included being white, prosmoking attitudes, friend smoking, weak academic orientation, and less parental support. During late adolescence, being African-American was protective, whereas risk factors included prosmoking attitudes, drinking, non-intact nuclear family, and less parental support. Risk factors in young adulthood included younger age and prosmoking attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Results point to several smoking-related attitudes, social influences, and behaviors that prevention efforts may target to curb the escalation of smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Patterns and correlates of binge drinking trajectories from early adolescence to young adulthood.

Latent growth mixture modeling was used to identify developmental trajectories (described in terms of demographics, exposure and resistance to a pro-drug environment, and deviant behavior) of binge drinking among 5,694 individuals who completed 6 surveys from ages 13 to 23 years: nonbingers (32%); moderate stables (37%), who had consistently low levels of bingeing; steady increasers (16%), who increased from the lowest to highest level of bingeing; adolescent bingers (9%), whose early rise in bingeing was followed by a decrease to a moderate level; and early highs (6%), who decreased from the highest level of bingeing to a moderate level. Results show considerable diversity in binge drinking patterns and the correlates of bingeing across trajectory classes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Predictors of beer advertising awareness among eighth graders.

AIMS: To identify correlates of beer advertising awareness among adolescents at an age when most initiate use of alcohol. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of an in-school survey about alcohol advertising. Structural equation modeling was used to test for independent predictors of a latent beer advertising awareness construct, separately among boys and girls. SETTING: Twenty middle schools in South Dakota, USA participated during their spring semester. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1530 eighth graders. MEASUREMENTS: A latent advertisement awareness variable was derived based on recognition of six masked beer advertisements, knowledge of beer brands and knowledge of beer slogans. Tested predictors included measures of exposure to alcohol advertising in various venues, social norms regarding drinking, drinking beliefs and behavior and gender. FINDINGS: Adolescents with greater exposure to advertisements in magazines, at sporting and music events and on television were more advertisement aware than those with less exposure, as were teens who watch more TV, pay attention to beer advertisements and know adults who drink. Beer advertisement awareness was dramatically higher among boys, and was associated with drinking only among boys. CONCLUSIONS: Each of a variety of advertising venues appears to influence independently the extent to which beer advertising is incorporated into an adolescent's cognitive world. Boys are more likely to be aware of and remember beer marketing, and may be more likely to drink as a result of this awareness than girls.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Ten-year prospective study of public health problems associated with early drinking.

OBJECTIVE: To compare early nondrinkers, experimenters, and drinkers on the prevalence of problem behaviors at grades 7 and 12 and at age 23 (N = 6338, 4265, and 3369, respectively). METHODS: Results are based on longitudinal self-report data from individuals who were originally recruited from 30 California and Oregon schools at grade 7 (1985) and assessed again at grade 12 (1990) and at age 23 (1995). Logistic regression was used to develop weighted estimates of the prevalence of academic difficulties, employment problems, substance use, and delinquent and violent behaviors within the 3 drinking status groups at grades 7, 12, and/or at age 23. Huber variance estimates, which adjust for weighting and clustering of observations, were used to assess the statistical significance of differences across groups. RESULTS: Early drinkers and experimenters were more likely than nondrinkers to report academic problems, substance use, and delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school. By young adulthood, early alcohol use was associated with employment problems, other substance abuse, and criminal and violent behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Early drinkers do not necessarily mature out of a problematic lifestyle as young adults. Interventions for these high-risk youth should start early and address their other public health problems, particularly their tendency to smoke and use other illicit drugs.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

New inroads in preventing adolescent drug use: results from a large-scale trial of project ALERT in middle schools.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the revised Project ALERT drug prevention program across a wide variety of Midwestern schools and communities. METHODS: Fifty-five South Dakota middle schools were randomly assigned to program or control conditions. Treatment group students received 11 lessons in 7th grade and 3 more in 8th grade. Program effects for 4276 8th-graders were assessed 18 months after baseline. RESULTS: The revised Project ALERT curriculum curbed cigarette and marijuana use initiation, current and regular cigarette use, and alcohol misuse. Reductions ranged from 19% to 39%. Program effects were not significant for initial and current drinking or for current and regular marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS: School-based drug prevention programs can prevent occasional and more serious drug use, help low- to high-risk adolescents, and be effective in diverse school environments.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Social context and adolescent health behavior: does school-level smoking prevalence affect students' subsequent smoking behavior?

This paper examines the links between individual adolescent smoking behavior and actual and perceived smoking behavior in the individual's school cohort. We hypothesized that students enrolled in schools with higher smoking prevalence among students in their grade are more likely to smoke subsequently. We also expected perceived school-level prevalence of smoking to have a greater impact than actual prevalence because the former is a more direct measure of perceived norms. Adjusting for demographics, actual school-level prevalence at baseline (grade 7) was strongly associated with smoking frequency one year later. However, the association disappeared after adjusting for individual smoking frequency at baseline. School-level prevalence did not moderate the association between individual's baseline and subsequent smoking frequency. Perceived prevalence of smoking among grade 8 students and two measures tapping the behavior of smaller peer groups--cigarette offers and exposure to friends and other peers who smoke--were associated with increased risk of smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Smoking cessation during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood.

The psychosocial and behavioral determinants of smoking cessation from late adolescence to early adulthood were investigated in a sample of 711 individuals followed from 1990 (grade 12) to 1995. Analyses stratified by sex indicated that female smokers were more likely to quit 5 years later if they had fewer friends who smoked, less parental approval of their smoking, weaker intentions to continue smoking, higher smoking resistance self-efficacy and better grades at grade 12. Several of these associations could be accounted for by smoking quantity. Similar analyses for male smokers indicated that those who eventually quit were more likely to have fewer cigarette offers, weaker intentions to smoke, better grades and an intact nuclear family at grade 12. The associations for males could not be explained by smoking quantity. Interaction analyses showed few significant sex differences in the predictors of smoking cessation. Results suggest that cessation programs should continue to target parental and peer influences, as well as skills at resisting social influences to smoke, through late adolescence, but do not indicate that such programs need to be adapted to the special needs of male and female smokers.

Adolescent↗