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T N Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to T N Robinson.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Perspectives on adolescent substance use. A defined population study.

We asked 1447 tenth graders to complete a survey on physical activity, nutrition, stress, and substance use and to undergo basic physical assessments. In a multiple regression analysis, increased level of substance use by both boys and girls was most strongly predicted by friends' marijuana use. For boys, this was followed by perceived safety of cigarette smoking; poor school performance; parents' education; and use of diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics for weight control, accounting for 44% of the overall variation in substance use. For girls, friends' marijuana use was followed by poor school performance; self-induced vomiting for weight control; perceived safety of cigarette smoking; use of diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics for weight control; parents' education; perceived adult attitudes about cigarettes; and nonuse of seat belts, accounting for 53% of the overall variance. Separate multiple regression analyses for each substance produced similar results. The homogeneity of the study population precluded ethnic comparisons. These findings suggest that for many purposes substance use may be considered a single behavior regardless of the specific substance(s) used and that substance use may exist as part of a syndrome of adolescent problem behaviors. In addition, the potent influence of perceived social environment suggests that a social influence resistance model may represent the most successful preventive strategy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Depressive symptoms and substance use among adolescent binge eaters and purgers: a defined population study.

We surveyed 646 tenth grade females in Northern California to assess the prevalence of binge eating and purging behaviors. Of these, 10.3 per cent met study criteria for bulimia and an additional 10.4 per cent reported purging behaviors for weight control. Bulimics and purgers were heavier, had greater triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, and reported higher rates of drunkenness, marijuana use, cigarette use, and greater levels of depressive symptomatology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Self-induced vomiting and laxative and diuretic use among teenagers. Precursors of the binge-purge syndrome?

Bulimia (binge-purge syndrome) is a recently described but apparently common eating disorder. Purging behaviors associated with bulimia can cause serious medical complications. Prevalence data on purging behaviors are lacking for younger adolescents. A survey was conducted with 1,728 tenth-grade students to assess their attitudes about eating, dieting, weight control, and frequency of purging. Height, weight, and skin-fold thicknesses were also measured. Thirteen percent reported purging behavior. Female purgers outnumbered male purgers 2 to 1. Male purgers were significantly heavier than male nonpurgers and had significantly greater skin-fold thicknesses and weight/height2 ratios. Both male and female purgers felt guiltier after eating large amounts of food, counted calories more often, dieted more frequently, and exercised less than nonpurgers. Our findings suggest that an alarming number of young adolescents may employ unhealthy weight regulation strategies. Physicians who see adolescents should look for the presence of the attitudes and behaviors that characterize bulimia; this will enhance the likelihood of detection of the disorder and prevention of its complications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Correlates of seat-belt use by adolescents: implications for health promotion.

This study examined the psychosocial and behavioral correlates of seat-belt use among 1,728 10th-graders in four Northern California high schools. Parent and friend seat-belt use patterns were most highly correlated with student seat-belt use (r = 0.66 and r = 0.61, respectively) and together accounted for 46% of the variation in use. These relationships held across differences in sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Failure to wear seat belts was associated with a higher use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and cocaine; more tolerance toward speeding and drinking while driving; less exercise; and more preference for fat in the diet. Our findings attest to the power of parent and peer influences in shaping seat-belt use by adolescents and suggest that not wearing seat belts can be conceptualized as one facet of a pattern of general risk-taking behavior. These findings suggest several possible educational interventions to increase seat-belt use by adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Relationship of visual two-flash and absolute auditory perceptual sensitivity.

The relationship of two-flash and absolute auditory threshold measures was studied in a sample of 65 male college students. The two-flash threshold showed sensitivity essentially unrelated to absolute auditory sensitivity (r = .03). This result was contrasted with that reported by Hanback and Revelle who found a weak but significantly positive correlation for the sensitivity values for the two tasks.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Community health behavior change through computer network health promotion: preliminary findings from Stanford Health-Net.

Computer-based health education has been employed in many settings. However, data on resultant behavior change are lacking. A randomized, controlled, prospective study was performed to test the efficacy of Stanford Health-Net (Stanford, CA, U.S.A.) in changing community health behaviors. Graduate and undergraduate students (N = 1003) were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. The treatment group received access to Health-Net, a health promotion computer network emphasizing specific self-care and preventive strategies. Over a 4-month intervention period, 26% of the treatment group used Health-Net an average of 6.4 times each (range 1-97). The most commonly cited reasons for use were curiosity, general health education, evaluation of current symptoms and anonymity of information. Users rated Health-Net favorably. The most commonly reported reasons for non-use were related to lack of health problems, limited time and lack of access to computer facilities. The mean number of ambulatory medical visits decreased 22.5% more in the treatment group than in the control group (P less than 0.05), while hospitalizations did not differ significantly between groups. In addition, perceived self-efficacy for preventing the acquisition of a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and herpes increased 577% (P less than 0.05) and 261% (P less than 0.01) more, respectively, in the treatment group than in the control group. These findings suggest that access to Stanford Health-Net can result in significant health behavior change. The advantages of the network approach make it a potential model for other communities.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predicting onset of drinking in a community sample of adolescents: the role of expectancy and temperament.

We report results of a prospective examination of the influence of outcome expectancy variables and inherited temperaments on the onset of drinking over a 12-month period in a sample of 1,164 high school students. While univariate prospective analysis indicated that drinkers and nondrinkers were different both on measures of outcome expectancy and temperament, multivariate analysis supported, most strongly, a social learning account of the processes influencing the onset and maintenance of drinking behavior in this sample. The multivariate analysis revealed that only expectancies for enhanced social behavior were consistently associated with the onset of drinking from baseline to 12-month follow-up (p < .001). Among all nondrinkers at baseline, those entertaining higher expectancies about the positive effects of alcohol on social interaction were more likely to begin drinking between baseline and follow-up. At present, few, if any, alcohol abuse prevention studies with adolescents have explicitly attempted to alter alcohol expectancies or to establish a link between expectancy and behavior change. Our results suggest that it may be useful to do so.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cardiovascular disease risk reduction for tenth graders. A multiple-factor school-based approach.

All tenth graders in four senior high schools (N = 1447) from two school districts participated in a cardiovascular disease risk-reduction trial. Within each district, one school was assigned at random to receive a special 20-session risk-reduction intervention and one school served as a control. At a two-month follow-up, risk factor knowledge scores were significantly greater for students in the treatment group. Compared with controls, a higher proportion of those in the treatment group who were not exercising regularly at baseline reported regular exercise at follow-up. Almost twice as many baseline experimental smokers in the treatment group reported quitting at follow-up, while only 5.6% of baseline experimental smokers in the treatment group graduated to regular smoking compared with 10.3% in the control group. Students in the treatment group were more likely to report that they would choose "heart-healthy" snack items. Beneficial treatment effects were observed for resting heart rate, body mass index, triceps skin fold thickness, and subscapular skin fold thickness. The results suggest that it is feasible to provide cardiovascular disease risk-reduction training to a large segment of the population through school-based primary prevention approaches.

Adolescent↗