Biomedical subjects

William W Latimer

Publications and source records attributed to William W Latimer.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Adolescent substance use assessment: concordance between tools using self-administered and interview formats.

The present study evaluates the agreement between adolescent self-report of substance use frequencies obtained from a self-administered questionnaire vs. face-to-face interview formats. Participants were 108 adolescents (82 males, 26 females), aged 11 to 19 (M = 15.74, SD = 1.17), who were referred for a chemical dependence assessment between June of 1999 and June of 2000 in Minnesota. The adolescent battery included the self-administered Personal Experience Inventory and the face-to-face interviewer-administered Drug Use History Interview to assess substance use frequency. A urine sample was also collected to validate self-report of recent substance use. Bivariate correlations between adolescent self-report on the self-administered and interviewer-administered formats were strong for alcohol (average r = 0.72) and marijuana (average r = 0.81) use frequencies during the 3 months and 12 months preceding the baseline assessment. However, adolescents were generally more likely to report greater frequencies of alcohol and marijuana use during the interview-administered protocol when compared to the self-administered format. Study implications and limitations are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Substance use among school-based youths in Puerto Rico: differences between gender and grade levels.

The present study examined substance use rates among adolescents in Grades 7-12 in Puerto Rico. Nine hundred eighty-nine students completed the Spanish version of the International Survey of Adolescent Health. More than 50% of middle school youths and 75% of high-school youths reported lifetime alcohol use. Female gender was associated with tobacco use in middle school while male gender was associated with marijuana use in high school. High-school females reported lower rates of tobacco use and marijuana use than middle-school females. High-school males exhibited substantially higher drug-use rates than middle-school males for each substance. These findings may suggest that universal drug prevention interventions may be needed for females in Puerto Rico before they enter middle school, while targeted interventions aimed at high-risk females who continue to smoke tobacco or marijuana may be more effective during high school. In contrast, targeted drug prevention interventions for males probably need to begin in middle school and be maintained if not increased in intensity throughout the high-school years.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Measuring adolescent drug abuse and psychosocial factors in four ethnic groups of drug-abusing boys.

There is an absence of empirical work on the measurement of adolescent drug abuse among non-White ethnic youths. The field would benefit from psychometrically sound measures for ethnic groups. The psychometric properties of a multi-scale assessment tool for adolescent drug abuse, the Personal Experience Inventory (PEI), have been examined largely in White samples. The current study reports reliability and validity data for the PEI across four samples of boys (White, African American, Native American, and Hispanic). The results provide general psychometric support for the non-White groups. The use and limitations of the PEI in different ethnic/racial groups are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Screening for "substance abuse" among school-based youth in Mexico using the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument (POSIT) for Teenagers.

Indices of classification accuracy of the Substance Use/Abuse scale of a Spanish-language version of the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) were evaluated among school-based youth in Mexico. Participants were 1203 youth attending one middle school (N = 619) and one high school (N = 584) in the third largest city of Coahuila, a northern border state in Mexico in May 1998. More than 94% of youth enrolled in the participating middle school and 89% of youth enrolled in the participating high school completed the International Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Indices of classification accuracy of the POSIT Substance Use/Abuse scale were evaluated against a "drug abuse" problem severity criterion that combined youth meeting DSM-IV criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence disorders with youth having used other illicit drugs five or more times in their lifetime. The present study findings suggest that using a cut score of one or two on the POSIT Substance Use/Abuse scale generally yields optimal classification accuracy indices that vary somewhat by gender and school subgroups. Further, classification accuracy indices of the POSIT Substance Use/Abuse scale are slightly better when used among high school males due, in part, to the higher base rate of serious involvement among this group compared to others.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Integrated family and cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescent substance abusers: a stage I efficacy study.

This study evaluated the efficacy of Integrated Family and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (IFCBT), a multisystems treatment for adolescent drug abuse, versus a Drugs Harm Psychoeducation curriculum (DHPE). A randomized controlled trial assessed youth and parents at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6-month posttreatment points. Youth participants (N=43) met diagnostic criteria for one or more psychoactive substance use disorders with most youth meeting criteria for alcohol and marijuana use disorders. IFCBT produced significant reductions in posttreatment substance use when compared against DHPE. Throughout the 6-month posttreatment period, youth receiving IFCBT used alcohol an average of 2.03 days each month, which was significantly lower than the average number of 6.06 days that DHPE youth used alcohol during the same period. Similarly, youth receiving IFCBT used marijuana an average of 5.67 days each month during the initial 6 posttreatment months which was also significantly lower than the average number of 13.83 days that DHPE youth used marijuana each month during the same period. IFCBT also reduced rates of any marijuana use and produced significant changes in targeted psychosocial risk and protective factors. IFCBT youth exhibited significantly higher levels of rational problem solving and learning strategy skills, and significantly lower levels of problem avoidance when compared with DHPE youths. IFCBT parents exhibited significantly more adaptive scores on communication, involvement, control, and values/norms indices when compared with DHPE parents. No iatrogenic effects were exhibited among youth in either IFCBT or DHPE conditions on the outcome measures examined. The present study findings suggest that IFCBT is a promising approach for the treatment of adolescents with psychoactive substance use disorders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Measuring public opinion on alcohol policy: a factor analytic study of a US probability sample.

Public opinion has been one factor affecting change in policies designed to reduce underage alcohol use. Extant research, however, has been criticized for using single survey items of unknown reliability to define adult attitudes on alcohol policy issues. The present investigation addresses a critical gap in the literature by deriving scales on public attitudes, knowledge, and concerns pertinent to alcohol policies designed to reduce underage drinking using a US probability sample survey of 7021 adults. Five attitudinal scales were derived from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses addressing policies to: (1) regulate alcohol marketing, (2) regulate alcohol consumption in public places, (3) regulate alcohol distribution, (4) increase alcohol taxes, and (5) regulate youth access. The scales exhibited acceptable psychometric properties and were largely consistent with a rational framework which guided the survey construction.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Gender differences in psychiatric comorbidity among adolescents with substance use disorders.

The authors examined gender differences in rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders among adolescents with I or more psychoactive substance use disorders. Baseline diagnostic data were obtained from 135 adolescents, ages 12 to 19, and their parents-guardians, who participated in a study to develop and efficacy test Integrated Family and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder were higher among drug-abusing male adolescents compared with drug-abusing female adolescents. However, high rates of disruptive behavior disorders also characterized drug-abusing female adolescents. Similarly, drug-abusing female adolescents exhibited a higher rate of major depression compared with drug-abusing male adolescents. However, rates of dysthymia, double depression (i.e., major depression and dysthymia), and bipolar disorder were equivalent between genders.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Substance use among school-based youths in northern Mexico.

A small base of research suggests that adolescent substance use is a growing public health concern in Mexico. Employing confidential methods, the International Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health was administered to assess substance use among 1,238 students in northern Mexico. A large proportion of students indicated lifetime use of tobacco and alcohol. Gender differences in tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana were also evident. The current findings are congruent with the sparse extant data on youths' substance use in Mexico and highlight the need for early prevention interventions.

Adolescent↗