High School Follow-Up of the Dating Matters® RCT: Effects on Teen Dating Violence and Relationship Behaviors.

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem that can have lifelong consequences. Using a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), this study examines whether the Dating Matters comprehensive prevention model, implemented in middle school, prevented TDV and negative relationship behaviors and promoted positive relationship behaviors in high school (9th-11th grades), when compared with a standard of care intervention. Dating Matters includes programs for sixth to eighth grade youth and their parents, training for school staff, a youth communications program, and policy and data activities implemented in the community. Self-report survey data were collected from students in 46 middle schools that were randomly assigned to condition within site. Students completed two surveys (fall and spring) in each middle school grade and a single survey in the spring of each high school grade. This study examined self-reported TDV perpetration and victimization, use of negative conflict resolution strategies, and positive relationship skills in the high school follow-up. While varying patterns emerged, latent panel models demonstrated significant program effects for all outcomes. Dating Matters students reported 19% reduced risk for TDV perpetration, 24% reduced risk for TDV victimization, 7% reduced risk for use of negative conflict strategies, and 3% more use of positive relationship skills, on average across time and cohort, than standard of care students. On average, Dating Matters, implemented in middle school, continued to be more effective at reducing TDV perpetration, TDV victimization, and use of negative conflict resolution strategies in high school than an evidence-based comparison program.Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01672541.

Prevalence of Violence Victimization and Perpetration During Middle and High School in Underresourced, Urban Communities.

This study describes rates of violence victimization, perpetration, and witnessing in 6th-11th grade for a multisite sample (N = 3,466) of predominantly Black and Hispanic middle- and high-school students from urban areas with high rates of crime and economic disadvantage. Students completed surveys in middle and high school assessing teen dating violence, stalking, sexual violence and harassment, bullying, cyberbullying, and physical violence perpetration and victimization, as well as witnessing violence. The highest prevalence rates are observed most often in 8th or 9th grade. Youth reported high rates of witnessing serious assault and severe community violence throughout adolescence. These findings suggest that efforts to prevent violence among youth living in under-resourced communities need to start early and address community-level socioeconomic disparities.

Assessment of medical practitioners' knowledge about paediatric oral diagnosis and gaze patterns using eye tracking technology.

BACKGROUND: Most studies regarding the oral health knowledge of medical practitioners are based on surveys. AIM: To assess medical practitioners' knowledge in diagnosing and managing children oral health issues using eye tracking technology. DESIGN: Forty-one medical practitioners completed a cross-sectional survey questionnaire and subsequently viewed 5 clinical images of children's oral cavities to indicate the issues observed and their management. Tobii eye tracking device captured each participant's visual search behaviours and mean length of fixation (LOF) for each area of interest (AOI). Participant self-reported confidence in examining the oral cavity, and qualification level was recorded for data analysis. RESULTS: No correlation between time spent viewing the soft tissues and self-reported confidence examining the oral cavity was observed (P = .25). Self-reported confidence in examining the oral cavity was not associated with a correct diagnosis. LOF on the decayed teeth was significantly associated with a correct diagnosis of 'caries' (P < .05), and paediatric training was associated with a correct diagnosis of dental caries (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Medical practitioners' diagnosis and management were poorly correlated with their objective visual search behaviours of the intraoral images. Self-reported confidence in examining and managing oral issues was not correlated with a correct diagnosis, with the majority not confident of examining children oral cavity.

The effect of neighborhood density on children's word learning in noise.

Many studies have addressed the effect of neighborhood density (phonological similarity among words) on word learning in quiet listening conditions. We explored how noise influences the effect of neighborhood density on children's word learning. One-hundred-and-two preschoolers learned nonwords varied in neighborhood density in one of four listening conditions: quiet, +15 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), +6 dB SNR, and 0 dB SNR. Results showed that a high-density advantage for children under quiet listening condition was significantly reduced as noise increased. This finding implies an adverse impact of noise on long-term outcomes of word learning.

Developmental Change and Time-Specific Variation in Global and Specific Aspects of Self-Concept in Adolescence and Association with Depressive Symptoms.

Previous research has demonstrated that adolescents make differential self-evaluations in multiple domains that include physical appearance, academic competence, and peer acceptance. We report growth curve analyses over a seven year period from age 9 to age 16 on the six domains of the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children. In general, we find little change in self-concept, on average, but do find substantial individual differences in level, rate of change, and time-specific variation in these self- evaluations. The results suggest that sex differences and adoptive status were related to only certain aspects of the participants' self-concept. Depressive symptoms were found to have significant effects on individual differences in rate of change and on time-specific variation in general self-concept, as well as on some of the specific domains of self-concept.

Tracking reading: dual task costs of oral reading for young versus older adults.

A digital pursuit rotor was used to monitor oral reading costs by time-locking tracking performance to the auditory wave form produced as young and older adults were reading out short paragraphs. Multilevel modeling was used to determine how paragraph-level predictors of length, grammatical complexity, and readability and person-level predictors such as speaker age or working memory capacity predicted reading and tracking performance. In addition, sentence-by-sentence variation in tracking performance was examined during the production of individual sentences and during the pauses before upcoming sentences. The results suggest that dual tasking has a greater impact on older adults' reading comprehension and tracking performance. At the level of individual sentences, young and older adults adopt different strategies to deal with grammatically complex and propositionally dense sentences.

Education does not slow cognitive decline with aging: 12-year evidence from the victoria longitudinal study.

Although the relationship between education and cognitive status is well-known, evidence regarding whether education moderates the trajectory of cognitive change in late life is conflicting. Early studies suggested that higher levels of education attenuate cognitive decline. More recent studies using improved longitudinal methods have not found that education moderates decline. Fewer studies have explored whether education exerts different effects on longitudinal changes within different cognitive domains. In the present study, we analyzed data from 1014 participants in the Victoria Longitudinal Study to examine the effects of education on composite scores reflecting verbal processing speed, working memory, verbal fluency, and verbal episodic memory. Using linear growth models adjusted for age at enrollment (range, 54-95 years) and gender, we found that years of education (range, 6-20 years) was strongly related to cognitive level in all domains, particularly verbal fluency. However, education was not related to rates of change over time for any cognitive domain. Results were similar in individuals older or younger than 70 at baseline, and when education was dichotomized to reflect high or low attainment. In this large longitudinal cohort, education was related to cognitive performance but unrelated to cognitive decline, supporting the hypothesis of passive cognitive reserve with aging.

Relation of intimate partner violence to salivary cortisol among couples expecting a first child.

Despite advances in understanding the role that several physiological systems play in the occurrence of general violence, little progress has been made toward understanding biological correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV). We explored involvement of one physiological system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Among 137 heterosexual couples expecting a first child, baseline level of HPA activity-assessed via salivary cortisol collected before a couple conflict discussion-was linked to both men's and women's violence perpetration. HPA reactivity to the conflict bout did not show an independent association with IPV. However, persisting elevation in men's, and down-regulation in women's, HPA activity during a further recovery period was linked to men's violence perpetration.

Bar and restaurant workers' attitudes towards Norway's comprehensive smoking ban: a growth curve analysis.

BACKGROUND: Norway passed legislation banning smoking in restaurants, bars and other public spaces in 2004. This study tracks changes in hospitality workers' attitudes towards Norway's ban over three time points, using growth modelling analysis to examine predictors of attitude change. METHODS: Participants were a national sample of 1525 bar and restaurant workers. Surveys were conducted, by phone or internet, one month before the ban's implementation and at 4 and 12 months thereafter. Exploratory principal components analysis of nine survey items revealed one primary attitude component. A latent growth model was fitted to the data to examine trajectories of attitude change and individual differences in rate of change. RESULTS: Respondents supported the ban before implementation and increased support at 4 months (p=0.021) and again at 12 months (p=0.001). Concern for one's job followed a quadratic trend, increasing at 4 months and decreasing at 12 months (p<0.001). All demographic categories were associated with attitude increase; rate of increase was greater for females than males. Two within-person variables--change in smoking status and change in job concern--strongly predicted (p<0.001) respondents' deviations from their predicted group trajectories, explaining over 70% of residual between-person slope variance. CONCLUSIONS: Norway's hospitality workers increased their support of the ban over its first year. The strong influence of the within-person variables leads to two primary policy recommendations. First, support should be provided to assist cessation efforts and prevent relapse. Second, informational campaigns should inform hospitality workers about evidence that smoking bans are not economic threats to the industry.

Effects of the Communities That Care model in Pennsylvania on change in adolescent risk and problem behaviors.

Despite the public health burden of adolescent substance use, delinquency, and other problem behavior, few comprehensive models of disseminating evidence-based prevention programs to communities have demonstrated positive youth outcomes at a population level, capacity to maintain program fidelity, and sustainability. We examined whether the Communities That Care (CTC; Hawkins and Catalano 1992) model had a positive impact on risk/protective factors and academic and behavioral outcomes among adolescents in a quasi-experimental effectiveness study. We conducted a longitudinal study of CTC in Pennsylvania utilizing biannual surveillance data collected through anonymous in-school student surveys. We utilized multilevel models to examine CTC impact on change in risk/protective factors, grades, delinquency, and substance use over time. Youth in CTC communities demonstrated less growth in delinquency, but not substance use, than youth in non-CTC communities. Levels of risk factors increased more slowly, and protective factors and academic performance decreased more slowly, among CTC community grade-cohorts that were exposed to evidence-based, universal prevention programs than comparison grade cohorts. Community coalitions can affect adolescent risk and protective behaviors at a population level when evidence-based programs are utilized. CTC represents an effective model for disseminating such programs.

Classification models for early identification of persons at risk for dementia in primary care: an evaluation in a sample aged 80 years and older.

AIM: To evaluate previously developed classification models to make implementation in primary care possible and aid early identification of persons at risk for dementia. METHODS: Data were drawn from the OCTO-Twin study. At baseline, 521 persons >or= 80 years of age were nondemented, and for 387 a blood sample was available. Predictors of dementia were collected and analyzed in initially nondemented persons using generalized estimating equations and Cox survival analyses. RESULTS: In the basic model using predictors already known or easily obtained (basic set), the mean 2-year predictive value increased from 6.9 to 28.8% in persons with memory complaints and an MMSE score

Predictors and level of sustainability of community prevention coalitions.

BACKGROUND: After many years in which evaluations had generally not found the coalition approach to be effective, the community-coalition approach has recently been shown to produce a public health impact if best practices are utilized. The next challenge is to foster sustainability among coalitions in order to achieve long-term public health outcomes. This study examined the level of and predictors of sustainability among Communities That Care (CTC) sites in Pennsylvania. METHODS: Board functioning and the funding of 110 CTC sites were assessed through the reports of board members, staff, and technical-assistance providers from 2003 through 2006; data were analyzed in 2007. RESULTS: Ninety percent of CTC coalitions continued after the 3-year initial funding period, with 3%-8% of sites terminating each year thereafter. Approximately two thirds of CTC sites continued to operate 4 years after the termination of the original 3-year implementation grant. Many of the sites attracted funding at a level equivalent to or greater than the initial grant. Overall coalition functioning, as reported by either board members or technical-assistance providers, along with planning for sustainability, predicted both survival and post-launch funding. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that board functioning predicts survival, at least in part independently of its influence on funding; and that planning for sustainability predicts sustainability, at least in part independently of overall coalition functioning.

Factor structure of the developmental behavior checklist using confirmatory factor analysis of polytomous items.

The Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC; Einfeld and Tonge, 1995) is a 95 item clinical screening checklist designed to assess the extent of behavioral and emotional disturbance in populations with intellectual deficit (ID). The DBC provides five principal-component derived subscales covering clinically relevant dimensions of psychopathology (i.e., Disruptive, Self-Absorbed, Communication Disturbance, Anxiety, and Social Relating). Validating these subscales for individual differences research requires examinations of the stability of this structure. This study begins a program of psychometric study of the DBC, by utilizing item level data to investigate the DBC's subscale structure in regard to simple-structure restrictions, as well as the implications of factorially complex items for inter-subscale correlations. To accomplish these goals a polytomous confirmatory factor analysis (PCFA) of the DBC was performed, and the pattern of loadings and inter-factor correlations was examined with and without simple-structure restrictions. Our findings provide evidence that the two largest subscales (Disruptive/Antisocial, Self Absorbed) are well behaved in PCFA models and should exhibit little bias under unit-weighted scoring procedures, or in latent factor models. Findings for the three smaller subscales (Communication Disturbance, Social Relating, and Anxiety) do not invalidate their use in individual differences research, but do highlight several issues that should be considered by individual differences researchers.

Psychopathology in young people with intellectual disability.

CONTEXT: Comorbid severe mental health problems complicating intellectual disability are a common and costly public health problem. Although these problems are known to begin in early childhood, little is known of how they evolve over time or whether they continue into adulthood. OBJECTIVE: To study the course of psychopathology in a representative population of children and adolescents with intellectual disability. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The participants of the Australian Child to Adult Development Study, an epidemiological cohort of 578 children and adolescents recruited in 1991 from health, education, and family agencies that provided services to children with intellectual disability aged 5 to 19.5 years in 6 rural and urban census regions in Australia, were followed up for 14 years with 4 time waves of data collection. Data were obtained from 507 participants, with 84% of wave 1 (1991-1992) participants being followed up at wave 4 (2002-2003). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC), a validated measure of psychopathology in young people with intellectual disability, completed by parents or other caregivers. Changes over time in the Total Behaviour Problem Score and 5 subscale scores of the DBC scores were modeled using growth curve analysis. RESULTS: High initial levels of behavioral and emotional disturbance decreased only slowly over time, remaining high into young adulthood, declining by 1.05 per year on the DBC Total Behaviour Problem Score. Overall severity of psychopathology was similar across mild to severe ranges of intellectual disability (with mean Total Behaviour Problem Scores of approximately 44). Psychopathology decreased more in boys than girls over time (boys starting with scores 2.61 points higher at baseline and ending with scores 2.57 points lower at wave 4), and more so in participants with mild intellectual disability compared with those with severe or profound intellectual disability who diverged from having scores 0.53 points lower at study commencement increasing to a difference of 6.98 points below severely affected children by wave 4. This trend was observed in each of the subscales, except the social-relating disturbance subscale, which increased over time. Prevalence of participants meeting criteria for major psychopathology or definite psychiatric disorder decreased from 41% at wave 1 to 31% at wave 4. Few of the participants (10%) with psychopathology received mental health interventions during the study period. CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence that the problem of psychopathology comorbid with intellectual disability is both substantial and persistent and suggest the need for effective mental health interventions.

Effects of verb familiarity on finiteness marking in children with specific language impairment.

PURPOSE: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have known deficits in the verb lexicon and finiteness marking. This study investigated a potential relationship between these 2 variables in children with SLI and 2 control groups considering predictions from 2 different theoretical perspectives, morphosyntactic versus morphophonological. METHOD: Children with SLI, age-equivalent, and language-equivalent (LE) control children (n=59) completed an experimental sentence imitation task that generated estimates of children's finiteness accuracy under 2 levels of verb familiarity--familiar real verbs versus unfamiliar real verbs--in clausal sites marked for finiteness. Imitations were coded and analyzed for overall accuracy as well as finiteness marking and verb root imitation accuracy. RESULTS: Statistical comparisons revealed that children with SLI did not differ from LE children and were less accurate than age-equivalent children on all dependent variables: overall imitation, finiteness marking imitation, and verb root imitation accuracy. A significant Group×Condition interaction for finiteness marking revealed lower levels of accuracy on unfamiliar verbs for the SLI and LE groups only. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate a relationship between verb familiarity and finiteness marking in children with SLI and younger controls and help clarify the roles of morphosyntax, verb lexicon, and morphophonology.

Early identification of reading disabilities within an RTI framework.

Early and accurate identification of children at risk for reading disabilities (RD) is critical for the prevention of RD within a response to intervention framework. In this study, we investigated the use of universal screening and progress monitoring for the early identification of RD in kindergarten children. A total of 366 children were administered a battery of screening measures at the beginning of kindergarten and progress-monitoring probes across the school year. A subset of children who showed initial risk for RD also received a 26-week Tier 2 intervention. Participants' achievement in word reading accuracy and/or fluency was assessed at the end of first grade. Results indicated that a screening battery containing measures of letter naming fluency, phonological awareness, rapid naming, or nonword repetition accurately identified good and poor readers at the end of first grade. Findings also showed that children's response to supplemental and/or classroom instruction measured in terms of growth in letter naming fluency added significantly to the prediction of reading outcomes.

Effects of at-school victimization and sexual orientation on lesbian, gay, or bisexual youths' health risk behavior.

PURPOSE: To examine the link between victimization at school and health risk behaviors using representative data comparing lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths and heterosexual youths. METHODS: Data from the 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey taken in Massachusetts and Vermont were examined. This sample included 9188 9th through 12th grade students; 315 of these students were identified as LGB. Analyses of variance were used to examine health risk behaviors by sexual orientation by gender by victimization level. RESULTS: The combined effect of LGB status and high levels of at-school victimization was associated with the highest levels of health risk behaviors. LGB youths reporting high levels of at-school victimization reported higher levels of substance use, suicidality, and sexual risk behaviors than heterosexual peers reporting high levels of at-school victimization. Also, LGB youths reporting low levels of at-school victimization reported levels of substance use, suicidality, and sexual-risk behaviors that were similar to heterosexual peers who reported low at-school victimization. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide evidence that differences in health risks among LGB youth are mediated by victimization at school. Such victimization of LGB youth is associated with health risk behaviors.

Reasoning Exercises in Assisted Living: a cluster randomized trial to improve reasoning and everyday problem solving.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Assisted living (AL) residents are at risk for cognitive and functional declines that eventually reduce their ability to care for themselves, thereby triggering nursing home placement. In developing a method to slow this decline, the efficacy of Reasoning Exercises in Assisted Living (REAL), a cognitive training intervention that teaches everyday reasoning and problem-solving skills to AL residents, was tested. DESIGN AND METHODS: At thirteen randomized Midwestern facilities, AL residents whose Mini Mental State Examination scores ranged from 19-29 either were trained in REAL or a vitamin education attention control program or received no treatment at all. For 3 weeks, treated groups received personal training in their respective programs. RESULTS: Scores on the Every Day Problems Test for Cognitively Challenged Elders (EPCCE) and on the Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS) showed significant increases only for the REAL group. For EPCCE, change from baseline immediately postintervention was +3.10 (P<0.01), and there was significant retention at the 3-month follow-up (d=2.71; P<0.01). For DAFS, change from baseline immediately postintervention was +3.52 (P<0.001), although retention was not as strong. Neither the attention nor the no-treatment control groups had significant gains immediately postintervention or at follow-up assessments. Post hoc across-group comparison of baseline change also highlights the benefits of REAL training. For EPCCE, the magnitude of gain was significantly larger in the REAL group versus the no-treatment control group immediately postintervention (d=3.82; P<0.01) and at the 3-month follow-up (d=3.80; P<0.01). For DAFS, gain magnitude immediately postintervention for REAL was significantly greater compared with in the attention control group (d=4.73; P<0.01). IMPLICATIONS: REAL improves skills in everyday problem solving, which may allow AL residents to maintain self-care and extend AL residency. This benefit is particularly important given the growing population of AL residents at risk for cognitive and self-care decline.

Online learning from input versus offline memory evolution in adult word learning: effects of neighborhood density and phonologically related practice.

PURPOSE: In this study, the authors investigated adult word learning to determine how neighborhood density and practice across phonologically related training sets influence online learning from input during training versus offline memory evolution during no-training gaps. METHOD: Sixty-one adults were randomly assigned to learn low- or high-density nonwords. Within each density condition, participants were trained on one set of words and then were trained on a second set of words, consisting of phonological neighbors of the first set. Learning was measured in a picture-naming test. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling and spline regression. RESULTS: Steep learning during input was observed, with new words from dense neighborhoods and new words that were neighbors of recently learned words (i.e., second-set words) being learned better than other words. In terms of memory evolution, large and significant forgetting was observed during 1-week gaps in training. Effects of density and practice during memory evolution were opposite of those during input. Specifically, forgetting was greater for high-density and second-set words than for low-density and first-set words. CONCLUSION: High phonological similarity, regardless of source (i.e., known words or recent training), appears to facilitate online learning from input but seems to impede offline memory evolution.