Attitudes and beliefs about recreational cannabis legalization among cannabis-using young adults in Los Angeles: Impact on concurrent cannabis practices and problematic cannabis use.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated differences in attitudes and beliefs about recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) among cannabis-using young adults comprised of medical cannabis patients (MCP) and non-patient users (NPU). We further investigated whether these variations are associated with concurrent cannabis practices and problematic use. METHOD: Cannabis-using young adults (N = 301) were interviewed between 2017 and 2018 - after RCL and through the early months after storefront sales began. Latent class analysis empirically derived groups based on participants' attitudes/beliefs about the impact of RCL. Socio-demographic factors, patient status, medicinal and/or recreational use, and social norms differentiated latent class memberships, while concurrent cannabis practices and problematic use served as distal outcomes. The manual Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) three-step process modeled all covariates and distal outcomes simultaneously in the final LCA solution. RESULTS: Three patterns emerged: Impacted (RCL had broad impact on attitudes/beliefs) (n = 113), Partially-Impacted (RCL had some impact on attitudes/beliefs) (n = 131) and Neutral (RCL had no/limited impact) (n = 57). MCP were more likely to be Neutral than Partially-Impacted users while those who reported recreational cannabis use were more likely to be Impacted than Neutral users. Class membership predicted cannabis practices and problematic use with Impacted individuals reporting the greatest recent days of use, number of hits per day, and highest scores in problematic cannabis use compared to Partially-Impacted and Neutral users. CONCLUSION: Variability in attitudes/beliefs about RCL served as strong drivers of concurrent cannabis practices and problematic use. Findings provide an important baseline for tracking attitudes/beliefs' long-term health and substance use impact as retail cannabis sales evolve.

Mental Health Attribution for Mexican-Origin Latinx and Non-Latinx Older Adults: A Latent Class Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Providing appropriate and culturally sensitive care to the rapidly growing number of U.S. Latinx older adults with psychiatric conditions presents a major public health challenge. We know little about older Latinx adults' perceived causes of mental health problems, offering clinicians limited insight to guide successful and culturally congruent treatment. Moreover, there is a paucity of mental health research examining heterogeneity in how Latinx individuals may attribute mental health symptoms. The present study sought to identify how Latinx and non-Latinx older adults attributed the sources of their mental health problems and how these types of attributions differ by ethnicity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study analyzed data collected from a retrospective chart review and survey of 673 adults aged 55-95 years (430 Mexican origin and 244 non-Latinx) from a rural psychiatric outpatient clinic near the California-Mexico border. We conducted stratified latent class analysis (LCA) by race/ethnicity to explore the mental health attribution beliefs of Mexican-origin and non-Latinx clinic patients. RESULTS: Different LCA patterns for Mexican-origin Latinx versus non-Latinx groups were found. For non-Latinx adults, there was a class of individuals who attributed their mental health issues to social and financial problems. For Mexican-origin adults, there was a class of individuals who attributed their mental health issues to spiritual and/or supernatural factors, unaffected by acculturation level, depressive symptom severity, and time spent in the United States, but differing by gender. We found within-group heterogeneity: Not all Mexican-origin or non-Latinx older adults were alike in how they conceptualized their mental health. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Mexican-origin Latinx and non-Latinx older adults attributed their mental health issues to different causes. More Mexican-origin older adults attributed their symptoms to spiritual causes, even after controlling for contextual factors. Further research is needed to determine whether attribution beliefs are affected by specific mental health diagnoses and other cultural factors not measured in this study.

Correction to: A Latent Profile Analysis of Bisexual Identity: Evidence of Within-Group Diversity.

This article has been corrected with the following revisions for errors unaddressed in the copy editing process. All of the revisions herein were technical in nature and did not substantively change any aspect of the content of the article, including main arguments and findings. The first author appreciates the understanding of the readers.

A Latent Profile Analysis of Bisexual Identity: Evidence of Within-Group Diversity.

Bisexual people experience unique psychosocial vulnerabilities and their mental health needs and social identity remain underserved and understudied, respectively. We report results from a latent profile analysis where we identified a preliminary typology of bisexual identity subgroups and its association with demographic and mental health variables. Bisexual+ adults (N = 292) residing in the U.S. were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and administered a demographic survey, indicators of bisexual identity, and measures of internalizing symptoms and self-esteem. Joint consideration of statistical and substantive criteria in the modeling process yielded a well-differentiated and qualitatively distinctive three-profile solution comprised of Affirmative (e.g., having a positive orientation towards one's bisexuality), Vigilant (e.g., being significantly concerned about others' reactions to one's bisexuality), and Ambivalent (e.g., endorsing mixed but generally negative attitudes and beliefs about one's bisexuality) profiles of bisexual identity. Auxiliary analyses revealed conceptually and statistically significant associations among profile membership, demographic covariates, and mental health outcomes. Some key findings included that compared to the Affirmative profile, men and people of color were overrepresented in the Ambivalent profile, whereas men were overrepresented in the Vigilant profile. Bisexuals with a Vigilant profile displayed the poorest mental health constellation. Our findings highlight the categorically heterogeneous nature of bisexual identity, support the relevance of social identity to mental health among bisexuals, and represent the first attempt to model bisexual identity using mixture techniques. Future studies should consider larger and more demographically diverse samples, address replicability and generalizability, examine additional auxiliary variables, and investigate longitudinal developments in profiles.