Social acceptance from peers and youth mentoring: Implications for addressing loneliness and social isolation.

Youth mentoring may be able to support lonely and socially isolated youth. This study examined the association between participating in youth mentoring programs and mentee perception of social acceptance from peers. Regression models considered the association between mentoring and peer social acceptance in terms of demographics, program features, and baseline peer relationship quality for 693 youth from 27 mentoring programs. The construct validity of a social acceptance scale was explored. The scale suggested two factors of peer social acceptance. No significant changes in peer social acceptance were observed before and after participating in mentoring programs. Trends in social acceptance indicated that positive/negative feelings in the mentor-mentee relationship were associated with positive/negative indicators of peer social acceptance. Mentoring programs may be able to help prevent loneliness and social isolation through positive aspects of the mentor-mentee relationships, but additional intervention activities are likely necessary to support lonely and socially isolated youth.

Promoting mentoring relationships through joint decisions: Evidence from a national mentoring program.

School-based mentoring programs are one of the most popular types of prevention programs offered to support students' social-emotional and academic success. Because a high-quality mentoring relationship is thought to be a mechanism for improving youth outcomes, we investigated how mentor- and mentee-relationship quality develops over time. In addition, we examined how relationship development varied as a function of three approaches to selecting mentoring activities (i.e., mentor-directed, program-directed, or jointly determined). We used a random-intercepts crossed-lagged panel model to test how mentor and mentee reports of relationship quality developed over three time points across one school year. Data were gathered from 2014 to 2018 and included 47,699 youth (56% female; 51% Black or Hispanic) who participated in Big Brothers Big Sisters-which provides school-based mentoring services to youth across the U.S. Results indicated that mentors' positive appraisals of the mentoring relationships led to positive appraisals from the mentee at the subsequent time point. In addition, when mentors and mentees jointly determined activities, we found evidence that mentors' and mentees' positive appraisals at one time point led to positive appraisals at the following time point. These results suggest that school-based mentoring programs should consider ways to support joint decision-making among mentors and mentees participating in school-based mentoring programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Smoke-Free Home Rules and Association with Child Secondhand Smoke Exposure among Mother-Child Dyad Relationships.

Smoke-free home rules restrict smoking in the home, but biomarkers of secondhand smoke exposure are needed to help understand the association between smoke-free homes and child secondhand smoke exposure. Participants (n = 346) were majority Black/African American mother-child dyads from a longitudinal study in North Carolina. Mothers completed questionnaires on household smoking behaviors and rules, and child saliva samples were assayed for secondhand smoke exposure. Regression models used smoke-free home rules to predict child risk for secondhand smoke exposure. Children in households with smoke-free home rules had less salivary cotinine and risk for secondhand smoke exposure. After controlling for smokers in the household, home smoking rules were not a significant predictor of secondhand smoke exposure. Compared to children in households with no smokers, children in households with at least one smoker but a non-smoking mother (OR 5.35, 95% CI: 2.22, 13.17) and households with at least one smoker including a smoking mother (OR 13.73, 95% CI: 6.06, 33.28) had greater risk for secondhand smoke exposure. Results suggest smoke-free home rules are not sufficient to fully protect children from secondhand smoke exposure, especially in homes with smokers. Future research should focus on how household members who smoke can facilitate the prevention of child secondhand smoke exposure.

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Tobacco Retail Outlet and Vape Shop Outlet Rates.

Neighborhood-level socioeconomic variables, such as the proportion of minority and low-income residents, have been associated with a greater density of tobacco retail outlets (TROs), though less is known about the degree to which these neighborhood indicators are related to vape shop outlet (VSO) density. Many studies of TROs and neighborhood characteristics include only a small set of variables and also fail to take into account the correlation among these variables. Using a carefully curated database of all TROs and VSOs in Virginia (2016-2018), we developed a Bayesian model to estimate a neighborhood disadvantage index and examine its association with rates of outlets across census tracts while also accounting for correlations among variables. Models included 12 census tract variables from the American Community Survey. Results showed that increasing neighborhood disadvantage was associated with a 63% and 64% increase in TRO and VSO risk, respectively. Important variables associated with TRO rates included % renter occupied housing, inverse median gross rent, inverse median monthly housing costs, inverse median monthly housing costs, and % vacant housing units. Important variables associated with VSO rates were % renter occupied housing and % Hispanic population. There were several spatial clusters of significantly elevated risk for TROs and VSOs in western and eastern Virginia.

Student Attitudes Toward Tobacco Use and Tobacco Policies on College Campuses.

We utilized a mixed methods approach to assess student attitudes towards tobacco use and campus tobacco policies. Interviews (N = 21), focus groups (N = 2 groups, 4-5 participants each), and an online survey (N = 636) were conducted among a sample of students attending a 4-year, urban, public university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In interviews and focus groups, students expressed skepticism about a tobacco-free campus policy due to perceived violations of personal rights and challenges with enforcement. Of the sample surveyed, 9.2% and 20.6% had used cigarettes or e-cigarettes within the past 30 days. The majority of students agreed that colleges have a responsibility to adopt tobacco-free policies that reduce the risk of tobacco addiction (62.4%) and ensure smoke-free air to breathe (81.5%). However, more than half (56.3%) also indicated that a policy allowing for designated smoking areas for cigarettes was best for campus, which runs counter to a comprehensive tobacco-free policy. Academic year, gender, and race/ethnicity were significant factors associated with support for tobacco-free policies. Current smokers and vapers were less likely to support tobacco-free policies that reduce the risk of tobacco addiction (OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1, 0.7 for smokers; OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1, 0.6 for vapers), but not policies that ensure smoke-free air to breathe. E-cigarettes pose a unique obstacle to tobacco-free policies, as students perceived e-cigarettes to be less harmful than cigarettes. To implement a tobacco-free campus policy, students suggested educational campaigns that focus on the potential health benefits of a tobacco-free campus.