Teacher attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Jeddah elementary schools.

This study aims to investigate teachers' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in general school settings in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from a sample of teachers in Jeddah. A stratified random technique was utilized to choose the target sample, however, 187 teachers completely responded on the study questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were utilized to assess teachers' demographic profile. Also, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized to examine the association between teachers' demographic characteristics and their perceptions of SEN. Results revealed that teachers are more likely to believe that they lack the academic qualifications and training required for the inclusion of students with disabilities. They reported being trained only to teach students with learning difficulties rather than intellectual disabilities. The reported barriers to inclusion are lack of appropriate educational materials, limited time to devote sufficient attention to students with SEN, limited knowledge regarding SEN, and classrooms that are not designed for students with disabilities. The study findings therefore indicate the need for not only training teachers to teach students with disabilities but also, more importantly, ways to implement these strategies more effectively in typical school settings.

Within-Individual Changes in Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking from Childhood to Early Adulthood and Educational Attainment.

Developmental perspectives recognize the importance of the development of impulsivity and sensation seeking for later life educational attainment. The current study examines the effect of developmental trajectories of impulsivity and sensation seeking across adolescence and into young adulthood on educational attainment in adulthood. The study sample consists of N = 5529 youth from a population-based sample from the United States (48.96% female; 46.95% Black or Hispanic). Latent growth curve models are used to examine associations between within-individual changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking and educational attainment. The findings point to the existence of multiple forms of risk taking during different developmental stages, with some offering a positive long-term effect on overall educational attainment.

Correlates of cannabis use disorder in the United States: A comparison of logistic regression, classification trees, and random forests.

Although several recent studies have examined psychosocial and demographic correlates of cannabis use disorder (CUD) in adults, few, if any, recent studies have evaluated the performance of machine learning methods relative to standard logistic regression for identifying correlates of CUD. The present study used pooled data from the 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to evaluate psychosocial and demographic correlates of CUD in adults. In addition, we compared the performance of logistic regression, classification trees, and random forest methods in classifying CUD. When comparing the performance of each method on the test data set, classification trees (AUC = 0.84, 95%CI: 0.82, 0.85) and random forest (AUC = 0.83, 95%CI: 0.82, 8.05) performed similarly and superior to logistic regression (AUC = 0.77, 95%CI: 0.74, 0.79). Results of the random forests reveal that marital status, risk propensity, age, and cocaine dependence variables contributed most to node purity, whereas model accuracy would decrease significantly if county type, income, race, and education variables were excluded from the model. One possible approach to improving the efficiency, interpretability, and clinical insights of CUD correlates is the employment of machine learning techniques.

Toward a typology of hallucinogen users in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Roughly one in ten American adults have used hallucinogens, and emerging evidence suggests that the prevalence of use is increasing. However, our understanding of the degree to which individuals "specialize" in the use of a particular hallucinogen or are poly-hallucinogen users remains incomplete. METHODS: This study examined data from 6381 individuals reporting past-year hallucinogen use in the 2016-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression examined the association between the number of distinct hallucinogens used and psychosocial/behavioral risks, and latent class analysis (LCA) characterized subgroups of hallucinogen users. RESULTS: The vast majority of hallucinogen users, roughly 70%, are not "specialists" who use only one hallucinogen type; rather, lifetime poly-hallucinogen use is the norm. Critically, however, we also see that important differences exist within the population of hallucinogen users-half (51%) could be classified as LSD-Mushroom-Ecstasy users only (this group was disproportionally comprised of youth), nearly one third (30%) were Poly-Hallucinogen users (this group was disproportionately male and non-Hispanic White), and smaller proportions were limited primarily to use of LSD-Mushrooms (6%; these individuals were almost exclusively ages 35 and older) or Ecstasy Only (12%; these individuals were mostly younger adults ages 18-34). CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide a fresh contribution to our understanding of poly-hallucinogen use in a time in which local and state governmental leaders, and people across the country, weigh the benefits and drawbacks of legalizing specific hallucinogenic drugs.

LSD use in the United States: Trends, correlates, and a typology of us.

BACKGROUND: Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in LSD. This study investigates current information on the trends and correlates of LSD use from years 2002-2018 and seeks to develop an initial typology of use and misuse. METHODS: Data is taken from the NSDUH (National Survey on Drug Use and Health) collected between 2002 and 2018 and trends and correlates of LSD use were analyzed with a survey adjusted logistic regression. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that LSD use has increased 200 % over the study period (.23 % 2002-2005 to .72 % 2015-2018, AOR = 1.10, 95 % CI = 1.08, 1.12). Our findings also indicate several correlates of LSD use including higher levels of education (college degrees: AOR = 1.62, 95 % CI = 1.23, 2.13), not being married (divorced or separated, AOR = 2.31, 95 % CI = 1.44, 3.73, and have never been married, AOR = 5.67, f 95 % CI = 4.09, 7.86), as well as higher levels of antisocial behavior (having been arrested AOR = 3.20, 95 % CI = 2.50, 4.09) and comorbid mental health and substance abuse disorders (serious psychological distress, AOR = 2.39, 95 % CI = 2.05, 2.80). Further, four distinct subclasses were also discovered within LSD users and two of these subtypes of LSD users contained comorbid mental health disturbances and heavy involvement in the criminal justice system. CONCLUSION: LSD use has been on the rise within the last decades, particularly among those who are well educated. Two subclasses of LSD use (those with severe comorbid mental health disorders and those with criminal justice involvement) may require further interventions.

Margin for error: examining racial and ethnic trends in adolescent risk propensity.

BACKGROUND: Relatively little research has accrued examining risk propensity across racial and ethnic groups, especially across time and at the population level. AIMS: Using a margin for error framework to conceptualize risk variation among major racial and ethnic groups, we hypothesize that African American and Hispanic adolescents will be less likely to report engaging in dangerous risk taking acts compared to White adolescents. METHODS: This study examines public-use data collected on risk propensity and risky behaviors among adolescents 12-17 between 2002 and 2018 as part of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). RESULTS: While we observed decreased trends in risk propensity, controlling for demographic factors, we see significantly greater odds of reporting "never" engaging in risk for fun among NH Black (AOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.85-2.18) and Hispanic youth (AOR 1.47, 95% CI 1.37-1.58) as compared to NH White youth. NH Black (AOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.61-0.89) and Hispanic (AOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.71-0.98) youth are also less likely than NH White youth to report "always" taking risks for fun. Moreover, the risk propensity-risky behaviors link was weaker among African American and Hispanic adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: We find compelling evidence that African American and Hispanic adolescents are less likely to endorse deriving positive reinforcement from potentially dangerous risk taking acts compared to White adolescents. These findings suggest that African American and Hispanic youth may perceive less "margin for error" when navigating their environments.

Trends in cannabis views and use among American adults: Intersections with alcohol consumption, 2002-2018.

PURPOSE: The present study aims to examine trends in cannabis views and use among US adults who are alcohol abstainers, non-binge drinkers, and binge drinkers. METHODS: We used data from the 2002-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (US adults ages 18 and older, n = 664,152). Consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, we conducted survey-adjusted logistic regression analyses to examine the significance of survey year in relation to cannabis views/use while controlling for demographic factors. RESULTS: Between 2002 and 2018, the proportion of adults reporting strong disapproval of cannabis use initiation decreased significantly (AOR = 0.947, CI = 0.945-948). While the prevalence of cannabis use increased significantly for non-binge (AOR = 1.070, CI = 1.065-1.076) and binge drinkers (AOR = 1.039, CI = 1.035-1.042), the trend increase was greatest among abstainers (OR = 1.099, CI = 1.088-1.111). The association between disapproval and cannabis use did not change between 2003 and 2018 among alcohol abstainers, but weakened among both non-binge (2003-2006: AOR = 0.154, CI = 0.135-0.176; 2014-2018: AOR = 0.221, CI = 0.200-0.246) and binge drinkers (2003-2006: AOR = 0.297, CI = 0.275-0.321; 2014-2018: AOR = 0.361, CI = 0.333-0.391). CONCLUSION: Cannabis disapproval has decreased and cannabis use increased among alcohol abstainers, non-binge drinkers, and binge drinkers between 2002 and 2018. The impact of cannabis disapproval on use attenuated during the study period among drinkers but not among abstainers, suggesting that the effect of anti-cannabis attitudes may be weakening among those most likely to use cannabis.