Doping Prevalence among U.S. Elite Athletes Subject to Drug Testing under the World Anti-Doping Code.

BACKGROUND: Determining the prevalence of doping within an elite athlete population is challenging due to the extreme sensitivity of the topic; however, understanding true doping prevalence is important when designing anti-doping programs and measuring their effectiveness. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of doping among Olympic, Paralympic, World, and National-level competitive athletes in the United States subject to the World Anti-Doping Code. All athletes who were subject to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, a World Anti-Doping Code ("Code")-compliant anti-doping program, were invited to complete a web-delivered survey. Using a direct questioning approach, the survey items asked athletes whether they had used each specific category of banned substance / method on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List. Multiple strategies to encourage honest reporting (e.g., protecting anonymity by collecting minimal demographic information; using an outside organization to administer the survey) and to detect inconsistent responses were used. RESULTS: Depending on the method of calculation, 6.5-9.2% of the 1,398 respondents reported using one or more prohibited substances or methods in the 12 months prior to survey administration. Specific doping prevalence rates for each individual substance / method categories ranged from 0.1% (for both diuretics / masking agents and stem cell / gene editing) to 4.2% for in-competition use of cannabinoids. CONCLUSION: Determining the prevalence of doping within different athlete populations is critical so that sport governing bodies can evaluate their anti-doping efforts and better tailor their programming. By measuring doping prevalence of specific categories of substances and methods, rather than just the overall prevalence of doping, this study also highlights where sport governing bodies should focus their future educational and detection efforts.

Social Network Methods for Assigning Students to Teams.

Teachers often group students into teams to organize their classrooms and network-informed interventions hold great promise as a way to facilitate positive peer influence and promote the diffusion of intervention effects. Yet thus far, relatively little research has explored how teachers or prevention scientists can best use social network information to assign students to teams. The goal of the present study was to identify and compare seven methods that use different data sources and assignment algorithms to create teams of students. To test these methods, we used survey data from 247 5th through 8th grade students in three rural schools that assessed students' social networks, sociability, values and interests, and bonding to school. To create teams, we first identified popular students (i.e., those who received the highest number of peer nominations) who also had school bonding scores in the normal range and formed 4-person teams around them, applying different methods to assign students to teams. In all but one method, we placed at-risk students (i.e., those who had the lowest school bonding scores) in teams only during the final round of team creation. Team assignments were compared against three criteria: (1) team-level bonding to school, (2) patterns of affiliation among teammates, and (3) shared values and interests. Two methods, one that used only social network data and one that used social network data in combination with students' values and interests, yielded the most promising outcomes. The most positive results were obtained when a pruning algorithm akin to the one proposed by Girvan and Newman (2002) Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences, 99, 7821-7826 was used to select which dyads to join as teammates; this pruning method joined more weakly linked students first, maximizing their potential to find suitable matches. These methods for team assignment hold promise for designing network-informed school-based interventions.

A randomized iterative approach to optimizing an online substance use intervention for collegiate athletes.

BACKGROUND: Rates of drug use among collegiate athletes are high, yet there are few evidence-based interventions for this population. myPlaybook, an online intervention for collegiate athletes, targets multiple predictors of drug use (i.e., norms, positive and negative expectancies about use, and harm prevention intentions). PURPOSE: We aimed to optimize modules from myPlaybook. METHOD: We evaluated modules through three sequential randomized factorial trials, using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy framework. We recruited and randomized 54 (Trial 1), 47 (Trial 2), and 42 (Trial 3) schools and invited all first-year and transfer collegiate athletes to participate. Athletes completed a baseline survey, their randomly assigned modules, and immediate posttest and 30-day follow-up surveys. Across trials, 3,244 (48.8% female), 2,837 (51.9% female), and 2,193 (51.4% female) athletes participated. In Trial 1, we evaluated and revised less effective modules (defined as d < 0.3-0.4 for targeted outcomes). In Trial 2, we re-evaluated and revised less effective modules. In Trial 3, we re-evaluated the revised modules. RESULTS: Trial 1: All effects were d < 0.15, so we revised modules to target proximal outcomes (i.e., the hypothesized mediating variables in our conceptual model), rather than specific drug use behaviors. Trial 2: Most effects were d < 0.3, so we revised all modules. Trial 3: The norms module improved descriptive and injunctive norms (all d >0.35). The expectancies module improved alcohol positive expectancies (d = 0.3). The other modules were not effective. CONCLUSIONS: After three trials, two myPlaybook modules substantially improved proximal outcomes, increasing the likelihood that the combined intervention will have a meaningful clinical impact on collegiate athletes' drug use.

Rates of drug use among collegiate athletes are high, yet there are few evidence-based interventions for this population, and the few existing interventions only address alcohol use. In addition, alcohol and drug use interventions targeting college students are not always as effective or efficient as they could be. Our goal was to strengthen modules from myPlaybook, an online drug use intervention for collegiate athletes as a way to optimize the full intervention package. We conducted three intervention trials. Each trial occurred in separate academic years and included 2,000­3,000 athletes from 40 to 50 colleges and universities. We randomly assigned athletes to receive one or more intervention modules that target known risk factors for drug use (i.e., social norms, expectancies about the effects of drug use, harm prevention strategies, and life skills). We used the results about the effects of each module to improve the module prior to the next trial. After these trials, the revised modules targeting social norms and expectancies about drug use had meaningful effects, increasing the likelihood that the full myPlaybook intervention will lead to clinical reductions in drug use among collegiate athletes.

Social Networks of Adolescent Sexual Violence Perpetrators: Peer Friendship and Trusted Adult Characteristics.

The current study tested differences in social network characteristics of high school students who report perpetrating sexual violence (SV) versus those who do not. N = 4554 students (49% male, 49% female, 2% another gender identity; 45% Hispanic, 43% white, 12% another racial identity) from 20 high schools reported how often they had perpetrated 13 sexually violent behaviors. Using their responses, students were classified as follows: non-perpetrators, sexual harassment perpetrators, low contact perpetrators, or high contact perpetrators. Students named up to 7 close friends and up to 7 trusted adults at their school and answered questions about other behaviors and attitudes. This information was used to assess (1) students' connections with peers, (2) students' connections with trusted adults, and (3) friends' characteristics. Multilevel models indicated that compared to their peers, high contact perpetrators were less involved in the peer networks, less connected to trusted adults, and more likely to have friends who were involved in risky behaviors (e.g., sexual violence, homophobic name-calling, substance use). Low contact perpetrators were as connected to peers and trusted adults as non-perpetrators but were more likely to have friends engaged in sexual violence and homophobic naming-calling perpetration. By contrast, sexual harassment perpetrators were more involved and held higher status in the peer network (e.g., received more friendship nominations) but otherwise had similar friendship characteristics and similar connections to trusted adults as non-perpetrators. Building on these results, social network-informed SV prevention should use opinion leaders to change SV norms throughout the network and encourage new relationships between low- and high-risk students so as to disseminate norms that do not tolerate SV. Promoting connections to trusted adults also may be a useful avenue, especially for isolated adolescents.Trial Registration This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01672541. Syntax code is available from the authors upon request.

An Intervention for the Transition From Pediatric or Adolescent to Adult-Oriented HIV Care: Protocol for the Development and Pilot Implementation of iTransition.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, adolescents and young adults are disproportionately affected by HIV and have poorer HIV-related health outcomes than adults. Health care transition (HCT) from pediatric or adolescent to adult-oriented HIV care is associated with disruptions to youths' care retention, medication adherence, and viral suppression. However, no evidence-based interventions exist to improve HCT outcomes for youth living with HIV. OBJECTIVE: There are 2 phases of this project. Phase 1 involves the iterative development and usability testing of a Social Cognitive Theory-based mobile health (mHealth) HIV HCT intervention (iTransition). In phase 2, we will conduct a pilot implementation trial to assess iTransition's feasibility and acceptability and to establish preliminary efficacy among youth and provider participants. METHODS: The iterative phase 1 development process will involve in-person and virtual meetings and a design team comprising youth living with HIV and health care providers. The design team will both inform the content and provide feedback on the look, feel, and process of the iTransition intervention. In phase 2, we will recruit 100 transition-eligible youth across two clinical sites in Atlanta, Georgia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to participate in the historical control group (n=50; data collection only) or the intervention group (n=50) in a pilot implementation trial. We will also recruit 28 provider participants across the pediatric or adolescent and adult clinics at the two sites. Data collection will include electronic medical chart abstraction for clinical outcomes as well as surveys and interviews related to demographic and behavioral characteristics; Social Cognitive Theory constructs; and intervention feasibility, acceptability, and use. Analyses will compare historical control and intervention groups in terms of HCT outcomes, including adult care linkage (primary), care retention, and viral suppression (secondary). Interview data will be analyzed using content analysis to understand the experience with use and acceptability. RESULTS: Phase 1 (development) of iTransition research activities began in November 2019 and is ongoing. The data collection for the phase 2 pilot implementation trial is expected to be completed in January 2023. Final results are anticipated in summer 2023. CONCLUSIONS: The development and pilot implementation trial of the iTransition intervention will fill an important gap in understanding the role of mHealth interventions to support HCT outcomes for youth living with HIV. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/24565.

Moderators of Friend Selection and Influence in Relation to Adolescent Alcohol Use.

Friendships form an important context in which adolescents initiate and establish alcohol use patterns, but not all adolescents may be equally affected by this context. Therefore, this study tests whether parenting practices (i.e., parental discipline, parental knowledge, unsupervised time with peers) and individual beliefs (i.e., alcohol descriptive norms, positive social expectations, moral approval of alcohol use) moderate friend selection and influence around alcohol use. Stochastic actor-based models were used to analyze longitudinal social network and survey data from 12,335 adolescents (aged 11 to 17, 51.3% female) who were participating in the PROSPER project. A separate model was estimated for each moderating variable. Adolescents who reported consistent parental discipline, less unsupervised time with peers, higher descriptive alcohol use norms, and less positive social expectations about alcohol use were less likely to select alcohol-using friends. Those who reported consistent parental discipline, better parental knowledge, lower descriptive alcohol use norms, and less positive social expectations were more influenced by their friends' level of alcohol use. Thus, adolescents with these characteristics whose friends frequently use alcohol are at greater risk whereas those whose friends do not use alcohol are at lower risk of using alcohol. The findings show that, although selection and influence processes are connected, they may function in different ways for different groups of adolescents. For some adolescents, it is particularly important to prevent them from selecting alcohol-using friends, because they are more susceptible to influence from such friends. These peer network dynamics might explain how proximal outcomes targeted by many prevention programs (i.e., parenting practices and individual beliefs) translate into changes in alcohol use.

A Hybrid Evaluation-Optimization Trial to Evaluate an Intervention Targeting the Intersection of Alcohol and Sex in College Students and Simultaneously Test an Additional Component Aimed at Preventing Sexual Violence.

BACKGROUND: Using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), we previously developed and optimized an online behavioral intervention, itMatters, aimed at reducing the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among first-year college students by targeting the intersection of alcohol use and sexual behaviors. PURPOSE: We had two goals: (a) to evaluate the optimized itMatters intervention and (b) to determine whether the candidate sexual violence prevention (SVP) component (included at the request of participating universities) had a detectable effect and therefore should be added to create a new version of itMatters. We also describe the hybrid evaluation-optimization trial we conducted to accomplish these two goals in a single experiment. METHODS: First year college students (N = 3,098) at four universities in the USA were individually randomized in a hybrid evaluation-optimization 2 × 2 factorial trial. Data were analyzed using regression models, with pre-test outcome variables included as covariates in the models. Analyses were conducted separately with (a) immediate post-test scores and (b) 60-day follow-up scores as outcome variables. RESULTS: Experimental results indicated a significant effect of itMatters on targeted proximal outcomes (norms) and on one distal behavioral outcome (binge drinking). There were no significant effects on other behavioral outcomes, including the intersection of alcohol and sexual behaviors. In addition, there were mixed results (positive short-term effect; no effect at 60-day follow-up) of the SVP component on targeted proximal outcomes (students' self-efficacy to reduce/prevent sexual violence and perceived effectiveness of protective behavioral strategies). CONCLUSIONS: The hybrid evaluation-optimization trial enabled us to evaluate the individual and combined effectiveness of the optimized itMatters intervention and the SVP component in a single experiment, conserving resources and providing greatly improved efficiency. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04095065.

Above the influence of vaping: Peer leader influence and diffusion of a network-informed preventive intervention.

Using social networks to inform prevention efforts is promising but has not been applied to vaping. To address this gap, we pilot tested the peer-led Above the Influence of Vaping (ATI-V) and examined diffusion through 8th grade networks in three schools. Fifty students, nominated and trained as Peer Leaders, implemented prevention campaigns informed by communication science, including gain-loss messaging and social norming. Across schools, 86-91% of students (N = 377) completed measures (pre-post) of electronic vaping product (EVP) use and attitudes, and named close friends and adults to construct social networks. Using baseline reports, we classified students as Recent EVP Users (10%), Vulnerable Nonusers (24%), or Resolute Nonusers (66%). Peer Leaders had reach through friendship connections to students at varying risk of vaping; 12-16 weeks after Peer Leaders were trained and began implementing campaigns, 79% of Resolute Nonusers and 74% of Recent Users/Vulnerable Nonusers reported exposure to a vaping prevention message. Students with more Peer Leader friends were less likely to report recent EVP use (OR = 0.41) or intention to use an EVP (B = 0.12) on post-surveys, supporting the intervention conceptual model positing diffusion through friendship networks. Use of student-nominated peer leaders was supported by network analyses showing EVP Users integrated within the friendship network, having more high-risk friends, and fewer adult connections. This evidence is the first to show that adolescent Peer Leaders with ongoing mentoring and science-informed campaigns can potentially reduce EVP acceptability and use. Areas for refining ATI-V include increasing consistency of campaign exposure across schools.

The Society for Prevention Research 20 Years Later: a Summary of Training Needs.

The Society for Prevention Research (SPR) aims to continually provide relevant professional development training opportunities to advance scientific investigation of ways to improve the health, well-being, and social and educational outcomes of individuals and communities. Our study, led by the Training Needs Assessment Task Force, designed a quantitative questionnaire informed by semistructured, qualitative interviews of 13 key prevention science informants. The questionnaire was deployed to all SPR members, of which 347 completed it. Questions about training topics were asked along 8 categories: (1) theory; (2) preventive interventions; (3) research methods, design, and evaluation; (4) teaching and mentoring; (5) practical and interpersonal skills; (6) communication; (7) project management; and (8) data analysis. Across all categories, respondents reported a high level of interest in receiving training: more than 80% were interested in training in data analytic methods; about 70% indicated interest in theory, preventive interventions, and research methods, design, and evaluation; about 65% were interested in at least 1 communication and project management topic; and 60% showed interest in at least 1 practical and interpersonal skills topic. Training-related interests varied across career level and race/ethnicity, with early-career individuals and people of color typically indicating the most interest. Participants were most likely to endorse self-initiated learning and webinars. SPR preconference training workshops were strongly endorsed for data analysis and preventive intervention topics. Recommendations from our study include a need for SPR to more strongly support self-initiated learning opportunities and continue preconference training programs, with special focuses in statistical methods and preventive interventions and regular assessment of members' training preferences.

Using the Integrated Behavioral Model to Determine Sport-Related Concussion Reporting Intentions Among Collegiate Athletes.

PURPOSE: A significant proportion of sport-related concussions goes unreported among adolescents, which can result in irreversible brain damage. It is critical to identify and intervene on factors that significantly impact concussion reporting. METHODS: This study tests factors associated with collegiate athletes' intentions to (1) self-report concussion symptoms; (2) report another athlete's concussion symptoms; and (3) encourage others to report. Drawing on the Integrated Behavioral Model, predictors at the athlete level included perceived norms (bystander descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and subjective norms), attitudes (positive and negative expectancies about reporting and playing through a concussion and concussion reporting attitudes), personal agency (self-efficacy to recognize symptoms and communicate), and perceived coach communication. At the team level, coaches' self-reported communication was also included. Athletes (N = 1,858) and coaches (N = 254) at 16 colleges and universities completed Web-based surveys in 2016. Multilevel modeling accounted for the nesting of athletes within athletic team. RESULTS: Bystander descriptive norms, positive reporting expectancies, concussion reporting attitudes, self-efficacy to communicate about a concussion, and athletes' perceptions of their coach's communication were positively associated with all three outcomes. By contrast, subjective norms were only positively associated with intentions to self-report and bystander reporting intentions, negative reporting expectancies were only associated with intentions to self-report, and positive and negative expectancies for playing through a concussion were only associated with intentions to self-report and bystander encouragement. CONCLUSIONS: In sum, multiple factors within the Integrated Behavioral Model predict reporting intentions and underscore the complexity of athletes' concussion reporting behaviors and offer guidance for the development of prevention strategies.

Tracking Changes in US Organizations' Workplace Health Promotion Initiatives: A Longitudinal Analysis of Performance Against Quality Benchmarks.

PURPOSE: To examine changes in organizations' workplace health promotion (WHP) initiatives over time associated with repeated self-assessment using the Well Workplace Checklist (WWC). DESIGN: Well Workplace Checklist data include a convenience sample of US organizations that selected to assess their performance against quality WHP benchmarks. SETTING: Workplaces. SUBJECTS: In total, 577 US organizations completed the WWC in 2 or more years from 2008 to 2015. MEASURES: The WWC is a 100-item organizational assessment that measures performance against the original set of quality benchmarks that were established by the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA). ANALYSIS: This study examined changes in overall WWC scores as well as 7 separate benchmark scores. Multilevel modeling was used to examine changes in scores associated with repeated assessments, controlling for the year of assessment and organizational characteristics. RESULTS: There were significant increases in overall WWC scores (ß = 2.93, P < .001) associated with the repeated WWC assessments, after controlling for organizational characteristics. All 7 benchmark scores had significant increases associated with reassessment. Compared to other benchmarks, operating plan (ß = 6.18, P < .001) and evaluation (ß = 4.91, P < .001) scores increased more with each reassessment. CONCLUSION: Continued reassessment may represent more commitment to and investment in WHP initiatives which could lead to improved quality. Other factors that may positively influence changes in performance against benchmarks include company size, access to outside resources for WHP, and a history with implementing WHP.

Peer-adult network structure and suicide attempts in 38 high schools: implications for network-informed suicide prevention.

BACKGROUND: Strengthening social integration could prevent suicidal behavior. However, minimal research has examined social integration through relationship network structure. To address this important gap, we tested whether structural characteristics of school networks predict school rates of ideation and attempts. METHODS: In 38 US high schools, 10,291 students nominated close friends and trusted adults to construct social networks. We used mixed-effects logistic regression models to test individual student networks and likelihood of suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA); and linear regression models to estimate associations between school network characteristics and school rates of SI, SA, and SA among all with ideation. RESULTS: Lower peer network integration and cohesion increased likelihood of SI and SA across individual and school-level models. Two factors increased SA: student isolation from adults and suicidal students' popularity and clustering. A multivariable model identified higher SA in schools where youth-adult relationships were concentrated in fewer students (B = 4.95 [1.46, 8.44]) and suicidal students had higher relative popularity versus nonsuicidal peers (B = 0.93 [0.10, 1.77]). Schools had lower SA rates when more students named the same trusted adults named by friends and many students named the same trusted adults. When adjusting for depression, violence victimization and bullying, estimates for adult network characteristics were substantially unchanged whereas some peer effects decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Schoolwide peer and youth-adult relationship patterns influence SA rates beyond individual student connections. Network characteristics associated with suicide attempts map onto three theory-informed domains: social integration versus thwarted relational needs, group cohesion, and suicidal students' social influence. Network interventions addressing these processes, such as maximizing youth-adult connections schoolwide and heightening influence of youth with healthy coping, could create more protective schools. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to determine how schools differentiate in network structure and clarify reciprocal dynamics between network characteristics and suicidal behavior.

Association Between the Characteristics of Organizations and Their Profile of Performance Against Quality Benchmarks for Workplace Health Promotion.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored subgroups of performance profiles measured by organizations' Well Workplace Checklist (WWC) benchmark scores and examined company characteristics associated with performance subgroups. METHODS: The sample included 3728 US organizations that completed the WWC in 2008 to 2015. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to extract distinct subgroups of organizations based on benchmark performance. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between the characteristics of organizations and their performance subgroup. RESULTS: Three distinct subgroups of performance resulted from the LPA. Significant associations were found between subgroup assignment and characteristics such as size, industry, how WHP initiatives were paid for, and reasons for implementing WHP initiatives. CONCLUSION: The characteristics associated with subgroups of performance suggest utility for developing specific interventions tailored to different types of organizations to improve their overall quality of WHP initiatives.

Diffusion of a Peer-Led Suicide Preventive Intervention Through School-Based Student Peer and Adult Networks.

Background: Peer-led interventions have been applied to prevent various health behavior problems and may be an important complement to individual-level suicide prevention approaches. Sources of Strength trains student "peer leaders" in secondary schools to conduct prevention activities that encourage other students to build healthy social bonds and strengthen help-seeking norms. Prior work examining diffusion of peer-led programs has focused on youths' closeness to peer leaders but minimally on other factors such as connections to adults and suicidal behavior. Methods: We examined implementation and dissemination of Sources of Strength in 20 schools. Over 1 year 533 students were trained as peer leaders and 3,730 9th-12th graders completed baseline surveys assessing friendships and adults at school, and suicidal thoughts/behaviors; and end-of-year surveys reporting intervention exposure: viewed poster/video, attended presentation, direct peer communication, and activity participation. Chi-square tests compared exposure rates by student and network characteristics. Multi-level logistic regression models tested predictors of exposure across individual and school-level characteristics. Results: Exposure to the intervention varied greatly by school and by individual student characteristics and network position. Training more peer leaders increased school-wide exposure for all modalities except presentation (Bs 0.06-0.10, p's < 0.05). In multivariate models, exposure was consistently higher for students closer to peer leaders in the friendship network (ORs 1.13-1.54, p's < 0.05) and students who named more trusted adults (ORs 1.08-1.16, p's < 0.001); and lower for males (ORs 0.56-0.83, p's < 0.05). In multivariate models, training more students as peer leaders predicted exposure to poster-video and direct peer communication in larger schools (OR = 3.34 and 2.87, respectively). Network characteristics influenced exposure similarly for students with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Discussion: Our findings confirm prior work showing the importance of personal affiliations to peer leaders and natural networks as a medium for diffusion of peer-led prevention efforts. We build on that work by showing independent effects of closeness to adults at school and number of peer leaders trained. There is a need to strategically select peer leaders to maximize closeness to students school-wide, particularly in larger schools. Additional work is required for Sources of Strength to devise messaging strategies to engage males and students isolated from adults at school.

Perceived norms and alcohol use among first-year college student-athletes' different types of friends.

OBJECTIVE: To describe first-year college student-athletes' friendship contexts and test whether their perceptions of alcohol use and approval by different types of friends are associated with their own alcohol use. PARTICIPANTS: First-year student-athletes (N = 2,622) from 47 colleges and universities participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports during February-March 2013. METHODS: Student-athletes completed online surveys during the baseline assessment of an alcohol and other drug prevention program evaluation. Analyses tested whether perceptions of friends' alcohol use (descriptive norms) and perceptions of friends' approval of alcohol use (injunctive norms) predicted their alcohol use. RESULTS: Both use and approval perceptions by upperclassmen, same-team, and most influential friends significantly predicted alcohol use. By contrast, only perceived use by first-year, nonteam, and less influential friends significantly predicted alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: Athletics departments' alcohol policies and prevention programming for first-year student-athletes should address the potential influence of different types of friends on alcohol use.

Parental Influence on Drinking Behaviors at the Transition to College: The Mediating Role of Perceived Friends' Approval of High-Risk Drinking.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested whether perceived parental approval of high-risk drinking is directly linked to alcohol-related outcomes or whether the link between perceived parental approval and these outcomes is mediated by perceived friends' approval of high-risk drinking. METHOD: In fall 2009, 1,797 incoming first-year college students (49.7% female) from 142 U.S. colleges and universities completed a web-based survey before participating in an online substance use prevention program. The analytic sample included only 18- to 20-year-old freshmen students who had consumed alcohol in the past year. Students answered questions about perceived parental approval and perceived friends' approval of high-risk drinking. They also answered questions about their alcohol use (heavy episodic drinking, risky drinking behaviors), use of self-protective strategies (to prevent drinking and driving and to moderate alcohol use), and negative alcohol-related consequences (health, academic and work, social consequences, and drinking and driving). RESULTS: Mediation analyses controlling for the clustering of students within schools indicated that perceived parental approval was directly associated with more easily observable outcomes (e.g., academic- and work-related consequences, drinking and driving). Perceived friends' approval significantly mediated the link between perceived parental approval and outcomes that are less easily observed (e.g., alcohol use, health consequences). CONCLUSIONS: During the transition to college, parents may influence students' behaviors both directly (through communication) as well as indirectly (by shaping their values and whom students select as friends). Alcohol use prevention programs for students about to start college should address both parental and friend influences on alcohol use.

Does Neighborhood Risk Explain Racial Disparities in Low Birth Weight among Infants Born to Adolescent Mothers?

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test associations and interactions between racial identification, neighborhood risk, and low birth weight disparities between infants born to African-American and white adolescent mothers. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Birth cases were geocoded and linked to census tract information from the 2010 US Census and the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. A "neighborhood risk" index was created using principal component analysis, and mothers were grouped into 3 neighborhood risk levels (low, medium, high). Multilevel models with cross-level interactions were used to identify variation in racial differences in low birth weight outcomes across neighborhood risk levels when controlling for maternal demographic characteristics and pregnancy behaviors (smoking, prenatal care use). SETTING: North Carolina, United States. PARTICIPANTS: Singleton infants (n = 7923 cases) born to non-Hispanic African American and white adolescent mothers from the North Carolina State Center of Health Statistics for 2011. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Low birth weight. RESULTS: African American mothers were significantly more likely to have infants of low birth weight than white mothers in this sample (odds ratio = 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.53-2.34). Mothers that resided in areas of high neighborhood risk were significantly more likely to have infants of low birth weight than mothers residing in areas of low neighborhood risk (odds ratio = 1.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-1.93). Even when controlling for confounding factors, racial disparities in low birth weight odds did not significantly vary according to neighborhood risk level. CONCLUSION: Racial disparities can remain in low birth weight odds among infants born to adolescent mothers when controlling for maternal characteristics, pregnancy behaviors, and neighborhood risk.

Diffusion of Intervention Effects: The Impact of a Family-Based Substance Use Prevention Program on Friends of Participants.

PURPOSE: We tested whether effects of the Strengthening Families Program for Youth 10-14 (SFP10-14) diffused from intervention participants to their friends. We also tested which program effects on participants accounted for diffusion. METHODS: Data are from 5,449 students (51% female; mean initial age = 12.3 years) in the PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience community intervention trial (2001-2006) who did not participate in SFP10-14 (i.e., nonparticipants). At each of five waves, students identified up to seven friends and self-reported past month drunkenness and cigarette use, substance use attitudes, parenting practices, and unsupervised time spent with friends. We computed two measures of indirect exposure to SFP10-14: total number of SFP-attending friends at each wave and cumulative proportion of SFP-attending friends averaged across the current and all previous post-intervention waves. RESULTS: Three years post-intervention, the odds of getting drunk (odds ratio = 1.4) and using cigarettes (odds ratio = 2.7) were higher among nonparticipants with zero SFP-attending friends compared with nonparticipants with three or more SFP-attending friends. Multilevel analyses also provided evidence of diffusion: nonparticipants with a higher cumulative proportion of SFP-attending friends at a given wave were less likely than their peers to use drugs at that wave. Effects from SFP10-14 primarily diffused through friendship networks by reducing the amount of unstructured socializing (unsupervised time that nonparticipants spent with friends), changing friends' substance use attitudes, and then changing nonparticipants' own substance use attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Program developers should consider and test how interventions may facilitate diffusion to extend program reach and promote program sustainability.