Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in Hawaii: Levels and sources of serum vitamin D in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the major sources of vitamin D [25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)] and evaluate their collective role on rates of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency among older adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and sources of vitamin D (self-reported and objectively validated sun exposure, supplementation, food including fortified sources). Study subjects were part of the Hawaii Longitudinal Study of Personality and Health who completed a clinic visit between 55 and 65 years (M = 59.6) and food frequency questionnaire, and provided serum to assay 25(OH)D (n = 223). RESULTS: Although mean serum 25(OH)D levels were overall sufficient (34.3 ng/ml, [SD = 10.9]), over one-third of participants (38%) had vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency (<30 ng/ml). Asians were the most likely to be insufficient and Filipinos were the least likely (43% vs. 11%, respectively). Overall, supplement use and sun exposure were both associated with higher 25(OH)D levels and lower risk of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. Moreover, Vitamin D sources varied by race/ethnic groups. In multivariate models, higher body mass index, being Asian or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, low supplement use, and low sun exposure were associated with higher risk for vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency (<30 ng/ml). CONCLUSIONS: Over 1/3 of the older adult sample was vitamin D deficient/insufficient, despite most of the participants living in a tropical climate with year-round access to sun as a vitamin D source. Sun exposure and supplement use, but not food intake, explained differences in vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency in this population.

Smoking trajectories across high school: sensation seeking and Hookah use.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the associations of trajectories of cigarette smoking over the high school years with the prior development of childhood sensation seeking and the subsequent use of cigarettes and hookah at age 20/21. METHODS: Participants (N = 963) were members of a cohort-sequential longitudinal study, the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project. Sensation seeking was assessed across 4th-8th grades and cigarette smoking was assessed across 9th-12th grades. Cigarette and hookah use was assessed at age 20/21 for 684 of the 963 participants. RESULTS: Four trajectory classes were identified: Stable High Smokers (6%), Rapid Escalators (8%), Experimenters (15%), and Stable Nonsmokers or very occasional smokers (71%). Membership in any smoker class versus nonsmokers was predicted by initial level and growth of sensation seeking. At age 20/21, there was a positive association between smoking and hookah use for Nonsmokers and Experimenters in high school, whereas this association was not significant for Stable High Smokers or Rapid Escalators. CONCLUSIONS: Level and rate of growth of sensation seeking are risk factors for adolescent smoking during high school (Stable High Smokers, Rapid Escalators, and Experimenters), suggesting the need for interventions to reduce the rate of increase in childhood sensation seeking. For those who were not already established smokers by the end of high school, hookah use may have served as a gateway to smoking.

Program Evaluation of Healthy Moves™: A Community-Based Trainer in Residence Professional Development Program to Support Generalist Teachers With Physical Education Instruction.

BACKGROUND: Elementary school teachers are often responsible for teaching physical education to their students, with little formal training in that instruction. This study evaluates a trainer in residence professional development program designed to improve physical education instructional attitudes and practices in elementary school generalist teachers. METHODS: Participants were 139 teachers and 3577 first to fifth grade students at 11 public elementary schools in Oregon. Program evaluation measures included pre- and postteacher surveys on teacher attitudes and practices toward teaching physical education for fidelity, postprogram lesson observations for sustainability, and teacher-reported program barriers to and facilitators of feasibility. A multivariate repeated-measures analysis of covariance test assessed changes in teacher attitudes and practices related to physical education instruction. RESULTS: There were main effects of time observed for teacher encouragement and enthusiasm and physical education teaching practices (F2,127 = 9.68, P < .001, ηp2=.132). Postprogram observations indicated sustained use of activity components and an average of 86% of physical education class time spent with students engaged in moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The trainer in residence community-based approach shows promise as an appropriate professional development strategy for generalist teachers responsible for physical education instruction. However, a longer duration, randomized control trial is needed to determine the efficacy of these programs in promoting student physical education outcomes.

Parenting and trajectories of children's maladaptive behaviors: a 12-year prospective community study.

This study investigated how parenting accounted for interindividual differences in developmental trajectories of different child behaviors across childhood and adolescence. In a cohort sequential community sample of 1,049 children, latent class growth analysis was applied to three parent-reported dimensions (monitoring, positive parenting, inconsistent discipline) across 12 annual assessments (ages 6-18). Four longitudinal parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, uninvolved) were differentiated on the basis of levels and rates of change in the constituent parenting dimensions. Multigroup analyses demonstrated that these parenting styles were differentially related to changes in parent- and child-reported measures of children's alcohol and cigarette use, antisocial behavior, and internalizing symptoms, with the authoritative parenting class being related to the most optimal long-term development.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL IMAGES OF SUBSTANCE USERS IN CHILDREN: A GUTTMAN UNIDIMENSIONAL SCALING APPROACH.

AIMS: The purpose of this paper was to examine the development of social images or prototypes of cigarette, alcohol and marijuana users among children in the 1(st) through 8th grade using a Guttman unidimensional scaling approach. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 1075 1(st) through 5(th) grade children who completed annual assessments for four years. FINDINGS: The properties of a Guttman scale consisting of three sequential prototypes, (a) popular, (b) popular and exciting, and (c) popular, exciting and cool, were within acceptable limits for all three substances for 2nd through 8th graders, suggesting that these prototypes were scaleable and represented a single dimension. Prototypes became more positive after the 5th grade and varied by gender. Prototypes, moderated by age and gender, were related to intention to use substances in the future. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that children's prototypes of substance users are unidimensional and cumulative for all three substances and that they develop sequentially. The relation of prototypes to intention among children in the 2(nd) through the 8(th) grade support the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Prototype/Willingness model, but suggest incorporating age and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Children as young as 2(nd) grade can reliably make valid judgments about attributes of kids who use substances. Results of this study have both theoretical and practical implications.

Purpose in Life in Emerging Adulthood: Development and Validation of a New Brief Measure.

Accruing evidence points to the value of studying purpose in life across adolescence and emerging adulthood. Research though is needed to understand the unique role of purpose in life in predicting well-being and developmentally relevant outcomes during emerging adulthood. The current studies (total n = 669) found support for the development of a new brief measure of purpose in life using data from American and Canadian samples, while demonstrating evidence for two important findings. First, purpose in life predicted well-being during emerging adulthood, even when controlling for the Big Five personality traits. Second, purpose in life was positively associated with self-image and negatively associated with delinquency, again controlling for personality traits. Findings are discussed with respect to how studying purpose in life can help understand which individuals are more likely to experience positive transitions into adulthood.

Perceptions and Use of E-cigarettes across Time among Emerging Adults.

Objectives: We present prevalence estimates of e-cigarette use and conventional cigarette use, and their co-occurrence, among emerging adults across 2 assessments, 11 months apart, conducted in 2013 and 2014. We also report on perceptions of using e-cigarettes and motives for using e-cigarettes and, among e-cigarette users, present data reflecting order of use of conventional tobacco products and e-cigarettes. Methods: Participants (N = 884) in a longitudinal study, the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project, completed at least one of 2 questionnaires, at average age 22.9 and 23.8 years. Following each assessment, a subsample of e-cigarette users completed interviews using timeline follow-back strategies. Results: The prevalence of e-cigarette use increased significantly across the 11 months. Compared to other nicotine products, risk perceptions associated with e-cigarettes are low. Data suggest co-occurrence between smoking conventional cigarettes and e-cigarette use, and that for most individuals, e-cigarettes are added to emerging adults' tobacco use repertoire. Conclusions: Findings emphasize the need for common nomenclature for e-cigarettes, for counter advertising targeting emerging adults who are or were smokers, men, and those with less education. Findings also suggest that smoke-free policies designed to target conventional cigarettes incorporate e-cigarettes, as well.

Gender differences in pubertal timing, social competence, and cigarette use: a test of the early maturation hypothesis.

PURPOSE: The timing of pubertal maturation has been associated with cigarette use, but the exact mechanisms by which maturation influences cigarette use are unclear. One hypothesis posited to explain this association is the early maturation hypothesis, that boys and girls who mature earlier than their peers have developed physically before their social resources have fully developed, leaving them ill-equipped to deal with challenges that may arise when entering physical maturity. This prospective study examines the relations between pubertal timing, social competence, and cigarette use in a sample of 1,013 boys and girls, followed from 5th through 12th grade. METHODS: Latent growth modeling was used to predict cigarette use across high school years (grades 9-12) from pubertal timing assessed in 5th grade (for girls) and 6th grade (for boys) as mediated by social competence across grades 6-8. RESULTS: Earlier pubertal maturation predicted cigarette use in 9th grade and increased cigarette use across high school. Earlier maturation also predicted lower social competence in 6th grade. For girls, social competence partially mediated the relation between pubertal timing and cigarette use. CONCLUSIONS: The data supported the early maturation hypothesis for both boys and girls, as earlier maturers were more likely to smoke in 9th grade and had lower social competence in 6th grade. However, social competence partially mediated cigarette use for girls only. The mechanisms by which negative outcomes are associated with pubertal maturation appear to differ by gender.

Early adolescent cognitions as predictors of heavy alcohol use in high school.

The present study predicts heavy alcohol use across the high school years (aged 14 through 18) from cognitions regarding the use of alcohol assessed in middle school. Using Latent Growth Modeling, we examined a structural model using data from 1011 participants in the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project. In this model, social images and descriptive norms regarding alcohol use in grade 7 were related to willingness and intention to drink alcohol in grade 8 and these variables were subsequently related to the intercept and slope of extent of heavy drinking across the high school years (grades 9 through 12). Across the sample, both descriptive norms and social images influenced the intercept of heavy drinking (in the 9th grade) through willingness to drink alcohol. Multiple sample analyses showed that social images also were directly related to the intercept of heavy drinking, for girls only. Results suggest that cognitions regarding alcohol use in middle school predict subsequent heavy drinking in high school. These findings emphasize the need for prevention programs targeting changing students' social images and encouraging a more accurate perception of peers' use when students are in middle school.

Pubertal timing and substance use: the effects of gender, parental monitoring and deviant peers.

PURPOSE: Early pubertal timing is associated with early initiation of cigarettes and alcohol; we evaluated parental monitoring and affiliation with deviant peers in a moderated, mediational model of this relationship for both genders. METHODS: We tested a prospective model explaining the process through which pubertal timing is related to early use of cigarettes and alcohol for 360 fourth and fifth graders, following them for 4 years. RESULTS: We found a relation between early pubertal maturation and trying cigarettes and alcohol without parents' knowledge for both boys and girls. In addition, for both genders, parental monitoring moderated the association between pubertal timing and trying alcohol, but not trying cigarettes. Affiliation with deviant peers mediated the effect of pubertal timing on both alcohol and cigarette initiation for girls only. CONCLUSIONS: Although pathways to substance use differ by gender, both early maturing girls and boys should be regarded as high-risk populations for initiation of substances, and intervention programs may be more effective if they are targeted accordingly.

Trait Stability and Continuity in Childhood: Relating Sociability and Hostility to the Five-Factor Model of Personality.

We investigated the continuity of personality constructs in the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project, a cohort-sequential study encompassing development from early childhood to adolescence with five annual or biennial assessments. Sociability and Hostility, assessed by teachers' ratings of children's behaviors at each assessment, were related to the traits comprising the Five-Factor model assessed by teachers' ratings at the fifth assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that Sociability and Hostility were reliably measured at each assessment, and these constructs were relatively stable over time (mean rank-order stability coefficients over intervals of 1-5 years were .50 and .43, respectively). Sociability was most strongly associated (positively) with Extraversion, and Hostility was most strongly associated (negatively) with Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability. No differences were found for younger versus older children. Implications for measuring childhood personality traits using teachers' reports of early childhood behavior are discussed.

A cognitive-behavioral mechanism leading to adolescent obesity: children's social images and physical activity.

BACKGROUND: Increasing levels of youth obesity constitute a threat to the nation's health, and identification of the influences during childhood that lead to youth obesity is urgently needed. Physical activity is one such influence that is potentially modifiable. PURPOSE: This study examined the influence of children's social images of other children who engage in physical activity on the development of their own physical activity over 3 years and related growth in physical activity to levels of obesity 2 years later. METHODS: Participants (N = 846, 50% female) were members of the Oregon Youth Substance Use Project, a longitudinal study of a community sample. The racial/ethnic composition of the sample was 86% Caucasian; 7% Hispanic; 1% Black; and approximately 2% each of Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Alaskan Native, and other or mixed race/ethnicity. The mean age at the first assessment was 9.5 years. A model examining the effect of early social images on the growth of physical activity (athleticism modeled as a curve of factors) predicting obesity was evaluated using latent growth modeling. RESULTS: More favorable social images predicted the initial levels (i.e., intercept) but not the change over time (i.e., slope) of children's athleticism, and both the intercept and the slope of athleticism predicted obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Children's social images of exercise in early childhood influence their subsequent activity levels, and hence obesity, and should be targeted in obesity prevention interventions.