%0 Journal Article %J J Prim Prev %D 2015 %T Predictors of participation in parenting workshops for improving adolescent behavioral and mental health: Results from the Common Sense Parenting trial. %A Fleming, Charles B %A Mason, W A %A Haggerty, Kevin P %A Thompson, Ronald W %A Fernandez, Kate %A Casey-Goldstein, Mary %A Oats, Robert G %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Adult %K Ethnic Groups %K Family Characteristics %K Female %K Humans %K Logistic Models %K Male %K Mental Health %K Parent-Child Relations %K Parenting %K Parents %K Poverty Areas %K Program Evaluation %K Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic %K Social Class %K Washington %X

Engaging and retaining participants are crucial to achieving adequate implementation of parenting interventions designed to prevent problem behaviors among children and adolescents. This study examined predictors of engagement and retention in a group-based family intervention across two versions of the program: a standard version requiring only parent attendance for six sessions and an adapted version with two additional sessions that required attendance by the son or daughter. Families included a parent and an eighth grader who attended one of five high-poverty schools in an urban Pacific Northwest school district. The adapted version of the intervention had a higher rate of engagement than the standard version, a difference that was statistically significant after adjusting for other variables assessed at enrollment in the study. Higher household income and parent education, younger student age, and poorer affective quality in the parent-child relationship predicted greater likelihood of initial attendance. In the adapted version of the intervention, parents of boys were more likely to engage with the program than those of girls. The variables considered did not strongly predict retention, although retention was higher among parents of boys. Retention did not significantly differ between conditions. Asking for child attendance at workshops may have increased engagement in the intervention, while findings for other predictors of attendance point to the need for added efforts to recruit families who have less socioeconomic resources, as well as families who perceive they have less need for services.

%B J Prim Prev %V 36 %P 105-18 %8 2015 Apr %G eng %N 2 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25656381?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1007/s10935-015-0386-3 %0 Journal Article %J Subst Use Misuse %D 2015 %T Washington State recreational marijuana legalization: parent and adolescent perceptions, knowledge, and discussions in a sample of low-income families. %A Mason, W A %A Hanson, Koren %A Fleming, Charles B %A Ringle, Jay L %A Haggerty, Kevin P %K Adolescent %K Adult %K Family %K Female %K Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice %K Humans %K Knowledge %K Male %K Marijuana Smoking %K Parent-Child Relations %K Parents %K Perception %K Poverty %K Washington %X

BACKGROUND: In November 2012, Washington State and Colorado became the first states in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, and Uruguay became the first country to allow the cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana. One possible consequence of these changes is increased adolescent marijuana use. Parents may mitigate this adverse consequence; however, whether parents and adolescents have accurate knowledge about the laws and are discussing marijuana use in light of the law changes is unknown.

OBJECTIVE: We examine perceptions, knowledge, and parent-child discussions about Washington State's recreational marijuana law in a sample of low-income families.

METHODS: Participants were a subset of families (n = 115) in an ongoing study that originally recruited parents and adolescents from middle schools in Tacoma, Washington. In summer 2013, when students were entering the 11(th) grade, students and their parents were asked questions about the recreational marijuana law.

RESULTS: Participants perceived that their marijuana-related attitudes and behaviors changed little as a result of the law, and displayed uncertainty about what is legal and illegal. Most parents reported discussing the new law with their children but only occasionally, and conversations emphasized household rules, particularly among parent lifetime marijuana users compared to non-users. Conclusions/Importance: Results suggest that there should be a public health campaign focused on families that provides clear information about the recreational marijuana laws.

%B Subst Use Misuse %V 50 %P 541-5 %8 2015 Apr %G eng %N 5 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25671633?dopt=Abstract %R 10.3109/10826084.2014.952447 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Orthopsychiatry %D 2012 %T Predictors and responses to the growth in physical violence during adolescence: a comparison of students in Washington State and Victoria, Australia. %A Herrenkohl, Todd I %A Hemphill, Sheryl A %A Mason, W A %A Toumbourou, John W %A Catalano, Richard F %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Australia %K Child %K Cross-Sectional Studies %K Female %K Humans %K Male %K Models, Psychological %K Risk Factors %K Students %K Victoria %K Violence %K Washington %X

This study investigates patterns in violence over 3 time points in early- to mid-adolescence in 2 statewide representative samples of youth, one in Washington State, USA, and the other in Victoria, Australia. Comparable data collection methods in both states were used to cross-nationally compare patterns of violence, risk factors, and responses to violence (school suspensions and arrests) in 2 policy contexts. Risk factors include early use of alcohol, binge drinking, involvement with antisocial peers, family conflict, poor family management, sensation seeking, and bully victimization. These are modeled as correlates of initial violence and predictors of change in violence over a 3-year period, from ages 12-15, for participating youth. Results suggest that patterns and predictors of violence are mostly similar in the 2 states. Initial levels of violence (age 13) and change over time in violence were associated in both states with more youth school suspensions and more police arrests in Grade 9. Some cross-national differences were also shown. For example, correlations of violence with gender and violence with binge drinking were stronger in Victoria, whereas correlations of violence with early use of alcohol and with antisocial peer involvement were stronger in Washington State. Antisocial peer involvement and family conflict were significant predictors of a gradual increase in violence from Grades 7-9 for youth in Victoria only. Implications are discussed with attention to prevention and intervention efforts.

%B Am J Orthopsychiatry %V 82 %P 41-9 %8 2012 Jan %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2011.01139.x %0 Journal Article %J Psychol Addict Behav %D 2011 %T Early age alcohol use and later alcohol problems in adolescents: Individual and peer mediators in a bi-national study. %A Mason, W A %A Toumbourou, John W %A Herrenkohl, Todd I %A Hemphill, Sheryl A %A Catalano, Richard F %A Patton, George C %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Age of Onset %K Alcohol Drinking %K Alcohol-Related Disorders %K Cross-Cultural Comparison %K Female %K Humans %K Impulsive Behavior %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Models, Statistical %K Peer Group %K Risk Factors %K Risk-Taking %K Social Control, Informal %K Students %K Substance-Related Disorders %K Victoria %K Washington %K Young Adult %X

This paper examines whether there is cross-national similarity in the longitudinal relationship between early age alcohol use and adolescent alcohol problems. Potential mechanisms underlying this relationship also are examined, testing adolescent alcohol use, low self-regulation, and peer deviance as possible mediators. Students (N = 1,945) participating in the International Youth Development Study, a longitudinal panel survey study, responded to questions on alcohol use and influencing factors, and were followed annually over a 3-year period from 2002 to 2004 (98% retention rate). State-representative, community student samples were recruited in grade 7 in Washington State, United States (US, n = 961, 78% of those eligible; Mage = 13.09, SD = .44) and Victoria, Australia (n = 984, 76% of those eligible; Mage = 12.93, SD = .41). Analyses were conducted using multiple-group structural equation modeling. In both states, early age alcohol use (age 13) had a small but statistically significant association with subsequent alcohol problems (age 15). Overall, there was little evidence for mediation of early alcohol effects. Low self-regulation prospectively predicted peer deviance, alcohol use, and alcohol problems in both states. Peer deviance was more positively related to alcohol use and low self-regulation among students in Victoria compared to students in Washington State. The small but persistent association of early age alcohol use with alcohol problems across both samples is consistent with efforts to delay alcohol initiation to help prevent problematic alcohol use. Self-regulation was an important influence, supporting the need to further investigate the developmental contribution of neurobehavioral disinhibition.

%B Psychol Addict Behav %V 25 %P 625-33 %8 2011 Dec %G eng %N 4 %R 10.1037/a0023320