Browsing by Subject "Risk behaviors"

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Spiritual modeling, faith-identity and risk behaviors : an investigation of emerging adults' faith-identity development in college
(2013-08) Walker, Anthony Blake; Anderson, Edward Robert
Emerging adulthood has been emphasized as a time of exploration generally and of religious or faith-identity specifically, and successful resolution of this aspect of identity holds important consequences related to risk behaviors. The goal of this investigation was to better understand the types of faith-identities found in college, how emerging adults' relationships with parents related to their own faith-identities and how each faith-identity was related to risk behaviors. Spiritual Modeling, a type of modeling rooted in social learning theory, (Bandura; 1977; King, 2003; Oman & Thoreson, 2003) was expected to be predictive of emerging adults' faith-identities, while parent-emerging adult relationship quality and parental conflict were thought to moderate the relationship between spiritual modeling and faith-identity. Faith-Identity was expected to differentiate across binge drinking, marijuana use and number of sexual partners, and sensation seeking was thought to moderate the relationship between faith-identity and risk behaviors. Seven hundred ninety students completed an online survey across 11 large public and private religious universities. Spiritual Modeling was strongly predictive of both religious and commitment oriented faith-identities. The relationship between Spiritual Modeling and Faith-Identity was not moderated by relationship quality or parental conflict. A more religiously oriented faith-identity was predictive of fewer sexual partners and less binge drinking, while a more commitment oriented faith-identity was predictive of less marijuana use. High levels of sensation seeking amplified the relationship between a more secular faith identity and binge drinking. Commitment and Religious faith-identities significantly moderated the relationship between faith-identity and both binge drinking and number of sexual partners. Evidence is suggestive that a religiously oriented faith-identity may be more protective in combination with high levels of commitment while a faith-identity characterized by secularism and high commitment appears least protective. The potential utility of a faith-identity construct in emerging adulthood and future research directions are discussed.
Suicidality among Latina adolescents : the relative effects of psychosocial risk factors and psychological symptoms
(2014-08) Alvarez, Kiara; Carlson, Cindy I., 1949-
In national surveys of adolescents, Latina females have been found to have higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts when compared to Latino males and to non-Latino White and Black males and females (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2014). The reasons for these gender and racial disparities in suicidal behavior have not been definitively established. Prior research indicates that suicidal behavior among adolescents is influenced by both individual-level psychological symptoms and by psychosocial risk factors (Bridge, Goldstein, & Brent, 2006; King & Merchant, 2008; Prinstein, Boergers, Spirito, Little, & Grapentine, 2000). Among Latina adolescents in particular, the interplay between cultural processes and family relationships has been identified as a key influence on suicidal behavior (Zayas, 2011). The purpose of this study was to build upon Zayas’s (2011) model of suicidality among adolescent Latinas by evaluating the relative effects of individual, family, and peer factors on suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts. A latent variable structural equation model (SEM) was developed and tested using a sample that included 946 Latinas aged 13 to 18 who were interviewed for a national psychiatric epidemiological survey, the National Comorbidity Survey – Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A; Kessler, 2013). The SEM model measured the direct and indirect effects of the latent variables of generation status, peer support, negative peer influence, family relationships, and depression on suicidality. Results of the study indicated that higher levels of depression, poorer family relationships, and higher levels of negative peer influence resulted in higher levels of suicidality. The influence of family relationships and negative peer influence on suicidality were partially mediated by depression; however, negative peer influence also had a substantial direct effect on suicidality. Results of this study support a clinical focus on multisystemic interventions for Latina adolescents that address functioning at individual, family, and peer levels, as well as further investigation into the pathways by which negative peer influence impacts suicidality in this population.