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Learn About the Impact of Early Alcohol Use, Sustaining Learning Gains in Kids, Preventing Dating Abuse for Adolescents, and More

In this issue, we present studies that bring to light the impact of early substance use on personalities in early adolescent and young adults, a program for parents to help sustain learning gains in kids from Head Start to Kindergarten, efforts to prevent dating abuse for adolescents exposed to domestic violence—and more.* 

* The following text is not our own; it is pulled from the linked research articles to preserve original meaning.

Alcohol Use Initiation Is Associated with Changes in Personality Trait Trajectories from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Recent work has demonstrated the development of personality traits and alcohol use characteristics from early adolescence to young adulthood. Few studies, however, have tested whether alcohol use initiation impacts trajectories of personality over this time period. [This study] examined the effect of alcohol use initiation on personality development from early adolescence to young adulthood.

Program for Parents Helps Sustain Learning Gains in Kids from Head Start to Kindergarten

An instructional program for parents helps young children retain the literacy skills and positive learning behaviors acquired in Head Start through to the end of the kindergarten year, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The program appears to offset what education researchers call “summer loss,” or the tendency of children to forget during summer break what they learned during the previous year.

The Effects of Moms and Teens for Safe Dates: A Dating Abuse Prevention Program for Adolescents Exposed to Domestic Violence

Adolescents exposed to domestic violence are at high risk for dating abuse. In this randomized controlled trial, the authors evaluated Moms and Teens for Safe Dates (MTSD), a dating abuse prevention program designed specifically for this risk group. MTSD consists of six booklets with dating abuse prevention information and interactive activities. Mothers who had been victims of domestic violence but no longer lived with the abuser delivered the program to their adolescents who had been exposed to the abuse. A total of 409 mother and adolescent pairs were recruited to participate. Data were collected through baseline and 6-month follow-up telephone interviews. The MTSD program had favorable effects on the prevention of multiple types of dating abuse perpetration and victimization among adolescents with higher but not lower exposure to domestic violence. Program effects on psychological and physical victimization and psychological and cyber perpetration were moderated by the amount of adolescent exposure to domestic violence.

Results from the School Health Policies and Practices Study 2014

The School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. SHPPS was designed to answer the following questions:

  • What are the characteristics of each component of school health at the state, district, school, and classroom levels?
  • Are there persons responsible for coordinating each school health program component, and what are their qualifications and educational backgrounds?
  • What collaboration occurs among staff from each school health program component and with staff from outside agencies and organizations?
  • How have key policies and practices changed over time?

* The above text is not our own; it is pulled from the linked research articles to preserve original meaning.

 

Disclaimer

The contents of the National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention newsletter and website were assembled under a cooperative agreement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The newsletter and website are operated and maintained by AIR and supported by grant number 5U79SM061516-02 from SAMHSA. The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of SAMHSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.