Faculty Bibliography

This study aimed to investigate predictors of male sexual partner risk among Latinas and Black women in their late thirties. We used multiple regression analysis to examine factors associated with male sexual partner risk among 296 women who participated in two waves of the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study (New York, 2011-2013 and 2014-2016). Women who experienced childhood sexual abuse had higher risk partners than those who did not [b = 0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.06, 0.28]. Earlier marijuana use was a risk factor for partner risk in the late thirties (b = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.27). Higher levels of ethnic/racial identity commitment mitigated this risk (b = - 0.15, 95% CI = - 0.26, - 0.04). Ethnic/racial identity commitment can be protective against male sexual partner risk among Latina and Black women who use marijuana. Further research should explore the protective role of different dimensions of ethnic/racial identity against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Objectives/UNASSIGNED:As the rate of cannabis use increases, it is expected that more individuals will develop a Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD). Relatively little is known, however, about the psychosocial correlates of CUDs among racial/ethnic minority women. This study, therefore, examined correlates of CUDs among a cohort of adult African American and Puerto Rican women. Methods/UNASSIGNED:The sample consisted of African American and Puerto Rican female participants (N = 343), who have been followed by the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study from mean age 14 to mean age 39 years. The bivariate and multivariate associations between CUDs at age 39 and variables from 5 domains - demographics, earlier cannabis use, childhood abuse, the relationship with the spouse/partner, and media exposure - were assessed using logistic regression analyses. Results/UNASSIGNED:The results showed that, with the exception of demographic factors, variables from each of the domains (e.g., sexual abuse in childhood, arguments with spouse/partner, and hours of visual media exposure) were related to CUDs at age 39. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:Findings suggest that in addition to treating CUDs, couples therapy may be indicated to strengthen the spousal/partner relationship, enlist the spouse/partner's support for cannabis use cessation. Furthermore, frequency of visual media exposure may need to be reduced.

Low-coverage next-generation sequencing experiments assisted by statistical methods are popular in a genetic association study. Next-generation sequencing experiments produce genotype data that include allele read counts and read depths. For low sequencing depths, the genotypes tend to be highly uncertain; therefore, the uncertain genotypes are usually removed or imputed before performing a statistical analysis. It may result in the inflated type I error rate and in a loss of statistical power. In this paper, we propose a mixture-based penalized score association test adjusting for non-genetic covariates. The proposed score test statistic is based on a sandwich variance estimator so that it is robust under the model misspecification between the covariates and the latent genotypes. The proposed method takes advantage of not requiring either external imputation or elimination of uncertain genotypes. The results of our simulation study show that the type I error rates are well controlled and the proposed association test have reasonable statistical power. As an illustration, we apply our statistic to pharmacogenomics data for drug responsiveness among 400 epilepsy patients.

Objectives/UNASSIGNED:Since the number of individuals who use substances in the United States has markedly increased every year, substance use is a significant public health concern. The current study examines the possible risk and protective factors associated with triple comorbid trajectories of longitudinal alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use from age 14 to 36. Methods/UNASSIGNED:A community sample of 674 participants (53% African Americans and 47% Puerto Ricans; 60% females) were recruited from the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between the risk (low self-control, peer drug use) and protective (parent-child attachment, family church attendance) factors at age 14 and membership in the triple trajectory groups derived from a multivariate growth mixture model. Results/UNASSIGNED:Low self-control and peer drug use were associated with an increased likelihood of being a member in the triple comorbid trajectory groups compared to the reference group (i.e., low alcohol, no tobacco, and no cannabis use). On the other hand, parent-child attachment and family church attendance were associated with a decreased likelihood of being a member in the triple comorbid trajectory groups compared to the reference group. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:Treatment programs for adolescents who use substances may be more helpful if their parents and/or friends could also participate together with the adolescent, rather than only the adolescent participates in the treatment programs. Further research is needed to gain a greater understanding of the conceptual nature of the relationship between earlier risk and protective factors and later substance use patterns.

Schwarz's Bayesian information criterion (BIC) is one of the most popular criteria for model selection, that was derived under the assumption of independent and identical distribution. For correlated data in longitudinal studies, Jones (Statistics in Medicine, 30, 3050-3056, 2011) modified the BIC to select the best linear mixed effects model based on the effective sample size where the number of parameters in covariance structure was not considered. In this paper, we propose an extended Jones' modified BIC by considering covariance parameters. We conducted simulation studies under a variety of parameter configurations for linear mixed effects models. Our simulation study indicates that our proposed BIC performs better in model selection than Schwarz's BIC and Jones' modified BIC do in most scenarios. We also illustrate an example of smoking data using a longitudinal cohort of cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE:To examine the effect of long-term violent victimization from late adolescence to the mid-30s on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid psychiatric disorders in adulthood among urban African Americans and Puerto Ricans. METHOD/METHODS:= 674) at 4 time points associated with mean ages of 19, 24, 29, and 36 years. Trajectories of violent victimization were extracted using growth mixture modeling and used to predict psychiatric disorders and comorbidities in adulthood. RESULTS:The sample was 52.8% African American and 47.2% Puerto Rican, with 60% females. Three trajectory groups of violent victimization were identified: high, intermediate, and low. Over half of the sample reported relatively high- and intermediate-level violent victimization experiences from adolescence to adulthood. Group comparisons showed that participants belonging to the relatively high-victimization group had greater odds of having PTSD, major depressive episode (MDE), and substance use disorder (SUD) separately, as well as comorbid PTSD-SUD and PTSD-MDE, compared with those classified as having relatively low levels of victimization. Having intermediate-level victimization experiences, compared with low-level victimization experiences, over time was associated with higher odds of PTSD and MDE separately and comorbid PTSD-MDE. CONCLUSIONS:Long-term exposure to relatively high levels of violent victimization during emerging and young adulthood is associated with PTSD and comorbid psychiatric disorders in the 30s. Social, structural, and interpersonal factors underlying the differential patterns of violent victimization in urban African American and LatinX youth need to be identified to adequately inform prevention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

In New York City, over 90% of women newly diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are Black and Latina; a quarter of these infections occur among 30-39 year-olds. A survey was administered to 343 Black and Puerto Rican women (2014-2016) to examine two HIV infection risk factors: relationship exclusivity and having experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). A majority of male partners (69.7%) had at least one risk for HIV transmission. Women in non-exclusive sexual relationships (nESRs) had higher-risk partners, but engaged in safer sex practices than those in ESRs. Two-thirds of women in ESRs (64.8%) reported unprotected vaginal intercourse, although 33.5% had partners with a history of concurrent relationships. Among women in nESRs, having experienced CSA was a strong risk factor for HIV infection. Black and Latina women's vulnerability to HIV infection is significant, even when in exclusive relationships. Safer sex counseling should be integrated in primary care.

BACKGROUND:The adverse consequences of major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affect a significant portion of the US population every year (i.e., 15 million for MDD; 8 million for PTSD) and are of public health concern. The current study examines tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use as possible longitudinal predictors of MDD and/or PTSD. METHODS:A community sample of 674 participants (53% African Americans and 47% Puerto Ricans; 405 females and 269 males) were recruited from the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study. We used Mplus software to obtain the triple trajectories of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use from mean age 14 to 36. Logistic regression analyses were then conducted to examine the associations between those triple trajectory groups and a single diagnosis of MDD or PTSD as well as a dual diagnosis of MDD with PTSD at age 36. RESULTS:The observed percentages of MDD, PTSD, and the comorbidity of MDD and PTSD were 17%, 8%, and 5%, respectively. The heavy use of all 3 substances group was associated with an increased likelihood of having MDD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.14, P < .01), PTSD (AOR = 3.91, P < .05), and MDD with PTSD (AOR = 6.64, P < .01), as compared with the tobacco and alcohol use group. CONCLUSIONS:Treatment programs to quit or reduce the use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana may help decrease the prevalence of MDD and PTSD. This could lead to improvements in individualized treatments for patients who use tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana and who have both MDD and PTSD.

Approximately 9% of adults report the symptoms of insomnia, and there are a number of adverse consequences of insomnia. This could be a public health concern. The current study seeks plausible longitudinal predictors of insomnia for prevention purposes. A community sample of 674 participants (53% African Americans and 47% Puerto Ricans; 60% were females) were recruited from the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study. We applied a growth mixture model to obtain the triple trajectories of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Logistic regression analyses were then conducted to examine the associations between the triple trajectory groups from mean age 14 to 36 and insomnia at age 36. The estimated prevalence of insomnia is 7.1%. A five-group triple trajectory model was selected: A) Increasing use of all three substances (18%); B) Moderate use of alcohol and marijuana, and high use of cigarette (11%); C) Moderate use of alcohol and cigarette, and experimental use of marijuana (3%); D) Moderate use of all three substances (5%); and E) No or low use of all three substances (63%). Among the five trajectory groups, the increasing use of all three substances group (AOR = 2.71, p-value = .011) was associated with an increased likelihood of having insomnia as compared to the no or low use of all three substances group. Treatment programs to quit or reduce the use of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana may help decrease the prevalence of insomnia. This could lead to improvements in individualized treatments for patients who have symptoms of insomnia and who also use substances.