Faculty Bibliography

Adolescent overweight/obesity (OW/O) has reached epidemic proportions. The Youth Self-Report (YSR) was administered to 514 primarily Hispanic urban high school students to examine the relationship between weight and psychological distress. YSR and study population-specific norms were used to assess risk on Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, and Social Problems scales. OW/O status increased Social Problems regardless of norms. OW/O students endorsed greater Withdrawn/Depressed symptoms with YSR norms; greater Anxious/Depressed and Somatic Complaints were endorsed with population-specific norms. Females drive results. Findings suggest norms need to incorporate minority and economically disadvantaged groups.

BACKGROUND: Bars and nightclubs are key public venues where young adults congregate and use both tobacco and alcohol, and young adult bar patrons are at high risk for substance use. This study examined the association between cigarette smoking and alcohol use among a random sample of young adult bar patrons from three different cities in the USA. METHODS: Cross-sectional data was collected from a random sample of young adult bar patrons aged 18-29 in San Diego, CA (N = 1,150), Portland, ME (N = 1,019), and Tulsa, OK (N = 1,106) from 2007-2010 (response rate 88%) using randomized time location sampling. Respondents reported the number of days they smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, and binge drank in the past 30 days. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the association between smoking (nonsmoker, occasional smoker, and regular smoker) and drinking and binge drinking for each city controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education. Predicted probabilities of each smoking category were calculated by drinking and binge drinking status. The association between smoking and drinking and binge drinking among combined samples was also analyzed, controlling for demographic variables and city. RESULTS: Respondents reported high current smoking rates, ranging from 51% in Portland to 58% in Tulsa. Respondents in Tulsa were more likely to report regular smoking than those in San Diego and Portland, with demographic variables being controlled. Young adult bar patrons also exhibited a strong association between smoking and drinking. In general, as the frequency of drinking and binge drinking increased, the predicted probability of being a smoker, especially a regular smoker, increased in each city. CONCLUSIONS: Young adult bar patrons consistently reported a high smoking rate and a strong relationship between smoking and drinking, regardless of the different bar cultures and tobacco control contexts in each of the three cities. While smoke-free bar policies were negatively associated with regular smoking, these policies alone may not be enough to influence the association between smoking and drinking, particularly if tobacco marketing continues in these venues, or in the absence of programs specifically addressing the co-use of tobacco and alcohol.

OBJECTIVE: Young adults frequently report social smoking. This study examined the relationship between different social smoking definitions and the co-use of cigarettes and alcohol, tobacco-related attitudes, and quitting efforts. METHOD: Cross-sectional data were collected at bars using randomized time location sampling among young adults aged 21-26 in San Diego, California from 2010 to 2011 (73% response rate). Multivariable logistic regression examined if current smoking and quit attempts were associated with tobacco-related attitudes, and whether social smoking self-identification or behavior was associated with cigarette-and-alcohol co-use, tobacco-related attitudes, quit attempts, or quitline use. RESULTS: Among 537 current smokers, 80% self-identified and 49% behaved as social smokers. Social smoking self-identification was positively associated with cigarette-and-alcohol co-use, and quit attempts. Social smoking behavior was negatively associated with tobacco marketing receptivity, quit attempts, and quitline use. Tobacco-related attitudes were associated with smoking but did not generally differ by social smoking status. CONCLUSION: Identification and behavior as a social smoker have opposing associations with co-use of cigarettes and alcohol and quit attempts. Tobacco cessation programs for self-identified social smokers should address co-use. Interventions denormalizing the tobacco industry or emphasizing the health effects of temporary smoking and secondhand smoke may address smoking among young adult bar patrons regardless of social smoking status.

BACKGROUND: Young breast cancer survivors often need to deal with adverse effects of treatments on fertility and complex reproductive decisions. In this systematic review, we highlight what is known about childbearing and parenthood attitudes and decisions of young breast cancer survivors from their own perspective. METHODS: We conducted manual and electronic searches on Pubmed, PsychInf and CINAHL databases for articles, published in English between 1 January 1990 and 31 October 2012, that assessed childbearing, pregnancy and parenthood attitudes/decisions of female breast cancer survivors (premenopausal and/or <50 years old). Eligible articles were classified into quantitative studies, qualitative studies and mixed methods studies. Data from each study were individually extracted by all the authors, and standardized tables were created and discussed to ensure congruence of the information extracted. RESULTS: Of the 493 publications identified in PubMed (results are presented for PubMed searches as the other databases did not yield any new relevant papers), 8 met the inclusion criteria, in addition to 2 publications retrieved manually. A total of 10 studies provided information on pregnancy and parenthood attitudes and decisions, in addition to risks and benefits of childbearing after breast cancer. Survivors had mixed attitudes towards the issue. Fear associated with future pregnancy was reported, namely the risk of cancer recurrence. However, for many survivors, pregnancy and parenthood can represent normalcy, happiness and life fulfilment. CONCLUSIONS: Childbearing after breast cancer is an important issue for survivors. Future larger and prospective studies should be implemented to increase certainty of conclusions of current research. Clinicians may benefit from a deeper understanding of the importance of pregnancy and parenthood to survivors in order to provide the needed educational and psychosocial support services, overcome misinformation and better assist women with their fertility-related decisions.

BACKGROUND: No validated multiscale instruments exist that measure community members' views on biobanking and biospecimen donation. This study describes the development and psychometric properties of the English-language BANKS (Biobanking Attitudes and Knowledge Survey). METHODS: The BANKS was created by item generation through review of scientific literature, focus groups with community members, and input from a community advisory board. Items were refined through cognitive interviews. Content validity was assessed through an expert panel review. Psychometric properties of the BANKS were assessed in a sample of 85 community members. RESULTS: The final BANKS includes three scales: attitudes, knowledge, and self-efficacy; as well as three single items, which evaluated receptivity and intention to donate a biospecimen for research. Cronbach alpha coefficients for two scales that use Likert response format indicated high internal consistency (attitudes: alpha, 0.88; self-efficacy: alpha, 0.95). Content validity indices were moderate, ranging from 0.69 to 0.89. Intention to donate blood and intention to donate urine were positively correlated with attitudes, knowledge, self-efficacy, and receptivity to learning more about biobanking (P values range from 0.029 to <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The final BANKS shows evidence of satisfactory reliability and validity, is easy to administer, and is a promising tool to inform biospecimen research. Additional studies should be conducted with larger samples considering biospecimen donation to further assess the reliability and validity of the instrument. IMPACT: A valid and reliable instrument measuring community members' views about biobanking may help researchers evaluate relevant communication interventions to enhance understanding, intention, and actual biospecimen donation. A Spanish-language BANKS is under development.