Psicometria

Patterns of substance use in adolescents attending a mental health department
Díaz, Rosa; Goti, Javier; García, Montse; Gual, Antoni; Serrano, Lourdes; et al.. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry20. 6 (Jun 2011): 279-89.

This study aimed to describe patterns of substance use in adolescents initiating mental health treatment and analyse factors associated with a high-risk pattern ofsubstance use differentially by gender. Two hundred and thirty-seven 12- to 17-year-old new patients in an urban public mental health service were prospectively recruited and evaluated using semi-structured interviews and standardized questionnaires to obtain socio-demographic, psychopathological, family, school and substance use data. The most prevalent primary diagnoses among males were attentiondeficit disorder and conduct disorder, while among females they were eating disorders, affective and conduct disorders. Substance use disorder was diagnosed as follows: cannabis in 10.1% of the sample, alcohol in 3.4% and other drugs in 0.4%. A pattern of substance use with high risk of developing problems (at least regular use of alcohol or occasional use of cannabis or other illegal drugs) wasfound in 48.9% of the sample. After adjusting for age in the multivariate logistic regression, this pattern of risky use of drugs was found to be associated with Youth Self-Report scales of thought problems, delinquent and aggressive behaviour, in both genders. Altered family structure, having had to repeat a school grade and Youth Self-Report attention problems were only significantly associatedwith risky drug consumption in females. The high prevalence of risky and problematic substance use in adolescents entering mental health treatment warrants early systematic screening and specific preventive and therapeutic interventions, addressing mental health psychoeducation and motivation to avoid drugs, as well as differential associated risk factors for males and females.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]Concurrent Sexual Partnerships Among Urban African American High-Risk Women With Main Sex Partners
Grieb, Suzanne M; Dolwick; Davey-rothwell, Melissa; Latkin, Carl A. AIDS and Behavior16. 2 (Feb 2012): 323-33.

To determine correlates of concurrent sexual partnerships among high-risk low-income urban African American women, survey responses of 337 women who had main sexual partners for over6 months and reported high-risk behaviors were analyzed; 142 of these women also reported other sexual partnerships within the past 90 days. Unadjusted analyses showed that concurrency was significantly associated with relationship status, sexual debut, forced sex, incarceration of self and partners, depression, drug use, known or suspected partner nonmonogamy, and partner drug use. Age of sexualdebut, relationship status, and indicators of problem drug use remained significantly associated with concurrency when controlling for individual factors, and only indicators of problem drug use and known or suspected partner nonmonogamy remained significantly associated with concurrency when also controlling for partner characteristics. Our results suggest the presence of extensive sexualnetworks within this population and document the need for interventions that address drug abuse and partnership instability. Moreover, the strong association between concurrency and perceptions of partners' nonmonogamy suggest the need for intervention to target men and women in this core group.

At the Borders, on the Edge: Use of Injected Methamphetamine in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, MexicoPatricia, Case; Ramos, Rebeca; Brouwer, Kimberly C; Firestone-Cruz, Michelle; Pollini, Robin A; et al.. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health10. 1 (Feb 2008): 23-33.

Injection drug use is of increasing concern along the US-Mexico border where Tijuana and Ciudad (Cd.) Juarez are located. Methamphetamine has long been manufactured and trafficked through Mexico, with low rates of use within Mexico....