Journal of Primary Prevention

Achieving sustained engagement in family-based preventive intervention programs is a serious challenge faced by program implementers. Despite the evidence supporting the effectiveness and potential population-level impacts for these programs, their actual impact is limited by challenges around retention of participants. In order to inform efforts to better retain families, it is critical to understand the different patterns of attendance that emerge across the duration of program implementation and the factors that are associated with each attendance pattern...

We sought to determine which demographic characteristics influence energy drink consumption habits and to examine whether caffeine content and knowledge of human nutrition affect college students' decisions to consume these beverages. We used an online survey to ask 265 college students, who did not participate in a varsity sport, to complete a survey consisting of demographic questions, the General Knowledge Questionnaire for adults, and questions about energy drink consumption habits. We found, overall, that 23...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

To combat the rampant spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided Americans with empirically supported preventive behavioral guidelines (e.g., wearing a face mask). However, there is a need to develop behavioral strategies that can effectively increase adherence to these guidelines, especially for young adults, who report particularly poor adherence. Across several domains of prevention science, norms-based interventions have successfully motivated constructive health behavior by correcting normative misperceptions, but these strategies are only relevant when these misperceptions are widespread...

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Strategic Prevention Framework Partnerships for Success (PFS) program supports community-based organizations (CBOs) across the United States in implementing evidence-based prevention interventions to reduce substance use in adolescents and young adults. Little attention has been paid to how CBOs combine interventions to create comprehensive community-specific prevention approaches, or whether different approaches achieve similar community-level effects on prescription drug misuse (PDM)...

Children who grow up in low-income households are likely to remain poor throughout their lives. The odds of spending a lifetime in poverty are even greater for children of color, who are more likely to be born into poverty and are less likely to be economically mobile than their White counterparts. Informal mentoring (i.e., a positive relationship with a caring, non-parental adult) has been associated with key steps towards economic mobility, such as educational attainment and workforce participation. Yet previous research also suggests that some mentors may be in a better position to promote the accumulation of these building blocks than others...

This paper describes the evaluation of a program that provides low-income Latina mothers with skills to help their children cope with stress. Based on focus groups with mothers and their school-aged children in two locations, we developed a five-week program for helping mothers identify signs of stress in their children, learn effective emotion-coaching skills, and learn how to effectively encourage their children to use coping strategies that match the controllability of the situation. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in an urban (n = 13) and rural (n = 78) location in which we randomly assigned mothers to either an intervention or a no-treatment control condition...

The home learning environment is a potential correlate of childhood obesity and obesity-related factors. We examined relationships between the home learning environment and weight status and the home learning environment and dietary intake, in a sample of 303 preschool-aged children from Australia. We measured their height and weight, and their parents completed a questionnaire that included questions related to demographics, dietary intake, and the home learning environment. Parents reported their children's usual consumption of foods from each food group, the frequency of their discretionary food intake, and the frequency of home activities that might support cognitive stimulation...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a public health issue that claims the lives of 350,000 individuals globally every year. Primary care providers are increasingly prescribing HCV medications with more modern, simplified administrations. Individuals with HCV are disproportionately affected by behavioral health challenges and substance use disorders. Integrated behavioral health providers can work in concert with their patients' primary care teams to provide innovative treatment programs to help support the needs of HCV care...

Women with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are at an increased risk of mortality from breast cancer and osteoporosis. However, the impact of DLBCL on rates of mammography and bone density testing (BDT) is unknown. We compared female DLBCL and non-cancer patients utilizing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare dataset to analyze the predictors of mammography and BDT. Guided by the Social Ecological Model (SEM), we used multivariable logistic regressions with inverse probability treatment weighting to examine the association of intrapersonal, interpersonal, healthcare system, and community factors with mammography and BDT...

Psychosocial problems arising from excessive gaming are a public health issue across the developed world. In its most serious form, problematic gaming is recognized as gaming disorder (GD) in the ICD-11. Research has tended to focus on the value of outpatient treatment for GD, but less attention has been paid to broader prevention strategies to address less serious but nevertheless harmful gaming behaviors. Another gap in this literature has been the lack of involvement of the gaming community as stakeholders to identify feasible prevention approaches...

Strength-based approaches to youth development have been tested in community settings and are related to improvements in social, health, and academic realms. However, little is known about similar approaches to enhance parent-teen communication (PTC) in pediatric primary care. The goal of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention to facilitate parent-teen communication about teen strengths. Intervention materials were developed based on a literature review, expert consultation, and feedback from stakeholders...

Residential relocation (RR) is associated with behavior problems and cognitive delays in school-age children. Little is known regarding effects of RR on early childhood development. The data from this study were collected from 2011 to 2016 through the Cincinnati Home Injury Prevention and Literacy Promotion Trial. The purpose of the current study was to identify factors associated with RR and determine effects of RR on early childhood development in a cohort of mother/child dyads (n = 424). High RR was relocating ≥ 3 times over the 24-month study period...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

We piloted the preventive intervention e-Familias Unidas, delivered exclusively through the Internet to maximize reach and sustainability. This program is an adaptation of an evidence-based, family-centered intervention that aims to prevent Hispanic adolescent drug use and risky sexual behavior through improving family functioning. The purpose of this feasibility trial was to: (1) explore the use of Facebook and a trusted community champion in the online recruitment of Hispanic parents of adolescents, (2) test an online-only assessment and randomization protocol, (3) pilot intervention delivery via e-familiasunidas...

Although gun control laws are intended to reduce exposure to gun violence in communities across the country, the passage of gun control laws is often linked to a substantial rise in the number of guns sold in the U.S. National polls indicate that most individuals purchase firearms for protection, but some cite the fear of gun-buying restrictions as the main reason for purchasing a gun. It is unclear what impact gun legislation has on patterns of gun sales, as mass shootings continue to bring the U.S. gun debate to the forefront...

The Journal of Primary Prevention is dedicating this special issue to the topic of gun violence and the detrimental effects it has on communities. The papers represent original research articles providing scientific evidence on the unintended consequences of gun violence and exposure to such violence in neighborhoods and communities. These papers also take seriously the role of theory in our understanding of gun violence. Funding for gun violence research is experiencing a resurgence, and these papers substantively contribute to that narrative...

The 2014 disease outbreak in West Africa of the Ebola virus was the longest, largest, deadliest, and most complex epidemic of its kind in history. It was believed to have originated from bushmeat consumption and exhibited sustained human-to-human transmission. We assessed the effects of the virus outbreak in West Africa on bushmeat enterprise and environmental health risk behaviors among households in Nigeria. We adopted a multistage sampling technique to select 100 respondents. We structured two sets of questionnaires for both bushmeat sellers and consumers...

Sexual and dating violence (SDV) are growing public health problems in the United States. Prevention programs have sought to engage potential bystanders so they can safely and effectively intervene in situations involving SDV. However, the ability of these programs to prepare bystanders may be limited if they do not address the possible outcomes of their actions. Few studies have examined positive and negative consequences of bystander action, and only one has examined how various types of action impact these consequences...