Background Dating violence (DV) among youth is an important public health problem. This study examined reasons for physical DV and the association between substance use and youth DV using daily calendar-based analyses among at-risk urban youth. Methods Patients (ages 14–24) presenting to an urban Emergency Department (ED) for a violent injury and a proportionally-selected comparison sample of non-violently injured youth who screened positive for substance use in the past 6 months (n=599) were enrolled in this study. Multi-level, multinomial regressions were conducted using daily-level substance use data from Time Line Follow Back (TLFB) responses and physical DV data that were obtained by coding Time Line Follow Back –Aggression Module responses for the 30 days prior to visiting the ED. Results The two most commonly reported reasons for physical dating aggression and victimization, across sexes, were “jealousy/rumors” or “angry/bad mood.” Multi-level multinomial regression models, adjusting for clustering within individual participants, showed that among females, cocaine use and sedative/opiate use were associated with severe dating victimization and alcohol use was associated with severe dating aggression. Conclusions Use of TLFB data offers a unique opportunity to understand daily-level factors associated with specific incidents of DV in more detail. This study provides novel data regarding reasons for DV and the relationship between daily substance use and DV among urban youth, with alcohol, cocaine, and sedative/opiate use being associated with various types of DV. ED based DV interventions should be tailored to address youths’ reasons for DV as well as reducing their substance use.

Among poor, urban adolescents, high rates of community violence are a pressing public health concern. This study relies on a contextual framework of stress and coping to investigate how coping strategies and involuntary stress responses may both mediate and moderate the relation between exposure to community violence and psychological well-being. Our sample consists of 223 ninth grade Latino adolescents from poor, urban families. In response to community violence, these adolescents reported using an array of coping strategies as well as experiencing a number of involuntary stress responses; the most frequent coping responses were turning to religion and seeking social support. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that involuntary stress responses mediated the relations between both witnessing or being victimized by violence and poorer psychological functioning, while coping strategies moderated these relations. These findings suggest that the negative psychological effects of exposure to community violence may, in part, be explained by involuntary stress responses, while religious-based coping may serve as a protective factor.

Purpose The objective of this longitudinal study was to assess the prevalence of medical use, medical misuse, and nonmedical use of opioid medication among adolescents who participate in organized sports. Methods Data for this study were taken from the Secondary Student Life Survey (SSLS). A total of 1,540 adolescents participated in three waves of data collection occurring between the 2009–10 and 2011–12 school years, with 82% of the baseline sample completing all three waves. Results Using Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models to analyze the longitudinal data, it was found that male adolescents who participated in organized sports during each wave of the SSLS had higher odds of being prescribed an opioid medication (i.e., medical use) during the past year (AOR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.82), higher odds of past-year medical misuse of opioid medication due to taking too much (AOR = 10.5, 95% CI = 2.42, 45.5), and higher odds of past-year medical misuse of opioid medication in order to get high (AOR = 4.01, 95% CI = 1.13, 14.2) when compared to males who did not participate in organized sports during the study period. Among females, no association was found between participation in organized sports and medical use, medical misuse, and nonmedical use of opioid medication. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that adolescent males who participate in sports may have greater access to opioid medication, putting them at greater risk to misuse these controlled substances.

Poor mothers contend with numerous economic and environmental stressors that may severely tax their resources for parenting. This study relied on qualitative interviews with 49 low-income Latina mothers to examine how parenting practices are used when facing neighborhood poverty and the threat of community violence. Several themes emerged in the interviews regarding mothers' approaches to parenting. First, Latina mothers in our sample relied on three strategies previously identified in the literature: (a) strict monitoring, (b) physical and/or social withdrawal from the neighborhood, and (c) engagement in positive, enriching activities for children. In concert with these strategies, these mothers also emphasized the importance of (d) establishing strong parent-child communication as essential to effective parenting in challenging environments. Furthermore, two overarching, culturally salient parental goals were identified: (a) fostering principles of educación in their children and (b) maintaining astute parental awareness (estar pendiente) of children's physical as well as emotional states. Our findings illuminated culturally specific meanings that accompany parenting practices for low-income Latina mothers and underscored the importance of adapting culturally sensitive interventions for parents.