adolescents Archives

The Authors’ Own Words: Pilot Study of a Videogame Prototype for Cigarette and Marijuana Prevention in Adolescents

Jan 18, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Pilot Study of a Videogame Prototype for Cigarette and Marijuana Prevention in Adolescents

Lindsay R. Duncan, PhD; Kimberly D. Hieftje, PhD; Tyra M. Pendergrass, MEM; Benjamin G. Sawyer; & Lynn E. Fiellin, MD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“This study showed improvements in knowledge about the risks of smoking cigarettes and marijuana for adolescents who played the videogame prototype. There was also an encouraging trend in the expected direction for changes in self-efficacy and perceived norms related to smoking cigarettes and marijuana. Feedback from the players about their gameplay experience was very positive. Despite their preliminary nature, our findings suggest that a videogame based on key cognitive and motivational variables may be an effective and engaging means to deliver a cigarette and marijuana prevention intervention. Our data also suggest important ways in which the game could be enhanced for even more meaningful effects.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Heterogeneity of State Medical Marijuana Laws and Adolescent Recent Use of Alcohol and Marijuana: Analysis of 45 States, 1991-2011

Jan 11, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Heterogeneity of State Medical Marijuana Laws and Adolescent Recent Use of Alcohol and Marijuana: Analysis of 45 States, 1991-2011

Julie K. Johnson PhD; Renee M. Johnson PhD; Dominic Hodgkin PhD; Abenaa A. Jones PhD; Ann Marie Matteucci PhD; & Sion K. Harris PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 2, 2018

“This study examined whether Medical Marijuana Laws (MMLs) and their restrictiveness affect varying current adolescent alcohol and marijuana use behaviors using Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System data from 45 states between 1991-2011, including 12 of the 16 states that enacted MML on or previous to 2011, representing the most liberalized categorization of marijuana laws prior to the wave of recreational marijuana legalization laws that began in 2012. It is not well known how MMLs affect alcohol use behaviors, even less so for the adolescent cohort. This study found that states that enacted a MML, and having a less restrictive policy, were associated with lowered odds of current adolescent alcohol use. A unique feature of this study is the analysis of not only the effect of having any MML on these outcomes, but also the effect of state MML restrictiveness, using policy taxonomy scores. The alcohol findings are not as surprising given that Monitoring in the Future, a national surveillance of youth substance use, reports steadily annual declining alcohol use rates among youth from 1991 to 2011. By contrast, prevalence of marijuana use has remained steady from 1994 to 2014, despite a changing marijuana reform landscape.”

The Authors’ Own Words: A Novel Approach to Treating Adolescents with Opioid Use Disorder in Pediatric Primary Care

Jan 2, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

A Novel Approach to Treating Adolescents with Opioid Use Disorder in Pediatric Primary Care

Sharon Levy MD, MPH; Shannon Mountain-Ray LICSW; Jason Reynolds MD, PhD; Steven J. Mendes MD, MPH; & Jonas Bromberg PsyD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 2, 2018

“Our report outlines a model for integrating substance use services, including treatment for opioid use disorders, into pediatric primary care. We believe this novel approach is a feasible and effective way to treat substance use during adolescence and young adulthood, a period of heightened vulnerability.”

The Authors’ Own Words: A Clinical Instrument to Guide Brief Interventions for Adolescents with Substance Use Concerns

Dec 11, 2019 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

A Clinical Instrument to Guide Brief Interventions for Adolescents with Substance Use Concerns

Mary M. Ramos, MD, MPH; Teddy Warner, PhD; Daisy V. Rosero; & Timothy P. Condon, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 1, 2018

“The paper by Ramos, et al, introduces the CHISPA, a brief clinical guidance tool for adolescent substance use that was designed in conjunction with AAP guidelines for Adolescent SBIRT. To our knowledge, the CHISPA is the first tool that was specifically designed to assist clinicians in gathering information and identifying problems to aid in brief intervention. This appears to be an important innovation in screening and brief intervention tools. Although originally developed to be used in conjunction with positive CRAFFT screens, using the CHISPA in combination with one of the newer and more efficient screens, the S2BI or BSTAD, may be another potential approach. As well, the CHISPA may prove useful in supporting brief interventions as youth are followed over time.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Trajectories of cannabis use beginning in adolescence associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in the midthirties

Dec 7, 2019 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Trajectories of cannabis use beginning in adolescence associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in the midthirties

Jung Yeon Lee, PhD; Judith S. Brook, EdD; Stephen J. Finch, PhD; & David W. Brook, MD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 1, 2018

“The findings provide information that PTSD symptoms in the mid 30s can possibly be reduced by decreasing the chronic cannabis use trajectory group, the late quitting trajectory group, and the moderate cannabis use trajectory group. The participants in the early quitting trajectory group who quit using cannabis by age 29 did not statistically differ from the participants who were in the no cannabis use trajectory group in terms of having PTSD symptoms at age 36. This study shows the important role that early quitting plays in reducing the probability of PTSD symptoms. Such information will serve as a guide to intervention programs for PTSD.”