%0 Journal Article %J J Community Psychol %D 2012 %T Pathways From School Suspension to Adolescent Nonviolent Antisocial Behavior in Students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States. %A Hemphill, Sheryl A %A Herrenkohl, Todd I %A Plenty, Stephanie M %A Toumbourou, John W %A Catalano, Richard F %A McMorris, Barbara J %X

School suspension is associated with school drop-out, crime, delinquency, and alcohol and other drug use for the suspended student. Important research questions are how academic and related factors are relevant to the school suspension process and the generality of the process in different sites. State representative samples of Grade 7 students (N = 1,945) in Washington State, United States and Victoria, Australia were followed from 2002 to 2004. In both states, Grade 7 school suspension was associated with higher rates of nonviolent antisocial behavior and suspension 24 months later, before Grade 8 factors were entered into the model. Relevant factors were Grade 8 low school grades and association with antisocial peers, as well as Grade 8 antisocial behavior in Washington State only. The implications of these findings for the ways in which suspension is used in schools are outlined.

%B J Community Psychol %V 40 %P 301-318 %8 2012 Apr 1 %G eng %N 3 %0 Journal Article %J J Stud Alcohol Drugs %D 2011 %T Influence of family factors and supervised alcohol use on adolescent alcohol use and harms: similarities between youth in different alcohol policy contexts. %A McMorris, Barbara J %A Catalano, Richard F %A Kim, Min J %A Toumbourou, John W %A Hemphill, Sheryl A %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Age Factors %K Alcohol Drinking %K Family Characteristics %K Female %K Harm Reduction %K Health Policy %K Humans %K Male %K Parent-Child Relations %K Parenting %K Risk Factors %K Surveys and Questionnaires %K Victoria %K Washington %X

OBJECTIVE: Harm-minimization policies suggest that alcohol use is a part of normal adolescent development and that parents should supervise their children's use to encourage responsible drinking. Zero-tolerance policies suggest that all underage alcohol use should be discouraged. This article compared hypotheses derived from harm-minimization and zero-tolerance policies regarding the influence of family context and supervised drinking on adolescent alcohol use and related harms among adolescents in Washington State, USA, and Victoria, Australia, two states that have respectively adopted zero-tolerance and harm-minimization policies.

METHOD: Representative samples of seventh-grade students (N = 1,945; 989 females) were recruited from schools in each state. Students completed comprehensive questionnaires on alcohol use, related problem behaviors, and risk and protective factors annually from 2002 to 2004 when they were in ninth grade.

RESULTS: Relationships between family context and alcohol use and harmful use were very similar in both states. Adult-supervised settings for alcohol use were associated with higher levels of harmful alcohol consequences. Adult-supervised alcohol use mediated the links between favorable parental attitudes to alcohol use and ninth-grade alcohol use for students in both states.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite policy differences in the two states, relationships between family context variables and alcohol use and harmful use are remarkably similar. Adult-supervised settings for alcohol use resulted in higher levels of harmful alcohol consequences, contrary to predictions derived from harm-minimization policy. Findings challenge the harm-minimization position that supervised alcohol use or early-age alcohol use will reduce the development of adolescent alcohol problems.

%B J Stud Alcohol Drugs %V 72 %P 418-28 %8 2011 May %G eng %N 3 %0 Journal Article %J J Affect Disord %D 2011 %T Predicting future depression in adolescents using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire: a two-nation study. %A McKenzie, Dean P %A Toumbourou, John W %A Forbes, Andrew B %A Mackinnon, Andrew J %A McMorris, Barbara J %A Catalano, Richard F %A Patton, George C %K Adolescent %K Affect %K Australia %K Child %K Depression %K Depressive Disorder %K Emotions %K Humans %K Predictive Value of Tests %K Psychology, Adolescent %K Self Concept %K Surveys and Questionnaires %K United States %X

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a key life period for the development of depression. Predicting the development of depression in adolescence through detecting specific early symptoms may aid in the development of timely screening and intervention programmes.

METHODS: We administered the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) to 5769 American and Australian students aged 10 to 15 years, at two time points, separated by 12 months. We attempted to predict high levels of depression symptoms at 12 months from symptoms at baseline, using statistical approaches based upon the quality, as well as the quantity, of depression symptoms present. These approaches included classification and regression trees (CART) and logistic regression.

RESULTS: A classification tree employing four SMFQ items, such as feelings of self-hatred and of being unloved, performed almost as well as all 13 SMFQ items at predicting subsequent depression symptomatology.

LIMITATIONS: Depression was measured using a self-report instrument, rather than a criterion standard diagnostic interview.

CONCLUSION: Further validation on other populations of adolescents is required: however the results suggest that several symptoms of depression, especially feelings of self-hatred, and being unloved, are associated with increased levels of self-reported depression at 12 months post baseline. Although screening for depression can be problematic, symptoms such as the ones above should be considered for inclusion in screening tests for adolescents.

%B J Affect Disord %V 134 %P 151-9 %8 2011 Nov %G eng %N 1-3 %R 10.1016/j.jad.2011.05.022