Objective: To better understand and characterize how young adults with minoritized racial and ethnic identities perceive and experience the discrimination against them. We applied an intersectional lens and examined variation in perceived discrimination by sex (across all racial/ethnic groups) and United States immigrant generation status (among Latine participants).

Methods: Data were collected from young adults (MAge = 23.3, SD = 0.51) who self-identified as Black (N = 164), American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN; N = 261), and/or Latine (N = 884) who were part of a longitudinal community sample originally recruited from 24 small/rural communities. Participants reported the frequency and type of discrimination they experienced in their day-to-day life. Those reporting frequent discrimination were asked to indicate the primary reason/s (e.g., race, gender). Descriptive analyses were completed separately within each racial/ethnic group and by immigrant generation status among the Latine sample. Chi-square tests assessed differences in the prevalence of discrimination experiences by sex and immigrant generation status.

Results: Two thirds or more of Black, AIAN, and Latine YA reported experiencing discrimination. Across all ethnic/racial groups, the most commonly cited reasons for discrimination were race/ethnicity, gender, and age, and more females than males reported gender and age as reasons for discrimination. More first- and second-generation than third-generation Latine young adults (YA) reported race and ancestry as reasons for discrimination.

Conclusion: Attributing discrimination to identity factors beyond race and ethnicity was common among ethnic and racial minoritized YA, underscoring the importance of considering intersectional identities when studying experiences of interpersonal discrimination.

Little is known about behavioral health outcomes of gang-involved youth outside urban areas. This study examines diverse early-adulthood outcomes among gang-involved youth from rural and small communities and whether these outcomes differ by degree of involvement. Data came from a panel of youth (n = 2002) from the 12 rural and small-town control communities of the Community Youth Development Study, a community-randomized trial of the Communities That Care prevention system. Repeated Measures Latent Profile Analyses, conducted within gender groups, derived classes of gang involvement during adolescence (Grades 7–12), including gang member, gang-associated, and nonaffiliated youth. Logistic regression models then compared outcomes at Age 19 between classes. Male and female rural gang members and gang-associated adolescents had significantly greater odds of multiple outcomes, including delinquency, substance use, and well-being outcomes, compared to nonaffiliated youth. Findings suggest gang-associated rural youth should be considered alongside gang members in preventive interventions

We described the experiences of a sample of rural Latinx young adults to identify relevant adult roles and events from their unique perspectives at ages 21 and 26 focusing on heterogeneity by age, sex, and immigrant generational status. Using survey data collected in 2014 (n = 308) and 2019 (n = 285) from respondents who grew up in two rural US towns, we qualitatively examined responses to an open-ended question; explored thematic patterns across age, sex, and immigration generation; and contextualized with quantitative data. Rural Latinx young adults identified milestones typical of young adults (e.g., work, school, relationships, family, living arrangements) and diverse pathways into adulthood. They expressed positive and challenging sentiments regarding transitions, but mostly optimism about their futures. We observed heterogeneity within and between ages, sexes, and generational statuses. Increasing work and educational opportunities for Latinx young adults in rural communities can help them navigate this transition more successfully.

Well-implemented social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are associated with positive student outcomes. Through CalHOPE, County Office of Education (COE) leaders are providing implementation support to districts and schools seeking to improve SEL delivery statewide. CalHOPE uses the SHIFT model to guide the regional implementation of systemic and equity-oriented SEL. This study assesses the conceptually driven conditions among COEs for providing implementation support, including adult well-being, workplace climate, and levers of transformation (forging partnerships within and outside of the organization, providing support through funding, training, coaching, and tools, and building capacity of leaders in the form of mindsets, knowledge, skills, and efficacy, to improve the structures and routines of SEL implementation-such as having a vision, SEL leadership team, data systems, and goals/plans). Ninety-seven COE SEL leaders participating in CalHOPE reported on their conditions and activities. COE SEL leaders reported positive well-being, workplace climate, and levers of transformation. Having a greater variety of partnerships was significantly associated with a stronger presence of all levers. Findings advance our understanding of the scaling up realities of SEL implementation in a statewide effort and highlight the value of partnerships in advancing SEL implementation.

Parental permissiveness toward alcohol use is associated with increased drinking among college students. In the U.S., Greek-affiliated students drink more and experience more negative consequences than other students. This study explored associations among student Greek affiliation, parental permissiveness toward heavy episodic drinking (HED), and alcohol use outcomes among first-year college students. Parent-student dyads (n = 294) completed surveys during high school and the first semester of college at a large public university in the U.S. Paired- and independent-samples t-tests and regression analyses were conducted. Parental permissiveness toward HED was higher among Greek-affiliated students than non-Greek-affiliated students, from parent and student perspectives, before and during college. In regression analyses, student Greek affiliation and perceived parental permissiveness were associated with greater alcohol use and HED. Greek status moderated associations between perceived parental permissiveness of HED and alcohol use (but not HED) such that the relationship was less pronounced for Greek-affiliated students compared to non-Greek-affiliated students. Our results suggest that interventions that aim to reduce perceived parental permissiveness toward HED, such as parent-based normative feedback interventions, may be an effective strategy to reduce drinking among first-year Greek-affiliated students.

Mentoring programs are popular interventions to support holistic development for young people. One specific model of mentoring that has emerged over the past few decades in the United States is professional mentoring. Research has illustrated that this model of mentoring may be particularly helpful for young people who could benefit from extra support in their lives that a volunteer mentoring program does not have the capacity to provide. Despite the emerging utilization of professional mentoring programs, little is known about the ideal characteristics of a professional mentor and young people’s experiences in these professional mentoring programs. This study interviewed 12 young people who participated in the same professional mentoring program in different regions of the United States. The participants discussed their ideal characteristics in a mentor, highlighted factors that made the professional mentoring program impactful to them, and shared their ideas on how to improve the overall program.

(1) Background: Social and emotional learning (SEL) practices in schools endeavor to support wellbeing and emotional intelligence in young people; they work best when implemented well. Educational leaders in K-12 settings need to have capacities to provide SEL implementation support. Surveying SEL implementation capacity can identify specific strengths and areas for improvement and monitor progress. The current study assesses the validity and reliability of a 15-item self-report scale of capacities to support SEL implementation.

(2) Method: A sample of 507 county-, district-, and school-level K-12 educational SEL leaders completed the scale in Fall 2023. Confirmatory factor analysis was used.

(3) Results: The SEL capacities scale contains four unique dimensions with high internal reliability: mindsets (5 items), knowledge (3 items), skills (6 items), and efficacy (1 item). The SEL capacities scale also showed consistency (e.g., factor structure invariance) across school seasons, different educational settings, roles in the education system, years of experience among leaders, and recent levels of SEL supports received.

(4) Conclusions: Data generated by the SEL capacities scale can be used to inform practice decisions, make comparisons across people and over time, and unearth specific mechanisms of change related to developing adult SEL capacities to provide SEL implementation support.

The objective of this study is to examine cross-over effects of the Raising Healthy Children universal childhood preventive intervention on adult suicide behaviors and related mental health. A nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted in elementary schools serving higher-risk areas in Seattle, Washington (during ages 6-13, grades 1-6) and followed up at ages 21-39. The panel originated in Seattle but was followed in and out of state. This study examines participants who had been in the intervention (n = 156) vs. control (n = 220) conditions in grades 1-6. The intervention provided teachers with methods of classroom management, parents with family management skills, and children with social-emotional skills training. Outcomes examined were ever suicide ideation, attempt, or completion, and DSM-IV-based criterion counts for depression, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and social phobia across 6 waves, ages 21-39. At follow-up, the intervention group showed significantly lower suicide ideation and behavior, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and social phobia than the control group. Universal childhood preventive intervention can reduce suicide ideation and behaviors and related mental health problems in adulthood.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the costs of starting up diverse interventions for preventing opioid misuse in young people aged 15 to 30. Interventions were to be delivered in the context of research trials funded under the National Institutes of Health HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term®) Prevention Initiative. Start-up activities were conducted in systems and settings across the United States from 2019 to 2023. Start-up costs were estimated using activity-based costing from a provider perspective and common methods and data collection procedures across projects (n = 8). Descriptive statistics were used to understand the magnitude of and variability in start-up costs, cost drivers, and staff time. Factors explaining variability were identified from project activity descriptions. Start-up activities cost $37,541 on average, and $33,492 at the median (2020 USD). Labor drove costs (89% on average). Training, project management, and partner engagement accounted for 78% of start-up costs on average. There was considerable variability in total and activity costs. Start-up activities provide an essential foundation for successful intervention delivery and sustainability, yet the resources needed and associated costs for this phase of intervention implementation do not receive much attention. We found that interventions faced unique start-up challenges and leverage points, resulting in differences in total cost and activity cost burden.

PURPOSE: Despite theoretical frameworks linking loneliness with substance use and misuse, there is little longitudinal research on this relationship. This study examined lagged associations of loneliness with subsequent frequency and problematic use of alcohol and cannabis among young adults.

METHODS: Data were from 4,407 young adults participating in the Community Youth Development Study. A four-item loneliness measure was assessed at ages 21 and 23 years, and alcohol and cannabis use outcomes were assessed at ages 23 and 26 years. Past-month alcohol and cannabis use frequency were treated as ordinal categorical outcomes, and past-year hazardous alcohol use and cannabis use disorder diagnosis were treated as dichotomous outcomes. Marginal structural modeling was used to account for multiple time-fixed and time-varying confounders, including depressive symptoms, substance use, and other psychosocial factors.

RESULTS: Combined across lagged intervals, there was a statistically significant association of standardized loneliness score with greater cannabis use frequency (odds ratio = 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06, 1.20) but not alcohol use frequency (odds ratio = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.06) at the following study wave. Loneliness was also associated with increased likelihood of hazardous alcohol use (prevalence ratio = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.17) and cannabis use disorder (prevalence ratio = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.29).

DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that loneliness may play a role in increased cannabis use frequency and problematic alcohol and cannabis use. Strategies to reduce loneliness and increase social connection may have downstream effects on reducing the risk of problematic alcohol and cannabis use among young adults.