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Activity Involvement (activity + involvement)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Twelve-Step affiliation and 3-year substance use outcomes among adolescents: social support and religious service attendance as potential mediators

ADDICTION, Issue 6 2009
Felicia W. Chi
ABSTRACT Aims Twelve-Step affiliation among adolescents is little understood. We examined 12-Step affiliation and its association with substance use outcomes 3 years post-treatment intake among adolescents seeking chemical dependency (CD) treatment in a private, managed-care health plan. We also examined the effects of social support and religious service attendance on the relationship. Design We analyzed data for 357 adolescents, aged 13,18, who entered treatment at four Kaiser Permanente Northern California CD programs between March 2000 and May 2002 and completed both baseline and 3-year follow-up interviews. Measures Measures at follow-up included alcohol and drug use, 12-Step affiliation, social support and frequency of religious service attendance. Findings At 3 years, 68 adolescents (19%) reported attending any 12-Step meetings, and 49 (14%) reported involvement in at least one of seven 12-Step activities, in the previous 6 months. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that after controlling individual and treatment factors, 12-Step attendance at 1 year was marginally significant, while 12-Step attendance at 3 years was associated with both alcohol and drug abstinence at 3 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.58, P < 0.05 and OR 2.53, P < 0.05, respectively]. Similarly, 12-Step activity involvement was associated significantly with 30-day alcohol and drug abstinence. There are possible mediating effects of social support and religious service attendance on the relationship between post-treatment 12-Step affiliation and 3-year outcomes. Conclusions The findings suggest the importance of 12-Step affiliation in maintaining long-term recovery, and help to understand the mechanism through which it works among adolescents. [source]

Improvement in orofacial granulomatosis on a cinnamon- and benzoate-free diet

INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 6 2006
Allison White RD
Abstract Background: Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) is a chronic inflammatory disorder presenting characteristically with lip swelling but also affecting gingivae, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth, and a number of other sites in the oral cavity. Although the cause remains unknown, there is evidence for involvement of a dietary allergen. Patch testing has related responses to cinnamon and benzoate to the symptoms of OFG, with improvement obtained through exclusion diets. However, an objective assessment of the effect of a cinnamon- and benzoate-free diet (CB-free diet) as primary treatment for OFG has not previously been performed. Thus, this study was undertaken to investigate the benefits of a CB-free diet as first-line treatment of patients with OFG. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two patients with a confirmed diagnosis of OFG were identified from a combined oral medicine/gastroenterology clinic. All had received a CB-free diet as primary treatment for a period of 8 weeks. Each patient underwent a standardized assessment of the oral cavity to characterize the number of sites affected and the type of inflammation involved before and after diet. Results: There was a significant improvement in oral inflammation in patients on the diet after 8 weeks. Both global oral and lip inflammatory scores improved (P < 0.001), and there was significant improvement in both lip and oral site and activity involvement. However, improvement in lip activity was less marked than oral activity. Response to a CB-free diet did not appear to be site specific. A history of OFG-associated gut involvement did not predict a response to the diet. Conclusions: The impact of dietary manipulation in patients with OFG can be significant, particularly with regard to oral inflammation. With the disease most prevalent in the younger population, a CB-free diet can be recommended as primary treatment. Subsequent topical or systemic immunomodulatory therapy may then be avoided or used as second line. [source]

Addressing Three Common Issues in Research on Youth Activities: An Integrative Approach for Operationalizing and Analyzing Involvement

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 3 2010
Michael A. Busseri
Youth activity involvement has been operationalized and analyzed using a wide range of approaches. Researchers face the challenges of distinguishing between the effects of involvement versus noninvolvement and intensity of involvement in a particular activity, accounting simultaneously for cumulative effects of involvement, and addressing multiple unique effects of individual activities. In the present work, we review and illustrate the conceptual and empirical implications of these issues using data from a study of activity involvement and successful development in early adolescence (N=537; M age=11.56, 52% female). An integrative solution is introduced based on a latent composite variable (LCV) model (Bollen & Lennox, 1991), which can be used to address all three issues simultaneously. Using this approach, we show that of the aggregate indices examined, breadth of involvement was uniquely and positively associated with multiple indices of successful development. Of the individual activities, a dichotomous score and residual frequency rating for involvement in out-of-school clubs were both uniquely associated with less positive development indicators. We concluded that an LCV approach provides a novel method for addressing several fundamental operational and analytic issues facing researchers who investigate youth activity involvement as a context for positive development. [source]