Kratom may pose some health risks (e.g., liver toxicity, seizures, dependence), and interstate commerce is federally illegal; however, kratom is sold widely in the US. The extent of interstate commerce is unclear, but may be indicated by brands present across states/territories. Thus, this study examined kratom brands sold in US vape shops. Using Google Maps, we identified vape shops in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Stores were called in November/December 2023. To achieve our target sample of 520 (n=10 per state/territory), 661 stores were called (contact rate=78.7%). Kratom was sold in 372/520 shops (71.5%), of which 153 (41.1%) provided brand information. Among 129 brands reported, OPMS was sold in 90.20% of shops across 42 states/territories, Remarkable Herb in 34.64% across 30 states/territories, and MIT 45 in 33.33% across 31 states/territories. Interstate brand presence indicates likely violations of federal laws and the need to strengthen regulation and enforcement.
Team science is essential for publishing in peer-reviewed journals and advancing health behavior research. As such, it is important to demystify considerations for authorship and co-authorship in terms of inclusion, order, expectations, and transparent communication. Authorship disagreements are a common source of conflict within writing teams and, if not addressed appropriately, can threaten trust and future collaborations. This commentary introduces a four-step framework for navigating authorship decisions with forethought, transparency, and fairness. The framework aims to reduce misunderstandings, strengthen teamwork, and foster the development of early-career researchers. Developing competence in authorship negotiation is an essential skill for all researchers. For trainees, this framework offers guidance for approaching authorship within collaborative projects, while for mentors, it serves as a practical tool for modeling and teaching best practices.
Sexual harassment remains a persistent concern on college campuses, despite the widespread implementation of bystander intervention (BI) programs. Grounded in the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) and value-expectancy theory, this study explored the beliefs that influence students’ intentions to engage in BI to prevent sexual harassment. In Phase 1, salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs were identified through open-ended responses from a sample of undergraduate students (n = 63) at a Western U.S. university. These themes informed the development of belief-based, value-weighted items aligned with RAA constructs. In Phase 2, a separate sample (n = 196) completed a questionnaire assessing generalized and belief-level RAA constructs. Correlational analyses revealed that feeling proud to help others (r = .44) and educating others by example (r = .42) were the strongest predictors of positive attitudes toward BI. Survivors of sexual harassment (r = .42) were the most influential injunctive referents, and peers of similar age (r = .33) were the strongest descriptive referents. The most significant perceived barrier was lack of peer support (r = .41). These findings suggest that targeting salient prosocial values and referent groups in BI programming may enhance student engagement in efforts to prevent sexual harassment.
Restaurants are the largest private sector employers in Texas. Yet only 48% of Texas restaurants have enough employees to support existing demand. The shortage of restaurant employees is an opportunity to develop culinary training programs for individuals that need employment, such as adults experiencing sheltered homelessness. Prior to program development it is important to understand their baseline knowledge of nutrition and food safety and potential attendance barriers. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults experiencing sheltered homelessness in Houston, Tx (October 16, 2024-November 13, 2024). Among 91 participants, on average, adults were 42 years old (SD = 12.98), 67% female, and 60% Black. Nutrition knowledge was low on 2 survey items (12% and 34% correct) and moderate on another 2 items (64% and 66% correct). Regarding food safety, 93% of the participants were able to answer 1 of the 5 items correctly. In terms of potential barriers, 82% of the sample experienced food insecurity. Seventy-seven percent of participants that had a car expressed not having money for gasoline and not making repairs to their car because of the expense. Forty-seven percent of the participants had children under the age of 18 and 44% of them needed childcare assistance in order attend a program. Curriculum associated with the culinary training program must include nutrition and food safety education. To address potential attendance barriers (food, transportation, childcare), it may be necessary to partner with community organizations that aim to reduce economic instability prior to developing and implementing the program.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) and firearm violence are two persistent public health issues in the United States. Because more women experience IPV than men, and more men own firearms than women, more research is needed to examine the association between in-home firearm accessibility and physical IPV among female college students. This study examined the factors associated with physical IPV among 427 unmarried, heterosexual, female college students in Florida. Cross-sectional data were collected from Fall 2012 to Summer 2013 using an internet-delivered questionnaire. The outcome was self-reported physical IPV, and the primary predictor was in-home firearm access. Binary logistic regression with backwards listwise entry method was applied fitting age, ethnicity, race, relationship status, residency status, sorority affiliation, having ≥4 binge drinking episodes, and experience of unwanted sex. Over 10% of participants reported experiencing physical IPV, 19.0% had in-home firearm access, and 8.2% reported unwanted sex. The final logistic regression model indicated that participants with in-home firearm access (OR=2.54, p=0.011), in a single, committed/steady relationship (OR=2.35, p=0.023), and those who experienced unwanted sex (OR=1.18, pFindings from this cross-sectional study suggest that female college students in situations prone to IPV may involve the presence of a firearm. Alternatively, findings may suggest that those who experienced IPV may seek security by having access to a firearm in their homes. Future research is needed to examine this relationship and develop appropriate IPV prevention interventions for female college students.
Background: Ten percent of sexually active men in sub-Saharan Africa report having had sex with a sex worker - a subpopulation facing a disproportionate burden of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In South Africa, an estimated 5% of new heterosexual HIV infections are attributable to female sex workers and 42% to their male clients. Despite this high vulnerability, empirical research on male clients of sex workers remains limited. Purpose: This study examined behavioral and cognitive determinants of self-reported condom use among male construction worker clients of sex workers in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 227 male construction workers who reported sex with a female sex worker in the preceding three months. Participants were recruited across 18 construction sites operated by seven companies in the Western Cape. Three measures of self-reported condom use were analyzed: (1) condom use at last sex with a sex worker (retrospective), (2) frequency of condom use with sex workers in the past three months (retrospective), and (3) intention to use a condom at next sex with a sex worker (prospective). Logistic and multiple regression analyses were used to identify predictors of condom use across these measures. Results: Respondents’ engagement in risky sexual behaviors, HIV/AIDS transmission knowledge, attitudes toward condom use, and perceived control over condom use were statistically significant predictors across models. Conclusion: The construction industry’s high labor mobility, informality, and limited access to health services - combined with the criminalization of sex work, entrenched masculinities, and unequal power dynamics in condom negotiation - create a unique risk environment for male clients of sex workers. The study underscores the importance of using both retrospective and prospective measures to accurately capture condom-use behavior, with the prospective measure (intention to use condoms) demonstrating the greatest explanatory power. These findings have implications for the design of future survey instruments and interventions aimed at reducing HIV risk among this population.
Introduction: Recovery from substance use is a lifelong process, and physical activity can serve as a valuable support strategy. People in, or who are seeking, recovery may turn to online forums – including Reddit – to exchange experiences and offer mutual support. Efforts to extract physical activity-related content from these forums may encounter challenges due to ambiguous and metaphorical language inherent to social media, which warrants further consideration. Objective: This study examines how people discuss physical activity within SUD-recovery subreddits while also highlighting the challenges in extracting content relevant to the topic. Methods: We used Reddit PRAW, to scrape r/RedditorsInRecovery, r/Addiction, r/OpiatesRecovery, and r/AlcoholicsAnonymous for posts referencing types of physical activity. After allocated N=4946 posts, we used Term-Frequency Inverse Document Frequency to create embeddings with our data, k-means clustering to extract themes within the data, and Word2Vec to identify common word associations. Results: Our k-means clustering returned an optimum number of 7 clusters, or themes, including themes comprising sober meetings, spirituality, difficulties with withdrawal, and physical activity. A Word2Vec of physical activity related queries yielded few words associated with physical activity, though diverse facets of recovery were expressly mentioned. Discussion and Conclusion: Our findings illustrate the difficult nature of identifying physical activity content in Reddit recovery spaces due to inconsistent literal and metaphorical language. These challenges can lead to misinterpretations in population health surveillance. Improved tools and analysis strategies can better support research aimed to understand how recovery-supporting behaviors, including physical activity, are discussed and promoted online.
Major depressive episode (MDE) among adolescents is a significant public health issue. Approximately, 4.5 million adolescents have experienced an MDE in the past year. This study examined whether MDEs among adolescents differed based on specific parenting behaviors. A national sample of adolescents ages 12 to 17 years (n = 11,572) completed the 2023 National Survey of Drug use and Health. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether lifetime and past year MDE differed based on parenting behaviors. Results indicated that adolescents at highest risk for both lifetime and past-year MDE were female, older (14-15 or 16-17-years-old), and white. Regarding parenting behaviors, adolescents at highest risk for lifetime and past-year MDE were those who had parents never/seldom check their homework, never/seldom help with their homework, never/seldom limit the amount of TV, never/seldom tell them they did a good job, never/seldom tell them they were proud of them, and who argued/fought with them ten or more times in the past year. These findings show the intricate relationship between adolescent MDE and parenting behaviors. Public health educators should encourage parents to engage in authoritative parenting behaviors (defined as high levels of parental support, warmth, and clear expectations) to help prevent MDE among adolescents. Findings should be used to assist program developers in incorporating parenting components in MDE prevention and treatment efforts.
While cortisol production has been studied in parent-child dyads, research has not specifically examined cortisol production of US-born adolescents and their undocumented immigrant Latino parents, despite the elevated stress associated with mixed status. The purpose of the small study was to 1) assess the cortisol production of undocumented immigrant parent-US-born adolescent dyads and 2) examine the cortisol production of the dyads identified as being at heightened risk for immigrant and economic stress. A community-based strategy was used to locate and recruit self-identifying undocumented immigrant, Latino parents and their US-born adolescents (12-16 years) in the Houston-area (September 2019-January 2020). Each participant within the dyad self-reported on immigration and economic stress, socio-demographic characteristics, and parents self-reported on their immigration documentation status. Each participant within the dyad also provided four saliva samples collected at-home during designated time points within the same day. Paired t-test were conducted to compare cortisol production at each of the four time-points among undocumented parent-US-born adolescent dyads and among mixed-status dyads whose parents reported elevated immigration and economic stress. Nineteen mixed-status dyads participated (adolescents: 63% male; average age 13.68 years; parents: 96% female; average age 41.95 years; primarily from Mexico). Cortisol production comparisons within mixed-status dyads did not differ at any of the four time points (i.e. cortisol production appeared to be the same) [t1(18)=1.54, p=0.14; t2(18)=-1.32, p=0.20; t3(18)=-0.43, p=0.67; t4(18)=-1.65, p=0.12]. Among mixed-status dyads whose parents reported elevated immigrant-related stress [t1(10)=1.15, p=0.28; t2(10)=-0.85, p=0.42; t3(10)=-1.31, p=0.22; t4(10)=-1.46, p=0.18] and economic stress [t1(10)=0.17, p=0.87; t2(10)=0.12, p=0.91; t3(10)=-0.25, p=0.80; t4(10)=-0.19, p=0.85], cortisol production did not differ at any of the four time points. The shared environment among mixed-status families appears to be co-activating adolescent-parent physiology, contributing to similar cortisol production. The constant level of stress may shape all members of the family similarly, regardless of documentation status.
While mentorship is traditionally perceived as top-down where seasoned academics guide earlier career individuals, we assert that mentorship is inherently bi-directional, with multi-perspective exchanges shaping our daily work. Community-engaged research challenges the traditional model by fostering reciprocal mentorship between researchers, students and community members, and this all hinges on trust. Community champions bring invaluable lived experiences, contextual knowledge, and cultural insights to research approaches, assessments, and interventions, making them essential mentors in health behavior research. This paper shares perspectives from a survey of researchers on partnership development and community-engagement. Findings showed the value of community partners as mentors and the role of trust for long-lasting relationships. Over half of faculty engaged communities in research resulting in actionable results addressing quality of life issues. Community-engaged collaborations were beneficial for improving partnership- and grant-related outcomes. We provide recommendations for building trust, setting expectations, and defining roles in community-academic mentorship relationships.
OBJECTIVES. The Office of Family Assistance funds organizations to provide relationship education for youth. The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is one such organization. The purpose of this study was to pilot a new USCRI curriculum, GROW Together, with immigrant and refugee youth. The program was designed to help young people develop important life skills and become successful in their new country. METHODS. Refugee and immigrant youth enrolled in the study. Participants received an interactive 12-hour relationship education (RE) program. We measured changes in four outcome measures 1) Communication skills; 2) Conflict resolution/conflict management skills; 3) Healthy marriage and relationship skills, and 4) Attitudes toward finances. Participants also received case management services. All participants completed self-report questionnaires prior to the beginning of the program. After the completion of this pretest questionnaire participants received the 12-hour curriculum. At the end of the program participants completed a posttest questionnaire. RESULTS. When pretest scores were compared with posttest scores (441 matched) there were statistically significant improvements for: Communication skills and Attitudes toward finances. Female participants improved their scores more than males on conflict resolution skills. Those over 18, improved their scores more than younger participants on Conflict resolution skills and Attitude toward finances. Younger participants improved their scores more than older participants on Healthy marriage and relationship skills. CONCLUSIONS. These findings are encouraging and set the stage for a more rigorous evaluation of the curriculum. Future researchers may also examine the effects of the curriculum on health and health behavior outcomes.
Parent modeling of physical activity (PA) can predict child PA with engagement and logistical support. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine changes in family PA and (2) if parents meeting PA guidelines (PAG), including active transport to school (ATS), increases odds of children meeting PAG before and during the pandemic. Guided by the Parent Engagement and Support, PA, and Academic Performance theoretical model (PESPAAP), validated measures of retrospective self-reported parent and child PA from before and during the pandemic were requested in a Safe Routes to School survey emailed to kindergarten – eighth grade parents via a Qualtrics link. Due to model fit, Wilcoxon signed rank test, Fisher’s exact correlations, and logistic regression were conducted using SPSS. Parents reported significantly more PA (N = 451) during (Mdn= 60, SD) compared to before the pandemic (Mdn = 30), z = -2.04, p = .041. Similarly, parents reported children’s PA was significantly higher during (Mdn = 255.00) compared to before the pandemic (Mdn = 240.00), z = -2.70, p = .007. Fisher’s exact test (p = < 001) indicated a significant association between parents and children meeting physical activity guidelines (PAG) as parents meeting PAG was associated with children meeting PAG before (OR = 10.5, 95% CI [6.620, 16.956], p < 0.001) and during (OR = 6.6, 95% CI [4.187, 10.404], p < 0.001) the pandemic. Understanding these relationships, reasons for increase in PA during the pandemic, and how to use the PESPAAP theoretical model may assist in the success of post pandemic family PA health behavior interventions by focusing on child PA, parent support, and parent engagement.
