Alcohol use and misuse among school adolescents from national surveys in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2018

The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use and misuse and associated factors among adolescents in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Data from 3,847 adolescents (mean age:14.6 years, SD = 1.7) that took part in national cross-sectional school surveys in 2018 in Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were analysed. Students responded in a classroom setting to self-administered questions on substance use and othe variables. The results indicate that 42.7% of the students reported current alcohol use, 27.9% were ever drunk and 11.4% had trouble with alcohol use. In adjusted logistic regression analyses, compared to students from Saint Lucia, students from Saint Vincent and the Granadines had higher odds of trouble from drinking. Older age was associated with current alcohol use and ever drunk but not with trouble from drinking. Severe food insecurity and suicidal ideation were associated with trouble from alcohol use. Current tobacco use and current cannabis use were highly associated with current alcohol use, ever drunk, and trouble with alcohol use, while ever use of amphetamines was associated with ever drunk. School truancy, participation in physical fights, injury, and multiple sexual partners increased the odds, while parental support decreased the odds of current alcohol use, ever drunk, and trouble from alcohol use. In conclusion, high alcohol use and misuse has been identified calling for interventions.

“This Ain’t My School!” Criminality, Control, and Contradictions in Institutional Responses to School Truancy

While previous research has explored the causes and consequences of school truancy, few studies have considered the meanings of institutional responses. This paper offers an ethnographic analysis of a pilot program promoted as a “progressive” form of truancy intervention. Midvale Truancy Center claimed to focus on education, rather than punishment. In practice, however, the crime control tactics used to capture, isolate, and discipline truants often overshadowed the Center’s educational objectives, locating the Center in a liminal space between school and detention facility. The Center’s competing goals—revenue creation, truancy deterrence, and organizational survival—resulted in rehabilitation being pushed aside in favor of normalization and behavioral control. These findings illustrate a recent larger cultural turn toward control and punishment (Garland 2001), and the encroachment of crime control tactics into the civil sphere.

Factors Associated with Serious Injuries among Adolescents in Ghana: Findings from 2012 Global School Health Survey

Introduction. Injuries are of public health concern and the leading cause of residual disability and death among teenagers, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In Ghana, the burden of injury among adolescents is under-reported. Hence, the study sought to determine the prevalence of serious injuries (SI) and the potential factors influencing these injuries among school children in Ghana. Methods. This study was conducted in Ghana among Junior High School (JHS) and senior high school students (SHS) using the 2012 Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data. The GSHS employed two-stage cluster sampling method. Serious injuries (SI) and independent factors were measured via self-administered questionnaires. Pearson chi-square test between each explanatory variable and serious injuries was conducted and the level of statistical significance was set at 5%. The significant variables from the chi-square test were selected for multiple logistic regression analysis. Multiple logistic regression was performed to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. The prevalence of SI in the past 12 months was 66% [CI=61.8–70.2] . The most common cause of SI was fall, 36%. The common types of injuries were cut/stab wounds and broken/dislocated bone. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, after controlling for other variables, educational level (AOR = 0.64, CI = 0.44–0.90, p < 0.015), suicidal ideation (AOR = 1.58, CI = 1.00–2.48, p < 0.002), suicidal attempt (AOR = 1.88, CI = 1.29–2.72, p < 0.001), having at least one close friend (AOR = 1.49, CI = 1.17–1.89, p < 0.002), school truancy (AOR = 1.66, CI = 1.31–2.09, p < 0.000), smoking marijuana (AOR = 2.64, CI = 1.22–5.69), and amphetamine use (AOR = 2.95, CI = 1.46–5.69) were independently associated with SI. Conclusion. The findings of the study established a high prevalence of SI among adolescents in Ghana, with cut/stab wound and broken/dislocated bone being the most reported type of injuries. This study also revealed that factors such as educational level, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt, at least one close friend, school truancy, smoking marijuana, and amphetamine use are associated with SI among the adolescents. Therefore, pragmatic interventional programs should be targeted at these factors to curb the rate of SI among junior and senior school students.

PERAN GURU BK DENGAN LAYANAN INFORMASI DALAM MENGATASI KENAKALAN REMAJA BAGI SISWA KELAS X DI SMK TUNAS BANGSA

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui layanan informasi yang berjalan saat ini dan untuk mengetahui peran layanan informasi dalam mengangani kenakalan remaja pada siswa kelas X SMK Tunas Bangsa. Desain penelitian yang digunakan yaitu metode kualitatif.. Adapun jumlah sampel yang dibutuhkan dalam penelitian ini dengan lima orang siswa yaitu dengan meminta bantuan guru BK memilih beberapa siswa untuk mewawancara dan memberikan layanan informasi kepada lima orang siswa. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan yaitu wawancara, dan observasi. Dari hasil penelitian dapat ditari kesimpulan layanan informasi yang deiberikan untuk memberikan pemahaman kepada siswa tentang kenakalan remaja terutama tentang informasi yang dibutuhkan dan bisa membantu siswa dalam mengambil keputusan yang tepat dan ditemukannya bentuk kenalakan remaja yang ada di SMK Tunas Bangsa yaitu terlambat masuk sekolah, membolos, menyontek dan melanggar peratusan sekolah. Sarannya untuk guru bimingan konseling diharapkan lebih memberikan informasi sebnyak-banyaknya kepada siswa terkait dengan kenakalan remaja. ___________________________________________________________________ The purpose of this study was to determine information services currently running and to determine the role of information services in dealing with juvenile delinquency in class X SMK Tunas Bangsa students. The research design used is a qualitative method. The number of samples needed in this study with five students, namely by asking the guidance counselor to select several students to interview and provide information services to five students. The data analysis techniques used were interviews and observation. From the research results can be drawn the conclusion of the information services provided to provide understanding to students about juvenile delinquency, especially about the information needed and can help students in making the right decisions and finding forms of adolescent acquaintance in SMK Tunas Bangsa, namely late entry to school, truancy, cheating and violating school requirements. The suggestion for counseling guidance teachers is that it is hoped that they will provide as much information as possible to students regarding juvenile delinquency.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Loneliness Among National Samples of In-School Adolescents in Four Caribbean Countries

Background The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of loneliness among adolescent school children in four Caribbean countries. Methods Nationally representative cross-sectional data were analysed from 9,143 adolescents (15 years=median age) that took part in the “2016 Dominican Republic, 2016 Suriname, 2017 Jamaica and 2017 Trinidad and Tobago “Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS).” Results The prevalence of loneliness was 15.3% in four Caribbean countries, ranging from 12.1% in Dominican Republic to 18.6% in Jamaica. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, female sex, having no close friends, older age, anxiety induced sleep disturbance, frequent bullying victimization (≥3 days/month), having been physically attacked, parental emotional neglect, having sustained multiple serious injuries (past year) and not eating fruit and vegetables were associated with loneliness. In addition, in sex stratified adjusted logistic regression analysis, among boys, daily exposure to passive smoking, and being from Suriname, and among girls, frequent experience of hunger, low peer support, trouble from drinking alcohol and high leisure-time sedentary behaviour (≥8 hrs/day) were associated with loneliness. Moreover, in addition to above results, in unadjusted analysis, involvement in physical fight, parents never check on homework, parental disrespect of privacy, frequent school truancy (≥3 days/month), current tobacco use, having no physical education and drinking frequently soft drinks (≥3/day) were associated with loneliness. Conclusion Almost one in six students reported loneliness and several associated factors were identified which can aid intervention strategies.

Prevalence and Correlates of Infrequent and Frequent Bullying Victimization among School Adolescents from Five Southeast Asian Countries

The study aimed to assess the prevalence and its correlates of infrequent and frequent bullying victimization (=BV) among school-going adolescents in five &ldquo;Association of Southeast Asian Nations&rdquo; (ASEAN) member states. The cross-sectional sample comprised 33,184 school adolescents (14.6 years mean age) from five ASEAN countries of the &ldquo;Global School-based Student Health Survey&rdquo; (GSHS) in 2015. Results indicate that 30.6% of participants reported any past-month BV, 33.9% in boys and 27.5 in girls, ranging from 11.8% in Laos to 48.7% in the Philippines. In the adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis, students from the Philippines and Thailand, experience of hunger, sedentary behaviour, attending physical education classes, being underweight, being overweight or obese, ever amphetamine use, physically assaulted, school truancy, participation in a physical fight, injury, low peer support and psychological distress were associated with BV. Almost one in three adolescents were bullied and several associated variables were identified which can assist in targeting the strategies of intervention.

Equivalence Testing of a Youth Risk and Needs Assessment

Truancy can have a detrimental impact on student outcomes. Risk assessments are used to identify behavioral and emotional problems associated with school truancy. Although imperative for informing decisions about student’s welfare, risk assessments generally lack substantial validity evidence. Specifically, supporting score interpretation across cultural groups through measurement invariance (MI) is needed for such assessments. This study examined MI, specifically factor invariance (FI), of the Washington Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Students (WARNS) across African American, Latinx, and Caucasian students using confirmatory factor analysis with traditional FI criteria and the equivalence testing (ET) procedure. Results from traditional criteria suggested that the factor structure is similar across groups. The ET procedure demonstrated minor model misspecifications.