Browsing by Author "Khazvand, Shirin"
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Item Caregiver and Juvenile Justice Personnel Perspectives on challenges and importance of caregiver engagement and the potential utility of a peer navigator program in the Juvenile Justice System(BMC, 2023-08-05) Dir, Allyson L.; Pederson, Casey; Khazvand, Shirin; Schwartz, Katie; Wiehe, Sarah E.; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Psychiatry, School of MedicineBackground: For youth involved in the juvenile justice (JJ) system, caregiver involvement and engagement in the system is crucial for youth development and outcomes of JJ cases; however, there are challenges to establishing positive/productive partnerships between caregivers and JJ representatives. The current project examines perspectives of caregivers and JJ personnel regarding facilitators and barriers to establishing JJ-caregiver partnerships, as well as their perceptions of the use of a caregiver navigator program to support caregivers of system-involved youth. Results are used to inform development of a caregiver navigator program to support caregivers and help them navigate the JJ system. Results: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with caregivers of youth involved in JJ (n = 15, 53% White, 93% female), JJ personnel (n = 7, 100% White, 50% female), and JJ family advisory board members (n = 5, 100% Black, 100% female). Caregivers reported varying experiences across intake/arrest, court, and probation processes. Positive experiences were characterized by effective communication and feeling supported by JJ. Negative experiences related to feeling blamed and punished for their child's system involvement and feeling unsupported. JJ interviews corroborated caregiver sentiments and also illustrated facilitators and barriers to JJ-caregiver partnerships. Both JJ personnel and caregivers endorsed potential benefits of a peer-based caregiver navigator program to provide social, informational, and emotional support. Conclusion: Continued work is needed to improve JJ-caregiver partnerships and use of a peer-based navigator program has the potential to address barriers to caregiver engagement in the JJ system.Item Dieting and Substance Use Among White and Black Adolescent Girls(Elsevier, 2021) Rowe, Alia T.; Khazvand, Shirin; Wu, Wei; Barnes-Najor, Jessica; Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Psychology, School of ScienceObjective: Previous research has found an increasing co-occurrence of dieting and substance use behavior among adolescent girls. However, to date few studies have examined the temporal ordering of these behaviors. Further, limited research has been conducted to explore whether the pathways are similar among both White and Black girls. Method: For the current study 1580 girls (grade 6-11; 78.2% White; 21.8% Black) provided data on their dieting behavior and substance use. A cross-lagged panel design was used to examine the concurrent and prospective relationship between dieting behavior and substance use across one year, then by race. Results: Among the full sample of girls, there was a significant concurrent relationship. Additionally, dieting behavior predicted substance use one year later, but the inverse relationship was not found. For the stratified analysis, dieting behavior and substance use were not correlated among Black girls at either time point, however concurrent relationships were found for White girls. For the prospective pathways non-significant effects were found for both groups. Discussion: These findings provide support for a temporal relationship between dieting behavior and substance use, such that the former predicts risk for the latter. However, when examined by race, some pathways of the full sample were found for White girls, whereas Black girls did not report an association between study variables. Thus, future studies should consider the impact of race within risk pathways.Item Discrimination and Substance Use: Examining the Moderating Role of Impulsivity Among Racial-Ethnic Minority Adolescents(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Riley, Tennisha N.; Clifton, Richelle L.; Khazvand, Shirin; Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Psychology, School of ScienceBackground: Research on substance use among racial-ethnic minority populations notes that discrimination experiences predict substance use outcomes. Individual-level factors, such as impulsivity, are also known risk factors for substance use. However, little is known about the direct and interaction effects between discrimination experiences and impulsivity among racial-ethnic minority youth. The current study examines the effects of perceived experiences of discrimination on alcohol and marijuana use among racial-ethnic minority youth, and whether individual differences in impulsivity traits help to further understand potential risk for substance use. Methods: Participants were 112 racial-ethnic minority adolescents (Mage = 15.27; African American, Hispanic, Multiracial, Native American/Alaskan Native, or Other). Adolescents completed self-report measures of perceived experiences of discrimination, alcohol and marijuana use (past year occurrence and problematic use), and five impulsivity traits (i.e., sensation seeking, lack of planning, lack of perseverance, negative urgency, and positive urgency). Results: A significant main effect of perceived discrimination on problem marijuana use was found, as well as a significant main effect of lack of premeditation on current marijuana use. Several marginally significant main effects emerged for alcohol use and problem alcohol use (i.e., positive urgency and sensation seeking, respectively). Conclusion: While no significant moderation effects emerged, marginal findings suggest a potential interactive effect of discrimination and impulsivity traits on problem alcohol and marijuana use among racial-ethnic minority youth. Further research is needed in this area to replicate findings, which is critical to informing effective intervention and prevention efforts for this population of youth.Item Examining the unique and additive effect of trauma and racial microaggressions on substance use risk among Black young adults(American Psychological Association, 2023) Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Rowe, Alia T.; Clifton, Richelle L.; Khazvand, Shirin; Crichlow, Queenisha J.; Faidley, Micah; Psychology, School of ScienceObjective: Exposure to traumatic events is linked to adverse health outcomes, including substance use. Contemporary models have conceptualized racism, including racial microaggressions, as a form of trauma. However, few studies have been conducted examining the unique and additive effect of racial microaggressions within models that include exposure to traditional forms of trauma on substance use outcomes, as well as whether effects vary by gender. Method: Three hundred and ninety-nine Black young adults between 18 and 29 (61% female, mean age 20.7) completed measures on problem alcohol and cannabis use, and experiences of trauma and racial microaggressions. Results: Controlling for age, gender, income, race (i.e., monoracial vs. multiracial), and recruitment source, regression analyses showed that racial microaggressions predicted problem substance use above the effect of trauma exposure. Moreover, exoticization/assumptions of similarity and workplace/school microaggressions primarily accounted for the effect of racial microaggressions on substance use risk. One gender effect was found, with trauma exposure associated with lower cannabis use for Black males and a nonsignificant effect found for Black females. Conclusions: Racial microaggressions provide unique and additive understanding in risk for substance use outcomes among Black young adults above effects observed from exposure to traditional forms of trauma. This finding highlights the significance of racial microaggression on health outcomes for Black young adults and can inform future research in the area of trauma exposure and substance use risk among this population of young people.Item Implementation of a Brief Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Group in High Schools for At-Risk Youth: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study(JMIR, 2022-05-12) Zapolski, Tamika; Whitener, MacKenzie; Khazvand, Shirin; Crichlow, Queenisha; Revilla, Rebecca; Salgado, Eduardo F.; Aalsma, Matthew; Cyders, Melissa; Salyers, Michelle; Wu, Wei; Psychology, School of ScienceBackground: Adolescence is a developmental period marked by engagement in risk-taking behaviors, especially among impulsive or emotionally dysregulated youth. Thus, interventions that teach skills to reduce the risk of negative outcomes associated with emotional dysregulation are required. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have been developed to address both adolescent emotional dysregulation and risk-taking behaviors; however, current programs have mostly been implemented among younger youth and are used as a tier 1 universal intervention rather than a targeted tier 2 intervention for youth identified with emotional regulation difficulties. Objective: This study aimed to address the need for SEL programming that can be delivered in schools, particularly for older youth who have difficulties with emotional or behavioral dysregulation, to reduce the risk of health-risk behaviors among this population. Methods: Here, we outline the implementation of an SEL intervention titled Going 4 Goals, a 9-session adaptation of the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) program delivered to at-risk high school students in a school setting. The primary objectives of the study are to test whether participating in the skills group intervention produces significant increases in the core DBT-A skills of mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, while also producing significant decreases in substance use and risky behaviors. These primary outcomes are based on changes in participant scores between baseline and after the intervention and follow-ups at 1, 3, and 6 months compared with a control group of youth participating in the school's health curriculum at the same time points. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted with intervention participants and school staff to examine acceptability and facilitators of and barriers to the intervention. Results: A total of 171 participants across 13 groups had been enrolled in the intervention, with data collection ending December 2021. Data analysis will begin in the spring of 2022, with expected results to be published in the spring of 2023. Conclusions: This paper describes the protocol of the 9-session school-based adaptation of the DBT-A intervention and discusses the strengths and limitations of the study and future directions.Item Locus of Control and Depression as Mechanisms in the Relationship between Racial Discrimination and Substance Use(2020-12) Khazvand, Shirin; Zapolski, Tamika C.B.; Cyders, Melissa A.; Pietri, Evava S.Exposure to racial discrimination has been consistently linked with risk for substance use. However, outside of affect-based factors, few other mechanisms have been examined in the literature. One potential candidate is locus of control (LOC). LOC is a learning processes that involves the degree to which an individual attributes rewards as resulting from their own control (internal LOC) versus outside control (external LOC). There is evidence that exposure to stressors is associated with LOC, with a separate body of literature linking LOC with substance use. Thus, it is plausible that LOC may be a mechanism underlying the relationship between racial discrimination and substance use. Additionally, there is evidence that depression is related to LOC. Thus, the relationship between racial discrimination, locus of control, and substance use may also be serially mediated through depressive symptoms. The current study investigated these two pathways among 503 racial/ethnic minority adults aged 18-35 who completed an online questionnaire that included measures on racial discrimination related stress, locus of control, depressive symptoms, and substance use. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination related stress through external locus of control, specifically the chance orientation, on substance use. Moreover, for both domains of external locus of control (i.e., chance and powerful others) a significant serial indirect effect was found through depressive symptoms within the racial discrimination-substance use pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults. These findings expand our understanding on potential mechanisms that underlie the racial discrimination-substance use risk pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults, which may in turn provide important targets for substance use intervention programming for this populationItem Racial Discrimination and Alcohol Use Among Adolescents: The Role of Emotion Regulation(2024-08) Khazvand, Shirin; Zapolski, Tamika; Cyders, Melissa; Dir, Ally; Wu, WeiBackground: Racial discrimination has been consistently associated with risk for alcohol use outcomes among racial/ethnic minority groups. This is particularly concerning given that engagement in alcohol use during adolescence has significant downstream effects on an individual's health into adulthood. Understanding factors that influence the relationship between racial discrimination and alcohol outcomes are needed to better understand the risk pathway and to identify malleable targets for interventions to reduce alcohol use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. One potential candidate is emotion regulation as there is evidence that exposure to discrimination is associated with emotion regulation difficulties, and that emotion regulation difficulties are associated with alcohol outcomes. It is also plausible that emotion regulation is an external factor that strengthens or weakens to direct association between racial discrimination and alcohol use. Thus, the current study examined difficulties in emotion regulation (as measured by the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation, S-DERS) as a mediator and moderator separately on the relationship between racial discrimination related stress (RDRS) and alcohol outcomes (i.e., use, quantity, frequency, alcohol use disorder, binge drinking, high intensity alcohol use) and risk for problems associated with substance use. To better understand the nuances within the emotion regulation construct, this study also examined the four subscales of the S-DERS (e.g., difficulties in nonacceptance, modulation, lack of awareness, lack of clarity) in a parallel mediation and moderation model to account for each domain’s unique effect on the racial discrimination-alcohol pathway. Methods: 714 self-identifying racial/ethnic minority adolescents aged 10-19 years old (62.9% male, mean age 16.21 years old, 58.1% African American/Black, 19% American, 9.9% Hispanic/Latino, 9.7% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 1.3% Middle Eastern/North African) completed an online questionnaire that included measures assessing experiences of racial discrimination related stress, state difficulties in emotion regulation, and alcohol outcomes. Results: Findings indicated a significant indirect effect of RDRS on alcohol outcomes through total state difficulties in emotion regulation (past year use b = 0.002, p <0.001; frequency b = 0.005, p <0.001; quantity b = 0.003, p <0.001; alcohol use disorder b = 0.056, p <0.001; binge drinking b = 0.004, p <0.001; high intensity alcohol use b = 0.003, p <0.001; risk for problems associated with substance use b = 0.007, p <0.001). When examining the subscales of emotion regulation, a significant indirect effect was found for difficulties in modulation within the relationship between RDRS and past year use, quantity, frequency, alcohol use disorder, binge drinking, and high-intensity alcohol use, but not for risk for problems associated with substance use. There were no significant indirect effects observed for the other subscales of emotion regulation. Additionally, when examining whether S-DERS or the S-DERS subscales moderated the relationship between RDRS and alcohol outcomes, no significant effects were found. Conclusion: These findings expand our understanding on potential mechanisms that underlie the racial discrimination-alcohol risk pathway among racial/ethnic minority adolescents, which may in turn help clarify the multifaceted nature of emotion regulation. As such, findings suggest that a unique effect was found for difficulties in modulation of emotions when accounting for the other domains of emotion regulation when examining the RDRS and alcohol outcomes relationship. Given that this study was cross-sectional, additional research utilizing a prospective study design can build off the current findings to confirm the proposed temporal pathway between RDRS, emotion regulation, and alcohol use outcomes. Moreover, findings suggest that difficulties in modulation and emotion regulation may be important constructs to include within treatments aimed at reducing alcohol use and prevention efforts among racial/ethnic minority adolescents experiencing racial discrimination related distress.Item The relationship between racial discrimination and substance use: Does locus of control help explain risk?(Elsevier, 2022-04-19) Khazvand, Shirin; Zapolski, Tamika C.B.; Cyders, Melissa A.; Pietri, Evava S.; Neurology, School of MedicineIntroduction: Exposure to racial discrimination has been consistently linked with risk for substance use. However, outside of externalizing and affect-based factors, few other mechanisms have been examined. One potential candidate is locus of control, a learning processes that involves the degree to which one attributes rewards as resulting from their own control (internal locus of control) versus outside control (external locus of control). There is evidence that exposure to stressors is associated with locus of control, with a separate body of literature linking locus of control with substance use. Thus, it is plausible that locus of control may be a mechanism underlying the relationship between racial discrimination and substance use. Methods: The current study investigated this pathway among 503 racial/ethnic minority adults aged 18-35 who completed an online questionnaire including measures on racial discrimination related stress, locus of control, and substance use. Results: Results indicated a significant indirect effect between racial discrimination related stress, two external domains of locus of control (i.e., powerful others and chance), and substance use. A significant indirect effect was not found for internal locus of control. Conclusion: These findings expand our understanding on potential mechanisms that underlie the racial discrimination-substance use risk pathway among racial/ethnic minority adults, which may in turn provide important targets for substance use intervention programming.Item Who Am I: Considerations for Adolescent Development During A Pandemic(Gexin Publications, 2021-06-06) Khazvand, Shirin; Riley, Tennisha N.; Whitener, MacKenzie P.; Zapolski, Tamika C. B.; Psychology, School of Science