Browsing by Subject "Peers"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Findings from a Peer-Facilitated, Social Isolation Intervention in the Veterans Health Administration Healthcare System: A Mixed-Methods, Pilot Feasibility Study
    (Springer, 2023) Eliacin, Johanne; Patterson, Scott M.; Mendez, Diana M.; Burgess, Diana J.; Traylor, Morgan H.; Borden, Maria Y.; Slaven, James E.; Matthias, Marianne S.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: Social isolation is a global public health threat. Veterans are particularly at risk for social isolation due to high rates of comorbid physical and mental health problems. Yet, effective interventions are limited. Objectives: Our primary objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of CONNECTED, a novel, transdiagnostic intervention to reduce social isolation that includes individual and group components and is delivered by peers via telehealth. Secondary objectives were to identify appropriate outcome measures and explore preliminary intervention effects. Methods: This was a two-phase study. In Phase 1, to evaluate study feasibility, we surveyed 200 veterans to assess prevalence of social isolation and their interest in social connectedness interventions. In Phase 2, we employed a mixed-methods, pre-post study design in which we piloted CONNECTED with 19 veterans through 2 successive cohorts to further assess feasibility, to evaluate acceptability, and to explore preliminary effectiveness. Quantitative analyses involved descriptive and bivariate analyses as well as multivariate modeling. Qualitative interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: For Phase 1, 39% of veterans surveyed were socially isolated. Participants who were ≤ 55 years old, caregivers, and those who experienced unmet social needs were more likely to report social isolation. Over 61% expressed interest in VA programs to reduce social isolation. For Phase 2, the pilot intervention, recruitment rate was 88% and the enrollment rate was 86%. Retention rates for the two cohorts were 80% and 50%, respectively, and satisfaction rates among intervention completers were 100%. Results also showed statistically significant improvements in social isolation (+ 5.91, SD = 4.99; p = .0028), social support (+ 0.74, SD = 1.09; p = .03), anxiety (-3.92, SD = 3.73; p = .003), and depression (-3.83, SD = 3.13; p = .001). Results for the other measures were not statistically significant. Conclusion: CONNECTED is a feasible and acceptable intervention and is likely to be an effective tool to intervene on social isolation among veterans.
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    Mapping Pathways by which Genetic Risk Influences Adolescent Externalizing Behavior: The Interplay between Externalizing Polygenic Risk Scores, Parental Knowledge, and Peer Substance Use
    (Springer, 2021) Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Salvatore, Jessica E.; Barr, Peter B.; Aliev, Fazil; Anokhin, Andrey; Bucholz, Kathleen K.; Chan, Grace; Edenberg, Howard J.; Hesselbrock, Victor; Kamarajan, Chella; Kramer, John R.; Lai, Dongbing; Mallard, Travis T.; Nurnberger, John I., Jr.; Pandey, Gayathri; Plawecki, Martin H.; Sanchez-Roige, Sandra; Waldman, Irwin; Palmer, Abraham A.; Externalizing Consortium; Dick, Danielle M.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    Genetic predispositions and environmental influences both play an important role in adolescent externalizing behavior; however, they are not always independent. To elucidate gene-environment interplay, we examined the interrelationships between externalizing polygenic risk scores, parental knowledge, and peer substance use in impacting adolescent externalizing behavior across two time-points in a high-risk longitudinal sample of 1,200 adolescents (764 European and 436 African ancestry; Mage = 12.99) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. Results from multivariate path analysis indicated that externalizing polygenic scores were directly associated with adolescent externalizing behavior but also indirectly via peer substance use, in the European ancestry sample. No significant polygenic association nor indirect effects of genetic risk were observed in the African ancestry group, likely due to more limited power. Our findings underscore the importance of gene-environment interplay and suggest peer substance use may be a mechanism through which genetic risk influences adolescent externalizing behavior.