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- Genre: Academic theses
Description
There is a growing trend among community samples of young, adult women to initiate drug use for weight loss (Boys, Marsden, & Strang, 2001; Mendieta-Tan, Hulbert-Williams, & Nicholls, 2013). Research has suggested that consequential weight loss may maintain drug use (Cohen, et al., 2010; Ersche, Stochl, Woodward, & Fletcher, 2013; Sirles, 2002), which is compounded by women's perception that drugs are convenient and guarantee weight loss (Mendieta-Tan, et al., 2013). Stimulants, including cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy, are notable drugs of use among college students (Johnston, et al., 2014; Teter, McCabe, LaGrange, Cranford, & Boyd, 2006). With known appetitive and metabolic effects, stimulants may be particularly attractive to college women, who are at elevated risk for increased body dissatisfaction and experimenting with extreme weight loss techniques (Grunewald, 1985; National Eating Disorder Association, 2013). A preliminary epidemiological study of 130 college women between 16- and 24-years old (Mage = 18.76, SDage = 1.09) was conducted to begin to investigate this phenomenon. Results showed women who reported use for weight control (n = 19, 14.6 %) predominantly used stimulants (68.4%), and this subgroup was severely elevated on global and subscales of eating pathology compared with college norms. Moreover, the odds of stimulant use were doubled when women engaged in a compensatory behavior, such as excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, and laxative use. Although preliminary, these results suggest that a desire for weight control may be associated with stimulant use among college women. Women engaging in more extreme weight loss behaviors are at high risk for initiating and maintaining illicit stimulant use for weight-related reasons.
ContributorsBruening, Amanda B (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis advisor) / Grimm, Kevin (Committee member) / Chassin, Laurie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Pediatric obesity is a public health concern due to its elevated prevalence rates and its relation to concurrent and long-term physical and psychosocial consequences. Pediatric obesity has been found to be associated with problem behaviors, albeit with inconsistent findings. The mechanism of this relation is unclear. It is possible that they have a shared etiology. Self-regulation and parenting practices are two factors that have been implicated in the development of problem behaviors and are garnering evidence for their relation with pediatric obesity. The goal of the present study was to examine whether self-regulation (SREC), positive behavior support (PBSEC), and coercive limit-setting (CLSEC) in early childhood are shared etiological factors of pediatric obesity and problem behaviors. Using multinomial logistic regression the likelihood of belonging to four outcome groups (Comorbid, Problem behavior only, Overweight only, and Typically developing) at age 10 based on these factors was assessed. Analyses controlled for intervention group assignment, child gender, child African-American or Bi-racial, child Hispanic, cumulative risk, child body size impression at age 2, and parent body size impression at baseline. In the models examining SREC alone, for every 1 standard deviation increase in SREC, there was a reliable reduction in the odds of the child belonging to the comorbid and problem behavior only groups at age 10, compared to the typically developing group (OR = 0.386, 95% CI [0.237, 0.628], OR = 0.281, 95% CI [0.157, 0.503], respectively). This relation was maintained when SREC was in the same model as PBSEC and CLSEC. PBSEC and CLSEC alone did not impact the likelihood of belonging to any of the outcome groups. A significant interaction was found between SREC and CLSEC, such that at high levels of both SREC and CLSEC the odds of a child belonging to the overweight only group at age 10 increased, compared to the typically developing group. Results highlight CLSEC as a parenting practice that may place a highly regulated child at risk for becoming overweight. Overall, the findings suggest that problem behaviors and pediatric obesity do not have a shared etiology.
ContributorsMontano, Zorash (Author) / Dishion, Thomas J (Thesis advisor) / Gonzales, Nancy (Committee member) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / Enders, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Low-income Mexican American women face significant risk for poor health during the postpartum period. Chronic stressors are theorized to negatively impact mental and physical health outcomes. However, physiological factors associated with increased self-regulatory capacity, such as resting heart rate variability, may buffer the impact of stress. In a sample of 322 low-income Mexican American women (mother age 18-42; 84% Spanish-speaking; modal family income $10,000-$15,000), the interactive influence of resting heart rate variability and three chronic prenatal stressors (daily hassles, negative life events, economic stress) on maternal cortisol output, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health at 12 weeks postpartum was assessed. The hypothesized interactive effects between resting heart rate variability and the chronic prenatal stressors on the health outcomes were not supported by the data. However, results showed that a higher number of prenatal daily hassles was associated with increased postpartum depressive symptoms, and a higher number of prenatal negative life events was associated with lower postpartum cortisol output. These results suggest that elevated chronic stress during the prenatal period may increase risk for poor health during the postpartum period.
ContributorsJewell, Shannon Linda (Author) / Luecken, Linda J. (Thesis advisor) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Familism values have been shown to have a multitude of benefits for Mexican American youth. Understanding different pathways of the adoption of familism values from adolescence and young adulthood, and predictors of these pathways, is critical. The current study assessed different classes of change in familism values across five waves from fifth grade to young adulthood, and fifth-grade predictors of these profiles, among a sample of 749 Mexican American youth. Univariate and growth mixture modeling was used to determine classes of familism change and found two classes—one class that showed small, insignificant declines across adolescence that accelerated into young adulthood and one class that showed significant declines across adolescence that stabilized and increased into young adulthood. The three-step procedure was then used to examine the following fifth-grade predictors of familism classes: family conflict, family cohesion, harsh parenting, parental acceptance, economic hardship, and perceived ethnic discrimination. Family conflict and perceived ethnic discrimination were significant predictors of familism class membership. Greater family conflict predicted a greater probability of being in the class of significant declines in familism across adolescence that stabilized and increased into young adulthood. Greater perceived ethnic discrimination predicted a greater probability of being in the class of small, insignificant decreases across adolescence that accelerated into young adulthood. Gender moderated the impact of family cohesion. For females, greater father-reported family cohesion predicted a greater probability of being in the class with significant declines during adolescence that stabilized and increased into young adulthood. For males, greater father-reported family cohesion predicted a greater probability of being in the class with slight, insignificant declines in adolescence that accelerated into young adulthood. Youth nativity moderated the impact of maternal acceptance. For youth born in the U.S., greater mother-reported acceptance predicted a greater probability of being in the class of slight, insignificant declines across adolescence that accelerated into young adulthood. For youth born in Mexico, greater mother-reported acceptance predicted a greater probability of being in the class of significant declines in familism across adolescence that stabilized and increased into young adulthood. Limitations and implications for prevention and future research are discussed.
ContributorsJenchura, Emily C. (Author) / Gonzales, Nancy A. (Thesis advisor) / Knight, George P (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin J. (Committee member) / Perez, Marisol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Ecological systems theory argues that multiple nested systems impact child development. This study used a moderated mediation pathway to examine whether presence of a grocery store, number of fast-food restaurants, outdoor play space, and outdoor play safety affected children’s blood pressure and BMI through variation in healthy family habits. Maternal perceived neighborhood social and cultural cohesion was examined as a moderator of the mediated effect. Data was collected from 214 mother–child dyads via biological measurement, maternal-report surveys, and geocoding of children’s neighborhoods using Google Earth. Zero-order correlations showed that higher number of fast-food restaurants in a child’s neighborhood was correlated with less engagement in healthy family habits and lower child BMI z-score. In all models, higher neighborhood social and cultural cohesion was associated with more engagement in healthy family habits. No statistically significant mediated effects or moderation of the mediated effects were found. Future directions may aim to identify which objective neighborhood environment indicators influence child health and what are potential variables mediating the relation.
ContributorsHernandez, Juan Carlos (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Anderson, Samantha (Committee member) / White, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020