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AbstractObjectiveThis study assesses the psychometric properties of the four‐ and eight‐item versions of the Patient‐Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Psychological Stress Measure (PPSM) for use with Latino immigrant adolescents.BackgroundImmigrant Latino youth are exposed to numerous stressors that can have consequences affecting health well into adulthood. However, few studies have assessed the suitability of psychosocial measures for this group.MethodsParticipants included 286 first‐ and second‐generation immigrant Latino youth in middle school in an urban school district in the United States. Analyses included tests for reliability, validity, item characteristics, and measurement invariance across differing levels of acculturation and gender groups.ResultsBoth the four‐ and the eight‐item PPSM are internally consistent, have strong construct validity, and strict factorial invariance across differing levels of acculturation. The four‐item PPSM demonstrates strict invariance, but the eight‐item version shows only configural invariance by gender.ConclusionThe PPSM is a rigorous measure when assessing immigrant Latino youth stress level. The four‐item PPSM is brief, simple to administer, and appropriate for use with Latino youth across differing levels of acculturation and gender groups.ImplicationsThe four‐item PPSM lessens respondent fatigue and may be incorporated into tools practitioners and researchers use to assess perceived stress among immigrant Latino youth.

This report covers the status of production and consumption of maize and wheat, factors affecting the production and consumption of these crops in small-holder and large-scale farms and the status of information exchange on research methods and findings, researchers' recommendations are included. (DÜI-Kst)

ObjectiveTo examine the association of parental school involvement with reductions in adolescent substance initiation among Latino immigrant youth.BackgroundParental school involvement is an important determinant of children's academic achievement. Likewise, academic achievement is associated with multiple adolescent health risk behaviors. Little research has examined whether parental school involvement is associated with adolescent drug use, and no research has examined this link among Latino immigrant youth.MethodUsing a census of Latino students (N = 661; mean age = 13.1 years) in 12 urban middle schools, we used a multilevel model with zero‐inflated outcomes to test whether (a) parental school involvement is inversely associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use; (b) school‐level parental involvement affects individual‐level drug use; and (c) child gender moderates these associations.ResultsParental school involvement was negatively associated with lifetime prevalence of all substances and with increases in the age of first alcohol use. School‐level parental involvement was negatively associated with lifetime prevalence of substance use and age of first use for girls and marginally significant with boys.ConclusionParental school involvement is a promising target for prevention efforts to reduce early‐onset substance use.ImplicationsParental school involvement may address multiple negative outcomes in youth even for youth whose parents are relatively uninvolved, and may increase program dosage.

As hollow-bearing trees become scarcer due to habitat loss, the use of nest boxes as a management tool for hollow-dependent species is likely to increase. However, nest-box use can be variable among species and habitats, and one possible reason may be that nest boxes offer little protection against extreme temperatures compared with natural hollows; this may be particularly important in the tropics. Here, we measured the microclimate of 16 nest boxes, installed as part of a recovery program for an endangered arboreal marsupial, the mahogany glider, during the summer in tropical north Queensland. We also measured the microclimate of 14 naturally occurring refuges (hollows in standing and fallen trees) at the same study sites. Nest boxes were significantly hotter during the day than were natural refuges (either in fallen or standing live trees) and experienced a greater range of temperatures. The most important factors explaining variation in daytime temperature in boxes was box aspect and the amount of canopy cover directly above the box: boxes that faced north, and those with greater canopy cover, were up to 7°C cooler than those that faced south or had little cover. We discuss our results in relation to the use of nest boxes in management plans for arboreal marsupials in the tropics.

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the psychometric properties of Snyder's Children's Hope Scale (CHS) with first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant youth, using item response theory, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and measurement invariance tests.BackgroundStress experienced by youth in 2020 has heightened interest in resilience factors such as hope. The CHS is widely used to measure hope but has not been validated for longitudinal assessments with immigrant populations.MethodsParticipants were 233 low socioeconomic status first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant youth (50.43% female, 62% U.S.‐born, and 81% of Mexican heritage). Data were collected at two timepoints spanning 4 weeks.ResultsRather than the original six‐item two‐dimensional scale, our results supported a four‐item one‐dimensional scale, with excellent model fit, strong invariance across time, by gender and generation status, good reliability (α = .81), and the expected negative association with stress.ConclusionsThe four‐item Hope scale is suitable for longitudinal assessments with first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant populations and can be used for examining differences by gender and generation status in research and practice to assess youth resilience.ImplicationsThis study underscores the need for practitioners and researchers to rigorously investigate the psychometric properties of a measure before its use with diverse populations.

Purpose. Examine the effects of a comprehensive, school-wide social-emotional and character development program using a positive youth development perspective. Specifically, we examined a mediation mechanism whereby positive academic-related behaviors mediated the intervention effects on substance use, violence, and sexual activity. Design. Matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. Setting. Twenty (10 intervention and 10 control) racially/ethnically diverse schools in Hawaii. Subjects. Elementary-aged students (N= 1784) from grade 5. Intervention. The Positive Action program. Measures. Students self-reported their academic behaviors, together with their substance use, violence, and voluntary sexual activity; teachers rated students' academic behaviors, substance use, and violence. Analysis. Structural equation modeling. Results. Students attending intervention schools reported significantly better academic behavior (B = .273, SE = .039, p < .001) and significantly less substance use (B = –.970, SE = .292, p < .01, incidence-rate ratio [IRR] = .379), violence (B = −1.410, SE = .296, p < .001, IRR = .244), and sexual activity (B = −2.415, SE = .608, p < .001, odds ratio = .089); boys reported more negative behaviors than girls. Intervention effects on student-reported substance use, violence, and sexual activity were mediated by positive academic behavior. Teacher reports corroborated these results, with rated academic behavior partially mediating the effects of the intervention on rated negative behaviors. Conclusion. This study (1) provides evidence that adds insight into one mechanism through which a social-emotional and character development program affects negative outcomes and (2) supports social-emotional and character development and positive youth development perspectives that posit that focusing on youths' assets may reduce negative behaviors.

This volume represents research from the first two rounds of the African Rural Social Sciences Research Networks program sponsored by Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development and funded by the Ford Foundation from 1986-1990. The reserach was conducted by African social scientists under a small-grants program designated for the study of African rural development issues and problems. The studies represent a wide range of social science fields and topics, all with policy implications, and are organised by country (15 articles deal with Nigeria, 4 with Tanzania, 2 with Malawi, and one each with Ethiopia, Ghana and Liberia). (DÜI-Hff)