e-Publications@Marquette

Early sexual activity among Latina adolescents has serious consequences (Chesson, Blandford, Gift, Tao, & Irwin, 2004; Mokdad, Marks, Stroup, & Gerberding, 2004; Schuster, 2003). Researchers have examined the influence of cultural variables such as assimilation, enculturation, gender roles, and ethnic identity on the sexual attitudes and behaviors of Latina adolescents (Benson & Torpy, 1995; Gómez & Marín, 1996; Jacobs, 2008; Kirby, 2002). Although there are some inconsistencies, the majority of the research in this area suggests that assimilation functions as a risk factor for engaging in sexual activity. Enculturation, gender roles (e.g., marianismo), and ethnic identity function as protective factors that reduce the probability that Latina adolescents will engage in sexual activity. The author discusses findings from and gaps in the existing literature. The author also proposes a mixed methods study to investigate the influences of assimilation, enculturation, marianismo, and ethnic identity on the sexual activity of Latina adolescents. Key Words: Sexual activity, Latina, adolescents, acculturation, ethnic identity, gender roles

Researchers’ focused examination of Latino adolescents’ cultural values and sexual activity has yielded questions regarding the cultural- and gender-specific attitudes and practices of these youth (Deardorff, Tschann, & Flores, 2008). Cultural values include family-related variables such as different aspects of familism, parent-adolescent communication, and parental monitoring, which have been found to decrease adolescents’ engagement in other negative activities such as aggressive behavior, (Dishion & McMahon, 1998), substance use (Estrada, Rabow, & Watts, 1982), and delinquency (Clark & Shields, 1997). Research investigating these risk behaviors has often implicated Latino adolescents’ level of assimilation to White, mainstream society as a potential risk factor for higher engagement in negative behaviors. This dissertation study, therefore, will examine the relationship between five Latino family variables (i.e., attitudinal familism, behavioral familism, structural familism, parent-adolescent communication, and parental monitoring), assimilation to White society, and the sexual activity of Latino adolescents. A mixed-methods project has been designed to explore and test the relationships between these variables. Focus groups will be conducted with adolescents on the topics of family, gender, and sexual activity; data will be analyzed using Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Latino youth will also complete surveys about these topics; the relationships among these variables will be explored statistically. For the purposes of the Research Exchange, a description of the current stage of the project at that time, a discussion of the anticipated results of the study, and an explanation of the contributions of this study to the Milwaukee and psychological communities will be included.

Client-treatment matching (CTM) practices have been identified as important in enhancing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes while also minimizing the investment of time and resources necessary to achieve such outcomes. Despite strong positive effects associated with CTM, many questions remain regarding how CTM is implemented in treatment settings. This dissertation examines expert perspectives on how CTM practices are implemented in real world treatment settings, how to improve upon current practices, barriers to improvement, strategies for overcoming barriers, and consequensces of existing treatment system flaws. In this study, qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed through an iterative process of surveys following the Delphi Methodology, which excels in building consensus and highlighting areas of dis-sensus among experts in a field. Expert participants will include 15 – 30 individuals identified as holding key knowledge about the present uses and future possibilities of CTM in SUD treatment.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study are to (1) document the incidence of veterans who prematurely terminate physical therapy before medically indicated, and (2) identify reliable predictors of treatment retention and attrition. The potential benefit of this study is the identification of reliable variables that predict who is at risk for terminating physical therapy prematurely, which may lead to targeted interventions designed to increase treatment retention. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study will be a retrospective design involving a review of medical records of veterans receiving referral to physical therapy. METHODOLOGY: Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) will be used to examine the effects of patient variables (e.g,. demographics), illness variables (e.g., symptom severity, functional impairment), and treatment variables (e.g., length and frequency of sessions) on treatment retention status (i.e., successful completion, premature termination with good reason, or premature termination without good reason). Because this study involves a review of records, there is no clinic setting in which participants are recruited. However, patient cases to be reviewed involve those referred for physical therapy, regardless of on which inpatient unit they reside. Approximately 300-800 patient cases will be reviewed, to remain consistent with the literature on studies using MLR. Patient cases will be selected if they meet the following inclusion criteria (1) referred for physical therapy; (2) cognitively intact at time of referral (i.e., no indication of delirium or dementia); (3) able to make medical decisions (i.e., no activated DPOA); and not actively dying (i.e., no Karnofski Performance Scale score below 30). No a priori hypotheses are provided as this study is exploratory. Implications for research results will be discussed.