Protective factors

How physical activity (PA) and sitting time may change after first myocardial infarction (MI) and the association with mortality in postmenopausal women is unknown. Participants included postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative-Observational Study, aged 50 to 79 years who experienced a clinical MI during the study. This analysis included 856 women who had adequate data on PA exposure and 533 women for sitting time exposures. Sitting time was self-reported at baseline, year 3, and year 6. Self-reported PA was reported at baseline through year 8. Change in PA and sitting time were calculated as the difference between the cumulative average immediately following MI and the cumulative average immediately preceding MI. The 4 categories of change were: maintained low, decreased, increased, and maintained high. The cut points were ≥7.5 metabolic equivalent of task hours/week versus <7.5 metabolic equivalent of task hours/week for PA and ≥8 h/day versus <8 h/day for s...

In this study, 2440 adolescents and young people of different localities in the Northwestern Spanish coast participated. The Communities that Care Youth Survey (CTCYS) (Arthur, Hawkins, Pollard, Catalano y Baglioni, 2002; Glaser, Van Horn, Arthur, Hawkins y Catalano, 2005) was used to identify drug use and antisocial behavior, and their risk and protective factors in the family, the school, the community and the individual/peers. The objective of the research was to identify the predictive role of age and sex in the drug use and the antisocial behaviour, as well as the identification of common predictive risk and protective factors. Data show that age predicts drug use but not the antisocial behaviour. The common predictive risk factors are school failure, gang involvement, attitudes favourable to and early start of antisocial behaviour. The common protective factors are social skills and moral order beliefs. Results show the relevance of considering risk and protection, confirm the...

Background: This study examines whether authoritative parenting style (characterized by warmth and strictness) is more protective against adolescent substances use than authoritarian (strictness but not warmth), indulgent (warmth but not strictness) and neglectful (neither warmth nor strictness) parenting styles. Emergent research in diverse cultural contexts (mainly Southern European and Latin American countries) questions the fact that authoritative would always be the optimum parenting style. Design: Multi-factorial MANOVAs. Participants: A sample of 7718 adolescents, 3774 males (48.9%), 11-19 year-olds (M = 14.63 year-olds, SD = 1.9 years) from Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. Measurements: Parenting style dimensions (warmth and strictness) and adolescent substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs); additionally another three adolescent outcomes were also measured (self-esteem, school performance and personal disturbances) all of them related in the literature with substance use. Findings: Both indulgent and authoritative parenting styles were associated with better outcomes than authoritarian and neglectful parenting in all the countries studied. Overall, our results support the idea that in Europe the indulgent parenting style performs as well as the authoritative one since adolescents' scores in the youth outcomes were equal (on substance use and personal disturbances) or even better (on self esteem and school performance) than for authoritative parenting style. Conclusions: Parenting styles relate to substance use and other outcomes in the same way in different countries explored. The so-called indulgent parenting style appears to be as good as the authoritative in protecting against substance abuse.

Underage use of alcohol is a large and increasing problem in Eastern Europe. The objective of this comparative study is to examine the effects of family-related factors on youth alcohol consumption in three East-European countries (Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary). Data on alcohol use and risk factors were drawn from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2). Using binary logistic regression, it was found that in all three countries, adolescents with stronger parental supervision were more likely to be abstinent and less likely to be involved in heavy episodic drinking than those with weaker supervision. Parental bonding had similar positive effects regarding abstinence in Hungary and the Czech Republic but not in Estonia. In the Czech Republic, adolescents living in single-parent households were less involved in heavy episodic drinking, whereas affluence increased heavy episodic drinking. This effect is not found for Hungary and Estonia. Adolescents in Estonia who experienced more negative life events were more involved in heavy episodic drinking; this was not so for the other two countries. We conclude that family social control is a universal protective factor in decreasing alcohol use in these three Eastern European countries; concerning the other factors, the results were more mixed.

Introducción: Los estudiantes universitarios presentan mayor prevalencia de ansiedad y depresión que la población general. Puede cursar con el abuso de sustancias psicoactivas y conducir a mal rendimiento académico, deserción y conductas suicidas. Objetivos: Identificar la prevalencia de ansiedad y depresión en estudiantes universitarios, los factores asociados y su relación con el rendimiento académico reportados entre 2000 y 2017Métodos: Revisión narrativa de la literatura publicada en PubMed y otras bases de datos. Resultados: Se encontraron 14 estudios en 11 países (2000-2017). Las prevalencias oscilaron entre 16.0-76.0% (ansiedad) y 9.6-74.4% (depresión). Dos estudios con diagnóstico confirmatorio reportaron prevalencias entre 37-57% (ansiedad) y 38.0-50.6% (depresión). En Colombia la prevalencia de ansiedad en estudiantes universitarios osciló entre 34.0-76.2% y depresión 9.6-74.4%, 38.0% para diagnóstico confirmatorio especializados. Los factores asociados establecidos fueron...

Background: Suicide risk among U.S. military personnel has been increasing over the past decade. Fluid vulnerability theory (FVT; posits that acute suicidal episodes increase in severity when trait-based (e.g., shame) and state-based (e.g., hopelessness) risk factors interact, especially among individuals who have been previously suicidal. In contrast, trait-based protective factors (e.g., pride) should buffer the deleterious effects of risk factors. Methods: 77 active duty military personnel (95% Air Force; 58.4% male, 39.0% female; 67.5% Caucasian, 19.5% African-American, 1.3% Native American, 1.3% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 1.3% Asian, and 5.2% other) engaged in outpatient mental health treatment completed self-report surveys of shame, hopelessness, pride, and suicidal ideation. Multiple generalized regression was utilized to test the associations and interactive effects of shame, hopelessness, and worst-point past suicidal ideation on severity of current suicidal ideation. Results: Shame significantly interacted with hopelessness (B ¼ À0.013, SE ¼0.004, p o0.001) and worst-point suicidal ideation (B ¼ 0.027, SE ¼0.010, p ¼ 0.010), augmenting each variable's effect on severity of current suicidal ideation. A significant three-way interaction among shame, worst-point suicidal ideation, and pride was also observed (B ¼ À0.010, SE¼ 0.0043, p ¼0.021), indicating that pride buffered the interactive effects of shame with worst-point suicidal ideation. Limitations: Small sample size, cross-sectional design, and primarily Air Force sample. Conclusions: Among military outpatients with histories of severe suicidal episodes, pride buffers the effects of hopelessness on current suicidal ideation. Results are consistent with FVT. (C.J. Bryan). Please cite this article as: Bryan, C.J., et al., Shame, pride, and suicidal ideation in a military clinical sample. Journal of Affective Disorders (2012), http://dx.

Suicide risk and protective factors function for prisoners within the context of incarceration. The Culture and Protective Suicide Scale for Incarcerated Persons (CAPSSIP) is a tool designed to assess protective
factors and cultural barriers to suicide for inmates. We present initial findings on the reliability, validity, factor structure, and utility of the CAPSSIP based on a trial conducted with inmates sent to an inpatient
psychiatric program. Implications for suicide risk assessment processes in correctional settings are discussed.

PROBLEM: Many adolescents and some young adults are involved in gangs, both on a national and international basis; and there has been an increase in individuals involved in gangs in the past decade or so.
METHOD: A literature review examined studies related to the surrounding risk factors associated with gang membership.
FINDINGS: The majority of research is US based. However, the global fundamental characteristics of youth gangs have remained relatively stable post 2000 categorised into five ecological domains: individual, peer, family, school and community.
CONCLUSION: With the increase of gangs across the UK over the years, more research is needed in order to address the risk factors that derive individuals to join gangs, in order to put the correct prevention procedures and intervention programmes in place.

Evidence suggests that a significant proportion of men who have been violent towards their partners desist from such violent behaviors; yet, research examining desistance from intimate partner violence (IPV) is limited. This omission is surprising given that an understanding of desistance processes is required to inform evidence-based IPV interventions. In this critical review of the empirical literature, eligible studies included 15 publications, identified through electronic databases and hand searches of bibliographies that directly investigated the cessation of physical violence against an intimate partner, by heterosexual men. No single theory was identified that explains desistance from IPV. However, empirical studies reveal that the severity and frequency of violence is associated with desistance, with those using moderate levels of violence being more likely to desist than those who engage in severe violence. Typology research suggests differences in individual characteristics (e.g., low psychopathology and impulsivity) can distinguish desisters from persisters. In addition, the nature of the dyad within which the violence occurs is also influential in desistance processes. It is concluded that much more research is needed to inform practice and in particular to examine the role of protective factors in mitigating risk and enabling individuals to desist from IPV.

This paper reports on two studies that evaluated the statistical validity of the Classroom Learning and Development Questionnaire as a universal screening and early identification observation instrument within the North American context. The Classroom Learning and Development Questionnaire was first proposed and tested in Hong Kong in the mid-1990s. It has been used as an integral part of the school procedures in the Hong Kong school system since it was first launched and has spawned a number of intervention programs for students within the Hong Kong Educational Authority.

This article focuses on the development of adolescent resilience and protective factors within a sample of 86 inner-city high school students in Chicago. Resilience was considered present when (a) children living in conditions of risk (b) show betterthan-predicted outcomes (c) presumably due to some intervening process. Conditions (a) and (b) were met using quantitative comparisons. Condition (c), the intervening process, was examined using autobiographical essays to begin to understand protective factors youth consider salient in overcoming adversity. Internal attributes such as perseverance, determination, and having the awareness to learn from the risk-attrition process surfaced in the content analyses. Motivational support from family members and teachers was also highly valued for promoting successful adjustment.

AM 2 This volume includes the special topic section on Strength-Based Assessment, Youth Development, and School Success. The Center for School-Based Youth Development at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) is sponsoring this special section of The California School Psychologist. Resources for this initiative were made possible through a Gevirtz Graduate School of Education -Funds for Excellence Grant from Don and Marilyn Gevirtz. It is the mission of the UCSB Center for School-Based Youth Development to enhance school engagement for all students through strength-based assessment and targeted interventions designed to promote social and cognitive competence. This mission is facilitated through research and development and by increasing the cadre of educators who are knowledgeable about and support a comprehensive and coordinated approach to student support services. Drs. Furlong, Jimerson, Morrison, and Cosden are the UCSB faculty collaborating to establish the Center for School-Based Youth Development. For additional information about the Center, you may visit its website at www.education.ucsb.edu/school-psychology.

Objective: To explore the protective factors against performance enhancing drug (PED) use in sport. Design: Ten competitive athletes (M ¼ 5, F ¼ 5) representing five different sports (field hockey, boxing, football, triathlon, rugby) were recruited through convenience sampling to undertake a semi-structured interview to enable a qualitative analysis of athletes' lifelong athletic careers. Method: Verbatim transcripts were analysed using an established three-stage coding process to identify the common themes within the narratives. Results: Personal and situational protective factors were identified in the accounts. Personal factors included: (i) a strong moral stance against cheating; (ii) an identity beyond sport; (iii) self-control; and (iv) resilience to social group pressures. Situational factors included secure attachments to people at all stages of the athlete's life. This facilitated both the promotion of moral decision making and assisted in the development of anti-doping attitudes. When situational factors e such as a pro-doping climate e arose, key attachments in the athletes' lives interplayed with personal factors to reduce the risk of doping. Conclusions: These findings offer insights into factors that protect competitive athletes against using PEDs in sport and further our understanding of the complex interaction between risk and protective factors at individual, psychosocial and societal levels among competitive athletes. As a complex behaviour, doping in sport cannot be prevented by solely focussing on the individual athlete; contextual factors beyond the athlete's control also impact on this behaviour. Thus, a paradigm shift is warranted to move beyond an athlete-centred approach to anti-doping.

This research unfolds in disadvantaged secondary school settings and it explores how students at risk for early school leaving and teachers experience their relationships. A model of investigation capable to reach a multiperspective understanding of teacher - student relationships is developed. Such methodological framework aims to do justice both to the subjective and to the systemic dimension of these relationships.

Even further, the ongoing lived experience of both students and teachers is a dynamic factor that constantly recreates their subjective understandings. Thus, in order to explore all three aforementioned dimensions, an interpretative epistemology with phenomenological influences is chosen. A variety of qualitative research methods is used to elicit information from a purposefully selected number of teachers and students in two school settings. These methods involve a range of observation and interview techniques. Parents and other school staff, who are responsible for early school leaving issues, are also interviewed.

All information gathered is structured and presented around seven teacher - student relationship cases. Through these cases it is shown how participants interpret the meaning of the same relationships differently and how their emotional investment ranges to such a degree that to some students the teacher – student relationship seems to have no function for their school stay while for others it seems to be of outstanding importance. Moreover, it seems that such perceived importance may change over time and teachers’ persistent effort to improve their classroom climate can be an important parameter in this respect.

Through its theoretical framework and the rich and contextualized information, this thesis presents and discusses its findings while at the same time assumes potential transferability to other similar contexts. A number of possible methodological improvements and its inherent epistemological limitations are discussed. The study concludes with a presentation of various ways in which teacher – student relationships can be a rich resource for in-school action-based research and psychoeducational interventions in disadvantaged school settings.

The aim of this integrative review was to identify the protective factors that contribute to family resiliency. Families are comprised of individuals who interact across levels in a socio-ecological system. Family resiliency does not develop through evasion of risk, but through successful application of protective factors to engage in adverse situations and emerge from them stronger. In an effort to move away from pathological labelling, this review provides a foundation for strength-based family interventions. Thirteen peerreviewed databases were searched for articles and information regarding family resiliency. Careful review yielded 24 protective factors that foster resiliency across three distinct but interactive levels: individual, family and community. The protective factors identified in this review of the literature offer an excellent starting point for development of clinical interventions to support family resiliency.

The aim of this paper was to review research investigating resilient outcomes for people with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and implications for practice, as well as to consider issues for clearer definitions. Fifty English language peer-reviewed studies (1991-2010) met the inclusion criteria. The reviewed papers identified a number of factors that were repeatedly associated with individuals showing resilient outcomes to CSA. These included inner resources (e.g. coping skills, interpretation of experiences and self-esteem), family relationships, friendships, community resources (e.g. church or school), as well as some abuse-related factors (e.g. older age at onset). A large number of methodological concerns within these studies were also noted, including the way in which resilience, CSA and protective factors were defined. However, despite this, many papers identified similar factors that could be utilised to develop both effective prevention programmes and resilience interventions for the survivors of CSA.

Viljoen, J. L., Bhanwer, A., Shaffer, C. S., & Douglas, K. S. (2018). Assessing protective factors for adolescent offending: A conceptually-informed examination of the SAVRY and YLS/CMI of the SAVRY and YLS/CMI.  Assessment. Advance online publication, 1-17.

Although the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) are among the most widely used adolescent risk assessment tools, they conceptualize and measure strengths differently.  As such, in this study, we compared the predictive validity of SAVRY Protective Total and YLS/CMI Strength Total, and tested conceptual models of how these measures operate (i.e., risk vs. protective effects, direct vs. buffering effects, causal models).  Research assistants conducted 624 risk assessments with 156 youth on probation. They rated protective factors at baseline, and again at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up periods.  The SAVRY Protective Total and YLS/CMI Strength Total inversely predicted any charges in the subsequent two years (area under the curve scores [AUCs] = .61 and .60, respectively, p < .05).  Furthermore, when adolescents’ protective total scores increased, their self-reported violence decreased, thus providing evidence that these factors might play a causally-relevant role in reducing violence.  However, protective factors did not provide incremental validity over risk factors.  In addition, because these measures are brief and use a dichotomous rating system, they primarily captured deficits in protective factors (i.e., low scores).  This suggests a need for more comprehensive measures.

This enlightening book by Sidney J. Blatt, one of the leading psychoanalytic researchers of our time, is highly relevant to investigators and clinicians interested in personality development as well as depression. In Experiences of Depression, Blatt amalgamates nearly 30 years of work. He combines brilliant insights about clinical practice with a broad range of empirical research to enrich our understanding of individual differences in the personality vulnerabilities that underlie and foster depression. Blatt illuminates our understanding of the psychological and interpersonal worlds and the life experiences that contribute to the specific nature of depressive experiences. The bookÕs comprehensive integration of theoretical, clinical, and empirical perspectives also demonstrates the significance of BlattÕs broad theoretical conceptualizations.

Background: Interest in recovery from schizophrenia has been growing steadily, with much of the focus on remission from psychotic symptoms and a return to functioning. Less is known about the experience of subjective recovery and its relationships with other important outcomes, such as quality of life and the formation and sustenance of social connections. This study sought to address this gap in knowledge by examining the links between self perceived recovery, symptoms, and the social components of quality of life. Methods: Sixty eight veterans with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who were participating in a study of cognitive remediation and work were concurrently administered the Recovery Assessment Scale, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and the Heinrichs-Carpenter Quality of Life Scale (QLS).

Background Reasoned action approach (RAA) includes subcomponents of attitude (experiential/instrumental), perceived norm (injunctive/descriptive), and perceived behavioral control (capacity/autonomy) to predict intention and behavior. Purpose To provide a meta-analysis of the RAA for health behaviors focusing on comparing the pairs of RAA subcomponents and differences between health protection and healthrisk behaviors. Methods The present research reports a meta-analysis of correlational tests of RAA subcomponents, examination of moderators, and combined effects of subcomponents on intention and behavior. Regressions were used to predict intention and behavior based on data from studies measuring all variables. Results Capacity and experiential attitude had large, and other constructs had small-medium-sized correlations with intention; all constructs except autonomy were significant independent predictors of intention in regressions. Intention, capacity, and experiential attitude had medium-large, and other constructs had small-medium-sized correlations with behavior; intention, capacity, experiential attitude, and descriptive norm were significant independent predictors of behavior in regressions. Conclusions The RAA subcomponents have utility in predicting and understanding health behaviors.

The purpose of the present study was to address 1) whether exercise provides protection against new-onset depression and anxiety and 2) if so, the intensity and amount of exercise required to gain protection and, lastly, 3) the mechanisms that underlie any association. A &quot;healthy&quot; cohort of 33,908 adults, selected on the basis of having no symptoms of common mental disorder or limiting physical health conditions, was prospectively followed for 11 years. Validated measures of exercise, depression, anxiety, and a range of potential confounding and mediating factors were collected. Undertaking regular leisure-time exercise was associated with reduced incidence of future depression but not anxiety. The majority of this protective effect occurred at low levels of exercise and was observed regardless of intensity. After adjustment for confounders, the population attributable fraction suggests that, assuming the relationship is causal, 12% of future cases of depression could have...

Trafficking in persons is a complicated crime with various characteristics of criminals, victims, and law enforcement. Scholars and practitioners addressing the subject of trafficking in persons must consider specific characteristics of traffickers, vulnerability of victims, and their unique relationships with authority. Additionally, there is an urgent necessity to investigate determinants of police reports of victims because most victims of trafficking are fearful of filing a report. This article explores and analyses characteristics of victims of trafficking in persons and willingness of filing a police report about their victimization in ASEAN countries. By using 128 trafficking data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), this study examines which characteristics of victims have increased their vulnerability to trafficking and how key elements of trafficking including protective factors and risk factors are associated with attitudes of police filing reports of victims in ASEAN countries. Results based on descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis demonstrated that approximately 50% percent of victims were younger than age 20 and there is a statistical relationship between family recognition of initial contact with traffickers and police report behaviour. Logistic regression analysis revealed that family awareness was a statistically significant factor associated with police report behaviour. Further policy implications concerning effective strategies for encouraging victims to report their criminal victimization of trafficking will be discussed.

Background: This study examines whether authoritative parenting style (characterized by warmth and strictness) is more protective against adolescent substances use than authoritarian (strictness but not warmth), indulgent (warmth but not strictness) and neglectful (neither warmth nor strictness) parenting styles. Emergent research in diverse cultural contexts (mainly Southern European and Latin American countries) questions the fact that authoritative would always be the optimum parenting style. Design: Multi-factorial MANOVAs. Participants: A sample of 7718 adolescents, 3774 males (48.9%), 11-19 year-olds (M = 14.63 year-olds, SD = 1.9 years) from Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. Measurements: Parenting style dimensions (warmth and strictness) and adolescent substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs); additionally another three adolescent outcomes were also measured (self-esteem, school performance and personal disturbances) all of them related in the literature with substance use. Findings: Both indulgent and authoritative parenting styles were associated with better outcomes than authoritarian and neglectful parenting in all the countries studied. Overall, our results support the idea that in Europe the indulgent parenting style performs as well as the authoritative one since adolescents' scores in the youth outcomes were equal (on substance use and personal disturbances) or even better (on self esteem and school performance) than for authoritative parenting style. Conclusions: Parenting styles relate to substance use and other outcomes in the same way in different countries explored. The so-called indulgent parenting style appears to be as good as the authoritative in protecting against substance abuse.

a multifaceted program targeting social, emotional, behavioral, and academic risk and protective factors to promote adaptive psychological development. Method: Based on the random assignment of their school, 245 kindergartners (mean age ϭ 6.6 years, SD ϭ 0.57; 68.6% male) with elevated teacher-rated aggressive behavior either participated in ER for 3 intensive years plus 2 booster years or served as controls. Participants were assessed annually during the intervention with teacher and parent reports and at 2 follow-up points. In the current study, 129 of the original participants were reassessed with diagnostic interviews in late high school (mean age ϭ 16.3, SD ϭ 0.52), and multiple imputation was used to deal appropriately with missing data. Results: Program participants had significantly fewer symptoms of conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and major depressive disorder than did controls. The program's effect on increasing social skills and parent discipline effectiveness by Grade 3 mediated these effects. Conclusions: The results of this study provide further evidence of the long-term positive effects of multicomponent, elementary-age, targeted conduct problems prevention programs. Training children in social skills and parents in effective discipline are possible mechanisms to divert maladaptive developmental cascades.

Mental disorders have become a key concern in the scientific and epidemiological in recent years. This is because the social consequences that some behaviors of these disorders may involve, reason it is important to inquire about the factors associated with one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the population, depression. The objective is to evaluate the association of risk factors and protective of depression in adolescents in the city of Medellin. Design is a study of Case-Control Analytical which was identified by multivariate analysis the weight of the factors related to depression as the dependent variable. The study population consisted of school pupils from 9 to 19 years living in the city of Medellin, belonging to the public and private schools of the city, was characterized by a mean age of 13.77 with a standard deviation of 2.195 years , 56.7% were female. Statistical analysis was performed with significance level p &lt;0.05, where significant association with fami...

Fuller, E., Shaffer, C. S., Muir, N., Cochrane, D., & Viljoen, J. L (2018, March). The professional use of SAVRY case-specific risk and protective factors: A content analysis. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychology - Law Society, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Although many risk assessment tools give professionals an opportunity to add case-specific factors, it is unclear if and how professionals use case-specific factors. Thus, we examined 292 SAVRY risk assessments conducted by Youth Probation Officers (YPOs). YPOs identified case-specific factors in 26.7% of cases. However, most case-specific factors (i.e., 60.4%) did not provide novel information. Instead, they repeated or underscored existing SAVRY items. Furthermore, some case-specific factors were illogical or unsupported. That said, in some cases, YPOs appeared able to capture relevant idiosyncratic factors. Overall, this suggests a need for further guidance on the use of case-specific factors.

Background-Circulating concentrations of B-vitamins and factors related to one-carbon metabolism have been found to be strongly inversely associated with lung cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The extent to which these associations are present in other study populations is unknown. Methods-Within 20 prospective cohorts from the NCI Cohort Consortium, a nested casecontrol study was designed including 5,364 incident lung cancer cases and 5,364 controls that were individually matched to cases by age, sex, cohort, and smoking status. Centralized biochemical analyses were performed to measure circulating concentrations of vitamin B6, folate and methionine, as well as cotinine as an indicator of recent tobacco exposure. The association between these biomarkers and lung cancer risk was evaluated using conditional logistic regression models. Results-Participants with higher circulating concentrations of vitamin B6 and folate had a modestly decreased risk of lung cancer risk overall, the odds ratio when comparing the top and bottom fourths [OR4vs1] being 0.88 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.78-1.00) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.74-0.99), respectively. We found stronger associations among for men (OR4vs1 0.74; 95% CI 0.62-0.89 for vitamin B6, OR4vs1 0.75; 95% CI 0.61-0.93 for folate) and ever smokers (OR4vs1 0.79; 95% CI 0.68-0.91 for vitamin B6, OR4vs1 0.85; 95% CI 0.72-0.99 for folate). We further noted that the association of folate was restricted to Europe/Australia and Asia, whilst no clear association was observed for the United-States. Circulating concentrations of methionine were not associated with lung cancer risk overall or in important subgroups. Conclusion-Although confounding by tobacco exposure or reverse causation cannot be ruled out, these study results are compatible with a small decrease in lung cancer risk in ever smokers who avoid low concentrations of circulating folate and vitamin B6.

To examine whether protective factors in the Protection for Adolescent Depression Study (PADS) moderate the impact of stressful events on depression and suicidal behaviour in the community and a clinical setting; and to study the influence of sex. Participants were 283 adolescents from the community and 119 from a mood disorder clinic in Montreal. The participants were evaluated on 6 instruments measuring individual risk and protective factors. Descriptive analyses and univariate and multiple logistic regression models were carried out. Risk factors predicted higher levels of depression and presence of suicidal behaviour, and protective factors predicted lower levels of depression and absence of suicidal behaviour, as expected under the vulnerability-resilience stress model. Several sex differences were observed in terms of the predictive power of risk factors (for example, hopelessness among girls and keep to themselves among boys) and protective factors (for example, focusing on t...