The El Sistema music education philosophy links positive individual and social development through musical education. This study is a longitudinal examination of the impact of participation in an El Sistema-inspired program, the Miami Music Project, on positive youth development. We hypothesized that over the course of a school year, participation in ensemble-based after-school music programming would significantly enhance factors associated with positive youth development. Specifically, we evaluated social emotional constructs aligned with the Five Cs of Positive Youth Development: Competence, Confidence, Caring, Character, and Connection. Results revealed that participants showed significant increases across all five Cs over the course of the year. Additionally, findings showed that Miami Music Project students showed greater enhancements over time in Character, Competence and Caring when compared to a group of youth who did not participate in music education. This study presents empirical documentation of the numerous meaningful social and emotional enhancements that participation in an El Sistema-inspired program is engendering among youth. In this type of rigorous orchestral model of musical instruction, youth seem to acquire not only cognitive benefits but also a host of social and emotional enhancements, ostensibly from learning in an environment that requires disciplined social cohesion. These findings provide insight into the holistic approach foundational to the El Sistema philosophy and adds to our overall understanding of musical instruction in important ways.

Native American (NA) youth report higher rates of alcohol, marijuana, and drug use than U.S. adolescents from any other racial/ethnic group. Addressing this health disparity is a significant research priority across public health, minority health, and dissemination and implementation (D&I) sciences, underscoring the need for empirically-based interventions tailored for NA youth. Effective D&I with NA youth incorporates NA cultural values and involves tribal elders and stakeholders. SACRED Connections (NIDA R01DA02977) was a university-tribal research partnership that utilized a culturally derived Native-Reliance theoretical framework and a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. A significant objective of this randomized controlled trial was to close D&I gaps utilizing the RE-AIM Model and National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care Standards (HHS, 2019 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health (2019). The National CLAS Standards: A blueprint for action. Retrieved from https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/assets/pdfs/EnhancedCLASStandardsBlueprint.pdf [Google Scholar] ). Findings of this 5-year RCT revealed a statistically significant protective relationship between Native Reliance and baseline lifetime and past month alcohol and marijuana use; additionally, the likelihood of reporting marijuana use at 3 months post-intervention was significantly lower among the active condition than among the control condition. Implementation of a developmentally and NA culturally tailored brief protocol revealed: partnering with Native Americans and utilizing CBPR facilitated engagement with this hard-to-reach, underserved community; age and culture are associated with substance use severity among NA teens; a culturally adapted Motivational Interviewing (MI) brief intervention may be effective in reducing marijuana use among NA youth; the Native Reliance theory proved useful as a framework for working with this population; and RE-AIM proved helpful in conceptualizing health equity promoting D&I.

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use problems among college students continue to represent a public health epidemic. In 2019, historically high rates of binge-drinking and marijuana use were reported among college-age adults, and the detrimental effects of excessive AOD use in college, such as poorer academic performance, sexual assault, injury or overdoses, and a range of other negative consequences, have been well-documented. Thus, there is a continued need for effective implementation of evidence-based, cost-effective interventions aimed at reducing risks associated with collegiate AOD use. Guided Self Change (GSC) is a brief intervention involving motivational enhancement and cognitive-behavioral strategies and has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing AOD use problems. Its brevity, client-driven style, and concrete here-and-now focus are appealing to individuals struggling with mild to moderate AOD use problems. In order to successfully intervene with collegians with AOD use problems attending minority-serving institutions, GSC requires developmental and cultural tailoring. The current report describes the developmental and cultural tailoring of GSC for emerging adult Latinx collegians, as well as our consumer-driven addition of mindfulness content. Key components of our GSC program are documented through qualitative feedback, quantitative results, and case vignettes.

By the spring of 2021, most of the adult U.S. population became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Yet, by the summer of 2021, the vaccination rate stagnated. Given the immense impact COVID-19 has had on society and individuals, and the surge of new variant strains of the virus, it remains urgent to better understand barriers to vaccination, including the impact of variations in trusted sources of COVID-19 information. The goal of the present study was to conduct a cross-sectional, community-engaged, and person-centered study of trusted sources of COVID-19 information using latent profile analysis (LPA). The aims were to (1) identify the number and nature of profiles of trusted sources of COVID-19 information, and (2) determine whether the trust profiles were predictive of COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and various demographic categories. Participants included mostly racial and ethnic minority individuals (82.4%) recruited by various community-based agencies in South Florida. The LPA evidenced an optimal 3-class solution characterized by low (n = 80)-, medium (n = 147)-, and high (n = 52)-trust profiles, with high trust statistically significantly predictive of vaccination willingness. The profiles identified could be important targets for public health dissemination efforts to reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake. The general level of trust in COVID-19 information sources was found to be an important factor in predicting COVID-19 vaccination willingness.