Reducing adolescent substance use is important in South Africa, a developing nation with increasing adolescent substance use, lack of leisure/recreation opportunities, and high rates of adolescent discretionary time. Previous research suggests leisure boredom and adolescent substance use co-occur in this setting. Using longitudinal data from 2,580 SA adolescents as they progressed from the 8th to 11th grade, the current study disentangles the associations of trait and state leisure boredom with substance use, and examines how ability to restructure boring situations moderates those associations. On average, individuals with higher trait boredom used more substances, and on occasions when state boredom was high, the prototypical adolescent used more substances. Although restructuring did not moderate these associations, greater ability was associated with lower substance use independent of leisure boredom. Findings illustrated the importance of considering how trait and state aspects of leisure may contribute to adolescents’ risk behavior and addressed through preventive intervention.

Education is one of the strongest predictors of health worldwide. In South Africa, school dropout is a crisis where by Grade 12, only 52% of the age appropriate population remain enrolled. Survival analysis was used to identify the risk of dropping out of secondary school for male and female adolescents and examine the influence of substance use and leisure experience predictors while controlling for demographic and known predictors using secondary, longitudinal data. Results indicated being male, not living with one’s mother, smoking cigarettes in the past month, and lower levels of leisure-related intrinsic motivation significantly predicted dropout. Results support comprehensive prevention programmes that target risk behaviour and leisure.

Objectives: We examined perceived behavior change since implementation of physical distancing restrictions and identified modifiable (self-rated health, resilience, depressive symptoms, social support and subjective wellbeing) and non-modifiable (demographics) risk/protective factors. Methods: A representative US sample (N = 362) completed an online survey about potential risk/protective factors and health behaviors prior to the pandemic and after implemented/recommended restrictions. We assessed change in perceived health behaviors prior to and following introduction of COVID-19. We conducted hierarchical linear regression to explore and identify risk/protective factors related to physical activity, diet quality, and social isolation. Results: There have been substantial decreases in physical activity and increases in sedentary behavior and social isolation, but no changes in diet quality since COVID-19. We identified modifiable and non-modifiable factors associated with each health behavior. Conclusions: Negative effects indicate the need for universal intervention to promote health behaviors. Inequalities in health behaviors among vulnerable populations may be exacerbated since COVID-19, suggesting need for targeted invention. Social support may be a mechanism to promote health behaviors. We suggest scaling out effective health behavior interventions with the same intensity in which physical distancing recommendations were implemented.

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This article examines the association between boredom in leisure and risky sexual behaviors among South African youth (N = 1695) using longitudinal data. We hypothesized that youth who were higher on boredom in leisure at the end of ninth grade would be more likely to report engaging in risky sexual behaviors at the beginning of tenth grade. Chi-square results indicate youth, especially male youth who experience high levels of leisure boredom in ninth grade, are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors in tenth grade. These findings have implications for prevention programs that aim to delay sexual initiation, reduce sexual risk behaviors, and decrease the transmission of HIV and AIDS. The findings support the need for additional research on how the reduction of leisure boredom may be a potential target for reducing sexual risk among youth.

Key Points Question What are the patterns, frequency, and duration of handgun carrying among youths growing up in rural areas? Findings This cohort study of 2002 rural students found 6 distinct trajectories of handgun carrying, with many youths initiating handgun carrying at least as early as 12 years of age, and more than 20% of some groups carrying a handgun 40 or more times in the past 12 months. Meaning This study suggests that prevention programs to reduce the risk of firearm-related harm should be delivered early in the elementary school period.

Boredom is an aversive emotional state. People high in trait boredom are less able to effectively cope with and resolve boredom than people low in trait boredom. Trait boredom is characterized by proneness and susceptibility, which are associated with avoidance and approach behavioral dispositions, respectively. Baseline frontal EEG asymmetry (FEA) has been treated as a trait level neural correlate of approach and avoidance motivational styles. Online processes by which people effectively cope with and resolve state boredom may involve an approach motivation to create stimulation. Evidence indicates that FEA reflects an active approach or avoidance motivation. This study tested the prediction that proneness and susceptibility would be related to relative less and greater left frontal activity during baseline, respectively, and lower levels of trait boredom would be associated with a leftward shift frontal activity as situationally induced boredom ensued. Young adults (N = 54) completed trait boredom scales, baseline EEG, and a boring task. Results showed that people low in trait boredom exhibited a leftward shift in frontal activity over the course of the boring task. No relations between trait boredom and baseline FEA were observed. The results are consistent with the possibility that approach motivation is involved in coping with and resolving boredom. FEA has been characterized at trait and state levels. Our results provide a new view of FEA as a signature of dynamic online emotion regulatory processes. The implications from linking boredom and FEA for understanding the mechanisms of boredom resolution and meaning of FEA are discussed.

South Africa has an increasing adolescent substance use problem, lack of leisure opportunities and resources, and high adolescent discretionary time. How aspects of leisure relate to adolescent substance use is not well understood. Little research has been conducted on the leisure behaviors and experiences of South African adolescents, if and how those behaviors are associated with substance use, and ecological influences on those associations. By applying multi-level models to longitudinal data obtained from youth living in high-risk contexts, this research examines the association between state and trait healthy leisure and adolescent substance use and how perceived parental over-control moderates those associations. Results indicate healthy leisure protects against substance use at state and trait levels, provides empirical support that risk behavior can be addressed through leisure-based interventions, and emphasizes the importance of both short- and long-term processes when considering the context-dependent nature of adolescents’ leisure experiences.