Shervin Assari
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View article: Knowledge, attitude, practice and policy support of college students toward electronic cigarette use: a nationwide multicentric study in Iran
Knowledge, attitude, practice and policy support of college students toward electronic cigarette use: a nationwide multicentric study in Iran Open
The high prevalence of e-cigarette use among Iranian university students is compounded by significant knowledge gaps and permissive attitudes. This underscores an urgent need for multi-level interventions, including targeted educational ca…
View article: Myths, challenges, and misconceptions around men’s sexual health in Saudi Arabia
Myths, challenges, and misconceptions around men’s sexual health in Saudi Arabia Open
Introduction Men’s sexual health is an essential yet under-addressed aspect of well-being in Saudi Arabia, shaped by a complex interplay of cultural traditions, religious teachings, and stigma. While Islam encourages marital intimacy, open…
View article: Ventral Attention Network Resting State Functional Connectivity: Psychosocial Correlates among US Adolescents
Ventral Attention Network Resting State Functional Connectivity: Psychosocial Correlates among US Adolescents Open
VAN connectivity reflects subtle neural correlates of socioeconomic and psychosocial context in early adolescence. Our results underscore the importance of integrating structural and contextual factors in interpreting brain-behavior associ…
View article: Electronic Cigarette Perception in Baltimore High Schools
Electronic Cigarette Perception in Baltimore High Schools Open
Higher parental education, female gender, and being in higher grades were associated with perceiving e-cigarettes as unsafe. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address vaping perceptions among youth in urban se…
View article: Trends in Smoking and Flavored Tobacco Use in California: Black–White Disparities, 2003–2023
Trends in Smoking and Flavored Tobacco Use in California: Black–White Disparities, 2003–2023 Open
Although both Black and White adults in California experienced reductions in smoking over the past two decades, White adults showed larger declines in both absolute and relative terms. Disparities were even more pronounced for flavored tob…
View article: SUN-005 Do Peer, Parental, and Personality Factors Explain the Effects of Early Life Stress and Testosterone on Female Alcohol Initiation?
SUN-005 Do Peer, Parental, and Personality Factors Explain the Effects of Early Life Stress and Testosterone on Female Alcohol Initiation? Open
Disclosure: A. Donovan: None. C. Grella: None. S. Assari: None. M. Shaheen: None. L. Richter: None. T.C. Friedman: None. Background: Early life stress (ELS) is associated with early adolescent substance use initiation. ELS alters stress an…
View article: Place-Based Diminished Returns of Economic Resources in Rural America: A Framework for Understanding Geography-Conditioned Inequality
Place-Based Diminished Returns of Economic Resources in Rural America: A Framework for Understanding Geography-Conditioned Inequality Open
Rural health and educational disparities are not solely due to a lack of resources but may also reflect systemic conditions that erode the value of existing resources. Policy interventions must be place-aware and address the contextual con…
View article: Does Stress Explain the Effects of Sexual/Gender Minority Status on Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Risk?
Does Stress Explain the Effects of Sexual/Gender Minority Status on Children’s Behavioral and Emotional Risk? Open
Family conflict, discrimination, and trauma did not mediate SGM disparities in mental health and substance use, but each emerged as an independent predictor of risk. These findings highlight the complexity of mechanisms underlying SGM-rela…
View article: Association Between Socioeconomic Status and E-Cigarette Use in Baltimore High Schools: Comparison of Girls and Boys
Association Between Socioeconomic Status and E-Cigarette Use in Baltimore High Schools: Comparison of Girls and Boys Open
Background: Higher socioeconomic status (SES) is generally associated with lower engagement in health-risk behaviors, in part due to increased access to health information, preventive resources, and supportive environments. However, emergi…
View article: Electronic and Conventional Cigarette Use and Academic Achievement Among Predominantly Low-Income Black High School Students
Electronic and Conventional Cigarette Use and Academic Achievement Among Predominantly Low-Income Black High School Students Open
Background: Tobacco use remains a major public health concern among adolescents, particularly as electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has increased in recent years. While academic performance has been linked to health-risk behaviors, les…
View article: Exploring the relationship between depressive symptoms, allostatic load, and income inequality in US adults aged 20 and older
Exploring the relationship between depressive symptoms, allostatic load, and income inequality in US adults aged 20 and older Open
This study contributes to the understanding of the association between physiological stress, allostatic load and PIR on a national scale. It underscores the importance of recognizing allostatic load as a potential target for interventions …
View article: Lifecycle Management as a Roadmap to the Tobacco Endgame
Lifecycle Management as a Roadmap to the Tobacco Endgame Open
Seeing tobacco control as a complex enterprise that operates under a lifecycle model may offer a roadmap for achieving and sustaining the tobacco endgame. Using this approach may enhance policy coherence, resource efficiency, and adaptabil…
View article: Pathways from racial discrimination to cortisol/DHEA imbalance: protective role of religious involvement
Pathways from racial discrimination to cortisol/DHEA imbalance: protective role of religious involvement Open
Objective: Racial discrimination (RD) is hypothesized to dysregulate the production of stress reactive hormones among African Americans. Psychological processes that may mediate the association between RD and such dysregulation (e.g. corti…
View article: Tobacco-Free Schools in Practice: Policy Presence and Enforcement in Baltimore Schools
Tobacco-Free Schools in Practice: Policy Presence and Enforcement in Baltimore Schools Open
Background: School-based tobacco control policies are critical for preventing youth tobacco use. While many districts adopt formal policies to create smoke- and vape-free environments, the degree to which these policies are enforced at the…
View article: Weaker Association Between Financial Security and Health in the Global South
Weaker Association Between Financial Security and Health in the Global South Open
Background: Subjective socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful determinant of health and well-being, capturing individuals’ perceptions of their material conditions and security. While higher perceived financial and basic needs security a…
View article: Use of Electronic and Conventional Cigarettes and Self-Rated Mental Health in High School Students
Use of Electronic and Conventional Cigarettes and Self-Rated Mental Health in High School Students Open
Background: Youth tobacco use remains a significant public health concern, particularly in urban communities disproportionately burdened by health disparities. In Baltimore City, where tobacco-related harms are elevated, understanding the …
View article: Sense of Mastery Explains Social Patterning of Health
Sense of Mastery Explains Social Patterning of Health Open
Background: Social determinants of health—including both adversity and socioeconomic position—are known to shape physical health, health-related behaviors, and overall well-being. However, the psychological mechanisms that link these deter…
View article: Family Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Suicide: A Comparative Study of Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Adolescents in Sweden
Family Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Suicide: A Comparative Study of Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Adolescents in Sweden Open
Objectives: While adolescents from high socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are generally protected against suicide, recent studies from the United States suggest that these effects may be weaker for marginalized populations, including …
View article: Sex/Gender Differences in the Effects of Childhood Abuse on Future Risk of Depression: Longitudinal Evidence from the Global Flourishing Study
Sex/Gender Differences in the Effects of Childhood Abuse on Future Risk of Depression: Longitudinal Evidence from the Global Flourishing Study Open
Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse (defined as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse without distinguishing type or severity) have long been linked to mental health challenges in adulthood. However, less is known…
View article: Governance for anti-racist AI in healthcare: integrating racism-related stress in psychiatric algorithms for Black Americans
Governance for anti-racist AI in healthcare: integrating racism-related stress in psychiatric algorithms for Black Americans Open
While the world is aware of America's history of enslavement, the ongoing impact of anti-Black racism in the United States remains underemphasized in health intervention modeling. This Perspective argues that algorithmic bias—manifested in…
View article: Educational Attainment Better Protects Non-Latino than Latino People Against Diabetes Mellitus
Educational Attainment Better Protects Non-Latino than Latino People Against Diabetes Mellitus Open
The findings align with the MDRs framework, which suggests that the health benefits of education are not equally distributed across ethnic groups. For Latino individuals, structural barriers such as lower educational quality and labor mark…