Subjective and reinforcing effects of smoking during negative mood induction

Two notions strongly held by many smokers are that negative mood increases smoking behavior and that this increase is due to the ability of smoking to alleviate negative affect. This study used a modified mood induction procedure to examine both the impact of smoking on induced mood, as well as the effect of induced mood on actual smoking behavior. Forty-eight smokers were randomly assigned to a smoking or a water-drinking comparison group. Each participant attended 3 sessions during which 1 of 3 mood states (positive, negative, or neutral) was induced. Contrary to expectation, smoking did not attenuate negative affect. However, negative mood induction subsequently quickened latency to smoke and increased number of puffs consumed ad lib.     

Conjoint developmental trajectories of young adult alcohol and tobacco use

Developmental and etiological advances have set the stage for considering trajectories of problem behavior across the life course, but little work thus far addresses co-occurring problem behavior trajectories. Although recent work characterizes drinking and smoking trajectories, none has explored the course of concurrent drinking and smoking. Using panel data from the Monitoring the Future Project (N=32,087), the authors applied growth mixture modeling to 4 waves of heavy drinking and smoking in a young-adult sample. The authors extracted a single latent group membership factor from heavy drinking and smoking. Associations between trajectory classes and risk factors were relatively unique to the substance being predicted. The association of smoking with alcohol expectancies and delinquency appeared to exist by virtue of smoking's comorbidity with drinking.     

The effect of school-based kindergarten transition policies and practices on child academic outcomes

This study examined the effect of school-based kindergarten transition policies and practices on child outcomes. The authors followed 17,212 children from 992 schools in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten sample (ECLS-K) across the kindergarten school year. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that the number of school-based transition practices in the fall of kindergarten was associated with more positive academic achievement scores at the end of kindergarten, even controlling for family socioeconomic status (SES) and other demographic factors. This effect was stronger for low- and middle-SES children than high-SES children. For low-SES children, 7 transition practices were associated with a .21 standard deviation increase in predicted achievement scores beyond 0 practices. The effect of transition practices was partially mediated by an intervening effect on parent-initiated involvement in school during the kindergarten year. The findings support education policies to target kindergarten transition efforts to increase parent involvement in low-SES families.     

Borderline personality features predict alcohol use problems

This study assessed the relation between BPD features and problems associated with alcohol use 2 years later in young adults. Approximately 5,000 nonclinical young adults were screened for BPD features, and two cohorts of participants completed the laboratory phase of the study at Time 1 (total N = 421) and then again 2 years later at Time 2 (total N = 356). Measures included self-report and interview-based assessments of personality disorders, psychopathology in biological parents, Axis I psychopathology, and alcohol use problems. BPD features were found to significantly predict alcohol use problems 2 years later after controlling for parents' substance use disorders, Axis I psycho-pathology (including alcohol abuse/dependence), and non-BPD personality disorders. In addition, the BPD subscale that assesses impulsivity was found to be significantly associated with alcohol use problems once all predictors were entered into the model.     

Is Workplace Harassment Hazardous to Your Health?

We examined cross-sectional and lagged effects of sexual harassment (SH) and generalized workplace harassment (GWH) on incidence of self-reported illness, injury, or assault in a sample of over 1,500 university employees. SH and GWH, but not other job stressors, were related to increased odds of illness, injury, or assault. This was true when SH, GWH, and illness, injury, or assault were measured at the same time point, as well as when SH and GWH were measured in year prior to illness, injury, or assault.The data presented here are part of an ongoing longitudinal study of workplace harassment conducted at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grants AA09989 and AA13332). Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, April 2004, Chicago, Illinois. The data were collected by the Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.     

The "one-shot" hypothesis for context storage

In 3 experiments motivated by the implicit memory literature, the authors investigated the effects of different strengthening operations on the list strength effect (LSE) for explicit free recall, an effect posited by R. M. Shiffrin, R. Ratcliff, and S. E. Clark (1990) to be due to context cuing. According to the one-shot hypothesis, a fixed amount of context is stored when an item is studied for at least 1 or 2 s. Beyond the initial context storage, increases in study time or different orienting tasks do not influence the amount of context that is stored, and thus only spaced repetitions should produce a positive LSE. Consistent with prior findings, spaced repetitions always produced a positive LSE, but increases in depth of processing, study time, and massed repetitions did not. A model implements the one-shot hypothesis, and a role for context storage as a link between episodic and semantic memory is discussed.     

Relations Between Coping and Positive and Negative Outcomes in Carers of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

This study examined relations between stress and coping predictors and negative and positive outcomes in MS caregiving. A total of 222 carers and their care-recipients completed questionnaires at Time 1 and three months later, Time 2 (n = 155). Predictors included care-recipient characteristics (age, time since diagnosis, course and life satisfaction), and Times 1 and 2 carer problems, stress appraisal and coping. Dependent variables were Time 2 negative (anxiety, depression) and positive outcomes (life satisfaction, positive affect, benefits). Regressions indicated that, overall, the hypothesised direct effects of stress appraisal and coping strategies on positive and negative outcomes were supported. The hypothesised stress-buffering effects of positive reframing coping were also supported. All but one of the coping strategies were related to both positive and negative outcomes; specifically, practical assistance coping emerged as a unique predictor of distress. Of the model predictors, care-recipient life satisfaction emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictor of both positive and negative outcomes except benefit finding. Findings support the role of care-recipient characteristics and the carers appraisal and coping processes in shaping both positive and negative outcomes. The guiding framework and findings have the potential to inform interventions designed to promote well-being in carers.     

Beyond the Frontstage: Trust, Access, and the Relational Context in Research with Refugee Communities

This paper examines the role of trust and the concept of access as they affect the relational context in which community research, and research with refugee communities in particular, is conducted. Sociologist Irving Goffman's metaphor of frontstage and backstage behavior is used to illustrate the complexity and importance of developing of relations of trust, and thereby gaining "backstage" access, in communities that are generally closed to outsiders. It is argued that gaining authentic ("backstage") access to refugee communities, as well as other communities that have developed a self-protective insularity, is essential if we are to gather data that accurately reflect the actual beliefs, feelings, and experiences of community members. The paper then examines the puzzling lack of discussion regarding issues of trust, access, and the relational context in the literature on refugee mental health. Explanations for this apparent inattention are sought in the influence of the prevailing scientific paradigm that guides most research with refugees, and that shapes the values of the field's "gatekeepers," the editors and reviewers of scholarly journals. Throughout the paper, key points are illustrated with examples drawn from the author's research with refugees from Guatemala, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.     

Religious Activity and Risk Behavior Among African American Adolescents: Concurrent and Developmental Effects

This study examines how religious activity is associated with risk behaviors, concurrently and developmentally among urban African American adolescents. Seven hundred and five African American youths were interviewed annually during high school. Retention rates for the study exceeded 90%. Frequency of religious activity, sexual intercourse, and alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use were assessed at each wave. Growth curve analyses found negative concurrent associations between religious activity and each of the four risk behaviors. The developmental effects of religious activity varied by gender. Higher levels of religious activity in 9th grade predicted smaller increases in marijuana use among males and cigarette use among females. In addition, larger decreases in religious activity during high school were associated with greater increases in alcohol use among males and sexual intercourse among females. During high school, religious activity limits the development of certain types of risk behavior among African American youth, even after controlling for reciprocal effects.     

Onset of frailty in older adults and the protective role of positive affect

The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between positive affect and onset of frailty for 1,558 initially nonfrail older Mexican Americans from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly database. The incidence of frailty increased 7.9% during the 7-year follow-up period. High positive affect was found to significantly lower the risk of frailty. Each unit increase in baseline positive affect score was associated with a 3% decreased risk of frailty after adjusting for relevant risk factors. Findings add to a growing positive psychology literature by showing that positive affect is protective against the functional and physical decline associated with frailty.