Morals and money

The authors review the implication of the term “professional,” especially those dealing with the need for an ethic of trustworthiness and those dealing with the expectation of being paid for services. The erosive potential generated by these foci is explored, and circumstances which magnify or might ameliorate the potential described. The article concludes with a consideration of the relationship between professional ethics and world-view.     

Mathematics and evolution: A manifesto

This paper deals with various possibilities for the role of mathematical modeling and computer simulation in attempting to deal with the crises of evolution. Brief introductions to some concepts of holarchic dynamics are included.     

Interaction between preexposure and overshadowing: Further analysis of the extended comparator hypothesis

Three experiments with rats used conditioned suppression of barpress to test predictions of the extended comparator hypothesis, which assumes that the effectiveness of (first-order) comparator stimuli in modulating responding to a target conditioned stimulus (CS) is itself modulated by other (second-order) comparator stimuli. Experiment 1 demonstrated that both pretraining exposure to the target CS alone (i.e., CS-preexposure effect, also known as latent inhibition) and pretraining exposure to a compound of the target CS and nontarget CS (i.e., compound-CS-preexposure effect) counteract overshadowing, and that posttraining deflation (i.e., extinction) of the overshadowing stimulus attenuates responding to the target CS when overshadowing is preceded by a CS-preexposure treatment (i.e., yields a CS-preexposure effect), but not when overshadowing is preceded by a compound-CS-preexposure treatment. Experiment 2 examined the consequences of posttraining associative inflation of the overshadowing stimulus or the preexposure companion stimulus following conjoint compound-CS-preexposure and overshadowing treatment. Experiment 3 examined the consequences of posttraining inflation of the overshadowing stimulus or the context following conjoint CS-alone preexposure and overshadowing treatment. The results support the expression-focused comparator view in contrast to recent acquisition-focused models of retrospective revaluation.     

Alcohol Consumption and Nearly Lethal Suicide Attempts

W e conducted a case‐control study of the association between nearly lethal suicide attempts and facets of alcohol consumption; namely, drinking frequency, drinking quantity, binge drinking, alcoholism, drinking within 3 hours of suicide attempt, and age began drinking. Subjects were 13–34 years of age. In bivariable analyses, all measures were associated with nearly lethal suicide attempts. Odds ratios ranged from 2.4 for alcoholism to 7.0 for drinking within 3 hours of attempt. All exposure variables except age began drinking exhibited a J‐shaped relationship between alcohol exposure and nearly lethal suicide attempt. After controlling for potential confounders and other measures of alcohol exposure, drinking within 3 hours of attempt remained most strongly (odds ratios > 6) associated. Alcoholism remained significantly associated in most models, but at lower strength.     

Hospitalizations for Suicide‐Related Drug Poisonings and Co‐occurring Alcohol Overdoses in Adolescents (Ages 12–17) and Young Adults (Ages 18–24) in the United States, 1999–2008: Results from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample

Drug poisoning is the leading method of suicide‐related deaths among females and third among males in the United States. Alcohol can increase the severity of drug poisonings, yet the prevalence of alcohol overdoses in suicide‐related drug poisonings (SRDP) remains unclear. Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample was examined to determine rates of inpatient hospital stays for SRDP and co‐occurring alcohol overdoses in adolescents (ages 12–17) and young adults (ages 18–24) between 1999 and 2008. Among adolescents, there were 14,615 hospitalizations for drug poisonings in 2008, of which 72% (10,462) were suicide‐related at a cost of $43 million. Rates of SRDP in this age group decreased between 1999 and 2008. The prevalence of co‐occurring alcohol overdoses increased from 5% in 1999 to 7% in 2008. Among young adults, there were 32,471 hospitalizations for drug poisonings in 2008, of which 64% (20,746) were suicide‐related at a cost of $110 million. Rates of SRDP did not change significantly between 1999 and 2008. The prevalence of co‐occurring alcohol overdoses increased from 14% in 1999 to 20% in 2008. Thus, while rates of SRDP decreased for adolescents and remained unchanged for young adults, the prevalence of co‐occurring alcohol overdoses increased for both age groups. Such hospitalizations provide important opportunities to employ intervention techniques to prevent further suicide attempts.