初中生饮酒期望及其与饮酒行为关系的研究

本研究通过对 1 73 4名初中生的问卷测查 ,考察了当前初中生饮酒期望的性别和年级差异 ,并进一步探讨了饮酒期望与饮酒行为之间的关系。结果表明 :( 1 )初中男生的饮酒积极期望和女生相比没有明显差异 ,但饮酒的消极期望显著低于女生 ;( 2 )随着年级的升高 ,初中生的饮酒积极期望和消极期望都呈降低的趋势 ;( 3 )性别、年级、饮酒积极期望和饮酒消极期望对于饮酒行为都有显著的作用 ,饮酒消极期望对于饮酒行为的解释率要高于饮酒积极期望 ;( 4)饮酒消极期望对于饮酒积极期望和饮酒行为的关系有重要的调节作用。     

Drinking motives in alcohol use disorder patients with and without social anxiety disorder

The high comorbidity of alcohol use disorders (AUD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) is often explained by excessive drinking in social situations to self-medicate social anxiety. Indeed, the motive to drink alcohol to lower social fears was found to be elevated in socially anxious persons. However, this social anxiety specific motive has not been directly investigated in primarily alcohol dependent individuals. We explored social anxiety, the motivation to drink alcohol in order to cope with social fears, and social anxiety as a consequence of drinking in AUD with and without comorbid SAD. Male AUD inpatients with (AUD+SAD group, N=23) and without comorbid SAD (N=37) completed a clinical interview and a questionnaire assessment. AUD+SAD patients reported higher levels of depression and an elevated motive to drink due to social anxiety but did not experience more social fears as a consequence of drinking. Previous results concerning alcohol drinking motives in order to relieve social fears could be replicated in a clinical AUD sample. Additionally, our findings suggest comorbid AUD+SAD patients to be more burdened regarding broader psychopathological symptoms. Thus, accessibility to SAD-specific screening and treatment procedures may be beneficial for primary AUD patients.     

Symptoms of Meares-Irlen/Visual Stress Syndrome in subjects diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Several diagnostic symptoms of the visual-processing deficit Meares-Irlen/Visual Stress Syndrome are remarkably similar to symptom manifestations reported by individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We surveyed the specific incidences of nine widely-recognised symptoms of visual stress (VS) in a group of subjects (n = 20) previously diagnosed with CFS. The presence of each symptom of VS in the CFS group was compared to its respective presence in both an age and sex matched healthy comparison group (n = 46), and an age and sex matched group comprised of individuals (n = 14) diagnosed with VS. Results showed the frequencies of all nine VS symptoms in the CFS-diagnosed group to be significantly higher (p = .032 – p < .0005) than in the comparison group, with only two symptoms being statistically less frequent in the CFS group than in the VS-diagnosed group. The average number of VS symptoms reported by the CFS group was also significantly higher than the comparison group, yet not significantly different from the VS group. Thus, the occurrence of VS symptoms in subjects diagnosed with CFS appears to be far greater than previously reported, which in turn may indicate the interplay of some yet to be identified underlying factor(s) common to both conditions.     

保守治疗与切开减压疗法治疗骨筋膜间室综合征的费用比较

比较针刺加外敷祛风消肿酊保守疗法与切开减压治疗四肢骨筋膜间室综合征治疗费用.采用回顾性研究,将符合 ＆lt;中医骨伤科病证诊断疗效标准 ＆gt;（ZY/T001.9-94）诊断标准要求的患者分为试验组10例,对照组10例.试验组采用针刺加外敷祛风消肿酊保守治疗.对照组采用手术切开减压疗法治疗.采用自拟的疗效评定标准在治疗2周后评定2组的治疗费用.结果治疗2周后,试验组和对照组患者全部愈合.试验组平均费用361.7元;对照组平均费用2 058.1元.保守疗法在其他条件相同的情况下,少用1 694.00元,即少用82.3%.因此,治疗四肢骨筋膜间室综合征在保证疗效的前提下,解决看病贵的首选方法是保守疗法.     

Object recognition with severe spatial deficits in Williams syndrome: sparing and breakdown

Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder that results in severe visual-spatial cognitive deficits coupled with relative sparing in language, face recognition, and certain aspects of motion processing. Here, we look for evidence for sparing or impairment in another cognitive system-object recognition. Children with WS, normal mental-age (MA) and chronological age-matched (CA) children, and normal adults viewed pictures of a large range of objects briefly presented under various conditions of degradation, including canonical and unusual orientations, and clear or blurred contours. Objects were shown as either full-color views (Experiment 1) or line drawings (Experiment 2). Across both experiments, WS and MA children performed similarly in all conditions while CA children performed better than both WS group and MA groups with unusual views. This advantage, however, was eliminated when images were also blurred. The error types and relative difficulty of different objects were similar across all participant groups. The results indicate selective sparing of basic mechanisms of object recognition in WS, together with developmental delay or arrest in recognition of objects from unusual viewpoints. These findings are consistent with the growing literature on brain abnormalities in WS which points to selective impairment in the parietal areas of the brain. As a whole, the results lend further support to the growing literature on the functional separability of object recognition mechanisms from other spatial functions, and raise intriguing questions about the link between genetic deficits and cognition.     

Does DSM-IV Asperger's Disorder Exist?

DSM-IV criteria for autistic and Asperger's disorders were applied to 157 children with clinical diagnoses of autism or Asperger's disorder. All children met the DSM-IV criteria for autistic disorder and none met criteria for Asperger's disorder, including those with normal intelligence and absence of early speech delay. The reason for this was that all children had social impairment and restricted and repetitive behavior and interests (required DSM-IV symptoms for both autistic and Asperger's disorders) and all had a DSM-IV communication impairment (which then qualified them for a diagnosis of autistic disorder and not Asperger's disorder). Communication problems exhibited by all children were impaired conversational speech or repetitive, stereotyped, or idiosyncratic speech (or both), which are DSM-IV criteria for autism. These findings are consistent with those of 5 other studies and indicate that a DSM-IV diagnosis of Asperger's disorder is unlikely or impossible.     

ANALYZING THE INFLUENCE OF TIC‐RELATED TALK ON VOCAL AND MOTOR TICS IN CHILDREN WITH TOURETTE'S SYNDROME

This study examined the effect of tic‐related talk on the vocal and motor tics of 2 boys with Tourette's syndrome. Using ABAB withdrawal designs, the boys were alternately exposed to conditions with and without talk of their tics. For both boys, vocal tics markedly increased when talk pertained to tics and decreased when talk did not pertain to tics, but motor tic covariance was less consistent.     

Motives for Fostering Children with Alcohol-Related Disabilities

A sample of 63 licensed foster parents was asked, “What motivates you to foster a child who has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?” The responses to this question were grouped together by licensed foster parents. The grouped data were subjected to multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Results indicated that foster parents were motivated to care for children with alcohol-related disabilities by witnessing positive changes in the children in their care, helping children focus on their strengths, using their own parenting experience, earning an income, assisting children who have disabilities, and helping children stay connected to their families and communities. Foster parents who foster children with alcohol-related disabilities foster for similar reasons to those who foster children with special needs in general. Differences between the literature on foster parent motives and study results were described. Foster parents who are caring for children with alcohol-related disabilities see their care as specialized, see their roles as long-term helpers facilitators to children, their birth families and home communities, and emphasize positive experiences of fostering.     

A controlled evaluation of group cognitive therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

We randomized, at two sites, 210 patients with Rome II diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), of at least moderate severity, to one of three conditions: group-based cognitive therapy (CT; n=120), psychoeducational support groups (n=46) as an active control, or intensive symptom and daily stress monitoring (n=44). One hundred eighty-eight participants completed the initial treatment. Those in symptom monitoring were then crossed over to CT. For an intent to treat analysis on a composite GI symptom measure derived from daily symptom diaries, both CT and the psychoeducational support groups were significantly more improved than those in the intensive symptom monitoring condition, but the CT and psychoeducational support group did not differ. Among treatment completers on the same composite measure of GI symptoms, again, both CT and psychoeducational support groups were statistically superior to symptom monitoring but did not differ on the symptom composite, or on any other measure. On individual IBS symptoms, both CT and psychoeducational support were statistically superior to symptom monitoring on reductions in abdominal pain and tenderness and for flatulence. Patient global ratings at the end of treatment showed the two active conditions statistically superior to symptom monitoring on change in Bowel Regularity, with CT superior to symptom monitoring on reduction in overall pain and in improvement in sense of well-being. Three-month follow-up data on 175 patients revealed maintenance of significant improvement or continued significant improvement on all IBS symptoms, including the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Group CT and psychoeducational support groups continued not to differ on any measure. We thus conclude that group CT is not superior to an attention placebo control condition.     

Loneliness, social relationships, and a broader autism phenotype in college students

Impaired social functioning is a hallmark of autism spectrum conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible relationship between social functioning and a broader autism phenotype. With a sample of non-clinical undergraduate students from a large, urban university (N = 97; mean age = 19.4 ± 2 years), characteristics associated with autism were measured as well as self-reported dating and friendship history, feelings of loneliness, and social motivation. Results indicate that those individuals with a stronger autism phenotype (e.g., rigidity, preference for sameness, high attention to detail) report significantly more loneliness (r = .52, p < 0.01) and fewer and shorter duration friendships. Also, for participants in romantic relationships, a stronger phenotype was moderately and positively correlated with length of relationship (r = .34, p < 0.05). Findings support the view that individuals with characteristics of autism and related conditions do not necessarily prefer aloneness, as once assumed, but rather experience increased levels of loneliness related to lack of social skill and understanding. Significance and limitations of these findings are discussed and future directions for research and possibilities for social skills training in this population are explored.