Clinical and Non-Clinical Characteristics Associated with Medication Use Among Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance

Our study explores the clinical and non-clinical characteristics associated with medication use among children with serious emotional disturbance who are referred into community-based family-driven system of care settings. Using data collected as part of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program initiative, our study provides results from analyses completed on 7,009 children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance. Using both bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses, the researchers found that females entering systems of care were less likely to have received medication in the 6-months prior to entry, as were children of African-American and Native-American heritage compared to children from non-Hispanic White heritage. Children referred from mental health, child welfare or who were self-referred were more likely to use medications than those referred from juvenile justice. Children with histories of prior inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, or school-based services were between 2 and 4 times more likely to use medications than children without such histories. Children with family histories of mental illness and those who were Medicaid recipients were also more likely to use medications. Family income was also positively related to medication use and younger children were more likely to use medications than older children. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The relation of methamphetamine use and violence: A critical review

Methamphetamine (MA), a psychostimulant drug, was first produced in Germany and Japan in the late 1800s. MA use and trafficking have been a problem since the 1970s in the United States (U.S.) [National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). (2006). National Drug Threat Assessment 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2006 from http://www.usdoj.gov.ndic/pubs11/18862/MA.htm] and have increased in recent years [Office of Applied Studies (OAS). (September 16, 2005). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health report: Methamphetamine use, abuse, and dependence: 2002, 2003, and 2004. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration]. MA is associated with violent behavior yet the nature of this relation remains poorly understood, largely due to methodological shortcomings. The present paper critically examines the empirical literature on MA use and its relation to violence. Methodological issues and challenges are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The Relationship between Religiosity and Drug Use among “At Risk” Women

This study focuses on the interplay between religiosity and drug use in a sample of 250 adult women from the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area who were interviewed between August 1997 and August 2000. The research addresses two principal questions: (1) Is there a relationship between the level of religiosity and the amount of illegal drug use reported? (2) If so, is this relationship maintained in multivariate analysis when the effects of other potentially relevant factors like demographic characteristics, childhood maltreatment experiences, psychosocial traits, and substance user-related measures are taken into account? We found that religiosity is related to the amount of drugs women used. Four variables were retained in the final multivariate drug use prediction model: religiosity, coping with everyday stresses, number of family members who are substance abusers, and amount of oral sex. Greater amounts of drugs were used by women who were less religious, less capable of coping with stress, had more drug-abusing family members, and reported having more oral sex. Together, these items explained nearly one-fifth of the variance in the dependent variable. The implications for substance abuse prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.     

The Effects of Victim’s Substance Use and Relationship Closeness on Mock Jurors’ Judgments in an Acquaintance Rape Case

Previous research has demonstrated that jurors perceive a female victim who is drunk at the time when she is sexually assaulted as less credible and more deserving of such punishment than a sober victim. In this experiment, we investigated the effect of an alleged acquaintance rape victim’s type of substance use and closeness of relationship with the defendant on the judgments of 152 student mock jurors. Participants read a case summary and answered a series of questions about their impressions of the actors and actions involved in the case. Participants perceived a victim who was sober at the time of the incident as more credible than a victim who was intoxicated due to illegal substance use (alcohol or LSD), and convictions were also most likely when the victim was sober. Women perceived the victim as more credible than men did. Higher victim credibility judgments were associated with less rape myth acceptance (RMA) on the part of participants.     

Stigmatisation intériorisée et consommation de substances psychoactives : revue systématique de la littérature

IntroductionSubstance use is a very stigmatized condition all over the world. Moreover, lots of people who use drugs or alcohol tend to internalize these stigmas, which can lead to harmful consequences. Corrigan's progressive model of self-stigma suggest that individuals go through four stages to internalize the stigma (aware, agree, apply, harm) and then undergo a stage of resignation and lack of hope and energy called “why try”. Research seems to be increasingly interested in this phenomenon, so we wonder, where we stand in the comprehension of internalized stigma for substances users?ObjectiveThis work aims to systematically review ten-past years studies about self-stigma in substance addiction in order to assess the status of curr ent works in this area.MethodThis systematic review was led inspired by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statements on the electronic databases PubMed, PsycInfo and PsycArticle. The inclusion criteria were: references published between 2010 and 2020, in French or English language which shows results about self-stigma for psychoactives substances users. A total of 39 studies met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this review.ResultsSynthesizing findings across the studies revealed some important topics. First, the progressive model seems to be statistically valid among drug and/or alcohol users. Nevertheless, self-stigma of drugs and/or alcohol is not the only condition that entails users. A varieties of other factors (i.e. HIV, sex work) are to be considered in the understanding of stigmatization. In the studies, negative consequences due to self-stigma in substance use were observed such as depression or anxiety symptoms, lower self-esteem and negatives emotions as fear and shame.ConclusionAll these results are to be considered within their limits. In light of these findings, the knowledge acquired will allow professionals to develop new interventions to prevent and to reduce self-stigma of drug and/or alcohol users.     

The facilitative effect of positive stimuli on 3-year-olds’ flexible rule use

This study examined the effect of emotional stimuli on 3- to 4-year old children's flexible rule use, as measured by the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS). In Experiment 1, children in two countries (Canada and China) were given 2 versions of the DCCS. The Standard version required children to sort red and blue boats and rabbits first by shape and then by color (or vice versa); the Emotional Faces version required children to sort happy and sad male and female faces first by emotion and then by gender (or vice versa). Children performed significantly better on the Emotional Faces version, and performance on the 2 versions was related. Order in which dimensions were presented had no effect. Experiment 2 examined which aspects of the emotional faces were responsible for the facilitation of children's performance. Performance on the Standard version was compared to performance on three contextual faces versions, in which children were shown happy, sad, or neutral faces and required to sort them by age (child versus adult) and then by gender (or vice versa). Facilitation was only seen in the context of happy faces. Results are consistent with the suggestion that positive stimuli promote cognitive flexibility, perhaps by increasing dopamine levels in prefrontal cortex.     

娱乐场所服务女性的行为学调查

调查娱乐场所服务女性的性行为特征及其安全套使用情况,为预防性病/艾滋病健康教育和政策制定提供参考信息。采用立意抽样方法对我省南昌和萍乡两地娱乐场所服务女性进行问卷调查。娱乐场所服务女性卖淫比例较高,卖淫者安全套使用比例和频率不高,且卖淫者安全套使用存在不平衡现象。必须进一步加大宣传教育力度及强化干预工作。     

抗菌药物合理应用的宏观和微观问题

抗菌药物不合理应用现象长期得不到纠正,细菌耐药稳步攀升,正引起医学界、社会和政府的高度关注。本文就宏观上的抗菌药物使用政策与微观上的临床用药两方面存在的问题进行探讨。介绍了国际上关于抗菌药物政策的研究以及抗菌药物合理使用的新观点（尽早开始经验性治疗、“降阶梯”治疗策略、运用抗菌药物PK／PD原理指导临床用药、短程治疗）。主张调整宏观抗生素策略,去除该政策单纯、片面限制使用和应用药敏实验结果指导临床用药绝对化的做法。吸纳国际上的新成果,强化监管力度,更多采用教育和技术手段。     

Treatment Engagement with Caregivers of At-risk Children: Gaps in Research and Conceptualization

The high rates of dropping out and other engagement problems are significant concerns in the delivery of mental health and adjunct services to the families of at-risk children. Consequently, researchers have examined the correlates of attrition and have developed interventions to increase engagement and retention. However, the lack of a clear definition of engagement and gaps in theory about the relationship of engagement to other treatment processes hinder knowledge development. In this paper the behavioral and attitudinal aspects of engagement are disentangled. Current knowledge about treatment barriers and interventions to increase appointment keeping is summarized. A preliminary conceptualization of the engagement process is presented and research needs and practice implications are discussed.     

Religiousness as a Protective Factor for Substance Use in Dance Sport

Although religiousness is found to be a significant protective factor in substance use, there is an evidential lack of studies of such in athletes. The aim of the study was to identify the predictive value of the religiousness and some social, educational, and sport factors on substance use in 43 sport dancers. An originally developed questionnaire for studying substance use and precipitation factors was applied. The Chi-square showed male dancers as more religious than females. Using the Spearman’s correlation, religiousness was found to be a significant protective factor in cigarette smoking, sport nutritional supplementation, and the likelihood of doping. Data were interpreted emphasizing the previous findings from the literature.