The Role of Filipino Occupational Therapists in Substance Addiction and Rehabilitation: A Q-Methodology

More than the shortage of manpower, occupational therapists (OTs) in substance addiction and rehabilitation (SAR) practice have remained underused and misunderstood in the Philippines. This study aimed to identify the role of Filipino OTs in people with SUD based on the perspectives of OTs, mental health professionals, and former service users and carers in the community. Using Q-Methodology (QM), this research revealed a tripartite role for Filipino OTs in SAR: (a) “Promoter of occupational participation,” (b) “Collaborator to enhance participation and well-being,” and (c) “Facilitator of environmental supports for occupational participation.”     

Neurobehavioral evidence for the "Near-Miss" effect in pathological gamblers

The purpose of this translational study was twofold: (1) to contrast behavioral and brain activity between pathological and nonpathological gamblers, and (2) to examine differences as a function of the outcome of the spin of a slot machine, focusing predominately on the "Near-Miss"--when two reels stop on the same symbol, and that symbol is just above or below the payoff line on the third reel. Twenty-two participants (11 nonpathological; 11 pathological) completed the study by rating the closeness of various outcomes of slot machine displays (wins, losses, and near-misses) to a win. No behavioral differences were observed between groups of participants, however, differences in brain activity were found in the left midbrain, near the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area (SN / VTA). Near-miss outcomes uniquely activated brain regions associated with wins for the pathological gamblers and regions associated with losses for the nonpathological gamblers. Thus, near-miss outcomes on slot machines may contain both functional and neurological properties of wins for pathological gamblers. Such a translational approach to the study of gambling behavior may be considered an example that gives life to B. F. Skinner's conceptualization of the physiologist of the future.     

Psychometric evaluation of the adolescent and parent versions of the Gaming Addiction Identification Test (GAIT)

The objective of the study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Gaming Addiction Identification Test (GAIT) and its parent version (GAIT‐P), in a representative community sample of adolescents and parents in Västmanland, Sweden. Self‐rated and parent‐rated gaming addictive symptoms identified by GAIT and GAIT‐P were analyzed for frequency of endorsement, internal consistency, concordance, factor structure, prevalence of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), concurrence with the Gaming Addiction Scale for Adolescents, 7‐item version (GAS) and the parent version of GAS (GAS‐P), and for sex differences. The 12‐month prevalence of IGD was found to be 1.3% with GAIT and 2.4% with GAIT‐P. Results also indicate promising psychometric results within this population, with high internal consistency, and high concurrent validity with GAS and GAS‐P. Concordance between adolescents and parents ratings was high, although moderate in girls. Although exploratory factor analysis indicated poor model fit, it also indicated unidimensionality and high factor loadings in all analyses. GAIT and GAIT‐P are suitable for continued use in measuring gaming addiction in adolescents, and, with the additional two items, they now cover all nine IGD criteria.     

I need my smartphone: A hierarchical model of personality and cell-phone addiction

Using a comprehensive personality model, this study is the first to examine the relationship between a full range of personality traits and cell phone addiction. 346 college students completed an online survey that asked respondents to complete measures of the Big-Five personality traits and measures of materialism and need for arousal, Barratt’s (1959) impulsiveness scale, and a four-item measure of cell phone addiction. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Couched in Mowen’s (2000) 3M Hierarchical Model of Personality, the elemental traits of emotional instability and materialism were positively associated while introversion was negatively associated with cell phone addiction. The central trait of attention impulsiveness exhibited a direct and positive association with cell phone addiction. A significant negative relationship between conscientiousness and all three dimensions of Barratt’s impulsiveness scale (central trait) was found. Several additional relationships between the elemental traits of Mowen’s personality hierarchy and the three dimensions of impulsiveness (central trait) also were uncovered. Study implications and future research directions are discussed.     

青少年自我概念与网络成瘾的关系:网络消极体验和学校类型的调节效应

本研究从贵州、江苏等十个地区选取4500名四年级以上的小学生和初中生,采用问卷调查的方法,探讨自我概念对网络成瘾倾向的影响及网络消极体验和学校类型的调节作用。结果发现:(1)自我概念对能够负向预测网络成瘾,重点学校学生的网瘾得分高于非重点学校学生;(2)网络消极体验、学校类型都会影响自我概念的作用。结论:重点学校通过自我概念能够稳定预测网瘾,非重点学校则需考虑网络消极体验的影响。在此基础上对青少年网瘾干预及学校环境进行讨论。     

CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT PROMOTES SMOKING REDUCTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE PATIENTS

Rates and consequences of cigarette smoking are more severe in substance abusers. In this 12‐week pilot study, residential substance abuse treatment patients received standard care for smoking cessation (n = 12) or prize contingency management (n = 12) for expired carbon monoxide (CO) tests ≤ 8 ppm and salivary cotinine < 10 ng/ml, which are indicative of smoking abstinence. Percentage of negative CO tests and the highest number of consecutive negative CO tests were greater in contingency management compared to standard care.     

越“八卦”越沉迷:人际好奇与大学生社交网站成瘾倾向的关系

本研究基于“使用与满足”理论和有限自制力理论,探讨人际好奇与大学生社交网站成瘾倾向的关系,并在此基础上建构了一个有调节的中介模型,考察错失恐惧的中介作用和特质自我控制的调节作用。采用方便抽样法对湖北省和河南省各一所综合性大学621名使用微信朋友圈或QQ空间的学生进行问卷调查,结果显示：（1）人际好奇与错失恐惧、社交网站成瘾倾向显著正相关,与特质自我控制显著负相关;错失恐惧与特质自我控制显著负相关,与社交网站成瘾倾向显著正相关;特质自我控制与社交网站成瘾倾向显著负相关;（2）错失恐惧在人际好奇与大学生社交网站成瘾倾向之间起中介作用,特质自我控制调节该中介路径的后半段。具体而言,相对于高特质自我控制的大学生,间接效应对于低特质自我控制的大学生更加显著。本研究结果揭示了人际好奇对大学生社交网站成瘾倾向的影响及其作用机制,对大学生社交网站成瘾的干预具有一定的指导意义。     

Incubation of food craving in rats: A review

Incubation of food craving is an abstinence-dependent increase in responding for reward-paired cues. Incubation of craving was first reported for rats responding for cocaine-paired cues, and later generalized to several drugs of abuse and for food. Incubation of drug and food craving has been reported in clinical studies as well. Incubation of food craving by rats has been reported for standard chow as well as for high fat and sucrose reinforcers. Parametric and other evaluations of the incubation of food craving reveal manipulations that reduce incubation, including environmental enrichment and pharmacological manipulation of dopamine, glutamate, and endogenous opiates. Several brain regions are likely involved in the effect, including mesolimbic terminals and the central nucleus of the amygdala. Further study of the incubation of food craving could facilitate development of treatments for cravings that precede relapse characteristic of drug and food addictions.     

A Deposit Contract Method to Deliver Abstinence Reinforcement for Cigarette Smoking

Eight smokers were randomly assigned to a deposit contract ($50.00) or to a no-deposit group. Using a reversal design, participants could recoup their deposit (deposit group) or earn vouchers (no-deposit group) for smoking reductions and abstinence (breath carbon monoxide [CO] ≤ 4 parts per million) during treatment phases. Treatment was delivered via a novel Internet-based method to monitor smoking status. Although equivalent decreases in breath CO and abstinence were observed during treatment in both groups, $178.50 in vouchers were distributed to participants in the no-deposit group, whereas a small surplus remained in the deposit group. A deposit contract method may represent a cost-effective model to deliver abstinence reinforcement for cigarette smoking.     

Introduction to The Special Issue on The Behavior Analysis and Treatment of Drug Addiction

Extensive evidence from the laboratory and the clinic suggests that drug addiction can be viewed as operant behavior and effectively treated through the application of principles of operant conditioning. Contingency management interventions that arrange for the direct reinforcement of drug abstinence or of other therapeutically important target behaviors (e.g., regular use of drug abuse treatment medications) are among the most studied type of operant treatments. Behavior analysts have contributed to the substantial and rapidly growing literature on operant treatments for drug addiction, but the publications of this work usually appear in medical, clinical psychology, or drug abuse journals. This special issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis represents an effort to bring this important work to the attention of the behavior-analytic community. The articles in this special issue illustrate both the enormous potential of contingency management interventions to address the serious and seemingly intractable problem of drug addiction as well as the real challenges involved in attempting to develop and disseminate treatments that will produce substantial and lasting changes in the lives of individuals plagued by the chronic problem of drug addiction.