Developmental associations between externalizing behaviors, peer delinquency, drug use, perceived neighborhood crime, and violent behavior in urban communities

This study examines the precursors of violent behavior among urban, racial/ethnic minority adults. Data are from an on-going study of male and female African Americans and Puerto Ricans, interviewed at four time waves, Time 1-Time 4 (T1-T4), from adolescence to adulthood. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the developmental pathways, beginning in mid-adolescence (T1; age = 14.0 years), to violent behavior in adulthood (T4; age = 29.2 years). The variables assessed were: components of externalizing behaviors (i.e., rebelliousness, delinquency; T1, T3); illicit drug use (T2); peer delinquency (T2); perceived neighborhood crime (T4); and violent behavior (T3, T4). Results showed that the participants' externalizing behaviors (rebelliousness and delinquency) were relatively stable from mid-adolescence (T1; age = 14.0 years) to early adulthood (T3; age = 24.4 years). The participants' externalizing behaviors in mid-adolescence also had a direct pathway to peer delinquency in late adolescence (T2; age = 19.1 years). Peer delinquency, in turn, had a direct pathway to the participants' illicit drug use in late adolescence (T2), and to externalizing behaviors in early adulthood (T3). The participants' illicit drug use (T2; age = 19.1 years) had both direct and indirect paths to violent behavior in adulthood (T4). The participants' externalizing behaviors in early adulthood (T3) were linked with violent behavior at T3, and perceived neighborhood crime (T4), both of which had direct pathways to violent behavior in adulthood (T4). The findings suggest developmental periods during which externalizing behaviors, exposure to delinquent peers, illegal drug use, and neighborhood crime could be targeted by prevention and intervention programs in order to reduce violent behavior.     

Impact of an individualist vs. collectivist context on the social valorization of internal explanations

The theory of the norm of internality emphasizes the role of Western individualism in the normativity of internal explanations. The present study examines the link between the social value accorded to targets expressing internal vs. external explanations and individualist vs. collectivist contexts. Sixty-three male and female French management sciences students evaluated two targets (internal vs. external) in a simulated recruitment situation. The job vacancy was partially manipulated to create individualist vs. collectivist contexts. Participants were asked to state whether or not they would recruit the targets and to describe the targets on traits relating to social utility (market value) and social desirability (likeability). As expected, the results showed that the effect of the targets' internality on recruitment judgments and perceived social utility was stronger in the individualist context than in the collectivist context. However, the analysis also revealed that the participant's gender moderated the impact of the context on the evaluation of the targets. The results showed that the context strongly affected the men's judgments, whereas it had no effect on the women's judgments.     

Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Men Who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence

Extensive work has documented an association between sustaining intimate partner violence (IPV) and alcohol/drug abuse among women, yet little research has documented the same association in men, even though men comprise 25–50% of all IPV victims in a given year. This study investigates the associations among sustaining IPV and alcohol/drug abuse among both a clinical and community sample of men. The clinical sample is comprised of 302 men who sustained intimate terrorism—a form of IPV that is characterized by much violence and controlling behavior—from their female partners and sought help. The community sample is composed of 520 men, 16% of whom sustained common couple violence, a lower level of more minor reciprocal IPV. Analyses showed that among both groups of men who sustained IPV, the prevalence and frequency of alcohol/drug abuse was significantly higher than in men who did not sustain IPV. However, a dose–response relationship between sustaining IPV and alcohol/drug abuse was found only among men in the community sample. Path modeling showed that, for the community sample, the best fitting models were ones that showed that the alcohol/drug abuse predicted IPV victimization, an association that was fully mediated by their use of IPV. Aggr. Behav. 38:31‐46, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

镜像神经系统—研究药物依赖行为的新靶点

镜像神经是近年来认知与大脑神经科学研究中崭新的课题,大量实验证实了镜像神经元(系统)参与到了多种心理能力的发展与进化之中。目前有研究发现,吸烟相关线索会激活尼古丁成瘾者大脑相应的动作脑区,而该区域也正是人类镜像神经区域,这意味着镜像神经在相关线索激发的心理渴求中可能扮演了重要角色。该实验结果有重要的意义,动作计划脑区的神经线索反应为发展可靠的依赖行为的生物学标记提供了另一个新目标,不仅开发了一个新型的依赖行为的理论模型,还为把神经科学的研究发现运用到实践应用打下了良好的基础。     

评价和控制药物不良反应的认识与思考

用科学的世界观和方法论指导药物不良反应的评价和控制。从药物不良反应的发生机制、临床表现、因果关系的判定原则出发,与马克思主义哲学的基本观点相结合,提出了几点认识和思考。药物治疗作用与副作用既对立又统一;药物治疗效应向毒性反应的转变是量变到质变的过程;药物过敏反应的发生是内因外因相互作用的结果;药物与不良反应联系强度的判定必须符合前因后果性;药物与不良反应联系强度的判定必须排除混杂因素的干扰,找到内在的、本质的联系。     

Is Mozi a utilitarian philosopher?

In this essay I argue that Mozi’s philosophy is anything but utilitarianism by way of analysing four ethical theories. Utilitarianism is an ethics in which the moral subject is an atomic individual human being, and its concern is how to fulfill the interests of the individual self and the social majority. Confucian ethics is centered on the notion of the family and its basic question is that of priority in the relationship between the small self and the enlarged or collective self. Opposite to these two moral theories is Mozi’s ethics: The interests that Mozi is primarily concerned with are not the interests of my individual self or my collective self, but the interests of the other. The fulfillment of the material needs of the other is my moral obligation. The arguments are centered on the three basic concepts, “the I,” “the we,” and “the other.” The significance of Mozi’s thought in modern or postmodern context lies in its striking resemblance to the philosophy of a contemporary western philosopher, Levinas. In both Mozi and Levinas, there is a suspension of utilitarianism. __________ Translated from Zhongguo Zhexue Shi 中国哲学史 (History of Chinese Philosophy), 2005 (1)     

Oral drug self-administration in rhesus monkeys: interactions between drug amount and fixed-ratio size.

During daily 3-hr sessions, 5 rhesus monkeys drank drug solutions and water that were concurrently available. The drug solutions were: 1 milligram per milliliter (mg/mL) pentobarbital (2 monkeys), 1 mg/mL pentobarbital plus 0.5% ethanol (1 monkey), 1 mg/mL pentobarbital plus 1% ethanol (1 monkey), and 8% ethanol (1 monkey). The drug solution and water were available under identical two-component tandem fixed-ratio continuous-reinforcement N schedules. Two variables were manipulated: the size of the fixed-ratio component and the number of liquid deliveries (N) in the second component. Deliveries of the drug solution maintained higher rates of responding than did deliveries of the drug vehicle, water. The number of drug deliveries per session increased with increases in the number of deliveries per fixed ratio and decreased with increases in fixed-ratio size. Analysis of the results in terms of the proportion of deliveries to responses showed that the number of drug deliveries per session was directly related to the size of this quotient. Finally, when fixed-ratio size was repeatedly doubled, the following orderly relationship emerged: The greater the number of available drug deliveries per fixed ratio, the less was the percent decrease in the number of fixed ratios completed per session. It was concluded that increases in the number of liquid deliveries per fixed ratio resulted in increases in reinforcing efficacy.     

Incentive theory: IV. Magnitude of reward

Incentive theory is successfully applied to data from experiments in which the amount of food reward is varied. This is accomplished by assuming that incentive value is a negatively accelerated function of reward duration. The interaction of the magnitude of a reward with its delay is confirmed, and the causes and implications of this interaction are discussed.     

Reliability of drug use responses in a longitudinal study

In a prospective longitudinal study of adolescents' drug use, the trustfulness of the self-reports about drug use was investigated by means of a test for logical consistency. A sample of 1936 high school students completed a written survey in the fall of 1987 and again in spring 1988, seven to eight months later. The findings indicate that the information obtained is logically consistent at one particular point in time. Analyses show, however, that the consistency drops somewhat over time. The legal drug use responses show the highest consistency, the answers regarding hard drugs like amphetamine and heroin show the least favourable consistency, with cannabis and inhalants somewhere in the middle. There seem to be two main reasons for the inconsistent answers: some respondents wilfully underreport their drug consumption. This seems partly to be a function of the level of illegality of the drug. However, poor memory and episodic uses of such drugs seem also to be important. Generally this study agrees with other studies and indicates an overall relatively high level of longitudinal consistency regarding drug use responses. This kind of survey must therefore be regarded as a relatively reliable instrument in collecting information regarding drug use.     

CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS: EFFECTS ON TREATMENT OUTCOME DURING METHADONE DETOXIFICATION

We examined the effectiveness of a contingency management program in preventing relapse to illicit opiate use and increasing treatment retention during outpatient methadone detoxification treatment. Twenty male opiate addicts were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Following a 3-week methadone stabilization period, men in both groups received identical gradual methadone dose reductions during Weeks 4 through 9 and were maintained on placebo during Weeks 10 through 13. Beginning in Week 4, control patients received $5.00 for providing a specimen twice weekly. Experimental patients received $10.00 and a take home methadone dose for each opiate-free urine specimen but forfeited the incentives and participated in more intensive clinic procedures when specimens were opiate positive. The contingency management procedure slowed the rate of relapse to illicit opiate use. Experimental patients provided significantly more opiate-free urines during the methadone dose reduction in Weeks 4 through 9 than control patients, although the difference between groups was no longer significant during placebo administration in Weeks 10 through 13. In addition, the contingency management program improved treatment retention and reduced symptom complaints during the detoxification. The usefulness and limitations of contingency management procedures for outpatient methadone detoxification are discussed.