Association between substance use disorders and self- and other-directed aggression: An integrated model approach

Our study's objective is to determine whether substance use disorders’ association with aggression differs according to the type of substance and/or the form of aggression, within the same population. We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health across 2008–2014, with a pooled sample of 270,227 adult respondents. We used regression models to estimate the odds ratios for those having alcohol and/or drug use disorder(s) perpetrating (a) each form of aggression compared with no aggression and (b) other-directed compared with self-directed aggression. Alcohol use disorder alone and drug use disorder(s) alone were both associated with significantly increased odds of committing self-directed, other-directed, and combined aggression. Individuals with drug use disorder(s) alone were more likely to commit other-directed than self-directed aggression (adjusted odds ratio = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.04–2.05). Individuals with alcohol use disorder alone were not likely to commit one over the other (adjusted odds ratio = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.90–1.61). In conclusion, the integrated model of aggression based on the stress–diathesis model is a relevant framework to study risk factors for aggression. Further research is needed to identify longitudinal predictors of directionality of aggression.     

The basic trait of Antagonism: An unfortunately underappreciated construct

Antagonism, the low pole of Agreeableness, references traits related to immorality, combativeness, grandiosity, callousness, and distrustfulness. It is a robust correlate of externalizing behaviors such as antisocial behavior, aggression, and substance use; in fact, in many cases, it is the strongest trait correlate. It represents the core of many important and impactful psychopathological constructs (e.g., psychopathy, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders). It is also central to models of general and disordered personality, psychopathology, and interpersonal behavior. As Neuroticism is core to understanding the intense distress and suffering that comes with internalizing disorders, Antagonism is core to understanding the impairment and suffering (to the individual and society at large) that comes with externalizing disorders.     

Managing Frustration for Children (MFC) Group Intervention for ADHD: An Open Trial of a Novel Group Intervention for Deficient Emotion Regulation

Deficient emotion regulation is a common and impairing area of difficulty among children with ADHD. Few interventions specifically address deficient emotion regulation. The Managing Frustration for Children With ADHD (MFC) group treatment was developed to specifically target deficient emotion regulation deficits common to children with ADHD. The MFC was developed as a 12-week multisystemic intervention for emotion regulation deficits among children with ADHD. An open trial assessed the effectiveness of the MFC as an adjunctive treatment for deficient emotion regulation among children with ADHD. Fifty-two children with ADHD ages 9–11 (42 boys, 10 girls) were enrolled in the MFC, with 44 completing treatment. The majority (71.2%) of participants had at least one comorbid internalizing, externalizing, or learning disorder. Intent-to-treat repeated-measures ANCOVA suggested significant decreases in emotion regulation deficits, mood difficulties, and externalizing difficulties following completion of treatment. More than half (53%) of children who completed treatment experienced reliable and clinically significant improvement in at least one area of functioning. The MFC demonstrated promising initial effectiveness in addressing the emotion regulation deficits of children with ADHD.     

Intervention,stimulus control,and generalization effects of response interruption and redirection on motor stereotypy

This study evaluated the effects of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) on motor stereotypy (hand and body movements) in a child with neurodevelopmental disorders. We also assessed whether a stimulus paired with RIRD could acquire inhibitory control when tested during nonintervention conditions. Compared with baseline phases in a reversal design, RIRD decreased both hand and motor stereotypies, and there was evidence of stimulus control. Extending RIRD to a second setting was also effective. The care providers responsible for intervention implemented RIRD with fidelity, and they rated the procedure positively. Clinical and research implications from these findings are discussed.     

青少年饮食失调：同伴的表现形式及作用机制

饮食失调在青少年群体中非常普遍, 同伴被认为是一种重要的影响因素。梳理其作用机制, 对青少年饮食失调的预防和干预有重要意义。研究表明, 同伴对青少年饮食失调具有消极影响, 主要表现为感知到的同伴行为、实际的同伴行为、身体不满意的中介作用、以及同伴质量的影响。研究者从直接、间接的角度就同伴对青少年饮食失调的作用机制及影响进行了阐释。未来的研究应深化研究内容, 如增加关于同伴影响的长期效应、同伴属性划分、影响路径作用大小以及同伴与饮食失调的其它社会影响因素间的交互作用等方面的研究。     

Classical fear conditioning in the anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis

Fear conditioning represents the process by which a neutral stimulus comes to evoke fear following its repeated pairing with an aversive stimulus. Although fear conditioning has long been considered a central pathogenic mechanism in anxiety disorders, studies employing lab-based conditioning paradigms provide inconsistent support for this idea. A quantitative review of 20 such studies, representing fear-learning scores for 453 anxiety patients and 455 healthy controls, was conducted to verify the aggregated result of this literature and to assess the moderating influences of study characteristics. Results point to modest increases in both acquisition of fear learning and conditioned responding during extinction among anxiety patients. Importantly, these patient-control differences are not apparent when looking at discrimination studies alone and primarily emerge from studies employing simple, single-cue paradigms where only danger cues are presented and no inhibition of fear to safety cues is required.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of eating disorder symptoms in college women

Recent studies have found that the eating disorders can best be conceptualized as multidimensional. Four factors have consistently emerged from factor analytic studies of eating disorder symptoms: dietary restraint, bulimic behaviors, neurotic personality characteristics, and body image/body dysphoria. Confirmatory factor analysis was utilized to determine if this four-factor structure of eating disorder symptoms would be found in a sample of college women. Principal components analysis extracted four factors which were supported with a confirmatory factor analysis procedure. These four factors were negative affect and body dysphoria, bulimic behaviors, restrictive eating, and body image. The negative affect and body dysphoria factor was positively correlated with the other factors (i.e., bulimic behaviors, restrictive eating, and body image). This factor structure was similar to the factor structure found in samples of patients with bulimia and anorexia nervosa, except that the factors were more highly intercorrelated in the nonclinical sample. Results suggest that the measures of eating disorder symptoms used in this investigation are measuring the same multidimensional constructs in clinical and nonclinical subjects.This paper is partially based upon the master's thesis of the first author.     

Parenting Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum and Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Opportunities for Cross-Fertilization

Empirical support exists for parent training/education (PT/PE) interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). While the models share common roots, current approaches have largely developed independently and the research findings have been disseminated in two different literature traditions: mental health and developmental disabilities. Given that these populations often have overlapping clinical needs and are likely to receive services in similar settings, efforts to integrate the knowledge gained in the disparate literature may be beneficial. This article provides a systematic overview of the current (1995–2005) empirical research on PT/PE for children with DBD and ASD; attending to factors for cross-fertilization. Twenty-two ASD and 38 DBD studies were coded for review. Literature was compared in three main areas: (1) research methodology, (2) focus of PT/PE intervention, and (3) PT/PE procedures. There was no overlap in publication outlets between the studies for the two populations. Results indicate that there are opportunities for cross-fertilization in the areas of (1) research methodology, (2) intervention targets, and (3) format of parenting interventions. The practical implications of integrating these two highly related areas of research are identified and discussed.     

Social Competence and Eating Disorders: Development and Validation of the Anorexia and Bulimia Problem Inventory

Incompetence at solving interpersonal problems is a possible antecedent of anorexic and bulimic behaviors in college-age women. A role-play measure of interpersonal competence, the Anorexia and Bulimia Problem Inventory (ABPI), was developed empirically and then was tested in two validation studies. ABPI scores for two samples of college women were compared: a subclinical sample [extremely high scores on the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)] and a control sample (extremely low EAT scores). Groups differed as predicted. The second study replicated and extended these findings. The ABPI scores of clinical, subclinical, and control samples of college women differed significantly. Bulimic bingers, purgers, and laxative users were least competent on the ABPI. A lack of group differences on the Helping Situations Inventory supported the ABPI's discriminant validity. A correlation between the ABPI and Beck Depression Inventory supported the ABPI's convergent validity. ABPI competence appears to be related to certain subtypes of eating disorders.     

Pathways of Risk for Accelerated Heavy Alcohol Use Among Adolescent Children of Alcoholic Parents

The current study examined two questions. First, do internalizing symptoms and externalizing behavior each mediate the relations between parent psychopathology (alcoholism, antisocial personality disorder, and affective disorder) and growth in adolescent heavy alcohol use? Second, are there gender differences in these mediated pathways? Using latent curve analyses, we examined these questions in a high-risk sample of 439 families (53% children of alcoholic parents; 47% female). Collapsing across gender, adolescent-reported externalizing behavior mediated both the relation between parent alcoholism and growth in heavy alcohol use and the relation between parent antisociality and growth in heavy alcohol use. Parent-reported externalizing behavior only mediated the relation between parent antisociality and growth in heavy alcohol use in males. No support was found for internalizing symptoms as a mediator of these relations. Avenues are suggested for further exploring and integrating information about different mediating processes accounting for children of alcoholics' risk for heavy alcohol use.