Anxiety Symptomatology in Mexican-American Adolescents

Mexican-American adults and adolescents in general have been reported to have high levels of anxiety symptomatology. In our study of a tri-ethnic sample of 2528 junior and senior high school students, the Youth Self Report (YSR) version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and a sociodemographic questionnaire was used to assess the anxiety symptoms of Hispanic youth. We compared the ratings on anxiety symptoms, using Achenbach's anxiety subscale on the YSR, between two populations. The anxiety levels of youth in coastal southeast Texas (Galveston County) were compared to the anxiety levels of youth in the lower Rio Grande Valley. We found that Mexican-Americans of the Lower Rio Grande Valley scored higher on anxiety symptoms than the tri-ethnic population of Galveston County. Other factors associated with higher anxiety scores for Mexican-American youths included being born outside the US, linguistic fluency, father absent from the home, mother's education, and household size. Multiple regression analyses showed that socio-economic status (SES), family composition, and linguistic fluency had a greater relative impact on anxiety symptomatology than all other factors, both for the total sample as well as for the Mexican-American sample. These results parallel previous findings, with Mexican-American adults, which suggest either higher risk for anxiety symptomatology or a culturally related bias in the reporting of such symptoms.     

Risk,cost-effectiveness and profit: Problems in cardiovascular research and practice

Risk is the probability that within a certain time some expected negative event will take place. In medicine risk can be related to a decision or to some intrinsic factors which are associated with the probability of the occurrence of a disease. Decisions can be necessary in the individual life with respect to the question of visiting a physician or performing a certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. The introduction of new pharmaceutical or technical products into medical use are another set of decisions which can generate certain risks. Intrinsic or inherent risk factors are a set of variables or signs and symptoms which indicate the presence of a certain probability that some disease or event, e.g., arteriosclerosis or sudden infant death syndrome, may occur. Risk is always related to judgement. In a decision process cost, effectiveness and profit can be used to estimate the magnitude of the risk to be taken. In a similar way the problems in connection with an inherent risk are primarily related to the recognition of the magnitude of risk and to the possibility of prophylactic measures. In our own area of research, the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is an event where only risk factors can be observed. We point at two facts in this context: Highly complex patterns of symptoms like behaviour can better be classified by intuitive Gestalt perception. A medical procedure like induction of labour can itself become a risk factor.     

Comparison of DSM-III-R chronic major depression and major depression superimposed on dysthymia (double depression): validity of the distinction

The nosology of chronic depression has become increasingly complex since the publication of the revised third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), but there are few data available to evaluate the validity of the distinctions between the subtypes of chronic depression. The validity of the distinction between DSM-III-R chronic major depression (CMD) and major depression superimposed on dysthymia (double depression, DD) was examined. Participants were 635 patients with chronic depression in a 12-week trial of antidepressant medications. Patients with CMD, DD, and a 3rd group with a chronic major depressive episode superimposed on dysthymia (DD/CMD) were compared on demographic and clinical characteristics, family history, and response to treatment. Few differences were evident, although the depression of patients with DD/CMD tended to be more severe.     

Exploring self-forgiveness

This article presents the results of a phenomenological study of the experience of self-forgiveness. On the basis of in-depth interviews with seven subjects, self-forgiveness is described not as an achievement but rather as a gift where one moves from estrangement and brokenness to a sense of at-homeness.This article is based in part on a paper presented at the Eighth International Human Science Research Conference at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, in August 1989. The authors thank their colleagues Carolyn Grissom and Jodi Kelly for their helpful suggestions.     

On subdirectly irreducible OMAs

In this paper some properties of epi-representations and Schmidt-congruence relations of orthomodular partial algebras are investigated and an infinite list of OMA-epi-subdirectly irreducible orthomodular partial algebras will be constructed.Special issue of Studia Logica: Algebraic Theory of Quasivarieties Presented by M. E. Adams, K. V. Adaricheva, W. Dziobiak, and A. V. Kravchenko     

Cultural context and substance abuse in Hispanic adolescents

Much emphasis has been placed on the significant substance abuse problem being faced by Hispanic as well as other minority youth in the United States. However, little research has focused on the relative importance of culturally determined factors in the development of substance abuse in Hispanic youths. In this study, we propose an approach to measuring cultural factors through the activity orientations that youths endorse. We studied over 4000 Mexican-American and Mexican youths living along the U.S.-Mexico border with respect to their recent drug use, problem drug use, depressive symptomatology, and their activity orientation. While culturally related activity orientation does significantly increase risk for substance abuse, we found that symptoms of distress/depression and sociodemographic factors exerted a stronger effect on these youths.