Design and implementation of a program for AIDS prevention in female prostitutes

The Companeros model of HIV infection prevention in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is presented as conceived by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). 518 women who were IV drug users, sexual partners of drug addicts, or prostitutes were requested to participate, and 232 consented. Initial and follow-up AIDS assessments were utilized along with an assessment of sociodemographic variables, including knowledge, sexual behavior, use and abuse of drugs, and previous health history. Educative sessions about AIDs and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) included group discussions and interaction, video watching, personal experiences, and sociodramas. 61% of prostitutes were 29, 12.6% were 13-19 years old, 31.1% were aged 30-39, and 8.9% were 40. 11% had no formal education, 58% had 6 years of primary and part of 3 years of secondary education, only 18.6% completed secondary education; and 13% had higher education. 19% lived in a hotel or shelter. Family disintegration reached 44%; these women did not live with their children. Only 5.2% thought they had excellent health, 51% said they had good health, 31% stated they had average health, and 12% admitted having had health problems. 14.6% had genital ulcers, 1.3% had herpes, 15% had gonorrhea, and 10% had syphilis. Since IV drug use among these women was almost nonexistent sexual relations constituted the principal risk factor. Responses to a questionnaire showed that the most frequent sexual behavior was vaginal penetration followed by fellatio; anal penetration was less common. 34.9% of the women practiced fellatio without protection, 16.3% had anal intercourse without protection. The proportion of AIDS cases in Mexico in women of reproductive age was growing at an exponential rate, possible because of misinformation about AIDS, a history of STDs, and a low rate of condom use.     

Control of responding during stimuli that precede transitions in reinforcement frequency

Pigeons' responses were reinforced on a variant of a mixed variable-interval extinction schedule of reinforcement in which the transition to the higher reinforcement rate was signaled by a trace stimulus projected on the response key prior to the onset of the component correlated with food delivery. In the first of two experiments, the duration of the trace stimulus preceding the component correlated with food delivery was varied from 1.5 to 50.0 s and in the second experiment, the reinforcement frequency in the same component was varied from 10 to 60 reinforcers per hour. Pigeons pecked at the trace stimulus preceding the onset of the component correlated with food delivery even though responding was not reinforced in its presence and only one of the changes in reinforcement rate (i.e., from extinction to reinforcement) was signaled. The rate of pecking during the trace stimulus was a function of its duration but not of the reinforcement frequency in the following component. Higher rates generally occurred at the shorter trace-stimulus durations. Component responding following the offset of the trace stimulus was under discriminative control of the trace stimulus whether or not responding occurred in the presence of the trace stimulus.     

Challenge seeking and the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern

The present investigation sought to further delineate the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern and to elucidate the psychophysiological process through which this behavioral disposition is translated into heart disease. Type A and Type B male subjects engaged in tasks that required varying degrees of activity before an assessment of challenge-seeking tendencies. Type A participants sought greater degrees of challenge than did their Type B counterparts. In addition, the more active the person with Pattern A had been immediately before the challenge-seeking opportunity, the greater the degree of challenge sought. Precedent activity level did not significantly influence challenge seeking in the Type B population. The Type A subjects also had significantly faster heart rates during performance of a challenging task. Pattern A behavior may be translated into heart disease through the cumulative deleterious effects of chronic and excessive challenge-induced cardiovascular excitation.     

Psychotherapy with families of psychosomatic patients

Paradigmatic complexes in family psychotherapy have been indicating a revolutionary change and the creation of new paradigms for the past thirty years. Starting with the application of the general systems theory and the development of those concepts that have been emerging regarding psychosomatic illnesses we discuss the epistemological confusion created, the methodological problems and the dissociation between theory and practice. We suggest a double process of investigation of the family structure using a knowledge of the basic attitudes and the development of a psychotherapy programme within the family of the psychosomatic patient.     

Psychosis,symbol, affectivity 1: etiopathogenesis and treatment through analytical psychology

This is the first of two papers concerning our study into an integrated approach to psychotic disorders, conducted at the University of Palermo’s Psychiatry Unit Polyclinic over approximately 15 years. Here we will explore and reflect upon the acute psychotic condition mainly from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, while in the second paper we will explore the clinical perspective. From the point of view of psychopathology, and in the light of C.G. Jung’s conceptualization of analytical psychology, as well as calling on contributions from other authors from the systemic-relational and post-psychoanalytic field, we will clarify the ideas developed over these last few years by our team. From a more speculative perspective we will advance new interpretive hypotheses in an attempt to thoroughly understand the nature of the psychotic condition, both on a psychodynamic relational and a neuroscientific level. The paper describes how we revised our understanding of psychosis from a brain disease to a process aimed at the rearrangement of psychic functioning, as anticipated by John Weir Perry nearly 40 years ago.     

Social status and friendship in peer victimization trajectories

Background/Objective: Most studies have evaluated victimization at a single time point, making it difficult to determine the impact of the time during which an individual is victimized. This longitudinal study aims to examine the differences in the levels of social status (social preference and perceived popularity) and friendship in peer victimization trajectories, and to analyse if there were changes over time in the levels of social status and friendship in each trajectory. Method: The final sample was composed of 1,239 students (49% girls) with ages between 9 and 18 (M = 12.23, SD = 1.73), from 22 schools in southern Spain. Peer nominations were collected. Results: The General Linear Model results associated the highest levels of social preference, perceived popularity and friendship with the sporadic victimization profile and the lowest levels of these dimensions with the stable profile. Conclusions:The results are discussed based on important personal aspects of stable victimization that confirms social rejection, unpopularity, and the low social support that victimization causes. This contribution is discussed in terms of health and social welfare in adolescence.     

Concurrent validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory Alcohol Problems (ALC) Scale in a college student sample

The concurrent validity of the Alcohol Problems scale (ALC) was investigated in a college student sample (N = 200). The relationships between the ALC and associated features of alcohol problems (e.g., consumption patterns, expectancies, maladaptive coping, and stress) were examined. The validity of the ALC for identifying clinically significant alcohol problems (assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for the fourth edition ofthe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) was also examined. The ALC was related to the associated features and was a valid indicator of alcohol problems. T scores of 80, 85, and 90 had superior hit rates for alcohol abuse; and scores of 80, 85, and 90 had superior hit rates for alcohol dependence.     

Recommendations for the Treatment of Hypochondriac Patients

Hypochondriasis is a debilitating condition in which patients are persistently preoccupied with the possibility of being seriously ill. Its is a costly problem for the health care system whose treatment has not received systematic attention until recently. Although based on few controlled studies, results indicated that various brief cognitive-behavioral techniques produce significant changes in illness fears and attitudes. A list of therapeutic questions that require further study is presented and some indications for both therapists and patients are given.