Maternal mental health and integrated programs for mothers with substance abuse issues.

To examine the impact of integrated treatment programs (those with substance use treatment and pregnancy-, parenting-, or child-related services) on maternal mental health, we compiled a database of studies of integrated programs published between 1990 and 2007 with outcome data on maternal mental health. There were 18 cohort studies, 3 randomized trials, and 2 quasi-experimental studies. Of the five studies comparing integrated to nonintegrated programs, three studies provided enough information to allow for them to be combined in a meta-analysis. The average effect size was 0.23 (95% CI = 0.15 to 0.31, SE = 0.04), p Q = 5.66, p = .059. This meta-analysis is the first systematic quantitative review of studies evaluating the impact of integrated programs on maternal mental health. Findings suggest that integrated programs may be associated with a small advantage over nonintegrated programs in improving maternal mental health. This review highlights the need for further research with improved methodology, study quality, and reporting to improve our understanding of how best to meet the mental health needs of mothers with substance abuse issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimization of the procedure to burn textile fabrics by cone calorimeter: Part I. Combustion behavior of polyester

The aim of this study was the optimization of cone calorimeter to determine the burning behavior of textile fabrics. In particular, the combustion behavior of commercial polyester textile fabrics with varying densities was studied in terms of time to ignition (TTI), heat release rate (HRR), and relative peak (pkHRR) were monitored. Reproducibility and repeatability of the data have been verified by the influence of instrument variable including incident heat flux, the temperature of ceramic backing pads and retaining grid used during sample mounting as well as sample weight (as the number of fabric layers), the density of textiles, and the relative humidity. A low reproducibility has been obtained when a wire grid was not used to stabilize samples during the tests. The effects of these variables on TTI and pkHRR were observed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diffusion-controlled reference material for volatile organic compound emissions testing: Pilot inter-laboratory study

To improve the reliability and accuracy of tests used to measure emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from samples of interior building products, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Virginia Tech (VT) have created a program to develop reference materials with independently predictable emission rates. A diffusive reference material and associated mechanistic model have been developed and are undergoing extensive evaluation. As part of this process, a pilot inter-laboratory study (ILS) was conducted with four laboratories using a polymer material loaded with toluene as the reference source. Results showed the prototype material to be a relatively stable, homogeneous source with consistent emissions both within and between production batches. A comparison of toluene emission rates determined by the laboratories showed relative standard deviations as low as 9%, which are significantly lower than inter-laboratory variations for most previous ILS exercises with VOC sources. At a sample time of 48 h, the mean measured toluene emission rate for all four laboratories was within 1% of the model predicted value. The success of this pilot ILS is a key step toward being able to provide a VOC reference material for independent validation of VOC emission tests conducted in small chambers.     

Performance of Silica-Titania Carbon Composites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Gray Water

The objective of this research was to develop a photocatalytic reactor that will reduce the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration of a gray water influent. The system used a reactor packed with titanium dioxide (TiO2) supported by silica gel (SiO2) and was optimized with respect to several system parameters. The SiO2–TiO2 composites (STCs) were capable of reducing the TOC concentration from 3,000 ppb to below the targeted concentration of 500 ppb in a recirculating system. An optimum empty bed contact time of 7 min was found based on the fastest destruction rate to reach below 500 ppb of TOC. Also based on destruction rate, a STC having a TiO2 loading of 12 g/100 mL of SiO2 precursor and approximately 120-? pore size was shown to have the best performance among several composites of different TiO2 loadings and pore sizes. The addition of activated carbon to the STC was found to improve the overall performance of the system by increasing the composite’s adsorption capabilities.     

Are positive emotions just as “positive” across cultures?

Whereas positive emotions and feeling unequivocally good may be at the heart of well-being among Westerners, positive emotions often carry negative associations within many Asian cultures. Based on a review of East-West cultural differences in dialectical emotions, or co-occurring positive and negative feelings, we predicted culture to influence the association between positive emotions and depression, but not the association between negative emotions and depression. As predicted, in a survey of over 600 European-, immigrant Asian-, and Asian American college students, positive emotions were associated with depression symptoms among European Americans and Asian Americans, but not immigrant Asians. Negative emotions were associated with depression symptoms among all three groups. We also found initial evidence that acculturation (i.e., nativity) may influence the role of positive emotions in depression: Asian Americans fell “in between” the two other groups. These findings suggest the importance of studying the role of culture in positive emotions and in positive psychology. The use of interventions based on promoting positive emotions in clinical psychology among Asian clients is briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speed and accuracy of facial expression classification in avoidant personality disorder: A preliminary study.

The aim of this preliminary study was to examine whether individuals with avoidant personality disorder (APD) could be characterized by deficits in the classification of dynamically presented facial emotional expressions. Using a community sample of adults with APD (n = 17) and non-APD controls (n = 16), speed and accuracy of facial emotional expression recognition was investigated in a task that morphs facial expressions from neutral to prototypical expressions (Multi-Morph Facial Affect Recognition Task; Blair, Colledge, Murray, & Mitchell, 2001). Results indicated that individuals with APD were significantly more likely than controls to make errors when classifying fully expressed fear. However, no differences were found between groups in the speed to correctly classify facial emotional expressions. The findings are some of the first to investigate facial emotional processing in a sample of individuals with APD and point to an underlying deficit in processing social cues that may be involved in the maintenance of APD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal parenting and mental health of Mexican American youth: A bidirectional and prospective approach.

Understanding the bidirectional relation between parenting behaviors and youth mental health in Mexican American families is crucial because of the current need to improve the availability of high quality services for this underserved population and to broaden the reach of extant theories on this topic. Youth (14–19 years old; N = 88) were recruited from a public high school in an urban immigrant enclave and reported their internalizing and externalizing symptoms as well as six maternal parenting behaviors at two points approximately one year apart. Youth-reported parenting behaviors formed two factors: Supportive Parenting and Harsh Parental Control. T1 externalizing symptoms predicted higher T2 Harsh Parental Control, providing evidence for the coercive model. T1 internalizing symptoms predicted lower T2 Supportive Parenting, providing evidence for social interaction theory. However, T1 parenting factors did not predict T2 youth mental health symptoms as expected according to bidirectional theories. We advocate the use of eco-developmental models to interpret our findings and guide future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The clinical utility of personality subtypes in patients with anorexia nervosa.

Objective: Elucidation of clinically relevant subtypes has been proposed as a means of advancing treatment research, but classifying anorexia nervosa (AN) patients into restricting and binge-eating/purging types has demonstrated limited predictive validity. This study aimed to evaluate whether an approach to classifying eating disorder patients on the basis of comorbid personality psychopathology has utility in predicting treatment response and readmission in patients with AN. Method: Data were collected from 154 AN patients (M [SD] age = 25.6[9.4] years; 95.5% female; 96.8% Caucasian) at admission, discharge, and 3 months postdischarge from intensive treatment. Latent profile analysis of personality traits assessed at admission was performed to classify participants into personality subtypes, which were then used to predict outcomes at discharge and risk of readmission. Results: The best fitting model identified 3 personality subtypes (undercontrolled, overcontrolled, low psychopathology) that contributed significantly to multivariate models predicting study outcomes. Undercontrolled patients were more likely to have a poor outcome at discharge than overcontrolled (OR = 3.56, p = .01) and low psychopathology patients (OR = 11.23, p     

An integrated model of weekday stress and weekend recovery of students.

In previous research on psychological stress recovery, recovery activities and recovery experiences have been studied separately rather than jointly. The present study advances previous knowledge about stress recovery by integrating the effects of these separate recovery constructs within a single study and examining them outside the work context. We propose and test an integrated model of the stress-recovery process that includes weekday stressors and weekend recovery activity behaviors, psychological recovery experiences, and recovery outcomes. Undergraduates (n = 221) from a Midwestern university reported on Friday about stressors experienced during the week, followed by a weekend during which recovery could occur. On Monday they reported their weekend activities and their current well-being. Results suggest that participating in specific recovery activities during a weekend and accompanying specific subjective recovery experiences reduce negative psychological outcomes. Future research and practical applications of the integrated model of the recovery process are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)