Severe childhood sexual abuse and nonverbal learning disability

Sexual addiction has received increasing attention in the past decade. We review existing literature on (a) competing conceptualizations of this syndrome as constituting an addictive, obsessive-compulsive, or impulse control disorder; (b) symptomatology and progression; (c) etiological models; and (d) treatment approaches. Based on this review, we conclude by identifying questions requiring resolution via empirical investigation.     

Detection and prevention of mental and motor disorders in childhood. 3. Synopsis of a longitudinal study

The submitted study is a brief account of theoretical and methodological solutions of a research project "Detection and reduction of sensory and motor disorders in childhood". In this research project the effectiveness of preventive examinations is assessed. It is focused on obtaining objective data on the incidence and prevalence of sensory and motor disorders. The authors describe the strategic aims, organization of data collection and processing. The empirical data should contribute to the rational development of preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitation procedures in paediatrics.     

The relationship between attachment, psychopathology, and childhood disability.

Analyzes the literature on 3 aspects of attachment—neurobiological influences, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors, and societal factors—in the psychological development of chronically disabled children. Evidence suggests that neurochemical substances such as cortisol and brain biogenic amine systems reciprocally interact with psychological and psychosocial factors to influence attachment. Interpersonal and intrapersonal factors such as temperamental characteristics of children, severity and type of disability, and family influences interact in the process of attachment. Social perceptions and prejudices about the disabled individual increase parental stress, and diminish parental involvement and resources, which are necessary for attachment. These 3 processes are powerful and interrelated forces in child development, with potential to modify social competence, neurological development, and psychosocial adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of service needs by parents with intellectual disability, their significant others and their service workers

Growth retardation, thymic involution and impaired peripheral immune efficiency are constant events in piglets exposed to maternal aflatoxicosis. Zinc may play a key role because of its requirement for good immune responses, including thymic endocrine activity. Zinc is required to activate a thymic hormone, i.e. thymulin (ZnFTS), which is responsible for cell-mediated immunity. Zinc deficiency and decreased thymic endocrine activity are present in piglets fed from sows exposed to aflatoxins (AF) B1 and G1 as compared with healthy control piglets. In particular, active ZnFTS is decreased while concentrations of inactive thymulin (FTS) are high. The in vitro addition of zinc up to the plasma samples induces a reduction of inactive thymulin. The lymphocytes mitogen responsiveness (PHA) is decreased and a thymic cortical lymphocyte depletion is also present. These data suggest that the thymic defect, followed by impaired peripheral immune efficiency, may largely depend by the low peripheral zinc bioavailability to saturate all thymulin molecules produced.     

Disorders of the back and spine in construction workers. Prevalence and prognostic value for disability

STUDY DESIGN: A cohort study on back-related morbidity and its impact on early retirement resulting from disability among employees in the construction industry. OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of back-related morbidity according to different measures in various occupational groups and to assess the prognostic value of these measures for early retirement resulting from disability. METHODS: The results of occupational health examinations conducted in 1986-1988 among 4,958 employees of the German construction industry aged 40-64 years were analyzed. Active follow-up evaluation was carried out between October 1992 and July 1994 to ascertain employment status. RESULTS: Compared with that of white-collar employees, no excess risk for self-reported back pain or sciatica was seen for any of the manual professions. In contrast, the age-adjusted prevalence of clinical findings of the spine was elevated among all employees in manual professions, and the prevalence of a recorded diagnosis related to disorders of the back and spine (ICD-9 position 720-724) was elevated among bricklayers compared with white-collar employees. The relative risk of being granted a disability pension in the follow-up period was 1.6 (95% Confidence Interval [Cl], 1.3-2.1) for persons reporting back pain or sciatica, 1.8 (95% Cl, 1.4-2.2) for persons with an abnormal clinical finding of the spine, and 1.5 (95% Cl, 1.2-1.8) for persons with a recorded medical diagnosis related to disorders of the back or spine (ICD-9 720-724). CONCLUSION: Patterns of morbidity varied according to the evaluated morbidity measure. All three measures qualified as significant predictors of disability and helped to identify high-risk occupations and high-risk employees.     

Home visitors'' beliefs and practices regarding childhood injury prevention

Although the discriminative properties of cocaine have been examined extensively in rats, and to a lesser extent in other species, there are currently no reports on cocaine discrimination by mice. In one of our experiments, C57BL/6 (C57) mice acquired cocaine discrimination (10 mg/kg training dose) and exhibited dose responsive generalization to lower doses of the drug, which was similar to previous reports using rats. In addition, mazindol, a general monoamine uptake inhibitor similar to cocaine, and nomifensine, which is relatively specific for the dopamine transporter, substituted completely for cocaine, as described for rats. In contrast, there was little substitution evidenced by monoamine uptake inhibitors relatively specific for the norepinephrine transporter (nisoxetine) or for the serotonin transporter (fluoxetine), or by the local anesthetics procaine or lidocaine. In our second experiment, neither cocaine nor mazindol substituted for procaine in animals trained to discriminate the local anesthetic (100 mg/kg) although lidocaine substituted completely for the procaine cue. These experiments emphasize the importance of the dopamine transporter in mediating the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine in C57 mice. The lack of cross generalization between cocaine and procaine suggests that the anesthetic properties of cocaine contribute little toward its discrimination by this mouse strain.     

Using participatory research to help promote the physical and mental health of female social workers in child welfare

Forty female workers from child welfare agencies were interviewed in focus groups regarding the positive and negative aspects of their work, their perceptions of its effects on their physical and mental health, and what they did in response to either cope or to protect their health. The results showed that despite certain positive aspects of their work, these women overwhelmingly felt that their work had adversely affected both their physical and mental health, and that they used a variety of strategies (both problem focused and emotion focused) to cope. Implications are discussed in terms of the need for intervention at the micro-, mezzo-, and macrolevels, as well as in terms of the appropriateness of participatory research methods for future studies with this population.     

Detection of early anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in childhood cancer with dobutamine stress echocardiography

Although several studies have examined differences in daily blood pressure variability between African-American and Caucasian groups in the United States, little is known about the blood pressure variation of other ethnic groups. This study examined the effects of emotional state, setting, posture, and ethnicity on the ambulatory blood pressure of female health care workers (nurses and nurse's aides) from 2 ethnic groups: Filipino-Americans (N = 38) and Caucasians (N = 22). Ambulatory blood pressure measurements were obtained at 15-min intervals during a typical work day. Participants reported in a diary their setting (work or home), posture, mood, and specific activity at each measurement. The effects of these factors and ethnicity were examined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that for all subjects blood pressure was higher at work (P < 0.05), while standing (P < 0.05), during reports of negative moods (anxiety, anger, or sadness) (P < 0.05), and while engaging in activities such as interacting with fellow staff members at work and "washing up" at home. However, the Filipino-American women reported negative moods more frequently than their Caucasian counterparts (P < 0.05), had a greater proportion of readings taken while standing at work, and reacted differently than the Caucasian women to some specific activities; for instance, their blood pressure was not elevated when doing household chores. These results suggest that the extent of blood pressure variation in daily life may depend upon cognitive processes which are influenced by the cultural background and emotional state of the individual. They further suggest that ethnicity has an important impact on blood pressure variation.     

Borderline mental disorders in workers exposed to poisons and their prevention

Studies covered psychic state in workers exposed to poisons. The authors represent clinical and epidemiologic principles of the disorders formation, the prevalence and structure of the disorders caused by various hazards. The article necessitates up-to-date data-processing system for occupational selection, clinical, psychophysiologic, biochemical and experimental psychologic evaluation of current state in workers engaged into liquidation of chemical weapons.     

Workplace substance abuse prevention and help seeking: Comparing team-oriented and informational training.

Employees fail to seek help for alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse because of unhealthy work climates, stigma, and distrust in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). To address such problems, the authors randomly assigned groups of municipal employees (N?=?260) to 2 types of training: a 4-hr informational review of EAPs and policy and an 8-hr training that embedded messages about AOD reduction in the context of team building and stress management. Pre- and posttraining and 6-mos follow-up surveys assessed change. Group privacy regulation, EAP trust, help seeking, and peer encouragement increased for team training. Stigma of substance users decreased for information training. EAP/policy knowledge increased for both groups. A control group showed little change. Help seeking and peer encouragement also predicted EAP utilization. Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does individualism help explain differences in employers' stigmatizing attitudes toward disability across Chinese and American cities?

Purpose: Stigmatizing attitudes toward people with disabilities can jeopardize such individuals' well-being and recovery through denial of employment and community isolation. By shaping social norms that define group membership, the construct of individualism may partially explain differences in stigmatizing attitudes across cultures. Further, widespread globalization has brought intensely individualistic social practices to certain segments of non-Western cultures. This paper examines whether the construct of individualism can help to explain cross-cultural differences in stigmatizing attitudes observed between American and Chinese employers. Design: Employers (N = 879) from Beijing, Hong Kong, and Chicago provided information on their attitudes toward hiring people with disabilities, and path analyses were conducted to examine potential mediating relationships. Results: Path analyses indicated that vertical individualism, along with perceived responsibility for acquiring a condition, partially mediated the relationship between culture and employers' negative attitudes about job candidates with disabilities. Conclusion: These results suggested that greater espousal of competitive and individualist values may drive stigmatizing attitudes across cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The sociomedical prevention of chronic bronchitis in workers in the mining industry]

High frequency of risk factors for origination of chronic bronchitis resulted in a striking growth of its prevalence among miners. Employment of the system of medical and social prophylaxis, especially during the stages of evolution of the malady, involving automatic diagnosis and prognostication, correction of immune disorders, recommendations toward adapting work to suit miners and assigning them to jobs for which they are suited--all this makes for reducing morbidity, permits saving the man-power resources making possible a rational distribution thereof among mining enterprises, which facts enable a substantial social and economic effect to be achieved.     

Albee's just society: Radical prevention of childhood psychopathology.

Claims that G. W. Albee (see record 1987-02131-001) adequately defined 3 basic premises of those who oppose psychopathology through social change and offers suggestions about why liberalism in this context is problematic. The present author contends that radical initiatives are necessary for major social change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of patients with psychogenic amnesia with the help of therapeutic anamnesis

Psychogenic (dissociative) amnesia is a psychiatric disorder characterised by a sudden loss of memory which is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness, but which has no organic disease or explanation. Psychogenic amnesia is categorised among the dissociative disorders in DSM-IV and ICD-10 and begins suddenly, usually after severe psychosocial stress. The prognosis is good with complete recovery, and there is seldom relapse. This article describes a man, 45 years of age, who developed severe depression and amnesia following a very troublesome divorce. He did not talk, he communicated by signs and gestures, and he isolated himself in his mother's home. After being admitted to a psychiatric ward he became anorectic and developed erosive eoesophagitis/gastroduodenitis. Initially he was given perfenazin (Trilafon) 24 mg/day. The psychiatric treatment produced no results for the first three weeks, but the patient gradually recovered when the therapist and the patient recapitulated the conflicts associated with the divorce, using documents from the patient's lawyer as a guide. This method is called "therapeutic anamnesis" and is similar in many ways to psychiatric treatment of post-traumatic stress reactions.