Smack, crack, and score: two decades of NIDA-funded drugs and crime research at NDRI 1974-1994

Since 1972, National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI) has been fortunate to have on its staff outstanding researchers involved in studying the relationship between drugs and criminality. This paper describes federally-funded research conducted by them. The drug-crime nexus has been an ongoing focus along with drug-user treatment evaluation and AIDS research. Over the two decades, NDRI has had about 20 major "drugs and crime" grants. Key research findings are presented from studies related to violent and nonviolent crime; prison-based treatment; drug use detection; and the use and distribution of heroin, crack, and methadone.     

Concurrent and longitudinal patterns among sanctions, mood, and attributions.

Although some theorists claim that attributions are antecedents of mood changes, others argue that they are consequents. It is difficult to resolve this controversy satisfactorily because (a) the possibility that attributions are causally related to mood but mediated by another variable has not been considered fully, and (b) additional longitudinal research, particularly about how attributions are related to the offset of dysphoria, needs to be completed. We report a concurrent and longitudinal study addressing these issues. The concurrent study replicated and extended previous research, demonstrating that attributions for test performance were correlated with sanctions of affirmation and blame when they were correlated with mood. Furthermore, sanctions were more strongly associated with mood than were attributions. In the longitudinal study, sanctions decreased for subjects reporting decreased dysphoria and remained constant for those reporting stable mood. A similar consistency between the patternings of moods and attributions was not found. These results suggest that attributions are related to mood when their effects are mediated by sanctions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support and psychopathology: Interrelations with preexisting disorder, stress, and personality.

Contends that social support represents an integral component of theory on stress and psychopathology but that little attention has been directed toward understanding social support within the context of other predictors of disorder. Three alternative predictors are discussed: preexisting disorder, stress, and personality. It is suggested that research has been hindered by a lack of attention to the diverse associations between measures of social support and these related features of the individual's social environment and psychological functioning. This is due, in part, to (a) measurement redundancies, (b) method limitations, and (c) conceptual ambiguities involving support and these other constructs. Implications for related issues in the study of social support and psychopathology are presented. (56 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions and current status of Q methodology.

Although Q methodology has been employed in a large number of studies varying widely in purpose, its primary contributions to psychology appear to be in the study of psychotherapy and the related study of persons with personality disorders. The investigator should determine the appropriateness of Q methodology, as contrasted with normative procedures, for a particular research problem. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AE32W. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early syphilis in an active duty military population and the surrounding civilian community, 1985-1993

The study of human aggression has been hindered by the lack of reliable and valid diagnostic categories that specifically identify individuals with clinically significant displays of impulsive aggressive behavior. DSM intermittent explosive disorder (IED) ostensibly identifies one such group of individuals. In its current form, IED suffers from significant theoretical and psychometric shortcomings that limit its use in clinical or research settings. This study was designed to develop a revised criteria set for IED and present initial evidence supporting its reliability and validity in a well characterized group of personality disordered subjects. Accordingly, research criteria for IED-Revised (IED-R) were developed. Clinical, phenomenologic, and diagnostic data from 188 personality disordered individuals were reviewed. IED-R diagnoses were assigned using a best-estimate process. The reliability and construct validity of IED-R were examined. IED-R diagnoses had high interrater reliability (kappa = .92). Subjects meeting IED-R criteria had higher scores on dimensional measures of aggression and impulsivity, and had lower global functioning scores than non-IED-R subjects, even when related variables were controlled. IED-R criteria were more sensitive than DSM-IV IED criteria in identifying subjects with significant impulsive-aggressive behavior by a factor of four. We conclude that in personality disordered subjects, IED-R criteria can be reliably applied and appear to have sufficient validity to warrant further evaluation in field trials and in phenomenologic, epidemiologic, biologic, and treatment-outcome research.     

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis.

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity, exploratory drive, and stimulus satiation.

Interest in exploratory behavior on an experimental and theoretical level has been high as judged by the number of related papers. Mostly the experiments are concerned with spontaneous alternation arrangements, exploratory situations, and reactivity tests. The experimental work has been conceptualized in terms of curiosity, exploratory drive, and stimulus satiation. In this paper the author has reviewed the relevant papers, pointed out the problems which have arisen in the area, and presented a general system within which future research may be conceptualized. 79 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The personality construct of hardiness: I. Effects on experiencing, coping, and strain.

Through research and practice over the past 20 years, hardiness has emerged as a personality disposition that enhances performance, conduct, morale, stamina, and health. This article furthers the construct validity of hardiness theorizing and assessment by determining the role of hardiness in moment-to-moment experiencing, coping, and strain reactions. Using the experiential sampling technique, the 1st study showed that the higher the hardiness level as measured by the Personal Views Survey II, the greater the tendency, with regard to one's activities, to enjoy them (commitment), feel that you have chosen them (control), and sense that you are learning through them (challenge). The 2nd study showed that the tendency for work stressors to elicit more transformational (hardy) coping is intensified by hardiness level. Further this study found that regressive (avoidance) coping is unrelated to event context but negatively related to hardiness. The 3rd study provided evidence that hardiness is negatively related to both self-report (checklist) and objective (blood pressure) measures of organismic strain. Taken together, the 3 studies provide further support for hardiness theorizing and measurement and contribute to the gathering evidence of its importance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

FRP-Retrofitted URM Walls under In-Plane Shear: Review and Assessment of Available Models

In the last two decades, several seismic retrofitting techniques for masonry structures have been developed and practiced and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) material has been increasingly used owing to its high strength/stiffness to mass ratio and easy application. Although much research has been carried out on FRP strengthening of unreinforced masonry (URM) structures, most of it has been experimental studies to investigate the effectiveness of retrofitting techniques rather than the development of a rational design model. In addition, more research has been conducted on FRP-retrofitted URM walls under out-of-plane loads where flexural behavior dominates, the research on the shear strength of FRP-retrofitted URM walls has been limited. This paper presents a review of research in this area. Existing retrofitting techniques are overviewed, followed by a detailed discussion of experimental results of failure modes as they are directly related to the design model. The available design models are then assessed based on a test database collected from the available literature. Limitations of each model are addressed.     

An activity-withdrawal distinction in schizophrenia: Behavioral, clinical, brain damage, and neurophysiological correlates.

Although P. H. Venables introduced an activity-withdrawal distinction in schizophrenia in 1957, the activity variable has been virtually neglected in the research literature on this disorder. This is clearly unwarranted because, as this paper illustrates, this distinction is potentially related to a number of behavioral, clinical, brain damage, and neurophysiological variables. In addition to the presentation of new data, these variables are discussed in relation to the activity-withdrawal distinction, and future research is proposed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dispositions to rash action moderate the associations between concurrent drinking, depressive symptoms, and alcohol problems during emerging adulthood.

“Impulsivity” has been consistently identified as a key personality predictor of alcohol-related problems and subsequent alcohol use disorder. Multiple prior studies have demonstrated impulsivity is an individual difference factor that strengthens the effects of some risk factors, such as alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms, on alcohol problems. However, recent research indicated common measures of impulsivity actually reflect multiple dispositions toward rash action, and that alcohol problems were most consistently related to one of those dispositions, negative urgency. Little research has examined how specific dispositions to rash action may act as putative moderators of other risk factors for alcohol problems. The goal of the current study was to test which dispositions to rash action moderated the effects of concurrent alcohol use or depressive symptoms on alcohol problems. Using a large cross-sectional sample of college students (n = 573), the current study utilized semicontinuous regression models, which allow prediction of both the likelihood and level of alcohol problems. Negative urgency was found to be the main predictor of alcohol problems, above and beyond other dispositions to rash action, which replicates prior research. However, each of the other dispositions exhibited risk-enhancing effects on the relations between either depressive symptoms or alcohol use and concurrent alcohol problems. Specifically, lower levels of premeditation enhanced the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol problems, while lower perseverance and higher sensation seeking were related to more alcohol problems at higher levels of alcohol use. Results suggest that multiple dispositions to rash action were related to problematic alcohol use both directly and via their interaction with other risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Victimization and substance abuse among women: Contributing factors, interventions, and implications.

Although the literature indicates that there is an association of victimization with substance abuse, there has been limited research focused on understanding and synthesizing the factors that have been identified as contributing to victimization and substance abuse and on interventions designed to address these contributing factors. The purposes of this article are to (a) review the literature on factors related to victimization and substance abuse, (b) review interventions and outcomes, and (c) discuss clinical implications for interventions and research. Results suggest that there is a high rate of co-occurrence of victimization and substance abuse among women, that the factors contributing to victimization and substance abuse are complex, and that there is a lack of treatment models addressing victimization and substance abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social control, health risk taking, and psychological distress among the elderly.

Most research on older adults' social networks has focused on the support-providing function of social relationships. Little gerontological research has addressed social control, or the role of social bonds in regulating deviant or risky behavior. Drawing on sociological theory, this study examined the hypothesis that social control discourages risky health practices while provoking psychological distress. Structured interviews conducted with 162 community-residing older adults assessed social control (direct attempts by others to influence participants' health practices and the existence of significant role obligations to others), health risk taking (medication misuse, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and the overall level of unsound health practices), psychological functioning (depression, loneliness, and self-esteem), and interpersonal satisfaction (satisfaction with friends and family members). Analyses revealed little support for the hypothesis. Social control was only weakly related to participants' health practices and, contrary to expectation, was generally related to less psychological distress and to greater interpersonal satisfaction. Implications for social control theory and for further research are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transactive memory in organizational groups: The effects of content, consensus, specialization, and accuracy on group performance.

Previous research on transactive memory has found a positive relationship between transactive memory system development and group performance in single project laboratory and ad hoc groups. Closely related research on shared mental models and expertise recognition supports these findings. In this study, the author examined the relationship between transactive memory systems and performance in mature, continuing groups. A group's transactive memory system, measured as a combination of knowledge stock, knowledge specialization, transactive memory consensus, and transactive memory accuracy, is positively related to group goal performance, external group evaluations, and internal group evaluations. The positive relationship with group performance was found to hold for both task and external relationship transactive memory systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hardiness, Type A behavior, and the stress–illness relation in working women.

Hardiness has been proposed as a stress-resistance resource in maintaining health. This construct has been shown to act in conjunction with the Type A behavior pattern in affecting illness. In this study, we examined this relation in women (N?=?82) with the use of the Structured Interview and the Jenkins Activity Survey to assess Type A behavior. As expected, there was a strong stress–illness association. However, there were no hardiness main effects nor interactions between stress, Type A behavior, and hardiness. Hardiness was significantly associated with age, education level, and marital status. No differences in hardiness composition were found between high stress/high illness and high stress/low illness groups. Only the Powerlessness scale of hardiness was related to illness. These results are discussed in comparison with other hardiness studies. Particular attention is focused on possible sex differences, and implications for future research are suggested. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex-gender differences in drug abuse: A shift in the burden of proof?

In the early years of NIDA-supported drug abuse research, much of the research on women was treatment related and conducted out of concern for their pregnancy status. Since then, drug abuse research on women has expanded to include females of all ages, including infants, children, and adolescents, both human and animal. This expansion has also extended to the study of male-female differences. In the early years of the expansion, National Institutes of Health study sections demanded a heavy burden of proof from drug abuse researchers who proposed to study male-female differences. The need for such research appeared not to have face validity. The tide has now changed with the growing body of literature attesting to its scientific and clinical validity. This change is often reflected in concerns expressed in study sections reviewing drug abuse grant applications that an applicant does not propose to analyze the data for sex-gender differences when in fact the literature suggests that such differences would be observed. Although the change has been slow, it suggests that the burden of proof is shifting from having to defend why sex-gender differences should be studied to having to defend why they should not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring mindfulness and examining its relationship with alcohol use and negative consequences.

Mindfulness has been proposed as a useful adjunct to alcohol abuse treatment. However, very little research has examined the basic relationship between alcohol use and mindfulness. Inconsistency in definition and measurement of mindfulness across studies makes such research difficult to interpret and conduct. Therefore, the current research sought to validate an emerging mindfulness measure, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and examine its relationship with alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences among a sample of 316 college-aged adults. The purported factor structure of the FFMQ was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was used to examine relations among mindfulness, alcohol use, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Consistent with past research, results supported the five-factor structure of the FFMQ. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that two awareness-based factors of mindfulness were negatively related to alcohol use. After controlling for alcohol use, one acceptance-based factor (nonjudging of thoughts and feelings) was negatively related to alcohol-related consequences, and one awareness-based factor was positively related to consequences (all ps     

A diathesis-stress model of posttraumatic stress disorder: Ecological, biological, and residual stress pathways.

The symptoms captured within the contemporary diagnostic definition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been studied for more than 100 years. Yet, even with increasingly advanced discoveries regarding the etiology of PTSD, a comprehensive and up-to-date etiological model that incorporates both medical and psychological research has not been described and systematically studied. The diathesis-stress model proposed here consolidates existing medical and psychological research data on etiological factors associated with PTSD into 3 causal pathways: residual stress, ecological, and biological. In combination, these pathways illuminate how PTSD might develop and who might be at higher risk for developing the disorder. Research and treatment implications related to the diathesis-stress model are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to assess in vivo synthesis of prostaglandins, thromboxane, leukotrienes, isoprostanes and related compounds in humans

Prostaglandins, thromboxane, leukotrienes, isoprostanes and other arachidonic acid metabolites are structurally closely related, potent, biologically active compounds. One of the most challenging tasks in eicosanoids research has been to define the role of the various eicosanoids in human health and disease, and to monitor the effects of drugs on the in vivo synthesis of these lipid mediators in man. Great advances in instrumentation and ionization techniques, in particular the development of tandem mass spectrometry and negative-ion chemical ionization (NICI), in gas chromatography and also advances in methodologies for solid-phase extraction and sample purification by thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography have been made. Now gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-tandem MS in the NICI mode are currently indispensable analytical tools for reliable routine quantitation of eicosanoid formation in vivo in humans. In this article analytical methods for eicosanoids based on GC-MS and GC-tandem MS are reviewed emphasizing the quantitative measurement of specific index metabolites in human urine and its importance in clinical studies in man. Aspects of method validation and quality control are also discussed.