The impact of family and community violence on children’s depression trajectories: Examining the interactions of violence exposure, family social support, and gender.

This longitudinal study used multilevel modeling to examine the relationships between witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV), community and school violence exposure (CSVE), family social support, gender, and depression over 2 years within a sample of 100 school-aged children. We found significant between-child differences in both the initial levels of depression and the trajectories of depression; depression over time was positively associated with change in witnessing IPV and CSVE and negatively associated with change in support. Two significant 3-way interactions were found: Gender and initial support, as well as gender and initial witnessing IPV, both significantly moderated the effect of change in witnessing IPV on the children’s depression over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Main, mediating, and moderating effects of social support on the well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence across 2 years.

Intimate partner violence is a serious and pervasive social problem with deleterious consequences for survivors’ well-being. The current study involved interviewing 160 survivors 6 times over 2 years to examine the role of social support in explaining or buffering these negative psychological consequences. The authors examined both between- and within-persons variability to explore women’s trajectories regarding their experiences of abuse, social support, depression, and quality of life (QOL). Findings revealed the complex role of social support on women’s well-being. Evidence was found for main, mediating, and moderating effects of social support on women’s well-being. First, social support was positively related to QOL and negatively related to depression. Social support also partially explained the effect of baseline level and subsequent change in physical abuse on QOL and depression over time, partially mediated the effects of change in psychological abuse, and moderated the impact of abuse on QOL. The buffering effects of social support were strongest at lower levels of abuse. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic and predispositional guilt: relations to mental health, prosocial behavior, and religiosity

Researchers are in sharp disagreement concerning the role of guilt in mental health and prosocial behavior, and on whether guilt is associated with greater religiosity. We sought to resolve diametrically opposed reports by distinguishing chronic guilt, an ongoing condition unattached to immediate events, from predispositional guilt, a personality proclivity for experiencing guilt in reaction to circumscribed precipitating events. We administered a battery of commonly used guilt and shame measures to 101 undergraduates (48 men, 53 women) as well as measures of chronic and predispositional guilt designed to hold content constant. Undergraduates also completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, reported extracurricular activities including volunteer work and religious group participation, and provided other information on religiosity. Chronic guilt invariably showed stronger relations than did predispositional guilt with symptoms of depression and psychopathology. In contrast, predispositional compared to chronic guilt was more strongly associated with lowered hostility and increased volunteerism as well as participation in religious activities and religiosity.     

Performance characteristics of high-conductivity channel electron multipliers

A new type of channel electron multiplier (CEM) has been developed which utilizes a high-conductivity glass to provide a very high count -rate capability. A linear response to count rates in excess of 2x10(6) count s(-1) has been demonstrated with no measureable change in the detection efficiency at total accumulated signal levels of greater than 2x10(11) counts. The measured loss of gain at 2x10(11) accumulated counts was less than 20%. The cathode configuration of the CEM is optimized for maximum sensitivity at xuv wavelengths and detection efficiencies greater than 20% have been obtained using opaque MgF(2) cathodes at wavelengths between about 150 and 800 A.     

Mothers with serious mental illness: When symptoms decline does parenting improve?

Serious mental illnesses (SMI) and problems with parenting are associated, but the link between change in psychiatric symptoms and change in parenting over time has not been examined. Three hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis 1: As symptoms decline, parenting stress will decline and parenting nurturance will improve. Hypothesis 2: High prior levels of symptoms have a continuing impact on parenting over time, persisting even when symptoms remit. Hypothesis 3: Both symptoms and parenting are influenced by contextual factors; taking these into account diminishes the association between them. With the use of latent growth curve modeling and an economically and racially diverse sample of mothers with SMI (N = 294), evidence supporting Hypothesis 1 was found, but there was no support for Hypothesis 2. For Hypothesis 3, contextual factors predicted both symptoms and parenting; accounting for context diminished the association between symptoms and parenting stress, but context did not completely explain the association between symptoms and parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of supported education for individuals with psychiatric disabilities: results from an experimental study

In recent years post-secondary education has been recognized as a viable option in the psychosocial rehabilitation of individuals with mental illness. This study reports the first evidence of effectiveness of a supported education demonstration project which used an experimental design to compare the effects of different model types. A total of 397 participants were assigned to one of three conditions: group, classroom, and individual (control). At graduation from the program significant differences in program participation rates were found; group members participated most, followed by classroom participants, then those assigned to the individual condition. Also, immediate, intermediate, and long term outcomes were examined. On four immediate outcomes (motivation, satisfaction, enjoyment, and learning) significant participation effects were found (high participants scoring highest, followed by moderate participants, and then non-participants). On two intermediate outcome (empowerment and school efficacy) condition differences were found (classroom scoring highest followed by group, then individual). Although no condition differences were found on behavioral outcomes, the percentage of individuals enrolled in school or vocational education was more than twice that reported at baseline. Overall, the results demonstrated success in engaging participants, affecting self-perceptions, and increasing enrollment in post-secondary education.     

The co-occurrence of childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment: A mediational model of posttraumatic stress disorder and physical health outcomes.

This study examined the co-occurrence of childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment in a predominantly African American sample of 268 female veterans, randomly sampled from an urban Veterans Affairs hospital women's clinic. A combination of hierarchical and iterative cluster analysis was used to identify 4 patterns of women's lifetime experiences of violence co-occurrence. The 1st cluster experienced relatively low levels of all 4 forms of violence; the 2nd group, high levels of all 4 forms; the 3rd, sexual revictimization across the lifespan with adult sexual harassment; and the 4th, high intimate partner violence with sexual harassment. This cluster solution was validated in a theoretically driven model that examined the role of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a mediator of physical health symptomatology. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that PTSD fully mediated the relationship between violence and physical health symptomatology. Consistent with a bio-psycho-immunologic theoretical model, PTSD levels more strongly predicted pain-related physical health symptoms compared to nonpain health problems. Implications for clinical interventions to prevent PTSD and to screen women for histories of violence in health care settings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meta-Analysis of Two Human RNA-seq Datasets to Determine Periodontitis Diagnostic Biomarkers and Drug Target Candidates

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory oral disease that affects approximately 42% of adults 30 years of age or older in the United States. In response to microbial dysbiosis within the periodontal pockets surrounding teeth, the host immune system generates an inflammatory environment in which soft tissue and alveolar bone destruction occur. The objective of this study was to identify diagnostic biomarkers and the mechanistic drivers of inflammation in periodontitis to identify drugs that may be repurposed to treat chronic inflammation. A meta-analysis comprised of two independent RNA-seq datasets was performed. RNA-seq analysis, signal pathway impact analysis, protein-protein interaction analysis, and drug target analysis were performed to identify the critical pathways and key players that initiate inflammation in periodontitis as well as to predict potential drug targets. Seventy-eight differentially expressed genes, 10 significantly impacted signaling pathways, and 10 hub proteins in periodontal gingival tissue were identified. The top 10 drugs that may be repurposed for treating periodontitis were then predicted from the gene expression and pathway data. The efficacy of these drugs in treating periodontitis has yet to be investigated. However, this analysis indicates that these drugs may serve as potential therapeutics to treat inflammation in gingival tissue affected by periodontitis.     

Adaptive elements of aging: Self-image discrepancy, perfectionism, and eating problems.

Age-related changes in personality variables that may contribute to the reduction of symptoms of eating disorders with adult development were examined. Undergraduate sorority women (n = 52; mean age = 19.85 years) were compared with alumnae of the same sorority (n = 34; mean age = 33.74 years). Eating pathology was correlated with greater discrepancy between the real (current) and the ideal (desired) self-image and with perfectionism. Both self-image discrepancy and perfectionism were markedly lower among the alumnae. Variance in these variables together accounted for the lowered level of eating pathology among the older participants. Specific content domains of the real and ideal self-image and different facets of perfectionism showed distinctive age-related changes and differential relationships with eating pathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)