Present orientation, future orientation and alcohol use in Northern Irish adolescents

Earlier initiation into more problematic drinking behaviour has been found to be associated with more problematic drinking later in life. Research has suggested that a lower future time perspective (and higher present time perspective) is associated with health-compromising behaviours such as problematic alcohol use in college student, University undergraduate and general population samples. This study used a cross-sectional design to examine whether consideration of future consequences (CFC), assessed by the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale, was significantly related to drinking behaviour in a large sample (n=707) of Northern Irish adolescents. Alcohol use was self-reported by means of a composite measure of drinking behaviour. Demographic data were also gathered. After controlling for year in school (proxy for age), sex and for clustering at school level, lower future orientation and higher present orientation were found to be significantly associated with more problematic self-reported drinking behaviour. These results extend recent findings of a significant relationship between a foreshortened future time perspective and more problematic self-reported drinking behaviour in a UK sample of University undergraduates, to a large UK sample of adolescents. Given the relationship between early-onset drinking and more problematic use in later life, health promotion interventions might explore using the CFC construct in targeting adolescent drinkers.

The Temporal Focus Scale:Factor structure and association with alcohol use in a sample of Northern Irish school children

The Temporal Focus Scale (TFS) is a 12-item self-report measure of cognitive engagement with the temporal domains of past, present and future. Developed in college student samples, a three-factor structure with adequate reliability and validity was documented in a series of independent studies. We tested the factor structure of the scale in a sample of Northern Irish adolescents and found that our data supported a three factor structure, although there were problems with item 10. Because time perspective measures have been found to relate differentially to various health behaviours, we tested the relations between scores on the TFS and self-reported alcohol use. Results showed that scores on the TFS were not consistent statistical predictors of drinking category in a logistic regression. Results are discussed in terms of scale development, future scale use and the assessment of health-compromising behaviours such as adolescent alcohol consumption. © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.

Release kinetics of oleyl alcohol from a self-lubricating silicone biomaterial

The development of self-lubricating silicone elastomeric biomaterials, prepared using the novel crosslinking agent tetra( oleyloxy) silane and having very low coefficients of friction, has recently been reported. In this study, the in vitro release characteristics of lubricious oleyl alcohol produced during the silicone curing reaction have been quantitatively evaluated for a range of tetra( propoxy) silane/tetra(oleyloxy) silane crosslinker compositions using a novel evaporative light scattering detection method in combination with high performance liquid chromatography. The mechanism of oleyl alcohol release was seen to deviate from a simple, matrix-controlled diffusion process and instead obeyed an anomalous transport mechanism. An explanation for the observed release behaviour has been proposed based on competitive reaction kinetics between the tetra( oleyloxy) silane and tetra( propoxy) silane substituents of the silicone crosslinking agents.

Use of a rotating disc reactor to investigate the heterogeneously catalysed oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol in toluene and ionic liquids

To evaluate the effect of mass transfer limitations in the three-phase oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol carried out in toluene and an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulphonyl)imide), studies have been performed in a rotating disc reactor and compared with those carried out in a stirred tank reactor where mass transfer effects are considered negligible. High catalyst efficiencies are found in the stirred tank reactor with the use of both ionic liquid and toluene, although there is a decrease in rate for the ionic liquid reactions. In contrast, internal pore diffusion limits the reaction in both solvents in the rotating disc reactor. This mass transfer resistance reduces the problem of overoxidation of the metal surface when the reaction is carried out in toluene, leading to significantly higher rates of reaction than expected, although at the cost of decreased selectivity.

Effects of trauma on bipolar disorder: the mediational role of interpersonal difficulties and alcohol dependence

Objectives: This study examined: (i) the prevalence of trauma in a bipolar disorder (BD) sample, and (ii) how trauma histories mediated by interpersonal difficulties and alcohol dependence impact on the severity of BD. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its relationship to outcomes in BD were also examined.

Methods: Sixty participants were recruited from a geographically well-defined mental health service in Northern Ireland. Self-reported trauma histories, PTSD, interpersonal difficulties and alcohol dependence and were examined in relation to illness severity.

Results: A high prevalence of trauma was found. Trauma predicted the frequency of hospital admissions (R-2 = 0.08), quality of life (R-2 = 0.23) and inter-episode depressive symptoms (R-2 = 0.13). Interpersonal difficulties, but not alcohol dependence, appeared to play an important role in mediating these adverse effects. While only 8% of the sample met criteria for active PTSD, this comorbid disorder was associated with BD severity.

Conclusions: This study indicates that awareness of trauma is important in understanding individual differences in bipolar presentations. The theoretical and clinical implications of evidence that trauma is related to more adverse outcomes in BD are discussed. The finding that interpersonal difficulties mediate the relationship between trauma and BD severity is novel. The need for adjunctive evidence-based treatments targeting interpersonal difficulties is considered.