Maternal alcohol use disorder and offspring ADHD: disentangling genetic and environmental effects using a children-of-twins design

Background. Children of alcoholics are significantly more likely to experience high-risk environmental exposures, including prenatal substance exposure, and are more likely to exhibit externalizing problems [e.g. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)]. While there is evidence that genetic influences and prenatal nicotine and/or alcohol exposure play separate roles in determining risk of ADHD, little has been done on determining the joint roles that genetic risk associated with maternal alcohol use disorder (AUD) and prenatal risk factors play in determining risk of ADHD. Method. Using a children-of-twins design, diagnostic telephone interview data from high-risk families (female monozygotic and dizygotic twins concordant or discordant for AUD as parents) and control families targeted from a large Australian twin cohort were analyzed using logistic regression models. Results. Offspring of twins with a history of AUD, as well as offspring of non-AUD monozygotic twins whose co-twin had AUD, were significantly more likely to exhibit ADHD than offspring of controls. This pattern is consistent with a genetic explanation for the association between maternal AUD and increased offspring risk of ADHD. Adjustment for prenatal smoking, which remained significantly predictive, did not remove the significant genetic association between maternal AUD and offspring ADHD. Conclusions. While maternal smoking during pregnancy probably contributes to the association between maternal AUD and offspring ADHD risk, the evidence for a significant genetic correlation suggests: (i) pleiotropic genetic effects, with some genes that influence risk of AUD also influencing vulnerability to ADHD; or (ii) ADHD is a direct risk-factor for AUD.

Emergency department assessment of mild traumatic brain injury and prediction of post-concussion symptoms at one month post injury

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common injury and a significant proportion of those affected report chronic symptoms. This study investigated prediction of post-concussion symptoms using an Emergency Department (ED) assessment that examined neuropsychological and balance deficits and pain severity of 29 concussed individuals. Thirty participants with minor orthopedic injuries and 30 ED visitors were recruited as control subjects. Concussed and orthopedically injured participants were followed up by telephone at one month to assess symptom severity. In the ED, concussed subjects performed worse on some neuropsychological tests and had impaired balance compared to controls. They also reported significantly more post-concussive symptoms at follow-up. Neurocognitive impairment, pain and balance deficits were all significantly correlated with severity of post-concussion symptoms. The findings suggest that a combination of variables assessable in the ED may be useful in predicting which individuals will suffer persistent post-concussion problems.

Factor analysis of the self-report Dysexecutive (DEX-S) Questionnaire

The self-rating Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX-S) is a recently developed standardized self-report measure of behavioral difficulties associated with executive functioning such as impulsivity, inhibition, control, monitoring, and planning. Few studies have examined its construct validity, particularly for its potential wider use across a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. This study examines the factor structure of the DEX-S questionnaire using a sample of nonclinical (N = 293) and clinical (N = 49) participants. A series of factor analyses were evaluated to determine the best factor solution for this scale. This was found to be a 4-factor solution with factors best described as inhibition, intention, social regulation, and abstract problem solving. The first 2 factors replicate factors from the 5-factor solutions found in previous studies that examined specific subpopulations. Although further research is needed to evaluate the factor structure within a range of subpopulations, this study supports the view that the DEX has the factor structure sufficient for its use in a wider context than only with neurological or head-injured patients. Overall, a 4-factor solution is recommended as the most stable and parsimonious solution in the wider context.

Risk taking from the participant's perspective: The case of driving and accident risk

Although perceived health risk plays a prominent role in theories of health behavior. its empirical role in risk taking is less clear. In Study 1 (N = 129), 2 measures of drivers' risk-taking behavior were found to be unrelated to self-estimates of accident concern but to be related to self-ratings of driving skill and the perceived thrill of driving. In Study 2 (N = 405), out of a wide range of potential influences, accident concern had the weakest relationship with risk taking. The authors concluded that although health risk is a key feature in many theories of health behavior and a central focus for researchers and policy makers, it may not be such a prominent factor for those actually taking the risk.

Smoking status of Australian general practice patients and their attempts to quit

This paper seeks to report on smoking rates, quit attempt methods and success rates among adult patients attending Australian general practice. A cluster cross-sectional survey was used to survey adult patients (18+), who attended Australian GPs in during 2002 and 2003. Over a quarter of patients (27.3%; 95% CI: 26.0-28.7) were former smokers and one in five (21.5%; 95% CI: 20.1-22.9) were current smokers. Ninety-two percent of former and 80% of current smokers used only one method in their last quit attempt with cold turkey the most common method used by both former (88%) and current (62%) smokers. Overall, success rates varied from 77% for cold turkey to 23% for bupropion. Success rates were re-analysed to consider quit attempts post-bupropion listing, with success rate for cold turkey reduced to 40% while bupropion remained reasonably constant at 21%. By tailoring smoking cessation interventions to a smokers' preparedness to quit, scope exists to increase the pool of smokers offered strategies that are more effective in achieving abstinence and avoiding relapse rather than relying on less effective self-quitting behaviours such as cold turkey. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The diagnostic interview for psychoses (DIP): development, reliability and applications

Background. We describe the development, reliability and applications of the Diagnostic Interview for Psychoses (DIP), a comprehensive interview schedule for psychotic disorders. Method. The DIP is intended for use by interviewers with a clinical background and was designed to occupy the middle ground between fully structured, lay-administered schedules, and semi-structured., psychiatrist-administered interviews. It encompasses four main domains: (a) demographic data; (b) social functioning and disability; (c) a diagnostic module comprising symptoms, signs and past history ratings; and (d) patterns of service utilization Lind patient-perceived need for services. It generates diagnoses according to several sets of criteria using the OPCRIT computerized diagnostic algorithm and can be administered either on-screen or in a hard-copy format. Results. The DIP proved easy to use and was well accepted in the field. For the diagnostic module, inter-rater reliability was assessed on 20 cases rated by 24 clinicians: good reliability was demonstrated for both ICD-10 and DSM-III-R diagnoses. Seven cases were interviewed 2-11 weeks apart to determine test-retest reliability, with pairwise agreement of 0.8-1.0 for most items. Diagnostic validity was assessed in 10 cases, interviewed with the DIP and using the SCAN as 'gold standard': in nine cases clinical diagnoses were in agreement. Conclusions. The DIP is suitable for use in large-scale epidemiological studies of psychotic disorders. as well as in smaller Studies where time is at a premium. While the diagnostic module stands on its own, the full DIP schedule, covering demography, social functioning and service utilization makes it a versatile multi-purpose tool.

The feasibility and outcome of clinic plus Internet delivery of cognitive-behavior therapy for childhood anxiety

Seventy-two clinically anxious children, aged 7 to 14 years, were randomly allocated to clinic-based, cognitive-behavior therapy, the same treatment partially delivered Via the Internet. or a wait-list control (WL). Children in the clinic and clinic-plus-Internet conditions showed significantly greater reductions in anxiety from pre- to posttreatment and were more likely to be free of their anxiety diagnoses, compared with the WL group. Improvements were maintained at 12-month follow-up for both therapy conditions', with minimal difference in outcomes between interventions. The Internet treatment content was highly acceptable to families, with minimal dropout and a high level of therapy compliance.

Verbal and physical aggression in couples where the female partner is drinking heavily

This study evaluated (i) frequencies of aggression in maritally distressed problem drinking (DP) women relative to controls, (ii) aggression, marital satisfaction, and partner drinking in predicting female drinking, and (iii) discrepant within-couple drinking in predicting marital distress. The sample included 27 DP women, 24 maritally distressed nonproblem drinking women (DNP women), and 24 women with neither problem (NDNP women). DP women reported frequencies of physical aggression similar to DNP women, but less male verbal aggression than DNP women. Predictors of female drinking were marital satisfaction and male drinking, but aggression did not predict female drinking. Female marital satisfaction was predicted by interspousal discrepancies in drinking after accounting for verbal aggression.

Does timing and sequencing of transitions to adulthood make a difference? Stress, smoking, and physical activity among young Australian women

The major changes of the transition to adulthood are argued to be stressful, and health-related behaviors such as smoking and physical activity may be adopted, consolidated, or abandoned at this time. On the other hand, research has suggested that the normative transitions of emerging adulthood, although involving considerable change, may be associated with low stress because they are perceived as both positive and normal at this life stage. This article examines relations between the timing and sequencing of life transitions and stress and health-related behaviors, focusing on the transition to young adulthood among Australian women. A total of 853 women aged 22 to 27 provided information about the timing and sequencing of 6 life transitions: moving out of home, stopping full-time education, starting full-time work, having the first live-in relationship, marriage, and motherhood-and stress, smoking, and physical activity. Most had moved out of home, stopped full-time education, and started full-time work, but only 14% had undertaken all 6 transitions. Overall, 70% of participants had made transitions in order Overall, the findings suggest that the relations between timing and sequencing of transitions, and indicators of health, are moderate for smoking, but small for stress and for physical activity. These effects remained after controlling for socioeconomic status of the participants' families of origin. Matching current social norms for the timing and sequencing of life changes may be of less importance for women's well-being than is commonly believed. Although the significant relations between early or out of order transitions and smoking are of concern, the smaller relations with stress and with sedentariness suggest that such transitions may have limited negative consequences, and support the view that individuals are active in choosing the life path that is appropriate for them and their circumstances.

Negative stress and the outcome of treatment for binge eating

This study investigated the ability of negatively versus positively perceived stress to predict outcome of treatment for binge eating disorder (BED). Participants were 62 obese women satisfying the DSMIV research criteria for BED. Stress was measured using an instrument based on the Recent Life Change Questionnaire (RLCQ). Participants experiencing high negative stress during the study period reported a binge eating frequency three times greater than that reported by subjects experiencing low negative stress (2.14 vs. 0.65 binge-days/week). Negative stress predicted how fast an individual would reduce binge eating and demonstrated more predictive power than positive stress.

Studies of Cognition and Emotion in Organisations: Attribution, Affective Events, Emotional Intelligence and Perception of Emotion

This article details the author’s attempts to improve understanding of organisational behaviour through investigation of the cognitive and affective processes that underlie attitudes and behaviour. To this end, the paper describes the author’s earlier work on the attribution theory of leadership and, more recently, in three areas of emotion research: affective events theory, emotional intelligence, and the effect of supervisors’ facial expression on employees’ perceptions of leader-member exchange quality. The paper summarises the author’s research on these topics, shows how they have contributed to furthering our understanding of organisational behaviour, suggests where research in these areas are going, and draws some conclusions for management practice.

Emotional Intelligence, emotional Self-Awareness, and Team Effectiveness

An issue at the forefront of recent emotional intelligence debates revolves around whether emotional intelligence can be linked to work performance. Although many authors continue to develop new and improved measures of emotional intelligence (e.g. Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 2001) to give us a better understanding of emotional intelligence, the links to performance in work settings, especially in the context of group effectiveness, have received much less attention. In this chapter, we present the results of a study in which we examined the role of emotional self-awareness and emotional intelligence as a predictor of group effectiveness. The study also addresses the utility of self- and peer assessment in measureing emotional self-awareness and emotional intelligence.