 |
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Women and Sex/Gender Differences Research
Director's Report to Council
Research Findings Excerpts
September, 1998
|
 |
|
Behavioral Research |
Pergolide Effects on Cocaine Craving and Self-Administration
Based on clinical evidence that pergolide, a D1/D2 dopamine receptor agonist, may be useful in maintaining cocaine abstinence, its effects were investigated in twelve inpatient volunteers who reported spending an average of $170 per week on cocaine. Subjects received pergolide (0.05mg BID) for eight days and placebo for eight days, with drug order balanced across subjects. Self-administration sessions occurred on the last four days of maintenance on each medication. A modified 7-trial progressive ratio choice procedure (0, 8, 16, 32 mg/70 kg cocaine vs. $5) was utilized with sessions consisting of: two sample trials wherein subjects responded to receive the dose and tokens available that day; and five choice trials wherein subjects chose between the available dose and tokens. Following each trial, the response requirement for the chosen option increased by 400. Maintenance on pergolide: decreased cocaine-induced increases in ratings of "High," "Stimulated," cocaine "Potency;" decreased estimates of street value; decreased heart rates; increased ratings of craving, i.e., "I want cocaine;" and had no effect on cocaine self-administration. According to the authors, the increased desire to use cocaine during pergolide maintenance suggests that it has limited treatment utility at this dose. However, given the finding of an attenuation of cocaine's subjective and cardiovascular effects, an investigation of a wide range of pergolide doses on cocaine self-administration and subjective effects may be warranted. Another finding of this research was that women reported lower ratings of "Stimulated" and dose quality, and had relatively smaller increases in systolic pressure following cocaine administration. Haney, M., Foltin, R.W., and Fischman, M.W. Effects of Pergolide on Intravenous Cocaine Self-Administration in Men and Women, Psychopharmacology, 137, pp. 15-24, 1998.
|
|
AIDS Research |
Unique Volume Presents Findings from the NIDA CA on Women's Drug Use and HIV Risk
A recent volume brings together empirical findings from NIDA's multisite CA research program which highlight a number of factors related to HIV infection among women who inject drugs and/or smoke crack cocaine, or who are the sex partners of individuals who use these drugs. Bringing their risk factors to light is timely and critical at this point in the epidemic, when women's vulnerability to HIV disease is becoming increasingly apparent. Worldwide, women account for 42% of adults living with HIV/AIDS, but women's acquisition of the virus has begun to grow more rapidly than it has for men. Drug use is well recognized as playing a major role in the spread of this disease: up to 46% of women's AIDS cases have been directly attributed to injection drug use and as much as 18% to women's heterosexual contacts with injection drug users. The papers in this volume are presented in five major sections: an overview of findings and research needs on women drug users and HIV prevention; HIV risk behavior change of female drug users; single CA site descriptions; contextual variables in women's HIV risk behaviors; gender differences in HIV risk behavior and health status of drug users; and a unique population of women at risk -- women who trade sex for money and drugs. Stevens, S.J., Tortu, S., and Coyle, S.L. (Eds.). Women, Drug Use, and HIV Infection. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Medical Press, 1998 (co-published simultaneously as Women and Health, 27 (1/2), 1998).
Condom Use Among Filipina Sex Workers
Until fairly recently, the Philippines did not witness the epidemic proportions of the AIDS virus that have been seen in certain parts of Asia such as Thailand and India; however, recent statistics indicate that there may be 18,000 adult carriers of the AIDS virus in the Philippines. Furthermore, commercial sex work promotes the spread of HIV, and there are about 265,000 sex workers in the Philippines. Findings are presented from the baseline assessment of a community-based HIV/STD prevention intervention among registered commercial sex workers (N = 1394) and managers of the establishments that employ them in the Philippines in this study. The primary goal of the intervention is to promote safer sexual practices among Filipina sex workers. The sex workers' knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of establishment policies concerning HIV prevention were assessed. Results indicated that most establishments do not have clear policies and practices for condom use between the sex workers and their clients. The best predictor for use of condoms with clients was whether condoms were available at the establishment. The findings point to the importance of an intervention that stresses changes in establishment policies and expectations as a means of reducing risk behaviors associated with HIV/STD transmission. Morisky, D.E., Tiglao, T.V., Sneed, C.D., Tempongko, S.B., Baltazar, J.C., Detels, R., & Stein, J.A. The Effects of Establishment Practices, Knowledge and Attitudes on Condom Use Among Filipina Sex Workers. AIDS Care, 10, pp. 213-220, 1998.
Drug-Involved Women Prefer Female-Controlled Protection from HIV and Other STDs
A multisite research project was initiated in 1996 to examine the acceptability of the female condom among women at high risk for HIV and other STDs and determine its potential utility as an additional risk-reduction tool for drug-involved women. Six research sites that were part of the collaborative, cross-site NIDA CA participated in the study: San Antonio, St. Louis, Washington, DC, Rio de Janeiro, Lexington/Louisville, and Raleigh/Durham. The study sought to introduce the female condom to a large sample of women drug users, to explore its acceptability as a risk-reduction device among these women, and to examine correlates of its use. This article reports findings from three of the six sites: San Antonio, St. Louis, and Rio de Janeiro. All of the female respondents participated in a female condom education program, and were asked to report their experiences at two points of contact. Outcome data indicated that a sizable proportion of the women who were followed up reported use of the female condom on one or more occasions of heterosexual contact, and that many women preferred the female condom to the male condom in terms of overall satisfaction, suggesting that there is a viable role for this device in the HIV prevention field. Surratt, H.L., Wechsberg, W.M., Cottler, L.B., Leukefeld, C.G., Klein, H., and Desmond, D.P. Acceptability of the Female Condom Among Women at Risk for HIV Infection. American Behavioral Scientist, 41(8), pp. 1157-1170, May 1998.
Amphetamine, Substance Use and Its Relationship to Depression, Anxiety, and Isolation Among Youth Living With HIV
In a series of three papers, drug use and correlates were examined in youth living with HIV (YLH). Amphetamine use, other HIV-related risk acts, T-cell counts, emotional distress, coping style, and symptoms of HIV were examined in 337 HIV+ youth aged 13 to 24 (20% female; 22% African American, 27% Anglo, 35% Latino) from four cities (LA, NY, San Francisco, and Miami). One third of youth were found to have engaged in amphetamine use in their lifetime, and 21% of youths reported current use (i.e. in the last three months). Compared to non-users, users initiated other drug use at younger ages, used more types of drugs, reported more emotional distress, and employed escape coping significantly more often. Substance use pervaded the lives of these YLH. Among this sample, males had used more drugs, more often, and for longer periods than females. However, there had been major reductions in use. Being male, having high emotional distress, and having fewer negative social supports were significantly associated with greater reductions in substance use. The longer an individual had been diagnosed seropositive tended to be associated with reductions in use (p=.06). Compared to non-users, users also had more sexual partners and more sexual encounters. While users and non-users do not differ on physical symptoms or whether they have been diagnosed with AIDS, users of amphetamines report significantly higher T-cell counts than non-users. Despite poor psychosocial functioning, amphetamine users were found to have higher T-cell counts than other YLH. The continued high-risk profile of transmission acts among users suggests that preventive interventions must target specific drugs used by YLH. As the number of youths infected with HIV rises, secondary prevention programs are needed to help youths living with HIV meet three goals: 1) increase self-care behaviors, medical adherence, and health-related interactions; 2) reduce transmission acts; and 3) enhance their quality of life. Based on modifications of the social action model, a small group intervention was developed and tested in this population. Relationship to Depression, Anxiety, and Isolation Among Youth Living with HIV. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, In Press; Rotheram-Borus, M.J., and Miller, S. Secondary Prevention for Youths Living with HIV. AIDS Care, 10(1), pp. 17-34. 1998.
|
|
Clinical and Services Research |
Sex Differences in fMRI with Primary Visual Stimulation
Dr. Jonathan M. Levin and colleagues at the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts conducted a study to determine the effect of sex on a non-cognitive, primary sensory activation task using the well-characterized, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI response. BOLD signal response was measured in the primary visual cortex in response to binocular photic stimulation. It was found that women had a significantly lower (about 38%) mean BOLD signal response than men, and the influence of hemisphere revealed that women were more symmetrical than men in their response. This finding might reflect sex-based differences in the anatomy of the visual cortex, differences in visual processing, differences in regional oxygen utilization with activation, differences in vascular response to activation, or differences in baseline physiological measures related to BOLD contrast (e.g., hemoglobin level). In addition to functional implications, these results demonstrate the importance that the effect of sex might have when considering both the design and interpretation of functional MRI studies. Levin, J.M., Ross, M. H., Mendolson, J.H., Mello, N.K., Cohen, B.M., and Renshaw, P.F. Sex Differences in Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent Functional MRI with Primary Visual Stimulation. Am. J. Psychiatry, 155(3), pp. 434-436, 1998.
|
|
Epidemiology, Etiology and Prevention Research |
Repeat Pregnancies Among Adolescent Mothers
Findings from an event history analysis of rapidly repeated pregnancies (i.e., within 18 months) among a sample of 170 adolescents who had experienced a nonmarital birth is presented. Study participants were school-aged adolescents (<18 at enrollment) from lower-to middle-income families who were recruited from social and health service agencies in an urban area of the northwest. just over half the sample were persons of color. respondents were interviewed at five points from pregnancy through 18 months postpartum. the best fitting model included two proximate determinants of pregnancy, contraceptive use and frequency of intercourse, as well as a history of school problems, drug use, fighting, living with parents, length of relationship with boyfriends, best friends experiencing pregnancies, and age at first birth. gillmore, m., lewis, s., lohr, m., spencer, m., and white, r. journal of marriage and the family, 59, pp. 536-550, 1997. gender and psychotropic drug use
Although studies have documented women's greater use of prescribed psychotropic drugs, few have explicitly examined how women and men differ in psychotropic drug use. This study examines gender differences in aggregate psychotropic drug use, as well as use of specific therapeutic categories, and explores how other factors explaining psychotropic drug use vary by gender. Using 1989 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) data, logistic regression analysis is used to estimate the probability of psychotropic drug use in aggregate and for four therapeutic categories-anxiolytics, sedative-hypnotics, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. For equations where gender is statistically significant, separate logistic regression equations are estimated to determine the explanatory variables that vary by gender. Results of this study indicated that the probability of receiving any psycho-tropic drug is 55% greater in office visits by women than those by men, all else constant. Further, gender is a positive and significant predictor of anxiolytic and antidepressant use. Variables estimating anxiolytic and antidepressant use that differ by gender include diagnosis, physician specialty, and payment source for the office visit. Findings confirm research that has demonstrated that women are more likely than men to receive any psychotropic drug in office-based care. This gender differential holds only for anxiolytics and antidepressants. In addition, there were significant differences in the predictors of drug use for women and men. Simoni-Wastila.L. Medical Care, 36(1), pp. 88-94. 1998.
The Impact of Maternal Drinking During and After Pregnancy on the Drinking of Adolescent Offspring
The impact of prenatal maternal drinking on alcohol consumption in adolescent offspring was examined among boys and girls separately. A prospective longitudinal sample of 185 mother-firstborn child dyads was used to examine the impact of maternal self-reported lifetime and current drinking, controlling for potential confounding factors. In this representative general population sample, maternal drinking during pregnancy, particularly continuous moderate to heavy consumption, had a significant positive effect on adolescent daughters' current drinking, but a slight negative effect on sons' lifetime drinking. The sex-specific prenatal effect on current drinking persisted with controls for prenatal maternal cigarette smoking, current maternal drinking, child-rearing practices (i.e. maternal child closeness, monitoring and a rule against drinking) and adolescent's problem behaviors in childhood. Prenatal maternal smoking was also associate with elevated rates of adolescent drinking, particularly current drinking. Of the child-rearing variables, only a rule against drinking decreased adolescent drinking. Thus, selected prenatal factors may constitute risks for alcohol consumption among adolescent daughters. Griesler, P.C., Kandel, D.B. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 59(3), pp. 292-304, 1998.
Maternal Smoking in Pregnancy, Child Behavior Problems, and Adolescent Smoking
This study used a longitudinal sample of mother-child dyads to examine the role of child behavior problems in explaining the effect of maternal prenatal smoking on adolescent daughter's smoking. Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with higher levels of child behavior problems, particularly among girls. Childhood behavior problems increase the likelihood of lifetime smoking among daughters but do not explain the effect of prenatal maternal smoking on their current smoking. Maternal smoking in pregnancy, especially heavy use of a pack or more a day, retains a unique effect on girls' current smoking with controls for current maternal smoking, child behavior problems, and maternal monitoring of the child. The effect of maternal prenatal smoking is suggestive of a biological component, which may have direct or indirect influences on adolescent smoking. The small number of cases in the study calls for the replication of these findings in large samples that would incorporate prospective measures of prenatal nicotine exposure from mother and father and additional biological and psychosocial covariates. Griesler, P.C., Kandel, D.B., Davies, M. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8(1), pp. 159-185, 1998.
Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Tooth Loss
Smoking is associated with an increased risk of tooth loss, but it is not known if this risk decreases significantly when individuals quit smoking. The objectives of this study were to describe the rate of tooth loss by smoking status in two populations of medically healthy men and women. Among the men, rates of tooth loss and edentulism in relation to smoking cessation were also evaluated. The subjects were drawn from a group of 584 women (aged 40 to 70) recruited from the Boston, MA, area and a separate population of 1231 male veterans (aged 21 to 75) who participated in the VA Dental Longitudinal Study in Boston. In cross-sectional baseline analyses, current cigarette smokers of either had significantly more missing teeth than never-smokers or former smokers. Former smokers and pipe or cigar smokers tended to have an intermediate number of missing teeth. Current male smokers had more teeth with calculus, but the differences in plaque, tooth mobility, probing depth >2 mm, filled and decayed teeth, and bleeding on probing by smoking history were not significant. Prospective observations of 248 women (mean follow-up time=6.2 years) and 977 men (mean=18.7 years) indicated that individuals who continued to smoke cigarettes had 24-fold (men) to 3.5 fold risk (women) of tooth loss compared with non-smokers. The rates of tooth loss in men were significantly reduced after they quit smoking cigarettes but remained higher than those in non-smokers. Men who smoked cigarettes had a 4.5-fold increase in risk of edentulism, and this risk also decreased upon smoking cessation. These findings indicate that the risk of tooth loss is greater among cigarette smokers than among non-smokers. Smoking cessation significantly benefits an individual's likelihood of tooth retention, but it may take decades for the individual to return to the rate of tooth loss observed in non-smokers. Krall, E.A., Dawson-Hughes, B., Garvey, A.J., and Garcia, R.I. Journal of Dental Research, 76(10), 1997.
Gender Difference In the Outcome of an Unaided Smoking Cessation Attempt
There is conflicting evidence concerning gender differences in success at quitting smoking. Information is especially lacking regarding gender differences among unaided quitters who make up the vast majority of those attempting to quit. One hundred thirty-five smokers who made an unaided attempt at quitting were interviewed before quitting and were followed for 1 year after cessation. Relapse rates were extremely high both for men and women with 62% of participants returning to regular smoking within 15 days after cessation. Women and men were equally likely to maintain short-term abstinence (through 15 days), but women were more than three times as likely to relapse subsequently. Nine percent of men, but no women, had biochemically verified sustained abstinence throughout the 1-year follow-up-period. For both men and women, any smoking after the quit attempt inevitably led to full-blown relapse. Most participants resumed regular smoking within 24 hours after the first episode of smoking. Gender differences were observed for several variables related to smoking history, demographics, social support, perceived stress, and motivational factors, but these differences did not explain the increased risk of relapse for women. Results clearly indicate that women are less likely than men to maintain long-term smoking abstinence following an unaided quit attempt, but reasons for this gender difference need further exploration. Ward, K., Klesges, R., Zbikowski, S., Bliss, R., and Garvey A. Addicted Behaviors, 22(4), pp. 521-533, 1997.
Patterns of Noninjecting Heroin Use and Risks for Transitions to Use by Injection
In a recent article, researchers review ethnographic data they have collected and the published literature in describing possible factors linked to an increased prevalence in noninjecting heroin use. Heroin use by noninjecting routes of administration has become more widespread worldwide, to the extent that its prevalence now equals or exceeds heroin use by injection in some cities (e.g., Rotterdam in The Netherlands and London in the United Kingdom). Methods of noninjected heroin use include oral ingestion, intranasal use by sniffing the powdered form, smoking (either by itself or in a mixture with other drugs or substances, such as marijuana or tobacco), and inhaling the vapor after heating the drug on aluminum foil (colloquially known as "chasing the dragon"). Several reasons are discussed to explain why noninjecting heroin use has increased: the supply of high purity heroin is abundant (the worldwide production of opium has nearly doubled since the late 1980s and the purity of street-level heroin is at an all-time high); the wholesale price has fallen, as has the retail price; heroin distribution has become much more efficient, sophisticated, and "high tech" (e.g., use of electronic beepers with special codes, home delivery, more nonstreet sales); and users perceive noninjecting use as protective against HIV (in addition to reporting a fear of AIDS from needles, and anxiety about the use of needles themselves, noninjectors report being socially and morally different from highly stigmatized injectors or "dope fiends"). Another factor is that many heroin noninjectors use crack cocaine and report mixing crack with heroin as a way to modulate crack's stimulant effect and soften its "crash." The risks for transitioning from noninjecting heroin use to heroin injection are complex, and are characterized as falling along a continuum. Some people report using it strictly on social occasions, and not between, to stabilize their use and prevent themselves from developing a dependency. But of 202 new injectors in New York City between 1991 and 1993, 53% had sniffed heroin in the 30 days before their first injection, and 83% reported heroin as the drug they first injected. Factors which appear to predict transitions to injection use are the influence of social network members and those with whom they engage in drug and sexual behaviors, sociodemographic status (especially gender, race/ethnicity), and the extent of social integration within (or marginalized from) social institutions. Neaigus, A., Atillasoy, A., Friedman, S.R., et al. Trends in the Noninjected Use of Heroin and Factors Associated with the Transition to Injecting. In: J. Inciardi and L. Harrison (Eds.). Heroin in the Age of Crack-Cocaine. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.; Volume 6 of the drugs, health, and social policy series: pp. 131-159, 1998.
Problem and Conventional Behaviors Among American Indian Adolescents
Investigators from the National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center report two related factor analytic studies that take Problem-Behavior Theory as a starting point. They examined the latent structure of problem and positive behaviors in a sample of 1894 American Indian adolescents (n=1894 in the first study and 2250 in the second study) and found a 2-factor 2nd-order structure in which problem behaviors (alcohol use, drug use, antisocial behavior, risky sexual behavior) and positive behaviors (school success, cultural activities, competencies, community-mindedness) represented two relatively uncorrelated aspects of behavior. The positive behaviors construct contributed significant incremental construct validity in the prediction of psychosocial outcomes (e.g., depression, competencies), relative to the problem behavior construct alone. Factor structures differed across gender primarily for alcohol use and school success. The second-order alcohol use factor was more closely related to "problem drinking" for girls, but for boys it was more closely related to "negative consequences following drinking". "Doing schoolwork carefully" was more closely related to school success for girls than for boys, reflecting others' reports that girls tend to attribute their successes in school to their own hard work whereas boys tend to attribute their school successes to greater intellectual ability. Across four sampled communities, the structures differed only slightly, suggesting commonalities on such dimensions as positive behaviors, possibly from consistent messages adolescents receive about appropriate ways to act. Results highlight the need to include a focus on positive behaviors in prevention/promotion activities, and community members need to understand not only how to circumvent the processes that result in maladaptive outcomes but also how to promote the development of successful adolescents. Mitchell, C.M., and Beals, J. The Structure of Problem and Positive Behavior Among American Indian Adolescents: Gender and Community Differences. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, pp. 257-288, 1997; and Mitchell, C.M. and O'Nell, T.D. Problem and Conventional Behaviors Among American Indian Adolescents: Structure and Validity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8, pp. 97-122, 1997.
Effects of Stress on Delinquency and Drug Use Similar for Males and Females
In a test of Agnew's revised individual-level strain theory, which postulates a mediating role for negative relationships and resulting negative affect (primarily anger) that propels adolescents toward deviant adaptations, investigators at the National Opinion Research Council (NORC) assessed the effects of stressful life events on male and female adolescents' subsequent delinquent and drug-using behaviors. They hypothesized the relationships would vary by sex because of previously observed differences in males' and females' reactions to stress. They used structual equation modeling with two waves of data from 11-to 17-year old adolescents in the High Risk Youth Study (N = 803), a sample that includes heavy representation of offsprings of parents with psychological disorders. Modeling variables reflecting stressful life events, school and family attachment, grades, and indicators of delinquency and substance use, they found that stressful life events have a similar, short-term impact on delinquency and drug use among females and males and that changes in life events were associated with greater delinquency and drug use. The authors presented several possible reasons for the failure to find a sex difference, including the possibility that stress associated with parental psychological disorders may affect males and females similarly. Hoffman, J.P., and Su, S.S. The Conditional Effects of Stress on Delinquency and Drug Use: A Strain Theory Assessment of Sex Differences. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34 (1), pp. 46-78, 1997.
Developmental Variations in Factors Related to Initial and Increased Levels of Adolescent Drug Involvement
The impact of maternal and adolescent factors on initial and increased levels of drug use by adolescents was examined in two groups of adolescents: 210 younger adolescents (ages 12-14 at initial assessment) and 199 older adolescents (ages 15-18). The adolescents and their mothers were interviewed at 2 points in time, 3 years apart. The results indicated that adolescent unconventionality is a crucial determinant for both initial and increased levels of drug use for both age groups, but intrapsychic distress is more important for the younger adolescent's initial use. Lack of maternal attachment and poor control techniques were associated with initial levels of drug use for both groups. However, the mother-child relationship and models of the mother's unconventionality had a greater impact on the older than on the younger group's increased involvement. Interactive results suggest that adolescents from both age groups who are well adjusted can offset the potential risks of maternal models of drug use. Brook J.S., Cohen P., and Jaeger, L. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 159(2), pp. 179-197, 1998.
Drug Use and Parenting in Adolescence
This project at the University of Washington conducted longitudinal analyses of 241 adolescent mothers' use of 3 substances -- marijuana, alcohol and tobacco -- from the time of pregnancy through 1 year post-partum. Variables measured for each substance included use, verified with urinalysis; intentions to use; attitudes and perceived norms about using; and specific outcome and normative expectations about use of each substance. Substance use increased dramatically from pregnancy to 6 months post-partum, leveling off between 6 and 12 months post-partum. Consistent with the Theory of Reasoned Action model, as substance use increased after pregnancy, so did intentions to use, favorable attitudes toward use, perceived norms regarding use, and beliefs favorable to use. Changes in specific outcome and normative beliefs were observed and that, over time, the young mothers saw bad outcomes of using substances (such as negative effects on their health) as less likely, and positive outcomes (such as helping them to forget their problems) as more likely. They also perceived less disapproval from their families, friends, and doctors after their babies were born. These findings suggest that young mothers are heeding warnings about the danger to their babies of using substances during pregnancy, but are less convinced that substance use has negative effects on parenting or on their own health. The contrast between the abundance of messages warning about substance use during pregnancy and the very few messages aimed at reduce substance use among parents may unwittingly reinforce a notion that substance use is not very harmful when one is not pregnant. A promising intervention approach for young mothers may be to capitalize on their concerns for their babies' health. Morrison, D.M., Spencer, M.S., and Gillmore, M.R. J. Res. Adoles., 8, pp. 69-95, 1998.
Social Context Predictors of Adolescent Substance Use Development
This study examined the form of growth in alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among adolescents and covariates influencing this growth. Participants were 664 male and female adolescents (ages 14 to 17 years) assessed at three time points. A common trajectory existed across the developmental period with significant increases in all three substances. Second-order multivariate extensions of the basic latent growth modeling framework indicated that associations among the individual differences parameters representing growth in the various substance use behaviors, could be adequately modeled by a higher-order substance use construct. Inept parental monitoring, parent-child conflict, peer deviance, academic failure, gender, and age, were significant predictors of initial levels and the trajectory of substance use. Results indicate considerable similarity in the development of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana during adolescence, and suggest that it may be possible to reduce the upward trajectory of adolescent substance use if we improve the prevalence of effective parental monitoring, reduce parent-child conflict and associations with deviant peers, and increase academic success. Duncan, S.C., Duncan, T.E., Biglan, A., and Ary, D.V. Contributions of the Social Context to the Development of Adolescent Substance Use: A Multivariate Latent Growth Modeling Approach. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 50, pp. 57-71, 1998.
Alcohol-Related Homicides Committed by Women
In an analysis of data derived from interviews conducted with female homicide offenders as part of the FEMDREIM (Female Drug Relationships in Murder), cases in which respondents believed the offense was related to their use of alcohol at the time of the homicide were examined (N=35). Four basic types of homicides based on victim-offender relationships and the circumstances of the incidents were found. The first and most common type (n=11 or 31% of the alcohol-related homicides) was a non-domestic dispute (i.e., a dispute where the victim was not a spouse, lover, or other family member). The second type (n=7 or 20% of the homicides) was a domestic dispute (i.e., a dispute that was domestic in nature in that the victim was an intimate or family member). The third type (n=7 or 20% of the alcohol-related homicides) occurred during a robbery. The fourth type of alcohol-related homicide (n=4 or 11% of the homicides) was a DWI (driving while intoxicated) case. (Also, there were six alcohol-related homicides (17%) that could not be categorized as one of the four basic types. These involved a variety of other circumstances, including child abuse and neglect, arson, and infanticide.) Women who committed each type of alcohol-related homicide reported a variety of motives for committing these acts. There were also similarities and differences between the types not only in the kinds of motives reported but also in the extent to which planning was involved. Likewise, there were similarities and differences between the different types of homicides regarding the type and amount of alcohol and other drugs used by respondents on the day of the incident, and regarding respondents' perceptions of the alcohol-relatedness of the events. Spunt, B., Brownstein, H., Crimmins, S., Langley, S., Spanjol, K. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 30, pp. 33-43, 1998.
Beliefs About Substance Use Among Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents
Substance use among pregnant and parenting adolescents has health implications for both mother and baby. Utilizing the Theory of Reasoned Action, a social psychological model, this research investigates the cognitive structure underlying substance use, based on longitudinal analyses of data from 3 waves of interviews with a cohort of young mothers who were 17 years old or younger during pregnancy. Use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana were lowest during pregnancy, increased sharply at 6 months postpartum, and remained level at 12 months postpartum. Changes in intentions, attitudes, perceived social norms, outcome beliefs, and normative beliefs followed the same pattern. The content of changing beliefs about substance use is examined and implications for substance use interventions among postpartum adolescent mothers is discussed. Morrison, D., Spencer, M., and Gillmore, M. J. Res. Adoles., 8(1), pp. 69-95, 1998.
[Previous Report][Index][Next Report]
|
