Biomedical subjects

K J Sher

Publications and source records attributed to K J Sher.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Predicting stability and change in frequency of intoxication from the college years to beyond: individual-difference and role transition variables.

The authors examined whether individual-difference variables (e.g., family history of alcoholism, sex, personality traits, positive alcohol expectancies) and role transition-related variables (full-time work status, marital status, parenthood) moderate the "maturing-out" process whereby young adults who drink heavily during college decrease their drinking in the following years. Analyses were based on 288 young adults, assessed as full-time students (mostly college seniors, Year 4 of a larger study) and 3 years later (Year 7) when all had earned bachelor's degrees, and the analyses showed that frequency of intoxication (per week) decreased significantly (p < .0001). Entering the workforce full time, being male, and being less open to experience were associated with decreased postcollege drinking. Furthermore, relatively extraverted individuals were more likely to continue a pattern of frequent intoxication from Year 4 to year 7. The findings stress the importance of studying how individual-difference variables predict behavior across role transitions.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Alcohol use disorders and neuropsychological functioning in first-year undergraduates.

The relation between alcohol use disorders and neuropsychological functioning was examined in 489 first-year undergraduates, approximately half of whom had a history of alcoholism in their biological fathers. Factor analyses of 17 neuropsychological tests and subtests produced the following 5 factors that were the basis of subsequent analyses: Language/Verbal Memory, Visuospatial Ability, Motor Speed, Booklet Category Performance, and Attention. Participants with alcohol use disorders showed deficits in visuospatial ability. Those who had alcohol dependence showed deficits in both visuospatial ability and motor speed relative to participants who abused alcohol. The differences in neuropsychological functioning remained even after several potential confounding variables were controlled statistically. Results suggest that alcohol use disorders in first-year college students are associated with deficits in neuropsychological measures that are not attributable to several potential third-variable explanations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Predicting academic problems in college from freshman alcohol involvement.

OBJECTIVE: The present article examines the relation of problematic alcohol use to collegiate academic problems based on a systematic assessment of problematic alcohol use and college transcript data. The degree to which this prospective association can be explained by reference to third variables is also explored. These third variables include: students' high school academic achievement and aptitude, concurrent drug use, participation in deviant behaviors and students' investment or participation in the college experience. METHOD: A sample of 444 (240 female) college freshman recruited for a longitudinal study of alcohol use was followed for 6 years. Alcohol and drug involvement, general deviance, academic investment, campus involvement and several background variables were assessed during the freshman year. Additional measures of high school aptitude and achievement as well as collegiate performance were calculated based on college transcript data from all institutions attended. RESULTS: A latent variable structural equation model revealed that problematic alcohol use during the freshman year correlated +.32 with collegiate academic problems. No evidence was found for a unique association between the two constructs when additional constructs were included in the model. Specifically, the association was substantially reduced when preexisting student differences traditionally associated with academic failure in college were taken into account. The inclusion of concurrent drug use and deviance also resulted in a significant reduction in the magnitude of the association. CONCLUSIONS: Although a substantial bivariate association exists between problematic alcohol use and academic problems during college, much of this association appears attributable to preexisting student differences on admission to college.

Achievement↗

PubMed1997

The role of childhood stressors in the intergenerational transmission of alcohol use disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined relations between childhood stressors (e.g., disrupted family rituals, embarrassment, neglect, abuse), family history of paternal alcoholism, and alcohol use disorders in late adolescence and early adulthood. Of particular interest was the extent to which stressor exposure mediated the association between paternal and offspring alcohol use disorders. METHOD: A mixed-gender sample of 457 (238 female) participants, approximately half (N = 234) with a family history of paternal alcoholism, were assessed for alcohol use disorders and childhood stressors via clinical interviews. RESULTS: Family history of paternal alcoholism was associated with every childhood stressor examined, often strongly. In addition, a number of childhood stressors (e.g., verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse) were related to an alcohol use disorder in late adolescence/early adulthood. However, only a portion of the effect of family history on a subsequent alcohol use disorder was accounted for by the childhood stressors we examined. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that self-reported childhood stressors are strongly related to a family history of alcoholism, but are only moderately and inconsistently related to the development of an alcohol use disorder. Moreover, they appear to, at best, only partially mediate the relation between family history of alcoholism and an alcohol use disorder.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Psychological characteristics of children of alcoholics.

More than 20 years ago, researchers first noted that children of alcoholics (COA's) appeared to be affected by a variety of problems over the course of their life span. Such problems include fetal alcohol syndrome, which is first manifested in infancy; emotional problems and hyperactivity in childhood; emotional problems and conduct problems in adolescence; and the development of alcoholism in adulthood. Although much has been learned over the ensuing two decades, a number of controversial research areas remain. In particular, debate stems from the fact that despite a common interest in COA's, clinically focused literature and research-focused literature have resulted in two distinct bodies of knowledge. This article reviews important research results, with emphasis on findings generated by the alcohol-research community. Attention also is given to examining the empirical validity of concepts that have been advanced by several influential clinicians from the COA field.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1997

A critical analysis of COA research.

Five experts respected for their significant contributions to the scientific literature on children of alcoholics (COA's) offer their perspectives in a panel discussion format. The panel members reflect on the historical roots of COA research and comment on its current status and future direction. Enriched by the panelists' variety of backgrounds, research interests, and approaches, the discussion emphasizes the need to consider multiple variables that influence the risk for alcoholism among COA's.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1996

A prospective, high-risk study of the relationship between tobacco dependence and alcohol use disorders.

This study examined the extent to which tobacco dependence (TD) and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) reciprocally influenced each other in a mixed-gender sample of 452 individuals (n = 232 biological family history of paternal alcoholism, n = 220 no first- or second-degree family history of alcoholism) who were assessed once early in their freshman year of college, approximately 3 years later when many were college seniors, and approximately 3 years later when many had entered or were entering the work force. AUDs were more prevalent in men than women, in individuals with a family history of alcoholism, and decreased overall with time. TD was more prevalent in those with a family history of alcoholism, showed increasing rates of use over time, and was less prevalent but more stable than AUDs. Transitional probabilities indicated that although a previous AUD or TD diagnosis increased the likelihood of being diagnosed with the other disorder at a later time, comorbid AUDs and TD did not significantly affect the likelihood of recovery from either disorder. Finally, path analysis revealed significant reciprocal relationships between AUDs and TD diagnoses (each predicting the other over time), and significant prediction of AUDs and TD by family history of alcoholism at the first and third times of assessment. Findings supported two general models of AUD/TD comorbidity: a shared vulnerability model and a reciprocal influence model.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

A prospective study of self-esteem and alcohol use disorders in early adulthood: evidence for gender differences.

The relations among gender, self-esteem, and DSM-III alcohol use disorder diagnoses were examined in a sample of 217 men and 240 women evaluated at four annual assessments over the college years. The results support clinical observations that low self-esteem plays a particularly important etiological role in alcohol problems in women relative to men. Women who had an alcohol use disorder during years 3 and/or 4 showed relatively low levels of self-esteem throughout the study period. Furthermore, the study provides clear evidence for prospective prediction from year 1 self-esteem to year 4 alcohol use disorder diagnosis for women, but not for men. There was minimal evidence to suggest that alcohol use predicts later self-esteem.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Methodological issues in psychopathology research.

We present an overview of methodological issues involved in conducting psychopathology research, including conceptual, analytic, and interpretive considerations. Research issues germane to structured diagnostic interviewed, comorbidity of mental disorders, and ascertainment and sampling are reviewed. Further, the problem of specificity (with respect to disorder, to differential deficit, and to time) is discussed. Specific issues concerning risk vs protective factors, conducting research with special populations, and the continuity of abnormal and normal functioning are highlighted. Finally, various analogue strategies (human subclinical syndromes, experimental study of "pathological" processes in normals, animal models, and computer simulations) are critiqued. Our review documents many of the impressive methodological developments that have emerged in this field, and we hope our review stimulates additional research that exploits recent methodological advances.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Alcohol outcome expectancies and alcohol use and problems.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have demonstrated that alcohol outcome expectancies are strong correlates of various aspects of alcohol use. However, it has been suggested that forced-choice alcohol expectancy items may not measure the most salient anticipated effects of alcohol for an individual, and thus may create superficial responses. Additionally, research on attitude-behavior consistency has demonstrated that the nature of how an attitude is elicited can lead to attitudes that are more or less cognitive. The present study examined the applicability of this aspect of attitude theory to the study of alcohol outcome expectancies and the utility of self-generated outcome expectancies and subjective evaluations in predicting alcohol use and problems. METHOD: In an extension of methodology previously used in attitude research, alcohol-using college students (N = 165, 87 female) generated alcohol expectancies in response to two sentence stems designed to elicit "affectively" and "cognitively" based alcohol expectancies and made subjective evaluations (SE) ratings of each item generated on dimensions of positivity, likelihood and immediacy. RESULTS: While no support was found for the generalizability of a particular aspect of attitude theory, several interesting findings emerged. SE ratings were significantly related to measures of alcohol use and problems and, for alcohol use measures, predicted comparably to a standardized measure of expectancies. For alcohol dependence symptoms, the number of expectancies generated predicted significant unique variance over that accounted for by subjective evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the sheer number of alcohol expectancies accessible to an individual may be an important correlate of alcohol dependence, independent of subjective evaluations.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Do codependent traits involve more than basic dimensions of personality and psychopathology?

OBJECTIVE: Despite widespread use of the term codependency, empirical evidence regarding its construct validity is generally lacking. This study analyzed the construct validity of codependency as measured by Potter-Efron and Potter-Efron's Codependency Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ). It attempted to determine the CAQ's factor structure and whether there are any unique relations between symptoms of codependency and parental alcoholism after controlling for basic dimensions of personality and psychopathology. METHOD: Participants were 467 (246 male, 221 female) young adult children of alcoholics and controls who contributed complete questionnaire data at the fourth wave of a longitudinal study of factors related to alcohol use and abuse. RESULTS: The CAQ showed reliability and basically a one dimensional structure, and CAQ scores were significantly related to family history. Although much of this relation between family history and codependency was accounted for by neuroticism and symptoms of general psychopathology, a small, but significant, association between family history and codependency remained even after statistically controlling for personality and psychopathology. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that, although there may be unique aspects of the purported codependency syndrome that are related to a family history of alcoholism, most of the relation between codependency and family history appears to be "explained" by general negative affectivity.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Personality and disinhibitory psychopathology: alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder.

We discuss the relation between personality factors and two adult forms of disinhibitory psychopathology--alcohol abuse or dependence and antisocial personality disorder. First, we briefly review various methodological issues relevant to research in this area. Next, we review empirical findings relating three broad-band personality trait dimensions neuroticism/emotionality, impulsivity/disinhibition, extraversion/sociability) to both alcohol abuse and dependence and antisocial personality disorder. Finally, theoretical models of the relationship between personality and each of these two disorders are presented. We conclude that although no single personality description is likely to be both a sensitive and specific indicator of either alcoholism or antisocial personality disorder, personality variables are important components of etiological models of these disorders.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1994

Relationship between the five-factor model of personality and Axis I disorders in a nonclinical sample.

The relationship between the five-factor model (FFM) of personality and Axis I disorders was evaluated in a nonclinical sample of 468 young adults. In general, scores on the 5 personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (assessed via the NEO Five-Factor Inventory) distinguished subjects with and without a variety of Axis I diagnoses from the revised third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In several instances, results indicate that scores on these dimensions were differentially sensitive to diagnosis. Furthermore, scores on these 5 personality dimensions accounted for unique variance in several Axis I diagnoses above and beyond that accounted for by a general measure of current psychopathological symptoms. These results support the utility of the FFM of personality in Axis I diagnostic assessment.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Anxiety and drinking behavior: moderating effects of tension-reduction alcohol outcome expectancies.

We evaluated whether alcohol outcome expectancies moderate the association between measures of anxiety and alcohol use. Student subjects completed questionnaires related to their level of anxiety, recent alcohol-use patterns, and outcome expectancies for alcohol to be tension reducing. Interviews were used to determine the presence or absence of alcohol dependence in subjects and in their first- and second-degree relatives. Consistent with predictions, male subjects with high tension-reduction alcohol outcome expectancies showed a stronger positive correlation between measures of anxiety and drinking behavior than did male subjects with low tension-reduction outcome expectancies. However, this effect was not found for female subjects. We note past studies showing similar gender effects, and relate the overall study findings to the tension-reduction hypothesis of stress-induced drinking.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1994

Family history of alcoholism, alcohol use disorders and the five-factor model of personality.

This study examines NEO-FFI correlates of risk for alcoholism, alcohol use disorders and alcoholism subtyping dimensions in a mixed-gender sample of 468 young adults (mean age = 21.3) presumed to be at high risk (n = 239) or low risk (n = 229) for alcoholism on the basis of a family history of paternal alcoholism. The NEO-FFI is a brief personality inventory measuring each of the key dimensions of the five-factor model of personality (FFMP), a comprehensive, empirically-derived model of personality structure. Familial risk for alcoholism was positively associated with openness and negatively associated with agreeableness and conscientiousness. Alcohol use disorders were positively associated with neuroticism and negatively associated with aggreeableness and conscientiousness. With the exceptions of alcoholism subtyped by comorbid antisocial personality disorder and by familial alcoholism, all of the alcoholic subtypes examined were related to at least one of the five dimensions. We conclude that the FFMP holds promise for studying personality traits in alcohol use disorders and in bringing a unifying perspective to research and clinical work in this area.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Effects of oxazepam on anxiety: implications for Fowles' psychophysiological interpretation of Gray's model.

The present dose-response study investigated the effects of the benzodiazepine oxazepam (Serax) on anxiety as measured by autonomic and self-report indices in a nonclinical sample. Given Fowles' (1980, 1988) theory that electrodermal activity primarily reflects the activity of the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) while heart rate primarily reflects the activity of the behavioral activation system (BAS), we predicted that electrodermal indices of anxiety would be more affected by oxazepam than heart rate. Psychophysiological and self-report measures were recorded prior to and following a speech stressor in subjects given placebo (n = 17), 15 mg oxazepam (n = 19), and 30 mg oxazepam (n = 17). Anxiolytic effects were found during stressed state as measured by skin conductance level but not heart rate or self-reported anxiety. Furthermore, the anxiolytic effects of oxazepam were noted only during the stressful phases of the experiment. The results are viewed as supportive of Fowles' motivational interpretation of the distinction between heart rate and electrodermal responding.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Assessing alcohol problems in college students.

Alcohol abuse among college students is prevalent, yet few instruments with sound reliability and validity are available to assess these problems in this population. As part of a large, baseline assessment battery for a prospective study of offspring of alcoholics, the 27-item Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST) was given to 490 freshmen at a large midwestern university; approximately 9 months later, 482 subjects completed the scale again. In addition to asking about such traditional problems as experiencing blackouts and driving while intoxicated, the YAAPST included specific items relating to college experiences (eg, getting into sexual situations that were later regretted, missing classes, and receiving lower grades than usual). The YAAPST was designed to assess these drinking consequences over two different time frames, lifetime and past year, and also to indicate the frequency of occurrence during the past year. Results indicated that the YAAPST is a unidimensional scale with good psychometric properties (good internal consistency and test-retest reliability). Three different approaches were used to demonstrate the validity of the YAAPST. Findings supported criterion validity (with interview-based alcohol abuse/dependence diagnoses as the criterion), concurrent validity (comparing the YAAPST with other drinking measures), and construct validity (correlating the YAAPST with etiologically relevant personality, motivational, and peer influence variables). The YAAPST is a promising screening instrument for alcohol problems in college students. It has excellent psychometric properties and the potential to provide a range of useful information to the clinician or researcher.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Using adapted short MASTs for assessing parental alcoholism: reliability and validity.

In previous research adapted versions of the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) have been employed to assess an individual's father's (F-SMAST) and mother's alcohol abuse (M-SMAST). However, to date psychometric information on these forms has been limited. In order to more broadly assess the psychometric properties of these forms, several critical issues in five related studies were addressed. The samples for the five studies were drawn from a college population at a large midwestern university. Overall, the reliability and validity of the adapted SMASTs appears to be quite good. The F-SMAST demonstrated high reliability (from the standpoint of internal consistency, temporal stability, and reliability across siblings) as well as validity (both in respect to convergence with an interview measure and with father's own report on a parallel instrument). Furthermore, shortening both of these instruments to nine-item versions appears to improve their reliability and validity. For researchers and clinicians interested in assessing parental history of alcoholism, the F-SMAST and M-SMAST would appear to be a reliable and valid paper-and-pencil measure.

Alcoholism↗