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M R Levenson

Publications and source records attributed to M R Levenson.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Longitudinal findings from the Normative Aging Study: III. Personality, individual health trajectories, and mortality.

Individual differences in physical and psychological health trajectories were examined in 1,515 Normative Aging Study men. Mean age at baseline was 47.15 years (range = 28-80), and average follow up was 18.55 years (range = 8-25). Both linear and nonlinear growth curves were estimated with random-effects models and then clustered to identify patterns of change. Men whose physical health trajectories were characterized by high, increasing symptoms were higher in hostility and anxiety, were overweight, and smoked. Those whose trajectories were characterized by low symptoms were emotionally stable, educated, nonsmokers, and thin. Men with high, stable psychological trajectories had high hostility; those with low, stable trajectories had high emotional stability; those with moderate anxiety levels had nonlinear trajectories with peaks in psychological symptoms at different life stages. Personality had life-long effects on health trajectories, but these effects varied across traits and health outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Age, cohort and period effects on alcohol consumption and problem drinking: findings from the Normative Aging Study.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether alcohol consumption and problem drinking decreased with age or if the reported declines were actually cohort and/or period effects. METHOD: We utilized data from the Normative Aging Study, assessing 1,267 men three times over an 18-year period (1973, 1982, 1991). Men were divided into five 9-year birth cohorts; age ranged from 46 to 72. RESULTS: Sequential analyses using repeated measures ANOVAs showed significant age, cohort and period effects. Although there was a tendency for alcohol consumption to decline with age, this was not true for all cohorts. Men born between 1910 and 1918 increased from an average of 350 to 440 drinks per year from their fifties to their sixties. The younger cohorts tended to report both more consumption and more problems. However, period had the most consistent effect in this study. There was an increase in problems and in consumption during the 1970s but a decrease in the 1980s, with the exception of the youngest cohort (1937-1945) who reported more problems in the 1991 assessment despite lower consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Age-related change in both consumption and problems varied depending upon which cohort or time period was assessed. Thus, drinking patterns are a complex amalgam of individual aging and societal change.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population.

The present study examined antisocial dispositions in 487 university students. Primary and secondary psychopathy scales were developed to assess a protopsychopathic interpersonal philosophy. An antisocial action scale also was developed for purposes of validation. The primary, secondary, and antisocial action scales were correlated with each other and with boredom susceptibility and disinhibition but not with experience seeking and thrill and adventure seeking. Secondary psychopathy was associated with trait anxiety. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the strongest predictors of antisocial action were disinhibition, primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy, and sex, whereas thrill and adventure seeking was a negative predictor. This argues against a singular behavioral inhibition system mediating both antisocial and risk-taking behavior. These findings are also consistent with the view that psychopathy is a continuous dimension.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Vulnerability and resilience to combat exposure: can stress have lifelong effects?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether appraisals of desirable and undesirable effects of military service mediated the effect of combat stress on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in later life in 1,287 male veterans, aged 44-91 years (M = 63.56, SD = 7.46), 40% of whom had been in combat. The men reported more desirable effects of military service (e.g., mastery, self-esteem, and coping skills) than undesirable ones; both increased linearly with combat exposure (r = .17 and .33, p < .001, respectively). Path analysis revealed that the appraisals were independent and opposite mediators, with undesirable effects increasing and desirable effects decreasing the relationship between combat exposure and PTSD, even controlling for depression and response style. Although lifelong negative consequences of combat exposure were observed, perceiving positive benefits from this stressful experience mitigated the effect.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Change in social support after retirement: longitudinal findings from the Normative Aging Study.

Although retirement is generally thought to lead to a decline in social support due to a loss of social contacts with coworkers, the evidence for this is at best contradictory. This longitudinal study examined change in social support among 1,311 men, participants in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, over a 3-year period. In general, long-term retirees reported the least quantitative social support, and the continuing full-time workers the most; however, change in workforce status produced no apparent effect on quantitative support over the duration of this study. In general, qualitative support showed no retirement effects. We also examined more specific patterns of coworker friendship and again found a pattern similar to that of general quantitative support. The findings support our earlier suggestion of a distinction between retirement as a transition and retirement as a state, and also support the convoy model of social support in late life and the selectivity theory of developmental adaptation to aging.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Alcohol consumption and mortality in an American male population: recovering the U-shaped curve--findings from the normative Aging Study.

Several prospective studies have suggested that moderate alcohol consumption may offer protection against total and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. These studies have been criticized for failing to control for changes in drinking and the influence of comorbidity on consumption decisions. In the present study, we examined whether rates of death from all causes and from CHD were related to overall consumption as well as variability in or problems with drinking. In 1973, a drinking questionnaire was completed by 1,823 male subjects participating in a longitudinal study who were prescreened for absence of serious or chronic disease. After 12 years of follow-up per subject (21,716 man years of follow-up in all), 159 men have died, 74 from CHD. Incidence rates of overall mortality were lowest for moderate drinkers in each of three age groups. CHD death rates for moderate drinkers were similar to those of non-drinkers except in the oldest men where rates were lower for moderate drinkers. Proportional hazards models testing several measures of consumption consistently showed moderate or regular drinkers to have lower risk of death than teetotalers. Regular drinkers had lower overall and CHD mortality than lifetime abstainers. For all-cause and CHD mortality, drinking heavily in the past, ever having tried to quit drinking and having had problems with alcohol were not related to increased risk. These results lend support to the hypothesis of the beneficial effect of moderate drinking, with respect to mortality.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1991

Personality and aging: a study of the MMPI-2 among older men.

We examined whether separate norms for older men are necessary for the revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). Scores from 1,459 men in the Normative Aging Study (NAS) (age: M = 61.27, SD = 8.37) were contrasted with those from 1,138 men from the MMPI Restandardization Study (age: M = 41.71, SD = 15.32). Results showed that scores on the MMPI-2 validity, clinical, and content scales for the NAS men were highly similar to those from the MMPI-2 Restandardization sample. There were also few differences between the two groups at the item level. Within-sample analyses revealed some differences between age groups. However, the magnitudes of these differences were small and may represent the single or combined effects of cohort factors and age-related changes in physical health status rather than age-related changes in psychopathology per se. We concluded that special, age-related norms for the MMPI-2 are not needed for older men.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

How stressful is retirement? Findings from the Normative Aging Study.

The stressfulness of retirement both as a transitional event experienced during the past year and as a life stage was investigated. Transitional stress was assessed using a life events approach, and stage stress using a "hassles" approach. Respondents were 1,516 male participants in the Normative Aging Study, 45% of whom were retired. Among those retiring in the past year, respondents' own and spouse's retirement were rated the least stressful from a list of 31 possible events. Only 30% found retirement stressful. Retirement hassles were also less frequently reported and were rated less stressful than the work hassles of men still in the labor force. The only consistent predictors of both transitional and stage retirement stress were poor health and family finances; personality did not predict retirement stress.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Risk taking and personality.

Comparisons were made of the personality and social orientations of antisocial risk takers, defined as residents in a long-term drug-treatment facility (N = 24); adventurous risk takers, defined as rock climbers (N = 18); and prosocial risk takers, or heroes, defined as policemen and firemen decorated for bravery (N = 21). Measures included substance abuse proclivity, emotional arousability, conformity, moral reasoning, empathy, psychopathy, and sensation seeking. Discriminant analysis identified two functions that correctly classified 98.18% of the sample. Drug-unit residents had high scores on an Antisocial function, characterized by emotionality, depression, psychopathy, substance abuse proclivity, and lower scores on moral reasoning. Rock climbers had high scores on an Antistructural function, characterized by sensation seeking and moral reasoning, the latter reflecting the higher education level of the rock climbers. Neither discriminant function characterized the heroes. Thus, drug-unit residents, rock climbers, and heroes appear to represent both different psychological types and different forms of risk taking.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Differences in social support among retirees and workers: findings from the Normative Aging Study.

Cross-sectional differences between retirees and workers in the importance of coworkers as a source of support, as well as in general quantitative support (social networks and frequency of interaction) and qualitative support (confidants and the perceived reliability of support) were examined. The sample consisted of 1,513 older men (mean age = 61), participants in the Normative Aging Study. Half (56%) were working, and the rest were retired. Slightly fewer retirees than workers reported coworker friends, especially among those who were long-term retirees or who did not work at all in retirement. Whereas similar findings were seen with quantitative support, workers and retirees reported nearly identical levels of qualitative support. However, retirees almost never discussed personal problems with former coworkers. The relevance of these findings for the convoy construct is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Longitudinal findings from the Normative Aging Study: II. Do emotionality and extraversion predict symptom change?

We investigated the relationship between the personality traits of emotionality and extraversion and symptom-reporting, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The sample consisted of 1,034 men, initially screened for good health, who completed both the 16PF and at least two CMIs, (M = 5, range = 2-8) over an average period of 17 years (range = 2-25). Using a two-stage growth model, we obtained a predicted baseline and slope for each man for self-reported physical and psychological symptoms. Correlations revealed that emotionality was positively related to the numbers of both physical and psychological symptoms reported at baseline, while extraversion was negatively related. However, regression analyses including age and both personality variables indicated that only emotionality was associated with level of symptom-reporting. Longitudinal analyses revealed that emotionality was unrelated to physical symptom slopes and only weakly related to psychological slopes. We interpret these results as showing that, while personality and symptom-reporting are related cross-sectionally, personality does not predict changes in symptom reporting.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The MAC scale in a normal population: the meaning of "false positives".

The MAC scale has been very successful in identifying alcoholics and, in studies of clinical populations, is often considered a test for predisposition to alcoholism. MacAndrew, however, holds that the MAC scale assesses a more general personality trait characterized by sociability, boldness, rebelliousness and pleasure seeking. The present study examines the distribution of MAC scale scores in a normal population and tests for correlates of high MAC scores other than alcohol-related problems (e.g., arrest history). The sample consisted of 1,117 men, participants in the Normative Aging Study (mean age = 61.6). As expected, heavier drinkers and problem drinkers reported significantly higher MAC scale scores than did lighter and nonproblem drinkers. However, arrestees without drinking problems had MAC scale scores nearly identical to those of problem drinkers without arrest histories (23.19 and 23.42, respectively). Further, 36% of the sample without problem drinking or arrest histories had MAC scale scores of 24 or above, the clinical indicator of alcoholism, and more than 32% of these had scores above 27. In the entire sample, of the 152 men who had MAC scores above 27, 71% had no problems, either with arrest or drinking. Results are interpreted as supporting MacAndrew's interpretation of the meaning of the MAC scale as a general personality measure rather than a specific alcoholism instrument.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Does emotionality predict stress? Findings from the normative aging study.

Investigated whether emotionality, assessed in 1975, predicted the reporting of both objective stress (life events) and subjective stress (hassles) 10 years later, and how emotionality affected the relation between both objective and subjective stress and mental health. The sample consisted of 1,159 older men, participants in the Normative Aging Study. Path analysis revealed that the reporting of stress was confounded with personality: Individuals higher in emotionality reported both more life events and more hassles. Furthermore, individuals higher in emotionality exhibited slightly higher levels of symptoms under stress than did individuals lower in emotionality. Nonetheless, both stress measures contributed independent variance to the prediction of psychological symptoms, even controlling for prior levels of emotionality. Implications for the assessment of stress are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Longitudinal findings from the normative aging study: 1. Does mental health change with age?

Longitudinal changes in self-reported symptoms were investigated using the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) in a sample of 2,041 men. The average man completed 5 CMIs (range = 2-8) over 17 (range = 2-25) years. Using a two-stage growth model, we first regressed symptoms against time on study for each man. The average slope of physical symptoms showed a moderate increase over time, but the average slope of psychological symptoms showed little change. Next, individual differences in change were examined using age at entry as an explanatory variable. Age accounted for 50% of the variance in physical symptoms at entry and 7% of the variance in slopes, but explained neither baseline level nor change in psychological symptoms. Rather, a U-shaped curve described the relation between age and psychological symptom change. These results, in concert with a developmental perspective, may help reconcile conflicting findings on aging and mental health.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Mental health differences among retirees and workers: findings from the Normative Aging Study.

Researchers during the past decade have found little effect of retirement on physical health. However, retirement entails a number of losses, and its effect on mental health, as measured by the prevalence of psychological symptoms, is unclear. We examined psychological symptoms in a sample of 1,513 older men, participants in the Normative Aging Study, using the SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1983). Analyses of variance indicated that retirees reported more psychological symptoms than did workers, even after controlling for physical health status. Exploratory analyses examining the circumstances of retirement found no effects for length of retirement or part-time employment, but did find effects for the timing of retirement. Both early and late retirees reported more psychological symptoms. Late workers (aged 66 and older) reported the fewest symptoms. Reasons for these findings are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A new self aspirating plunger.

In another approach to the problem of aspiration before injection of local anesthetics, a new self aspirating plunger was designed. It is composed of similar materials currently in use. Its action is simply the elastic return of a temporarily stretched diaphragm in the center of the plunger. A gentle pressure and release will cause aspiration. No harpoon is used; therefore the cartridge can be more quickly loaded and changed. No special syringe is needed.Stanley C. Harris has said, "one of the most insidious dangers in therapeutics is the complacency which develops when undesirable reactions are infrequent. With local anesthesia, this complacency is intensified by the knowledge that local anesthetics are given intravenously by intention in certain medical procedures. However, when this procedure is employed, the patient is hospitalized, in an operating room with emergency equipment and drugs instantly available."(1)Dentists are aware of the possible consequences of intravascular injection of local anesthetics and know that these can range from lack of anesthesia to an unplesant experience or to a rare lethal one.(2-3) Case histories of complications of intravascular injection appear regularly in the literature. The presence of the anesthetic in the blood can easily be demonstrated.(4)

Anesthesia, Dental↗