Biomedical subjects

S A Ball

Publications and source records attributed to S A Ball.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

A sibling study of sensation seeking and opiate addiction.

Substance abuse and its correlative personality traits may have familial associations. We assessed the relationship between sensation seeking and drug use in 201 opiate addicts and 133 of their siblings in a cross-sectional family study. Probands and their drug-abusing siblings showed greater sensation seeking than their non-drug-abusing siblings and this diagnosis accounted for the most variance in regression models. Degree of sensation seeking correlated among drug-abusing siblings and with age of first drug use. The results are discussed in terms of substance abuse typologies and for using sensation-seeking assessments for prevention and treatment of substance abuse.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

A comparison of alternate systems for diagnosing antisocial personality disorder in cocaine abusers.

We evaluated rates, reliability, internal consistency, factor structure, and clinical and predictive validity of antisocial personality disorder (ASP) across three diagnostic systems which varied in emphasis on a) core sociopathic traits and b) independence of antisocial behaviors from substance use in 399 cocaine abusers. Rates of ASP ranged from 7% (Research Diagnostic Criteria) to 53% (DSM-III-R). The DSM-III-R diagnosis of ASP was more reliable at 1 month and 1 year than the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Items assessing core traits of sociopathy had very low reliability and were poorly correlated with other criteria. Across all systems, cocaine abusers with ASP had earlier onset of drug dependence, more psychosocial dysfunction, and higher rates of other psychiatric disorders. Finally, only the DSM-III-R diagnosis of ASP was associated with treatment retention and short-term prognosis. These findings suggest that current diagnostic systems which require core sociopathic traits and independence of criminal behaviors from substance use may be more unreliable and of weaker prognostic significance than less restrictive systems.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Sensation seeking and selective attention: focused and divided attention on a dichotic listening task.

Differences in selective attention as a function of sensation seeking, extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism were examined in 108 undergraduates using a dichotic listening task. Dependent measures included shadowing performance, reaction times to a secondary light task, target detection, and recall. The results suggested that high sensation seekers have better focused attention than low sensation seekers, and these effects were strongest on the 1st trials of the shadowing tasks. High sensation seekers did not attend differently than low sensation seekers to words related to their interests (sexual, violent, or drug related). Extraversion was associated with greater recall of these kinds of words, although there were no overall differences in selective attention as a function of Eysenck's dimensions. The role of arousal in personality and attention is discussed, particularly in regard to the response of sensation seekers to task novelty.

Adult↗

PubMed1980

The intravenous toxicity of dibekacin sulphate (DKB) to female beagle dogs.

Dibekacin sulphate (DKB), a new aminoglycoside antibiotic developed on the theory of bacterial resistance, was given by intravenous injection to groups of female Beagle dogs at dosages of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 or 25.0 mg/kg/day for 13 weeks. Physiological saline was given as a control. Some dogs given 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg/day were retained undosed for a further 5 weeks in order to assess recovery. Premature deaths from acute renal tubular nephrosis occurred in dogs given 25.0 and 10.0 mg/kg/day. Dogs which survived treatment at 10.0 mg/kg/day showed marked elevation of circulating urea and creatinine concentrations after 4 weeks' treatment but thereafter the increases became less obvious. Varying degrees of renal cortical tubular dilatation, basophilia, degeneration or necrosis were seen in the kidneys of all dogs examined after 13 weeks treatment although no clinical impairment of renal function was detectable at dosages up to 5.0 mg/kg/day. These changes had essentially regressed in dogs examined 5 weeks after the last dose of DKB at 5.0 mg/kg/day. All the adverse clinical and histological effects noted, following any dose level of DKB tested, could be attributed to renal changes.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

Toxicity of methyl testosterone in the beagle dog.

When methyl testosterone was administered orally to beagle dogs at dosage levels of 2, 4 and 6 mg/kg per day for 27 weeks, hepatotoxicity was induced. The change induced was characterized by enlargement of periportal hepatocytes and the presence of haemosiderin within macrophages. There was some evidence of recovery over a 13-week period.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Manualized treatment for substance abusers with personality disorders: dual focus schema therapy.

The presence of an untreated personality disorder may be associated with worse compliance and outcome in substance abuse treatment. Therapeutic attention to the symptoms of personality disorder may reduce the severity of substance abuse and other Axis I symptoms which potentially contribute to relapse. A 24-week manual-guided individual cognitive-behavioral therapy approach has been developed that integrates relapse prevention with targeted intervention for early maladaptive schemas (enduring negative beliefs about oneself, others, and events) and coping styles. This Dual Focus Schema Therapy is being compared to 12-Step Drug Counseling for opioid-dependent individuals with personality disorders in an ongoing study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This article reviews Young's (1994) schema-focused theory and approach and summarizes the treatment manual, which integrates relapse prevention for substance abuse.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Multidimensional subtypes and treatment outcome in first-time DWI offenders.

The concurrent and predictive validity of Type A and B alcoholism subtypes was evaluated in 246 first-time driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) offenders. K-means analysis indicated that a two-cluster solution was optimal with Type Bs (28%) exhibiting greater premorbid risk factors, alcohol and psychosocial severity, drinking consequences, psychopathology, higher stage of change, and less coping confidence in comparison to less severe Type As (72%). After baseline assessment, participants were randomly assigned to one of three 10-week group treatments (DWI Education, Coping Skills, Interactional), and reassessed at termination, and at 6-month and 1-year follow-ups. Type B was associated with more severe symptoms after treatment, but there was no evidence for patient-treatment matching effects. Although Type A/B may be an important theoretical model for guiding alcoholism research, it usefulness and efficiency for treatment matching, planning, or placement purposes is questioned.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Types of abuse and cocaine use in pregnant women.

Previous research has found an association between childhood and adult physical and sexual abuse and substance abuse, but has not examined or compared specific dimensions of the abuse experience, such as its age of onset or the type, severity, or frequency. Women receiving perinatal care (N = 1189) at an inner-city hospital clinic were systematically questioned about their lifetime and current cocaine use and experiences of abuse. We found an association between a history of abuse in childhood and lifetime and current cocaine use, as well as physical and sexual abuse during childhood and pregnancy. There was no difference in the rates of cocaine use between women whose onset of abuse was in childhood versus adulthood. Childhood sexual abuse (alone or in combination with physical abuse) was more associated with lifetime cocaine use than was physical abuse alone. Cocaine use was related to the severity, but not the frequency of abuse.

Adult↗