Editorial: Reality oriented views in clinical psychology.
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The personal values of alcoholics and addicts.
In a comparison of the personal values of male alcoholics and addicts, the major findings were: (a) the values of the two groups are quite similar; and (b) the combined values of the two groups are quite different from a sample of males from the general population. Further research to determine how many of the reported differences are a function of the Ss' drug abuse and how many are a function of their particular social background is suggested.
Adult↗
Initiation of dieting among adolescent females.
OBJECTIVE: This brief report identifies the factors that distinguish girls who have begun dieting recently from those who have never dieted, using Huon and Strong's (International Journal of Eating Disorders 23:361-369, 1998) model of dieting. METHOD: Sixty-two initiating dieters were carefully matched with 62 never dieters, according to school, grade, age, language spoken at home, and country of birth. Both groups completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed their dieting status, perceived social influence to diet, conformity disposition, assertiveness, and familial context. RESULTS: A discriminant function analysis showed that initiating dieters and never dieters could be distinguished most clearly by their levels of peer and parental influence. Initiating dieters conformed and complied more to their parents. They were also more competitive with their peers than were the girls who had never dieted. Perceived supportiveness of fathers was also found to set apart those girls who had never dieted. DISCUSSION: Girls who are just beginning to diet differ from those who have never dieted, predominantly in terms of their perceived social influence. The forms of parental influence that distinguish the two groups differ in nature from the type of influence exerted by peers.
Adolescent↗
Evaluating the mediating effects of social support upon life events and depressive symptoms.
Previous research has yielded inconsistent results regarding the mediating effects of social support upon psychiatric illness. Using data (N = 2029) gathered as part of a major epidemiologic study in the southeastern United States, the authors examine the relationships among depressive symptoms, social support, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status. As anticipated, direct effects were found for social support, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status upon depressive symptoms. However, when the data were analyzed via three-way analysis of variance and multiple regression (including all possible interaction terms) analysis, no statistically significant interactive effects were found. The authors conclude that these findings clearly demonstrate direct effects of social support and stressful life events upon depressive symptoms. Respondents in the lower social support groups experience the greatest impact of stressful life events; in contrast, persons in high social support groups, although evidencing increased symptom scores with increasing numbers of life events, experience the buffering effect of social support by showing less severe distress.
Adult↗
Science, technology and the political response.
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Canada↗
Comparison of genetic and anthropological interpretations of population isolates in Aguacatenango, Chiapas, Mexico.
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Age Factors↗
Effects of urine from pregnant and lactating female house mice on sexual maturation of juvenile females.
The effects of urine from pregnant and lactating female/mice on puberty in young females were examined. In Experiment I urine from pregnant or lactating females painted daily on the external nares of young females led to earlier sexual maturation than treatment with water or urine from singly-caged, nonlactating, multiparous adult females. In Experiment II urine from either pregnant or lactating females, injected daily into perforated plastic capsules containing cotton, effected earlier maturation in female mice caged with these capsules than did the urine of singly-caged females or water. In Experiment III the effectiveness of these treatments on reproduction per se was confirmed: young females reaching maturity earlier as the result of urine treatments were in fact ovulating and were capable of conceiving and bearing young. One explanation for the presence of the urinary pheromone(s) involves changes in hormone levels during pregnancy and/or lactation and urinary excretion levels of hormones, hormone metabolites, or chemical compounds which are hormone dependent. The pheromone excretion, triggered by external factors, may be a general signal to other females that environmental and/or social conditions are favorable for reproductive activities.
Animals↗
Prenatal stress has long-term effects on behavioral responses to stress in juvenile rhesus monkeys.
The effect of maternal psychological disturbance during pregnancy on postnatal responses of the offspring to stressful events was investigated in juvenile rhesus monkeys. Six pregnant monkeys were repeatedly removed from their home cages and briefly exposed to unpredictable noise during mid to late gestation (Days 90-145 postconception). Six undisturbed pregnant mothers served as controls. Behavioral data were later collected from the 18-month-old offspring under a baseline and four progressively stressful conditions. Social behaviors were considerably more affected by prenatal treatment than nonsocial behaviors. Prenatally stressed offspring showed more abnormal social behavior (mutual clinging) and less normal social behavior (proximity, contact) than controls. These results suggest that offspring of mothers stressed during pregnancy may show enhanced responsivity to stressors later in life, and concur with rodent findings indicating that prenatal stress may have long-term effects on behavioral reactivity.
Animals↗
Impact of traumatic experiences and violent acts upon response to treatment of a sample of Colombian women with eating disorders.
OBJECTIVE: The current article compared the impact of exposure to sexual trauma and other types of physical threats against the patient or the patient's family on response to treatment, relapse, and dropout rates in 160 Colombian women between 12 and 49 years of age with eating disorders. METHOD: A comparison was made to 70 cases with unsatisfactory response to treatment and 90 controls with a better response to treatment goals. RESULTS: Forty-five percent had a history of sexual abuse, other violent traumas, or both. Significant statistical differences were observed between both groups in exposure variables. The highest probability of poor outcome was observed in patients with sexual abuse and exposure to other violent acts (odds ratio [OR] = 6.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1-19.07). The risk of dropout or relapse was, respectively, 10 and 3 times greater among those exposed. DISCUSSION: Violent social conditions should be noted as another form of trauma with potential impact on outcome in Colombian women with eating disorders. (
Adolescent↗
Positive and negative depression coping in low-income African American women.
The purpose of the study was to examine positive and negative depression coping (DC) in low-income African American women. Because low-income African American women have been shown to be vulnerable to depression symptom onset yet less accepting of treatment, DC in this population is of interest to researchers. Depression symptom severity, defense mechanisms, difficult life circumstances (DLC), and social support were examined as possible determinants of DC. In 244 mildly or moderately to severely depressed women, mature defense mechanisms predicted positive DC, and DLC predicted negative DC. Social support had no effect on positive or negative DC. Findings are discussed in terms of individual and community tailored rehabilitative psychotherapy to promote positive DC.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Baseline corticosterone peaks in shorebirds with maximal energy stores for migration: a general preparatory mechanism for rapid behavioral and metabolic transitions?
In captive red knots (Calidris canutus, Scolopacidae) showing a regulated body mass increase of 50% related to their migration from temperate staging sites to tundra breeding grounds, plasma corticosterone concentrations increased from less than 10 ng. ml(-1) to levels as high as 30 ng. ml(-1) when the energy storage for migration was complete. These birds did not fly, but concentrations dropped to very low levels (<5 ng. ml(-1)) as soon as the birds started their voluntary fasts to the low body masses preceding the early wing and body molts normally occurring after an unsuccessful breeding season. As the elevated levels of corticosterone are associated with stable body mass rather than with the preceding increase or subsequent decrease, it is suggested that a major role of corticosterone during the final stages just before departure may be to prepare birds for long-distance flights. Birds heading into the Arctic to breed face potentially arduous flights into unpredictable environmental and social conditions. Activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, as measured by elevated levels of corticosterone, may induce the suite of behavioral and metabolic changes necessary to negotiate these challenges successfully.
Animals↗
Ultrastructural evidence for increased contact between astrocytes and synapses in rats reared in a complex environment.
Rats raised from weaning in a complex environment have an increased number of synapses per neuron in the visual cortex in comparison to animals housed in standard laboratory cages. Previous research has suggested that experience-dependent synaptic changes may be coordinated with changes in astrocytes. The present study used electron microscopy to examine astrocytic processes in the visual cortex of rats raised in a complex environment (EC) or in standard laboratory cages, either individually (IC) or in pairs (social condition, SC). Measurements of the surface density of astrocytic membrane in direct apposition to synaptic elements revealed that astrocytic processes have increased contact with synaptic elements within the visual cortex of EC rats in comparison to SC and IC animals. In contrast, other astrocytic size variables revealed no significant change in astrocytic processes per unit volume of tissue. Previous work has indicated no significant differences in synaptic density in these subjects. The specific increase in the contact between astrocytes and synapses suggests an experience-related enhancement of the astrocytic involvement in synaptic activity.
Animals↗
Ethnohistory and alcohol studies.
This chapter briefly outlines the development of ethnohistory in the United States and Canada and then examines the contributions that ethnohistorical studies have made to our understanding of heavy drinking in situations of acculturation. Three major models used by anthropologists and ethnohistorians to account for heavy drinking in such contexts are identified: (1) drinking as a response to sociocultural disorganization, (2) drinking as a response to deprivation, and (3) drinking as an expression of traditional values and activities. These models are evaluated in light of recent theoretical and methodological developments within anthropology and other social sciences. The discussion draws on ethnohistorical case studies to exemplify these developments. It is argued that ethnohistory 's ongoing interaction between field and archival research offers a unique and essential approach to the study of alcohol use.
Acculturation↗
Pollution and the development of allergy: the East and West Germany story.
Allergic diseases are partly genetically determined, but environmental factors have a strong influence on the expression of allergic symptoms in genetically predisposed subjects. In particular, outdoor air pollution has received widespread attention as a potential manifestation factor. The unification of Germany provided a unique opportunity to study the impact of radically different environmental and social conditions on the development of allergies in two genetically homogeneous populations. A high car density and NO2 exposure were typical for many West German cities. Severe pollution due to heavy industrialization and private coal burning for heating purposes were the main sources of air pollution in East German cities. We assessed the prevalence of asthma and allergic disorders in 9-11 year old children in in East Germany (Leipzig and Halle) and in West Germany (Munich). All fourth grade pupils in Munich (n = 7,445) were compared with those in Leipzig and Halle 1991 (n = 3,105). Hay fever, skin test reactivity to common aeroallergens and asthma were considerably more prevalent in West Germany as compared to East Germany. When atopy was taken into account, there was no longer a significant difference in the prevalence of asthma between the two parts of the country.
Air Pollution↗
The legacy of Friedrich Loeffler--the Institute on the Isle of Riems.
When starting the experiments on foot and mouth disease on the Isle of Riems in October 1910, Friedrich Loeffler could continue investigations that had been interrupted in 1907 by ministerial order. Loeffler's appointment to Berlin in 1913 and his sudden death in 1915 lead to the temporary cessation of work on the Riems. With high personal creativity and many years of seminal influence, Otto Waldmann carried Loeffler's ideas further, in the selection of themes and research strategy, making the Riems a world famous place of research. Some essential elements have determined life and research on the island for decades: the development of measures against epidemics, the conception of their application, the extension of research to new diseases of economic significance, the close contacts with the veterinary practice at all times, the presentation of results to experts and the stimulating discussions in the laboratory. I will try to briefly draw a bow covering the decades of different social conditions to the present and to suggest that Loeffler's ideas, which have been improved with the years, can affect many a current decision, even though differentiated individually.
Academies and Institutes↗
Through a different lens: an anthropological perspective on the homeless mentally ill.
Recent attempts to understand the emergence of a growing population of homeless mentally ill individuals have almost exclusively relied on epidemiological and clinical approaches, the result being an incomplete and even distorted perception of these people and their behavior. This paper describes gaps that currently exist in our understanding of the homeless mentally ill, focusing on the dearth of rich qualitative descriptions of lives in process, the overwhelming preoccupation with pathology and disaffiliation, the failure to view homeless mentally ill individuals in the broader socio-economic and situational contexts of their daily lives, the absence of a longitudinal perspective, and an over-reliance on self-report as a source of data. Data are offered from an ethnographic examination of the ongoing adaptation of 50 chronically mentally ill homeless adults in the downtown area of Los Angeles to suggest how research utilizing an anthropological perspective can fill some of these gaps. This discussion indicates by extension that anthropological research can provide policy-relevant insights in this critical area and that the study of homelessness and mental illness presents opportunities for anthropologists to pursue a variety of issues relevant to the field.
Adult↗
Changing paternal age distribution and the human mutation rate in Europe.
All available evidence indicates that the human mutation rate increases with paternal age. In developed countries, a reduction in the proportion of older parents is a common feature of the marked changes in parental age distribution that occur as a result of family planning. We have related the current paternal age distribution in the European countries for which data is readily available, to a derived curve for paternal age-specific relative mutation rate. The results indicate that, to the extent that it is dependent on paternal age, the mutation rate has decreased considerably in developed countries during the past 50 years. The human mutation rate is a dynamic entity, continuously changing in response to social conditions.
Adult↗