The current study examined the influence of rape myth acceptance on self-blame and psychological symptoms following a sexual assault.
The sample included 280 female sexual assault survivors in ...college.
In an online survey, participants completed the Sexual Experiences Survey - Short Form Victimization, Updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 item scale, and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5.
A significant indirect effect was found between acceptance of rape myths and PTSD symptoms via self-blame; acceptance of rape myths was positively associated with self-blame, which in turn was positively associated with PTSD symptoms.
Clinicians working with survivors of sexual assault should assess for endorsement of rape myths and self-blame, as challenging posttraumatic cognitions has been shown to reduce symptoms of trauma.
Objective:
Research suggests that it is common for emerging adults in the U.S. and other countries to participate in a drinking game (DG). Playing DGs is associated with greater alcohol consumption ...and increased risk for experiencing alcohol-related harms. Gender differences in emerging adults' DG behavior and negative alcohol-related consequences have also been documented but the results have been mixed. We conducted the present meta-analysis in order to (a) quantify the association between DG participation and alcohol use and related consequences, and examine the moderating effect of gender and methodological factors on these associations, and (b) provide effect size estimates for power analyses for future DGs research.
Method:
48 manuscripts, representing 31 independent samples, were included in the meta-analysis.
Results:
We found medium effect sizes between DG participation and frequency of alcohol use (r = .47) and binge drinking (r = .50), quantity of alcohol use (r = .38) and consumption while playing DGs (r = .45), alcohol use (frequency × consumption index; r = .49), and alcohol-related consequences (r = .38).
Conclusions:
Playing DGs is associated with greater frequency of alcohol use, higher alcohol consumption, and more alcohol-related consequences. Findings also indicated that as the percentage of women in the sample increased, the association between DG participation and quantity of alcohol use strengthened. No gender moderation effect was found for the associations between DG participation and the other alcohol outcomes variables, which suggests that men and women who play DGs are equally at risk for experiencing alcohol-related consequences and may benefit from clinical attention.
Public Health Significance Statement
Risky drinking practices such as playing DGs is a public health concern given its link to heavy alcohol use and harmful health outcomes. Results from this study indicated that DG participation is associated with greater alcohol use in general, more drinks consumed while playing, and an increased risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences. Women who play DGs may be especially at risk for increased alcohol consumption; however, both men and women appear to experience more negative alcohol-related consequences if they play DGs.
Social anxiety is associated with dissociative experiences, which are thought to occur when coping or avoidance is unavailable, and distress is experienced. Emotion regulation difficulties maintain ...social anxiety. The current study examined the moderating effect of emotion regulation on social anxiety and dissociation. It was hypothesized that social anxiety would be positively associated with dissociation and that emotion regulation difficulties would moderate the relationship between social anxiety and dissociation such that the relationship would be stronger at higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties. College students aged 18 or older (
n
= 572) were recruited from a large public university. All participants completed measures of social anxiety, emotion regulation, and dissociation as part of a larger online study. Results supported both hypotheses. Future studies should investigate dissociative symptoms during times of acute stress or anxiety in social anxiety, how emotion regulation difficulties are associated with the genesis of dissociative symptoms, and how these variables are related in more diverse community samples.
Alcohol use in college populations is highly prevalent. College students who consume alcohol can experience a variety of different alcohol-related consequences. Drinking motives, or reasons that ...individuals choose to consume alcohol, are proximal factors that affect alcohol use. Previous research has generally found that internal drinking motives (i.e., coping and enhancement motives) are particularly relevant in predicting alcohol-related consequences. However, most of this research has examined drinking motives as traits, rather than state (i.e., daily) motives. The present study sought to examine enhancement and coping motives as both distinct and combined predictors of alcohol-related consequences at the daily level, directly and via alcohol consumption. Multilevel analyses of a 30-day retrospective report of drinking behaviors showed that within-person enhancement motives increased alcohol-related consequences via increased alcohol use. In contrast, coping motives were directly associated with alcohol-related consequences at the between-person level. Implications of the findings are that clinicians should assess and discuss daily motives for alcohol use with patients presenting with problems related to alcohol use, as well as typical motives.
Public Health Significance
Drinking to experience more positive emotions appears to increase alcohol-related consequences via consuming more alcohol; in contrast, individuals who drink to reduce negative emotions experience more alcohol-related consequences than those who do not drink for that reason. Therefore, the results of this study indicate clinical approaches to reducing alcohol-related consequences among college students should be tailored to individuals' motivations for consuming alcohol.
We used group-based trajectory models to identify 4 distinct trajectory patterns of adherence to preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among 20 696 users. Only 44.5% were consistently PrEP adherent, with ...younger age, being female, or having substance use disorder or depression associated with early discontinuation. Public health efforts are needed to improve PrEP adherence.
Pain is a multidimensional experience and negative affect, or how much the pain is "bothersome", significantly impacts the sufferers' quality of life. It is well established that the κ opioid system ...contributes to depressive and dysphoric states, but whether this system contributes to the negative affect precipitated by the occurrence of chronic pain remains tenuous. Using a model of persistent pain, we show by quantitative real-time-PCR, florescence
hybridization, Western blotting and GTPgS autoradiography an upregulation of expression and the function of κ opioid receptors (KORs) and its endogenous ligand dynorphin in the mesolimbic circuitry in animals with chronic pain compared with surgical controls. Using
microdialysis and microinjection of drugs into the mesolimbic dopamine system, we demonstrate that inhibiting KORs reinstates evoked dopamine release and reward-related behaviors in chronic pain animals. Chronic pain enhanced KOR agonist-induced place aversion in a sex-dependent manner. Using various place preference paradigms, we show that activation of KORs drives pain aversive states in male but not female mice. However, KOR antagonist treatment was effective in alleviating anxiogenic and depressive affective-like behaviors in both sexes. Finally, ablation of KORs from dopamine neurons using AAV-TH-cre in KOR
mice prevented pain-induced aversive states as measured by place aversion assays. Our results strongly support the use of KOR antagonists as therapeutic adjuvants to alleviate the emotional, tonic-aversive component of chronic pain, which is argued to be the most significant component of the pain experience that impacts patients' quality of life.
We show that KORs are sufficient to drive the tonic-aversive component of chronic pain; the emotional component of pain that is argued to significantly impact a patient's quality of life. The impact of our study is broadly relevant to affective disorders associated with disruption of reward circuitry and thus likely contributes to many of the devastating sequelae of chronic pain, including the poor response to treatment of many patients, debilitating affective disorders (other disorders including anxiety and depression that demonstrate high comorbidity with chronic pain) and substance abuse. Indeed, coexisting psychopathology increases pain intensity, pain-related disability and effectiveness of treatments (Jamison and Edwards, 2013).
Background: Social anxiety has been associated with higher rates of negative alcohol use consequences, and this relationship appears to be accounted for by coping drinking motives. Dissociation is ...commonly present in anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder, and may serve to unconsciously reduce negative emotions when more effortful coping strategies are not effective. Objectives: The present study examined whether the relationship between social anxiety, coping motives, and alcohol consequences was moderated by dissociative symptoms. It was hypothesized that coping motives would mediate the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consequences, and that dissociation would moderate the relationship between social anxiety and coping motives. Undergraduate students who endorsed alcohol use within the past 30 days (n = 320) were recruited from a large public university. Participants completed measures of social anxiety, dissociation, alcohol motives, and alcohol consequences as part of a larger online questionnaire. Results: Coping motives were found to mediate the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consequences. Dissociation did not moderate the relationship between social anxiety and coping motives. Dissociation was significantly associated with alcohol consequences via coping motives. Conclusions: Future research should include longitudinal research designs or ecological momentary assessment designs and should examine these relationships in clinical and community samples.
The Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference (CCORC) 2021 was held virtually on April 8 and 9, 2021. The conference was hosted by the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes ...Research, a research organization instituted by the state legislature of Florida in the United States. The inaugural annual CCORC 2021 was organized as a scientific meeting to foster and disseminate research on medical marijuana (MM) clinical outcomes, while promoting engagement among MM researchers, patients, clinicians, policymakers, and industry partners. Key conference themes included: (a) the disconnect between policy, practice, and evidence and steps towards reconciliation, (b) approaches to overcome common barriers to MM research, and (c) the use of focused translational approaches utilizing both mechanistic and clinical research methodology to tackle the complexities of MM outcomes. CCORC 2022 is planned for spring 2022 in Orlando, Florida, United States.
Pharmacy school applications have steadily declined over the past several years. Thus pharmacy schools are not only searching for effective means to increase enrollment of qualified candidates, but ...are also focusing on the development of programs to improve academic performance and retention of enrolled students. To address the needs of struggling first-year pharmacy students enrolled in an Integrated Biological Sciences (BSI) course, an academic performance enrichment program (APEP) was developed. The program was designed to improve academic success by engaging low-performing students with the aims of improving their time management skills, study skills, metacognition, and understanding of BSI course material. The APEP consisted of structured tutoring sessions twice per week, which were required for all students with a course grade ≤73.5% at any point during the semester. To assess program effectiveness, performance improvement on BSI exams by the APEP students were compared with that of non-APEP students in the same class and to those in the previous 3 yr. Student perceptions of the program were also evaluated via an online survey. The APEP was deemed effective in that a greater percentage of students were able to improve their exam scores and to a greater extent by attending the APEP sessions compared with non-APEP students in the same class and with low-performing students in previous years when the APEP did not exist. Furthermore, APEP students believed the program was effective in meeting its aims. In conclusion, the APEP was effective in improving academic performance of low-performing students in BSI.
Abstract
The Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research, a multi-university collaboration established by the state of Florida in the USA, hosted its third annual Cannabis Clinical ...Outcomes Research Conference (CCORC) in May 2023. CCORC was held as a hybrid conference, with a scientific program consisting of in-person sessions, with some sessions livestreamed to virtual attendees. CCORC facilitated and promoted up-to-date research on the clinical effects of medical cannabis, fostering collaboration and active involvement among scientists, policymakers, industry professionals, clinicians, and other stakeholders. Three themes emerged from conference sessions and speaker presentations: (1) disentangling conflicting evidence for the effects of medical cannabis on public health, (2) seeking solutions to address barriers faced when conducting clinical cannabis research – especially with medical cannabis use in special populations such as those who are pregnant, and (3) unpacking the data behind cannabis use and mental health outcomes. The fourth annual CCORC is planned for the summer of 2024 in Florida, USA.
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