Health habits and depression in adolescence

In a study of the relationship between health habits and depression, 80 high school students, selected on an availability basis, were administered a Health Behaviors Questionnaire (HBQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The HBQ and the BDI significantly correlated (r=0.43p<0.01). Those who smoked were more frequently depressed than those who did not (X ²=10.5p<0.05), and those who used drugs other than marijuana were depressed more frequently than those who did not (X ²=9.2p<0.01). Mildly overweight boys (overweight by more than 5% of their ideal weight) and mildly under-weight boys (underweight by more than 5% of their ideal weight) were moreThis research was supported in part by a grant from the American Diabetes Association and by National institute of Health Grant MH 15529.Received his M.D. at George Washington School of Medicine. Major interest is interface of child psychiatry and pediatrics.Received his M.D. at Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York. Major interest is metabolic changes in adolescence.Received her M.A. from Queens College, New York. Major interest is measurement of human behavior.Received his M.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Major interest is adolescent sexuality.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from Hofstra University. Major interest is evaluation of clinical programs. depressed than boys of normal weight (p<0.02). The more pounds underweight the girls were, the more depressed they were (r=0.482, p<0.05). The closer the weight of a girl who perceived herself as overweight was to her ideal weight, the more depressed she was (r=–0.428,p<0.05).     

Dimensions of adolescent self-images

Using techniques derived from information theory, structural dimensions of adolescent self-images were studied. Within a sample of 58 adolescents, patients and normals, a variety of self-images were obtained using a specially designed Q-sort. The initial hypothesis predicted, on the basis of previous findings, that the idealized self-images would be more polarizedfor the patients. This hypothesis was only partiallyconfirmed. the self-idealization was significantly more polarized in the patient group. But the other two idealizations (those based on parental expectations) did not reflect a patient-normal difference. Rather, a significant three-way interaction of sex, age, and psychiatric status was found for these self-images, as well as for the current self-image. The consistent pattern in these three-way interactions was that late-adolescent boys polarized their self-images if they were in the normal group and had structurally complex (nonpolarized) self-images if they were in the patient group. The paper concludes by discussing the meaning of these findings. A framework for interpreting polarization is proposed and applied to the results. In addition, the notion of a Self-Image Profile is formulated and further elaborated. Finally, the relevance of these studies to other personality research and clinical observations is considered.This investigation was supported in part by a Research Scientist Development Award, Number K1-70-178, to S.T.H.Received M.A. in social anthropology from Harvard University and M.D. from Yale University. Candidate, Boston Psychoanalytic Institute, 1969-. Currently studying self-image and cognitive development in populations of normal and psychiatrically impaired adolescents, from individual and group perspectives.Received M.D. from the University of Chicago; attended the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute (1952–1954) and the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute (1954–1961). Presently on staff of Washington School of Psychiatry and Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. Major research interests are adolescence and the family and psychoanalytic-oriented treatment in conjunction with a ward or in-patient milieu therapy. Specific interest is identity formation of adolescence.     

Evaluation of the Cozart RapiScan drug test system for opiates and cocaine in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Cozart RapiScan (CRS) drug test system for detecting opiates and cocaine in oral fluid. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan collection system from 358 donors who were receiving treatment for their addiction and were monitored for drug misuse. A further 103 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory using the two-panel Cozart RapiScan cartridge for opiates and cocaine and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen at -20 degrees C until analysis by GC-MS. The overall accuracy of the CRS for both opiates and cocaine was 100%. Samples spiked at 50% above and below the cut-off consistently gave negative and positive results respectively. A total of 88 samples were positive for various opiates and 111 samples were positive for cocaine and/or its metabolites. The CRS for opiates and cocaine in oral fluid, using a cut-off of 30 ng/mL morphine or benzoylecgonine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had overall efficiencies of 98% and 99%, respectively, versus GC-MS. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

Validation of the Cozart microplate EIA for analysis of opiates in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance characteristics of the Cozart microplate EIA for detecting opiates in oral fluid from patients in a drug misuse treatment program. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan Collection System from 216 donors who were receiving treatment for their addiction and were monitored for drug abuse. A further 40 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory by using the Cozart microplate EIA for opiates and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen until analysis by GC-MS. The intra-assay precision for the Cozart microplate oral fluid EIA for opiates over 40 assays was 0.43% to 9.13% CV (within assay) and 2.9% to 9.1% CV (within day). A total of 109 samples were positive for various opiates. The Cozart microplate EIA for opiates in oral fluid, using a cut-off of 30 ng/ml morphine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had a sensitivity of 99.1 +/- 2.1% and a specificity of 94.4 +/- 2.2% versus GC-MS. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

Identity Orientation, Voice, and Judgments of Procedural Justice During Late Adolescence

This study focused on the relationship between voice and judgments of procedural justice in a sample of older adolescents and examined potential moderating and mediating influences of identity orientation (personal, social, and collective) and negative emotional response. Participants read 1 of 2 different family conflict scenarios (voice and no voice) asking them to imagine themselves in a disagreement with their parents over grades and financial support. In the voice condition, parents were described as making their decision after listening to the participant’s input. In the no voice condition, parents were described as making their decision without listening to the participant’s input. The adolescents then judged the fairness of the parental decisions and responded to questions concerning their identity orientation. Findings indicate that in addition to replicating the effect of voice in a novel context, the present investigation found moderating effects of personal identity orientation on procedural fairness judgments. Additionally, negative emotional response partially mediated the relationship between voice and global judgments of procedural fairness.Mark R. Fondacaro is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of the Levin College of Law Center on Children and Families at the University of Florida. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Indiana University and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. His major research interests are ecological jurisprudence and the conceptualization and assessment of procedural justice in legal and extra-legal contexts including the family and the juvenile justice and health care systems.Eve M. Brank is an Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of Florida. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology and her J.D. from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her major research interests are parental responsibility laws and juvenile law issues.Jennifer Stuart is a graduate student in counseling psychology at the University of Florida. Her major research interests are adolescent development and delinquency prevention.Sara Villanueva-Abraham received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Florida. Her major research interests are adolescent development and parent-child relationships.Jennifer Luescher is a Forensic Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She received her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Florida. Her major research interests are in the areas of procedural justice, risk assessment and risk management, and mental health and juvenile justice policy.Penny S. McNatt is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Florida. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Florida. Her major research interests are in the area of intergroup relations.