Coexistence and concentrations of ethanol and diazepam in postmortem blood specimens: risk for enhanced toxicity?

Both ethanol and diazepam are classified as depressants of the central nervous system and exert their effects via the GABAA receptor complex. We report the coexistence and concentrations of ethanol, diazepam, and its primary metabolite nordiazepam in a case series of 234 forensic autopsies collected over a ten-year period. Diazepam, nordiazepam, and ethanol were determined in femoral venous blood by highly selective gas chromatographic methods. The mean (median) femoral blood concentrations were ethanol 0.24 g/100 mL (0.25 g/100 mL), diazepam (D) 0.23 microg/g (0.10 microg/g), nordiazepam (ND) 0.24 micro/g (0.20 microg/g), sum (D + ND) 0.43 microg/g (0.30 microg/g), and the ratio D/ND was 1.19 (1.0). When cause of death was attributed to alcohol and/or drug intoxication (N = 50), the mean and median blood-ethanol concentration was higher, being 0.36 g/100 mL and 0.38 g/100 mL, respectively, whereas the mean (median) and range of blood-diazepam concentrations were about the same, 0.23 microg/g (0.10 microg/g) and 0.05 to 1.2 microg/g. The femoral-blood concentrations of diazepam and nordiazepam were highly correlated (r = 0.73), but there was no correlation between the concentrations of ethanol and diazepam (r = -0.15). In another 114 fatalities (all causes of death) with diazepam and/or nordiazepam as the only drugs present, the mean (median) and range of blood-diazepam concentrations were 0.22 microg/g (0.10 microg/g) and 0.03 to 3.5 microg/g. The pathologists report showed that none of these deaths were classed as drug intoxications. The impression gleaned from this study of ethanol-diazepam deaths is that high blood-ethanol concentration is the major causative factor. We found no evidence that concurrent use of diazepam enhanced the acute toxicity of ethanol, although interpretation is complicated by the high blood-ethanol concentration (median 0.38 g/100 mL), making it difficult to discern an added effect of diazepam.     

The relationship between the quantity of alcohol consumed and the severity of sexual assaults committed by college men

Researchers have suggested that intoxicated perpetrators may act more violently than other perpetrators, although empirical findings have been mixed. Past research has focused on whether or not alcohol was consumed, rather than the quantity consumed, and this may explain these inconsistent findings. The authors hypothesized that the quantity of alcohol consumed would have a curvilinear relationship to the severity of the assault. Data were collected from 113 college men who reported that they had committed a sexual assault since the age of 14. The quantity of alcohol that perpetrators consumed during the assault was linearly related to how much aggression they used and was curvilinearly related to the type of sexual assault committed. The quantity of alcohol that victims consumed during the assault was linearly related to the type of sexual assault committed. Strategies for improving assessment of alcohol consumption in sexual assault research are discussed.     

The Responsible Party Government Model in House and Senate Elections

Responsible party government theory requires that voters hold parties electorally accountable for their performance in control of government. Existing literature suggests that voters do this only to a limited extent—holding the presidential party's candidates responsible for government performance on Election Day. While this method of voting may hold the executive accountable for his performance, it is not really an effective way to hold the party in control of Congress accountable for its performance. The method falls short particularly when Congress is controlled by a different party than the president, but also whenever a Congress controlled by the same party pursues policies different from the president's. Using surveys of voters leaving the polls in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 midterm congressional elections, this study tests whether voters' evaluations of Congress's job performance also affect their support for majority party candidates in House and Senate elections, during both unified and divided government .     

Peer Social Structure and Risk-Taking Behaviors Among African American Early Adolescents

This study investigated associations between peer status, peer group social influences, and risk-taking behaviors in an urban sample of 647 African American seventh-grade students. The highest rates of problem behaviors were seen in the controversial peer status group, or those youth who were both highly liked and highly disliked by other youth. Findings also revealed contrasting patterns of peer group leadership. The more conventional, positive leadership style predicted lower rates, and the less mainstream, unconventional style predicted higher rates of involvement in problem behaviors. Conventional leaders were most likely to be popular status youth, while unconventional leaders were mostly to be both controversial and popular status youth. Controversial status youth were also more likely to be involved in deviant peer groups. Results highlight the importance of controversial status students as key influence agents during early adolescence. We discuss the implications of these results for preventive interventions to reduce adolescent problem behaviors.