Aversive Self-Focus and Alcohol Consumption Behavior in Women with Sexual Identity-Uncertainty: Changes in Salivary Cortisol Stress Response Among Those who Drink-to-Cope.

Background: Individuals who report sexual identity-uncertainty are at-risk for heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder symptomology. The current study examined the impact of states of aversive self-focus on subsequent consumption of ostensibly alcohol-containing beverages among a sample of women in early adulthood with varying levels of sexual identity-uncertainty (N = 75). Methods: Utilizing a 2 (self-focus: negative vs. neutral) × 2 (attribution for any psychological discomfort: external vs. none given) between-subjects design with 3 within-person assessments of salivary cortisol, both a moderation model and mixed-effects general linear model were tested. Results: States of aversive self-focus caused increases in overall consumption among women higher in sexual identity-uncertainty. Findings suggested consumption of ostensibly alcohol-containing beverages was more likely among women higher in sexual identity-uncertainty who also reported consuming beverages to cope with distress. Among women who reported higher levels of sexual identity-uncertainty and drinking-to-cope motives, salivary cortisol concentrations dampened more quickly over time, as they supposedly consumed alcohol. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that, among women reporting sexual identity-uncertainty who are motivated to consume alcohol to forget about troubles or worries, situations which evoke states of aversive self-focus may contribute to differences in alcohol consumption in early adulthood.

Come Out, Get Out: Relations Among Sexual Minority Identification, Microaggressions, and Retention in Higher Education.

Heterosexism, in the form of microaggressions, contributes to hostile, anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) college campus climates, thereby limiting sexual and gender minority students' social engagement and academic persistence. Using Tinto's model of institutional departure, we examined the degree to which experiencing microaggressions affects sexual minority college students' retention as a function of their feelings of discomfort in the classroom. Mediation analyses were performed on a subsample of data from 152 self-identified LGBTQ college students at a southern university in the United States to examine relations among experiences of self-reported microaggressions, self-rated classroom discomfort, and expressed intentions to transfer from the university. Self-reported discomfort in the classroom accounts for the relation between experiences of microaggressions and LGBTQ students' intentions to transfer from the university. Specifically, LGBTQ students who experienced microaggressions more often reported greater discomfort in their classrooms and reported fewer intentions to continue studying at their university. Universities should strive to implement campus-wide programs that help minimize microaggressions, encourage cultural competency and comfort in the classroom, and combat anti-LGBTQ prejudice to better support students in their day-to-day academic endeavors. LGBTQ students who feel safe and supported in the classroom may be protected from heterosexism and social isolation and, thereby, may be more likely to persevere in their academic pursuits.

Survival of clinical and poultry-derived isolates of Campylobacter jejuni at a low temperature (4 degrees C).

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans, and contamination of poultry has been implicated in illness. The bacteria are fastidious in terms of their temperature requirements, being unable to grow below ca. 31 degrees C, but have been found to be physiologically active at lower temperatures and to tolerate exposure to low temperatures in a strain-dependent manner. In this study, 19 field isolates of C. jejuni (10 of clinical and 9 of poultry origin) were studied for their ability to tolerate prolonged exposure to low temperature (4 degrees C). Although substantial variability was found among different strains, clinical isolates tended to be significantly more likely to remain viable following cold exposure than poultry-derived strains. In contrast, the relative degree of tolerance of the bacteria to freezing at -20 degrees C and freeze-thawing was strain specific but independent of strain source (poultry versus clinical) and degree of cold (4 degrees C) tolerance.