Creating a Queer Ontology: The Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation (GSSO) Ontology.

Cultural attitudes, linguistic variation, and historical pathology have led to a plethora of terms concerning gender, sex, and sexual orientation that have caused confusion and uneasiness among both lay people and relevant professionals. For members of the LGBTQIA+ community, these negative reactions are compounded by identities which have historically and contemporarily been mistreated by medical professionals. In an effort to provide a reliable resource for patients and clinicians, we have created the Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation (GSSO) ontology, which currently includes over 4,000 entities from multiple disciplines. The GSSO is a manually curated resource utilizing related glossaries from biology, medicine, psychology, sociology, and gender studies. With links to over 20 other ontology resources such as SNOMED-CT and MedDRA, the GSSO aims for accessibility and interoperability with existing systems. It is also open-source and features an easy-to-use web interface (https://github.com/Superraptor/GSSO). Future work involves multiple language support efforts and empirical evaluation.

Alcohol expectancies and social self-efficacy as mediators of differential intervention outcomes for college hazardous drinkers with social anxiety.

The current pilot study examined the roles of two cognitive factors - positive alcohol expectancies of social anxiety reduction and drink refusal self-efficacy relevant to social situations - in mediating greater reduction in alcohol behaviors by the Brief Intervention for Socially Anxious Drinkers (BISAD; n=21) compared to an alcohol psychoeducation (n=20) in a sample of college hazardous drinkers with social anxiety. Mediation analysis results indicated that decreased positive alcohol expectancies and increased drink refusal self-efficacy relevant to social situations accounted for an average of 67% of the variance in treatment outcomes as measured by total quantity of alcohol consumption, heavy drinking days and problems related to alcohol use in the past month. Study results may enhance the understanding of cognitive factors' role in alcohol treatment outcomes, which could in turn improve the efficacy of interventions aimed to reduce hazardous drinking and comorbid social anxiety.

Drinking refusal self-efficacy and tension-reduction alcohol expectancies moderating the relationship between generalized anxiety and drinking behaviors in young adult drinkers.

Despite the substantial comorbidity between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD), little is known about contributing factors to this relationship. This lack of knowledge has limited the development of theoretical models explicating the interesting yet complex relationship between GAD and AUD. The current study examined the roles of generalized anxiety, tension-reduction alcohol expectancies, and drinking refusal self-efficacy in accounting for the variance of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences in a sample of young adult drinkers (N = 474; 18-25 years of age, median age 19, 66% female) from a large, urban Midwestern university. Results showed that generalized anxiety level interacted with both tension-reduction alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy to predict alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Findings support the assessment of both alcohol-related consequences and alcohol consumption, and highlight the importance of drinking refusal self-efficacy, which is a currently underexamined variable. Study results also enhance the knowledge about the underlining mechanisms of GAD and AUD comorbidity, which facilitates the development of an empirically based theoretical paradigm for their relationship.

Combining motivational interviewing with compliance enhancement therapy (MI-CET): development and preliminary evaluation of a new, manual-guided psychosocial adjunct to alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: Psychosocial interventions that are practical, transportable, and effective in promoting treatment adherence and efficacy are greatly needed in both research and clinical settings involving alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy. In this article, we describe the development and preliminary evaluation of an integrative treatment blending motivational interviewing and compliance enhancement therapy (MI-CET) as a means of enhancing adherence and retention in an ongoing clinical trial. METHOD: Medication adherence, session attendance, and study completion rates were examined for 121 treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent adults participating in a randomized clinical trial of citalopram (n = 81) versus placebo (n = 40). All participants received the manual-guided MI-CET intervention as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy. Preliminary adherence and retention data for this trial were compared with data from prior studies involving treatment for alcohol dependence with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. RESULTS: High rates of medication adherence (79% of citalopram and 91% of placebo completers took > or = 80% of doses), session attendance (average of 90% for citalopram and 93% for placebo groups), and study completion (81% for citalopram and 88% for placebo groups) were obtained in the present study using MI-CET. These rates were at least comparable to or were, in some cases, 20%-30% higher than rates obtained in the comparison trials. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that MI-CET is feasible as a psychosocial adjunct to alcohol-dependence pharmacotherapy. Given its strengths as a clinical and research intervention (e.g., practicality, transportability), further evaluation of its efficacy is warranted.

Intimate partner violence experience and expectations among college women in dating relationships: implications for behavioral interventions.

Studies suggest that experience and expectations of intimate partner violence (IPV) among college women may be positively related. We investigated their association using modified versions of two standard measures: the Conflict Tactics Scale and the Multidimensional Emotional Abuse Scale. Five hundred and thirty-four college women completed each measure twice: once based on their partner's actual behaviors and once based on what they expected a male partner would do in a relationship. Results demonstrated that IPV experience and IPV expectations are significantly and positively related. Results also showed that respondents expected more IPV than they reportedly experienced, suggesting that college women may believe that IPV occurs more frequently in others' relationships than in their own. Findings suggest that behavioral interventions for IPV victims should address IPV expectations.

Alcohol expectancies and drinking motives in college drinkers: Mediating effects on the relationship between generalized anxiety and heavy drinking in negative-affect situations.

The current study tested the hypotheses that drinking to cope motives and alcohol expectancies of tension- and worry-reduction mediate the relationship between generalized anxiety (GA) and negative-affect heavy drinking in a cross-sectional sample of 782 college drinkers. As expected, structural equation modeling results indicated that alcohol expectancies mediated the relationship between GA and drinking to cope motives, and drinking to cope motives mediated the relationship between alcohol expectancies and heavy drinking in negative-affect situations. Unexpectedly, drinking to cope motives also mediated the relationship between GA and negative-affect heavy drinking. The model predicting negative-affect heavy drinking was tested in subsamples of 413 hazardous and 366 nonhazardous drinkers and did not differ structurally; however, omnibus measurement of model indirect effects was stronger for hazardous than nonhazardous drinkers. Finally, the results of a similar post-hoc model to predict general problem drinking support the specificity of the interrelationships among GA, cognitive mediators and to negative-affect drinking. These results inform cognitive-behavioral theories and interventions for comorbid GA and alcohol use problems.

Development and initial validation of the Worry-Reduction Alcohol Expectancy Scale.

Recent research on the relation between generalized anxiety and heavy drinking highlighted a need for a measure of worry-reduction alcohol expectancies. The current study aimed to develop and to assess the psychometric properties of the Worry-Reduction Alcohol Expectancy Scale. The development and initial validation of the WRAES occurred across two phases with two separate non-clinical undergraduate samples. Phase I was focused on scale construction and item selection, while Phase II included an assessment of the WRAES' reliability, validity and cross-validation of factor structure. Results from both study phases support a two-factor model. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was .96 and Pearson r test-retest reliability was .75. Additionally, the mean correlation between the WRAES and convergent measures was significantly higher than the mean correlation between the WRAES and discriminant measures. Overall, the results provide initial support for the WRAES as a measure of worry-reduction alcohol expectancies.

Does negative affect increase change readiness among college hazardous drinkers?

The Transtheoretical Stages of Change Model specifies that when the costs outweigh the benefits of substance abuse, the resulting discomfort can be a catalyst for change. The current study evaluated the roles of depression and anxiety in motivating readiness to change current drinking behaviors. Results from regression analyses of self-report data from 233 undergraduate hazardous drinkers indicated that higher levels of depression and anxiety were associated with elevated readiness to change. Additionally, study findings showed that when considered together, anxiety accounted for more of the individual differences in alcohol change readiness than depressive symptoms. Study results were discussed in the context of existing models of change readiness and implications for further research and clinical practice.

Effects of training intensity on observers' ratings of anxiety, social skills, and alcohol-specific coping skills.

Few studies have addressed the amount of training needed to obtain reliable ratings in behavioral observation data. The current study examined the effects of differing intensities of frame-of-reference (FOR) rater training on observers' ratings of anxiety, social skills, and alcohol-specific coping skills in community volunteers with and without social anxiety and alcohol use disorders. Interrater reliability was assessed by comparing three training conditions (no-training, moderate FOR, and intensive FOR) on discrepancies between raters'scores and the strength of association between raters'scoring patterns. The discrepancies between raters' scores were significantly larger in the control condition than in the intensive and moderate training conditions. Generally, small and nonsignificant differences were found between intensive and moderate training's discrepancy scores. Strength of association results showed significantly lower correlations in the control group compared to the intensive group. However, these correlational results showed less consistent differences between the moderate and other training conditions; differences when found were in the expected directions. Study findings suggest that differing training intensities can affect rating scores and that interrater reliability may be meaningfully assessed through multiple methods.

Correlates for posttraumatic stress disorder in Gulf War veterans: a retrospective study of main and moderating effects.

With a sample of 120 Gulf War veterans, the present study investigated the main effects of childhood and lifetime trauma, combat exposure, and coping strategies on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as combat exposure's moderating effects on the other variables' relationships with PTSD. Logistic regression results indicated correct classification of PTSD diagnosis for 88% of the participants, with combat exposure and avoidant coping making significant contributions to this classification. Multiple regression results indicated that lifetime trauma, combat exposure, and avoidant coping were strongly related to PTSD symptoms. Multiple regression results also revealed that combat exposure moderated the strength and direction of PTSD's relationships with childhood trauma and avoidant coping. Study findings have implications for longitudinal investigation of PTSD development and preventive interventions.

Bulimic symptoms and mood predict food relevant Stroop interference in women with troubled eating patterns.

Cognitive processing differences based on attentional biases of words pertaining to eating disorders were investigated to assess people's pathological thoughts. Participants were 165 undergraduate women (mean age=19.2) at a large Midwestern university. This Stroop task that included color identification of three word groups (food-related words, neutral words, and color words) was administered to measure differential speed in cognitive processing of salient words in individuals with and without troubled eating patterns. As predicted by the moderator hypothesis, a statistically significant interaction effect between bulimic symptoms and negative mood was found on food-related reaction time. Post hoc analysis of the interaction showed that women endorsing more bulimic symptoms responded slower to food-related cues than women with fewer bulimic symptoms among individuals who reported negative mood. The study results indicate that women who have problematic eating patterns and experience negative mood are hyperattentive to food-related cues.

Alcohol use, cognitive correlates of drinking and change readiness in hazardous drinkers with high versus low social anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: Prevalence data and theoretical models suggest that socially anxious individuals comprise a significant subset of college hazardous drinkers and may benefit from brief interventions for both alcohol and social anxiety problems. The present study compared hazardous drinkers who have high social anxiety (HD-HSA) with hazardous drinkers who have low social anxiety (HD-LSA) in drinking and psychological characteristics that may distinguish the two drinker groups and inform development of group-specific interventions. METHOD: After completing a self-report assessment battery, 152 hazardous drinkers (51% men, median age = 19) were selected from an undergraduate volunteer sample on the basis of their scores on an alcohol screen. HD-HSA (n = 76) and HD-LSA (n = 76) were hazardous drinkers who scored in the top third and the bottom third, respectively, of the volunteer sample on a social anxiety measure. RESULTS: HD-HSA reported greater expectancies that alcohol reduces social anxiety and lower alcohol refusal self-efficacy in social drinking situations than HD-LSA did. HD-HSA also tended to report more frequent heavy drinking in negative affect situations, but the groups did not differ in consumption quantity, heavy drinking in positive affect situations or hazardous drinking levels. HD-HSA reported greater interest in attending a social anxiety workshop and showed a trend towards having stronger interest in an alcohol workshop than HD-LSA did, although the sample's overall readiness to change alcohol behaviors was low. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings highlight the importance of situational specificity in alcohol assessment and suggest a need to develop group-specific interventions for college hazardous drinkers with high versus low social anxiety.

Day treatment for cocaine dependence: incremental utility over outpatient counseling and voucher incentives.

Urban, poor, crack cocaine-dependent clients were randomly assigned to outpatient addiction counseling (n=39) or day treatment (n=40). Participants in both conditions received equivalent individual cognitive-behavioral counseling and earned equivalent payment vouchers for providing cocaine-negative urine samples. However, day treatment participants attended significantly more psychoeducational and recreational groups and received two meals per day. Prior to random assignment, more participants expressed a preference for day treatment and participants were more likely to return for an initial appointment following assignment to day treatment. However, no significant between-groups differences in tenure or abstinence were detected during the 3-month course of treatment. These null findings were attributable to an absence of a dose-response effect for the group interventions in the day treatment condition. In addition, there may have been a ceiling effect from the vouchers, which masked the influence of the additional day treatment components.