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Expectancy
Kinds of Expectancy Terms modified by Expectancy Selected AbstractsENDOGENOUS HEALTH CARE, LIFE EXPECTANCY AND ECONOMIC GROWTHPACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Michael C. M. Leung We study the endogenous relationship between health care, life expectancy and output in a neoclassical growth model. Although health care directly diverts resources away from goods production, it prolongs life expectancy, which in turn leads to higher savings and, hence, capital formation through a private annuity market. We show that savings and health care are complements in equilibrium, with both rising with economic development. Our model is therefore consistent with several observed stylized development patterns across countries. Moreover, through the longevity-enhancing channel, health care and health production technology are found by simulation to be growth and welfare promoting. [source] The effects of alcohol expectancies on drinking behaviour in peer groups: observations in a naturalistic settingADDICTION, Issue 9 2005Sander M. Bot ABSTRACT Aims To study the functionality of alcohol expectancies in predicting drinking behaviour in existing peer groups of young adults in a ,naturalistic' setting. Design and setting Young adults were invited to join an experiment with their peer group in a bar annex laboratory. During a ,break' of 50 minutes in this experiment, their activities, social behaviour and drinking behaviour were observed with digital video and audio equipment. Participants Twenty-eight peer groups were involved in this study. A peer group consisted of seven to nine people, with relationships ranging from intimate relations and close friendships to being acquaintances. A total of 238 participants were involved. Measurements Information of the drinking behaviour from observations and questionnaire data on alcohol expectancies provide the opportunity to look at how and which expectancies are related to actual drinking patterns. Multiple regression and multi-level analyses were applied. Findings Expectancies on the positive and arousing effects of alcohol consumption were related to alcohol consumption in a naturalistic, social drinking situation, in addition to group effects of drinking. Expectancies on the negative and sedative effects of drinking, however, were not related to drinking. Conclusions The findings indicate that among young adults observed in a peer group and naturalistic drinking setting, positive expectancies about the effects of alcohol and expectancies about the effects of alcohol on arousal are related positively to drinking level. [source] Patients' health beliefs and coping prior to autologous peripheral stem cell transplantationEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 2 2007E. FRICK md The aim of this study was to determine the associations between health locus of control (LoC), causal attributions and coping in tumour patients prior to autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Patients completed the Questionnaire of Health Related Control Expectancies, the Questionnaire of Personal Illness Causes (QPIC), and the Freiburg Questionnaire of Coping with Illness. A total of 126 patients (45% women; 54% suffering from a multiple myeloma, 29% from non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and 17% from other malignancies) participated in the study. Cluster analysis yielded four LoC clusters: ,fatalistic external', ,powerful others', ,yeah-sayer' and ,double external'. Self-blaming QPIC items were positively correlated with depressive coping, and ,fate or destiny' attributions with religious coping (P < 0.001). The highest scores were found for ,active coping' in the LoC clusters ,powerful others' and ,yeah-sayer'. External LoC and an active coping style prevail before undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, whereas the depressive coping is less frequent, associated with self-blaming causal attributions. Health beliefs include causal and control attributions, which can improve or impair the patient's adjustment. A mixture between internal and external attributions seems to be most adaptive. [source] The Influence of Fear of AIDS and Expectancies About Employees With AIDS on the Decision to Fire Employees With AIDSJOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006Michael J. Vest This research investigated the relationship of managers' fear of AIDS and expectancies about employees with AIDS (EWAs; e.g., managers' beliefs about EWAs' ability to perform the job) to the likelihood of firing EWAs. In addition, the relationship of fear of AIDS to expectancies about EWAs also was assessed. Path analysis was used to test the proposed relationships using a sample of 194 managers. Fear of AIDS and expectancies about disruptions in the workplace and reductions in revenue were related significantly to likelihood of firing EWAs. Fear of AIDS also was related significantly to expectancies about disruptions in the workplace, reduced revenue, and increased insurance costs. Suggestions for future research, implications, and study limitations are discussed. [source] Coping-related Expectancies and Dispositions as Prospective Predictors of Coping Responses and SymptomsJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 4 2000Salvatore J. Catanzaro We used Rotter's (1954, 1982) social learning theory and Kirsch's (1985, 1999) response expectancy extension thereof to clarify distinctions between coping-related expectancies (beliefs about the outcomes of coping efforts) and coping dispositions (tendencies to use particular coping responses), specifically focusing on the role of generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation (NMR) as a predictor of individual differences in coping and well-being. Two studies using structural equation modeling provided support for direct and indirect associations between NMR expectancies and symptoms of depression. In Study 1 NMR expectancies predicted situational avoidance coping responses and symptoms of depression and anxiety, independent of dispositional avoidance coping tendencies. In Study 2, NMR expectancies were associated with depressive symptoms, concurrently and prospectively, independent of dispositional optimism and pessimism. Both studies indicated that NMR expectancies are more strongly associated with depressive symptoms than with symptoms of anxiety and physical illness. Results underscore the importance of distinguishing between expectancies and other personality variables related to coping. [source] Alcohol Expectancies and Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Mediate the Association of Impulsivity With Alcohol MisuseALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010Matthew J. Gullo Background:, Recent work suggests that 2 biologically based traits convey risk for alcohol misuse: reward sensitivity/drive and (rash) impulsiveness. However, the cognitive mechanisms through which these traits convey risk are unclear. This study tested a model predicting that the risk conveyed by reward sensitivity is mediated by a learning bias for the reinforcing outcomes of alcohol consumption (i.e., positive alcohol expectancy). The model also proposed that the risk conveyed by rash impulsiveness (RI) is mediated by drinkers' perceived ability to resist alcohol (i.e., drinking refusal self-efficacy). Methods:, Study 1 tested the model in a sample of young adults (n = 342). Study 2 tested the model in a sample of treatment-seeking substance abusers (n = 121). All participants completed a battery of personality, cognitive, and alcohol use questionnaires and models were tested using structural equation modeling. Results:, In both studies, the hypothesized model was found to provide a good fit to the data, and a better fit than alternative models. In both young adults and treatment-seeking individuals, positive alcohol expectancy fully mediated the association between reward sensitivity and hazardous alcohol use. For treatment seekers, drinking refusal self-efficacy fully mediated the association between RI and hazardous drinking. However, there was partial mediation in the young adult sample. Furthermore, neither trait was directly associated with the other cognitive mediator. Conclusions:, The hypothesized model was confirmed on a large sample of young adults and replicated on a sample of treatment-seeking substance abusers. Taken together, these findings shed further light on the mechanisms through which an impulsive temperament may convey risk for alcohol misuse. [source] Paradoxical Effects of Alcohol Information on Alcohol Outcome ExpectanciesALCOHOLISM, Issue 7 2010Marvin D. Krank Background:, Cognitive associations with alcohol predict both current and future use in youth and young adults. Much cognitive and social cognitive research suggests that exposure to information may have unconscious influences on thinking and behavior. The present study assessed the impact of information statements on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. Methods:, The 2 studies reported here investigated the effects of exposure to alcohol statements typical of informational approaches to prevention on the accessibility of alcohol outcome expectancies. High school and university students were presented with information statements about the effects of alcohol and other commercial products. The alcohol statements were taken from expectancy questionnaires. Some of these statements were presented as facts and others as myths. The retention of detailed information about these statements was manipulated by (i) divided attention versus focused attention or (ii) immediate versus delayed testing. Accessibility of personal alcohol outcome expectancies was subsequently measured using an open-ended question about the expected effects of alcohol. Results:, Participants reported more alcohol outcomes seen during the information task as personal expectations about the effects of alcohol use than similar unseen items. Paradoxically, myth statements were also more likely to be reported as expectancies than unseen items in all conditions. Additionally, myth statements were generated less often than fact statements only under the condition of immediate testing with strong content processing instructions. Conclusions:, These observations are consistent with findings from cognitive research where familiarity in the absence of explicit memory can have an unconscious influence on performance. In particular, the exposure to these items in an informational format increases accessibility of the seen items even when the participants were told that they were myths. The findings have implications for the development of effective prevention materials. [source] The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Predictors of Alcohol Attitudes and Expectancies in Hispanic National GroupsALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2010Britain A. Mills Background:, Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans. Methods:, The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables. Results:, Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes. Conclusions:, Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them. [source] Projected Alcohol Dose Influences on the Activation of Alcohol Expectancies in College DrinkersALCOHOLISM, Issue 7 2009Jennifer P. Read Background:, Alcohol expectancies have been linked to drinking behavior in college students, and vary according to a number of factors, including projected dose of alcohol. Research using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) suggests that drinking may be influenced by activation of differing expectancy dimensions in memory, yet studies have not examined expectancy activation according to projected alcohol doses. Methods:, The present study used Individual Differences Scaling (INDSCAL) to map expectancy networks of college students (n = 334) who imagined varied drinking at high and low alcohol doses. Expectancy activation was modeled by dose, as well as by gender and by drinking patterns (typical quantity, blood alcohol content, heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol consequences). Expectancies were organized along positive,negative and arousal,sedation dimensions. Anticipation of a high dose of alcohol was associated with greater emphasis on the arousal,sedation dimension, whereas anticipation of a lower dose was associated with greater emphasis on the positive,negative dimension. Results:, Across heavy, medium, and light drinkers, expectancy dimensions were most distinguishable at higher doses; activation patterns were more similar across drinking groups at lighter doses. Modest evidence for the influence of gender on activation patterns was observed. Findings were consistent across alcohol involvement indices. Conclusions:, These data suggest that both dimensionality and context should be considered in the refinement of interventions designed to alter expectancies in order to decrease hazardous drinking. [source] Outcome Expectancies and Risk Behaviors in Maltreated AdolescentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 2 2006Patrick Nickoletti This study examined positive and negative outcome expectancies for risk behaviors, and their association with engagement in risk behaviors, in a sample of 149 maltreated adolescents. "Outcome Expectancies" are evaluative social cognitions about what will occur as a consequence of one's actions. Risk behaviors and outcome expectancies for substance use, sexual behavior, and delinquency were assessed. In all regression models, positive expectancies were significantly related to risk behaviors while negative expectancies, with one exception, were not significantly related. In three of four regression models, significant interactions were found between positive and negative expectancies in predicting risk behaviors. The nature of the interaction differed by type of risk behavior. Beyond demonstrating associations between outcome expectancies and risk behaviors in a maltreated sample, this paper contributes to the study of social information processing by demonstrating significant interactions between positive and negative expectancies. [source] ALDH2 Status, Alcohol Expectancies, and Alcohol Response: Preliminary Evidence for a Mediation ModelALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2001Denis M. McCarthy Background: A genetic variant in the alcohol-metabolizing enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenase;ALDH2*2 allele), common in individuals of Asian heritage, has been associated with both physiologic response to alcohol and alcohol consumption. Prior research has also demonstrated that those with ALDH2*2 alleles have lower positive alcohol expectancies than those without these alleles. This preliminary study was designed to test whether the level of response to alcohol is the mechanism by which ALDH2 status may affect alcohol expectancies. Methods: Data were collected from 32 Asian American college students (14 women and 18 men). By use of a randomized, double-blind design, participants were administered oral placebo and alcohol at separate laboratory sessions. Data included blood tests to establish ALDH2 status, questionnaire measures of demographic information and alcohol expectancy, and several physiologic measures collected after placebo and alcohol administration. Results: ALDH2 status was related to alcohol response measures for both men and women. ALDH2 status was also related to tension reduction expectancies for women and to expectancies for cognitive behavioral impairment for men. In the male sample, the ALDH2/expectancy relationship was fully explained by the level of response to alcohol. Conclusions: These results represent a first step in understanding the mechanisms by which genetic factors, such as ALDH2 status, can affect alcohol-related learning. [source] Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern CaliforniaPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Rubén G. Rumbaut First page of article [source] The Role of Maternal Affect Mirroring on Social Expectancies in Three-Month-Old InfantsCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2001Maria Legerstee The role of maternal affect mirroring on the development of prosocial behaviors and social expectancies was assessed in forty-one 2- to 3-month-old infants. Prosocial behavior was characterized as infants' positive behavior and increased attention toward their mothers. Social expectancies were defined as infants' expectancy for affective sharing. Mothers and infants were observed twice, approximately 1 week apart. During Visit 1, mothers and infants were videotaped while interacting over television monitors for 3 min. During Visit 2, infants engaged in a live, 3-min interaction with their mothers over television monitors (live condition) and they also viewed a replay of their mothers' interaction from the preceding week (replay condition). The order of conditions was counterbalanced. Maternal affect mirroring was measured according to the level of attention maintenance, warm sensitivity, and social responsiveness displayed. A natural split was observed with 58% of the mothers ranking high and 42% ranking low on these affect mirroring measures (HAM and LAM, respectively). Infants in the HAM group ranked high on prosocial behaviors and social expectancy , they discriminated between live and replay, conditions with smiles, vocalizations, and gazes. Infants in the LAM group ranked low on these variables , they gazed longer during the live condition than during the replay condition, but only when the live condition was presented first; however, they did not smile or vocalize more. These findings indicate that there is a relation between affect mirroring and social expectancies in infants. [source] The influence of cultural orientation, alcohol expectancies and self-efficacy on adolescent drinking behavior in BeijingADDICTION, Issue 9 2010Duane F. Shell ABSTRACT Objective We hypothesized that the drinking behavior of adolescents in China is influenced by expectancies and self-efficacy and that adolescents' cultural orientation towards western versus traditional Chinese values influences expectancies, self-efficacy and drinking behavior, with western values leading to more dysfunctional patterns of beliefs and drinking, and that these beliefs are influenced by students' gender and school environment. Methods A total of 1020 high school students from Beijing completed the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy, the Chinese Cultural Orientation and the Chinese Self-regulation Self-efficacy questionnaires. Results Results generally confirmed our hypotheses. Higher negative expectancies and higher self-efficacy reduced the likelihood of drinking significantly. Higher positive expectancies increased the likelihood of regular drinking but not occasional drinking. Having western cultural orientation increased the likelihood of drinking. Higher levels of western cultural orientation also increased positive expectancies, lowered negative expectancies and lowered self-efficacy. Having more western (less traditional) views towards traditional Chinese values decreased positive and negative expectancies. Gender influenced beliefs, with males having higher positive and lower negative expectancies, lower self-efficacy and more traditional cultural orientation. Students in key and general schools had less traditional cultural orientation and key school students had higher self-efficacy. Conclusions Results indicate that cultural orientation influences adolescent drinking and this influence is mediated partially through cultural orientation influences on adolescent drinking expectancies and self-efficacy. Having more western and less traditional Chinese cultural orientation leads to more drinking, lower self-efficacy for regulating drinking and more risk-promoting alcohol expectancies. [source] Holding onto power: effects of powerholders' positional instability and expectancies on interactions with subordinatesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2006John Georgesen This study explores the effects of power, positional threat, and expectancies on interactions between powerholders and subordinates. Two hundred and forty-two participants were randomly assigned to power role (boss or employee). Bosses were further randomly assigned to levels of positional threat (power role secure or insecure) and expectancy regarding subordinates' problem-solving ability (negative or positive). Evidence for a self-fulfilling prophecy was obtained, such that dyads where bosses held negative expectancies of their subordinates rated the subordinate and experience most negatively and awarded less potential prize money to the subordinates. Expectancy interacted with positional threat in a consistent manner such that the most negative effects were obtained for dyads where bosses were both positionally threatened and held negative expectancies of subordinates. Implications for theories of power are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Impact of late-life self-reported emotional problems on Disability-Free Life Expectancy: results from the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing StudyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 6 2008Karine Pérès Abstract Objectives Depression in old age is a major public health problem though its relationship to onset of disability and death is not well understood. We aim to quantify the impact of late-life self-reported depression and emotional problems on both the length and quality of remaining life. Methods Longitudinal analysis of 11,022 individuals from the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS), multi-centre longitudinal study on ageing in individuals age 65 years and older living in England and Wales. Individuals have been followed at intermittent time intervals over 10 years. Subjects reporting at baseline that they had consulted about emotional problems for the first time since the age of 60 years were considered, along with a subgroup where a GP suggested depression. Disability was defined as an IADL or ADL disability that required help at least once a week. Total and Disability-Free Life Expectancy (TLE and DFLE) were calculated using multi-state models, separately by gender, and with presence of emotional problems/depression and multimorbidity as covariates. Results Emotional problems had a greater impact on DFLE than TLE, reducing DFLE by 1.8 years, but TLE by only 0.5 years at age 65 with the effect increasing with age. The effect was most marked in older people reporting other co-morbidities where emotional problems in addition resulted in a reduction of 0.9 years in total and 2.6 years disability-free. Conclusions Although emotional problems were only self-reported, these results highlight the burden of late-life depression on the quality of remaining years of life. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Weight, Mortality, Years of Healthy Life, and Active Life Expectancy in Older AdultsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008Paula Diehr PhD OBJECTIVES: To determine whether weight categories predict subsequent mortality and morbidity in older adults. DESIGN: Multistate life tables, using data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal population-based cohort of older adults. SETTING: Data were provided by community-dwelling seniors in four U.S. counties: Forsyth County, North Carolina; Sacramento County, California; Washington County, Maryland; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Five thousand eight hundred eighty-eight adults aged 65 and older at baseline. MEASUREMENTS: The age- and sex-specific probabilities of transition from one health state to another and from one weight category to another were estimated. From these probabilities, future life expectancy, years of healthy life, active life expectancy, and the number of years spent in each weight and health category after age 65 were estimated. RESULTS: Women who are healthy and of normal weight at age 65 have a life expectancy of 22.1 years. Of that, they spend, on average, 9.6 years as overweight or obese and 5.3 years in fair or poor health. For both men and women, being underweight at age 65 was associated with worse outcomes than being normal weight, whereas being overweight or obese was rarely associated with worse outcomes than being normal weight and was sometimes associated with significantly better outcomes. CONCLUSION: Similar to middle-aged populations, older adults are likely to be or to become overweight or obese, but higher weight is not associated with worse health in this age group. Thus, the number of older adults at a "healthy" weight may be much higher than currently believed. [source] Mortality and Life Expectancy in Dutch Residential Centres for Individuals with Intellectual Disability, 1991,1995JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3 2002Marian A. Maaskant Background Several studies showed that the individuals with intellectual disability have a shorter life expectancy than their intellectually average peers. To gain insight in the present life expectancy of people with intellectual disability, a study with recent data was performed. Methods We used data of the National Case Register (LRZ) with data of almost all residents of residential centres in the Netherlands for the period 1991,1995 (N = 29 290). Approximately 40% of all people with intellectual disability in the Netherlands reside in such centres. Results Results showed that 5-year-old people with intellectual disability in Dutch residential centres have a life expectancy of 41 years. The life expectancy of their peers with Down's syndrome in the centres is 46. At the age of 30 years, the respective figures are 36 and 26 years. No statistically significant differences in mortality were found between women and men and between levels of intellectual disability. Conclusions Due to prolonged longevity, the client population in residential centres will continue to age and thus the numbers of older individuals will increase. This ageing process has implications for the care for elderly individuals, because they need other care than before due to physical, psychological and social changes and spiritual challenges. [source] Scaling and Testing Multiplicative Combinations in the Expectancy,Value Model of AttitudesJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2008Icek Ajzen This article examines the multiplicative combination of belief strength by outcome evaluation in the expectancy,value model of attitudes. Because linear transformation of a belief strength measure results in a nonlinear transformation of its product with outcome evaluation, use of unipolar or bipolar scoring must be empirically justified. Also, the claim that the Belief × Evaluation product fails to explain significant variance in attitudes is found to be baseless. In regression analyses, the main effect of belief strength takes account of the outcome's valence, and the main effect of outcome evaluation incorporates the outcome's perceived likelihood. Simulated data showed that multiplication adds substantially to the prediction of attitudes only when belief and evaluation measures cover the full range of potential scores. [source] Placebo psychotherapy: Synonym or oxymoron?JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2005Irving Kirsch Contrary to some recent claims, the placebo effect is real and in some cases very substantial. Placebo effects can be produced or enhanced by classical conditioning, but consistent with virtually all contemporary conditioning theories, these effects are generally mediated by expectancy. Expectancy can also produce placebo effects that are inconsistent with conditioning history. Although expectancy also plays an important role in psychotherapy outcome, the logic of placebo-controlled trials does not map well onto psychotherapy research. The idea of evaluating the efficacy of psychotherapy by controlling for nonspecific or placebo factors is based on a flawed analogy and should be abandoned. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 61: 791,803, 2005. [source] Expectancy and Risk for Alcoholism: The Unfortunate Exploitation of a Fundamental Characteristic of Neurobehavioral AdaptationALCOHOLISM, Issue 5 2002Mark S. Goldman Psychological investigations of alcohol expectancies over the last 20 years, using primarily verbal techniques, have strongly supported expectancies as an important mediator of biological and environmental antecedent variables that influence risk for alcohol use and abuse. At the same time, rapid developments in neuroscience, cognitive science, affective science, computer science, and genetics proved to be compatible with the concept of expectancy and, in some cases, used this concept directly. By using four principles that bear on the integration of knowledge in the biological and behavioral sciences,consilience, conservation, contingency, and emergence,these developments are merged into an integrated explanation of alcoholism and other addictions. In this framework, expectancy is seen as a functional approach to adaptation and survival that has been manifested in multiple biological systems with different structures and processes. Understood in this context, addiction is not a unique behavioral problem or special pathology distinct from the neurobehavioral substrate that governs all behavior, but is rather a natural (albeit unfortunate) consequence of these same processes. The ultimate intent is to weave a working heuristic that ties together findings from molecular and molar levels of inquiry and thereby might help direct future research. Such integration is critical in the multifaceted study of addictions. [source] The Ethics of Life ExpectancyBIOETHICS, Issue 4 2002Robin Small Some ethical dilemmas in health care, such as over the use of age as a criterion of patient selection, appeal to the notion of life expectancy. However, some features of this concept have not been discussed. Here I look in turn at two aspects: one positive , our expectation of further life , and the other negative , the loss of potential life brought about by death. The most common method of determining this loss, by counting only the period of time between death and some particular age, implies that those who die at ages not far from that one are regarded as losing very little potential life, while those who die at greater ages are regarded as losing none at all. This approach has methodological advantages but ethical disadvantages, in that it fails to correspond to our strong belief that anyone who dies is losing some period of life that he or she would otherwise have had. The normative role of life expectancy expressed in the ,fair innings' attitude arises from a particular historical situation: not the increase of life expectancy in modern societies, but a related narrowing in the distribution of projected life spans. Since life expectancy is really a representation of existing patterns of mortality, which in turn are determined by many influences, including the present allocation of health resources, it should not be taken as a prediction, and still less as a statement of entitlement. [source] Alcohol expectancies in convicted rapists and child molestersCRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2001Anu S. Aromäki PhD Background Previous findings suggest that cognitive factors and expectancies related to drinking can mediate subjective sexual arousal as well as aggression in men. Our aim was to investigate the drinking habits and alcohol-related expectancies that might predispose men to sexually aggress in two groups of sexual offenders. Method Men convicted of rape (n = 10) were compared with men convicted of child molesting (n = 10) and with control subjects (n = 31). Current drinking habits (while not in prison) were assessed by self-report, and the extent of alcohol abuse was mapped by the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST; Selzer, 1971). Cognitive expectancies related to alcohol use were explored by the standard Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ; Brown et al., 1980). Results The majority of the men who committed rape (70%) but only a third of the men convicted of child molesting were diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Alcohol abuse was common in men convicted of both rape and child molesting and the men convicted of rape expected significantly more positive effects from drinking than the control group. Both sex offender groups were the only groups to express significant alcohol-related cognitive expectancies linked to arousal and aggression. Expectancy patterns were directly linked to the antisocial personality characteristics. Conclusion Alcohol abuse is common in men who commit both rape and child molesting. Heavy drinking and the anticipation of alcohol effects such as sexual enhancement, arousal and aggression may facilitate sexual aggression in offenders with antisocial personality disorder. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] The relationship of behavioural undercontrol to alcoholism in higher-functioning adultsDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 5 2006MARC A. SCHUCKIT Abstract Externalising behaviours, including the personality characteristics of behavioural undercontrol (BU), represent one of several genetically influenced domains that impact on the alcoholism risk. Because genes explain only about 60% of the vulnerability toward alcohol use disorders (AUDs), an optimal understanding of how such behaviours affect the risk requires evaluation of their impact in the context of additional influences. Few studies have addressed this question regarding BU among relatively well-functioning adults. This paper presents results from testing a BU-based mediational model of risk in men from the San Diego Prospective Study. Structured research instruments were used with 430 adult Caucasian males to evaluate the performance of BU in predicting AUDs at the 15-year follow-up using Pearson product-moment correlations among domains and an AMOS-based structural equation model (SEM). While both the family history of AUDs (FHalc) and BU predicted alcohol-related outcome, BU by itself did not mediate the relationship of the FH to alcohol disorders. The impact of BU on alcohol problems was mediated by alcohol expectancies, peer drinking and by coping. The SEM explained 42% of the variance for AUDs. The current results indicate that BU contributed to the risk for alcohol-related problems, even among more highly functional subjects and after excluding the impact of the antisocial personality disorder, but by itself did not mediate the relationship of FH to outcome in these subjects. [source] The influence of cultural orientation, alcohol expectancies and self-efficacy on adolescent drinking behavior in BeijingADDICTION, Issue 9 2010Duane F. Shell ABSTRACT Objective We hypothesized that the drinking behavior of adolescents in China is influenced by expectancies and self-efficacy and that adolescents' cultural orientation towards western versus traditional Chinese values influences expectancies, self-efficacy and drinking behavior, with western values leading to more dysfunctional patterns of beliefs and drinking, and that these beliefs are influenced by students' gender and school environment. Methods A total of 1020 high school students from Beijing completed the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy, the Chinese Cultural Orientation and the Chinese Self-regulation Self-efficacy questionnaires. Results Results generally confirmed our hypotheses. Higher negative expectancies and higher self-efficacy reduced the likelihood of drinking significantly. Higher positive expectancies increased the likelihood of regular drinking but not occasional drinking. Having western cultural orientation increased the likelihood of drinking. Higher levels of western cultural orientation also increased positive expectancies, lowered negative expectancies and lowered self-efficacy. Having more western (less traditional) views towards traditional Chinese values decreased positive and negative expectancies. Gender influenced beliefs, with males having higher positive and lower negative expectancies, lower self-efficacy and more traditional cultural orientation. Students in key and general schools had less traditional cultural orientation and key school students had higher self-efficacy. Conclusions Results indicate that cultural orientation influences adolescent drinking and this influence is mediated partially through cultural orientation influences on adolescent drinking expectancies and self-efficacy. Having more western and less traditional Chinese cultural orientation leads to more drinking, lower self-efficacy for regulating drinking and more risk-promoting alcohol expectancies. [source] Internet-based prevention for alcohol and cannabis use: final results of the Climate Schools courseADDICTION, Issue 4 2010Nicola C. Newton ABSTRACT Aims To establish the long-term efficacy of a universal internet-based alcohol and cannabis prevention programme in schools. Methods A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course. The evidence-based course, aimed at reducing alcohol and cannabis use, is facilitated by the internet and consists of 12 novel and curriculum consistent lessons delivered over 6 months. Participants A total of 764 year 8 students (13 years) from 10 Australian secondary schools were allocated randomly to the internet-based prevention programme (n = 397, five schools), or to their usual health classes (n = 367, five schools). Measures Participants were assessed at baseline, immediately post, and 6 and 12 months following completion of the intervention, on measures of alcohol and cannabis knowledge, attitudes, use and related harms. Results This paper reports the final results of the intervention trial, 12 months following the completion of the Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course. The effectiveness of the course 6 months following the intervention has been reported previously. At the 12-month follow-up, compared to the control group, students in the intervention group showed significant improvements in alcohol and cannabis knowledge, a reduction in average weekly alcohol consumption and a reduction in frequency of drinking to excess. No differences between groups were found on alcohol expectancies, cannabis attitudes or alcohol- and cannabis-related harms. The course was found to be acceptable by teachers and students as a means of delivering drug education in schools. Conclusions Internet-based prevention programs for school-age children can improve student's knowledge about alcohol and cannabis, and may also reduce alcohol use twelve months after completion. [source] The natural history of quitting smoking: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country SurveyADDICTION, Issue 12 2009Natalie Herd ABSTRACT Aims To describe the long-term natural history of a range of potential determinants of relapse from quitting smoking. Design, setting and participants A survey of 2502 ex-smokers of varying lengths of time quit recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States) across five annual waves of surveying. Measurements Quitters were interviewed by telephone at varying durations of abstinence, ranging from 1 to 1472 days (about 4 years) post-quitting. Smoking-related beliefs and experiences (i.e. urges to smoke; outcome expectancies of smoking and quitting; and abstinence self-efficacy) were included in the survey. Findings Most theorized determinants of relapse changed over time in a manner theoretically associated with reduced risk of relapse, except most notably the belief that smoking controls weight, which strengthened. Change in these determinants changed at different rates: from a rapidly asymptoting log function to a less rapidly asymptoting square-root function. Conclusions Variation in patterns of change across time suggests that the relative importance of each factor to maintaining abstinence may similarly vary. [source] Predictors of smoking relapse by duration of abstinence: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country SurveyADDICTION, Issue 12 2009Natalie Herd ABSTRACT Aim To explore predictors of smoking relapse and how predictors vary according to duration of abstinence. Design, setting and participants A longitudinal survey of 1296 ex-smokers recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States). Measurements Quitters were interviewed by telephone at varying durations of abstinence (from 1 day to approximately 3 years) and then followed-up approximately 1 year later. Theorized predictors of relapse (i.e. urges to smoke; outcome expectancies of smoking and quitting; and abstinence self-efficacy) and nicotine dependence were measured in the survey. Findings Relapse was associated with lower abstinence self-efficacy and a higher frequency of urges to smoke, but only after the first month or so of quitting. Both these measures mediated relationships between perceived benefits of smoking and relapse. Perceived costs of smoking and benefits of quitting were unrelated to relapse. Conclusions Challenging perceived benefits of smoking may be an effective way to increase abstinence self-efficacy and reduce frequency of urges to smoke (particularly after the initial weeks of quitting), in order to reduce subsequent relapse risk. [source] Emphasizing interpersonal factors: an extension of the Witkiewitz and Marlatt relapse modelADDICTION, Issue 8 2009Dorian Hunter-Reel ABSTRACT Aim Recently, Witkiewitz & Marlatt reformulated the Marlatt & Gordon relapse model to account for current research findings. The present paper aims to extend this model further to incorporate social variables more fully. Methods The social-factors and alcohol-relapse literatures were reviewed within the framework of the reformulated relapse model. Results The literature review found that the number of social network members, investment of the individual in the social network, levels of general and alcohol-specific support available within the social network and specific behaviors of network members all predict drinking outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which these social variables influence outcomes. The authors postulate that social variables influence outcomes by affecting intra-individual factors central to the reformulated relapse prevention model, including processes (e.g. self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, craving, motivation, negative affective states) and behaviors (e.g. coping and substance use). The authors suggest specific hypotheses and discuss methods that can be used to study the impact of social factors on the intra-individual phenomena that contribute to relapse. Conclusion The proposed extension of the relapse model provides testable hypotheses that may guide future alcohol-relapse research. [source] A computerized harm minimization prevention program for alcohol misuse and related harms: randomized controlled trialADDICTION, Issue 4 2009Laura Vogl ABSTRACT Aims Hazardous alcohol use is a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults world-wide, yet few effective prevention interventions exist. This study was the first to examine a computerized harm minimization intervention to reduce alcohol misuse and related harms in adolescents. Design Cluster randomized controlled trial of a six-session curriculum-integrated harm minimization prevention program. The intervention was delivered by computer in the form of a teenage drama, which provided education through alcohol-related scenarios to which young people could relate. Setting Schools in Australia. Participants A total of 1466 year 8 students (13 years) from 16 high schools in Australia were allocated randomly to a computerized prevention program (n = 611, eight schools) or usual classes (n = 855, eight schools). Measurements Change in knowledge, alcohol use, alcohol-related harms and alcohol expectancies. Findings A computerized prevention program was more effective than usual classes in increasing alcohol-related knowledge of facts that would inform safer drinking choices and decreasing the positive social expectations which students believed alcohol may afford. For females it was effective in decreasing average alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harms and the frequency of drinking to excess (more than four standard drinks; 10 g ethanol). For males the behavioural effects were not significant. Conclusions A harm minimization approach is effective in educating young people about alcohol-related risks and is effective in reducing risky drinking and harms among girls. Reduction of problems among boys remains a challenge. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||