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Biomedical subjects

D B Abrams

Publications and source records attributed to D B Abrams.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Nicotine dependence and likelihood of quitting smoking.

This study examined the hypothesis that high nicotine dependent smokers would have more difficulty with initial cessation of smoking than low dependent smokers as measured by the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ). Two replications of a nicotine-fading smoking program were conducted at different worksites. Significantly less heavily dependent smokers quit smoking during treatment. The correlation between the FTQ and smoking rate at posttreatment remained even when the pretreatment rate of smoking was partialled out. It was concluded that the concept of nicotine dependence should be re-examined especially in the context of improving the quit rates of behavioral programs at the worksite.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Psychosocial stress and coping in smokers who relapse or quit.

Relapse remains a major problem in successful smoking cessation. This study evaluated selected responses and coping skills in male and female quitters and relapsers in four situational contexts: general social competence, smoking-specific "high-risk-for-relapse" situations, social anxiety, and relaxation. Results showed that quitters coped better than relapsers with intrapersonal (e.g., negative mood) smoking-specific situations. Quitters had lower heart rates than relapsers during relaxation and intrapersonal situations and had lower anxiety scores at the end of the procedures. Women showed more stress and less confidence in their ability to cope than did men. Groups did not differ in responses to the general social competence and social anxiety procedures. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of considering individual differences in responses and in coping skills for treatment and relapse prevention for smokers.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Alcohol and self-disclosure: analyses of interpersonal behavior in male and female social drinkers.

We examined the effects of alcohol and expectations about drinking on self-disclosure in male and female social drinkers. Consistent with cognitive social learning theory, these effects were shown to vary as a function of dose, expectations about alcohol consumption and gender-related social learning history. In men, alcohol increases self-disclosure, but only at a moderate blood alcohol level. Expectations emerged as a powerful influence on self-disclosure. Men who believed that they and their female partner were both intoxicated showed increased self-disclosure although no alcohol was consumed. Women who believed that they were intoxicated showed the opposite pattern of a decrease in self-disclosure. Another gender difference was that moderate alcohol had no effect on women's self-disclosure. The self-awareness model of alcohol use failed to receive support.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1987

Saliva cotinine as a measure of smoking status in field settings.

The accuracy and reliability of saliva cotinine as an objective measure of smoking status was examined in two field studies. In Study I, saliva was collected from smokers and nonsmokers with repeated samples taken from a randomly selected subset of the smokers. Results indicated perfect classification of smokers versus nonsmokers and acceptable reliability of repeated samples. Study II investigated the accuracy of saliva cotinine in detecting recent quitters in a worksite smoking cessation program. Saliva cotinine showed greater accuracy than expired carbon monoxide at detecting quitters, provided they were abstinent for at least seven days. From pre- to post-treatment, subject's saliva cotinine levels dropped 19 per cent while self-reported rate of smoking dropped 54 per cent. Saliva collection in the field is feasible and cotinine appears to be one of the more sensitive assays currently available for epidemiologic and clinical applications.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Organizational and community approaches to community-wide prevention of heart disease: the first two years of the Pawtucket Heart Health Program.

The Pawtucket Heart Health program (PHHP) is a federally funded research and demonstration project for the primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a community. This article presents a discussion of the first 26 months of this intervention, divided into its three phases. PHHP staff initially approached the intervention city through local organizations to accomplish risk-factor behavior change in the population. After 11 months, PHHP complemented its programs in organizations with activities open to all city residents, in order to accelerate participation by the population. Seven months into this phase, it was decided that community activities should be the major focus of the intervention approach to assure a level of participation adequate to make a measurable impact. The third has shown the greatest percentage of public participation, demonstrating the complementary nature of organization and community interventions and of the translation of social learning theory into principles for primary prevention in a community.

Advertising↗
PubMed1986

Comparative effectiveness of three types of spouse involvement in outpatient behavioral alcoholism treatment.

Treatment was provided to 53 alcoholics and their spouses in one of three outpatient behavioral treatment conditions: minimal spouse involvement (MSI) (N = 21), alcohol-focused spouse involvement (AFSI) (N = 13) or alcohol-focused spouse involvement plus behavioral marital therapy (ABMT) (N = 19). Subjects were followed for 6 months after treatment. All subjects markedly decreased their drinking and reported increased life satisfaction. ABMT subjects were more compliant than AFSI subjects with conjoint homework assignments, decreased their drinking more quickly during treatment, relapsed more slowly after treatment and maintained marital satisfaction better. ABMT subjects were more likely than MSI subjects to stay in treatment and maintained their marital satisfaction better after treatment. Clinical and theoretical significance of the findings are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Participant characteristics as predictors of attrition in worksite weight loss.

Attrition is a significant problem in worksite weight loss interventions, and differences in participants' motivational levels have been hypothesized to account for this high attrition rate. The present study examined characteristics of participants who completed a worksite weight loss program compared to those who dropped out, using a step-wise discriminant function analysis. The results indicate that a combination of motivational characteristics, expectations, and change in weight just prior to treatment significantly discriminated drop-outs from completers. The results of this investigation are discussed with respect to implications for developing cost-effective worksite treatment protocols and directions for future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Contrasting short- and long-term effects of weight loss on lipoprotein levels.

The short- and long-term effects of weight loss on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were examined in 42 women who completed a 14-session behavioral weight-loss program. Lipid values were determined from samples taken before treatment, after treatment, and at six-month follow-up. There were significant changes in plasma lipid levels, but the short- and long-term effects differed. Both total and LDL cholesterol levels decreased during treatment and remained lower at follow-up. However, HDL cholesterol level and the HDL/LDL ratio did not change during treatment but increased significantly above pretreatment levels at follow-up. Furthermore, long-term changes in lipoprotein levels were significantly correlated with changes in the body-mass index even after correction for initial values. These results show that weight loss can, in the long term, have a potentially beneficial impact on lipoprotein levels in women.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1983

Alcohol, sexual arousal, and self-control.

The effects of alcohol on self-regulation were investigated using delay of gratification for viewing time for an erotic film as the primary dependent measure. Other measures included reflection--impulsivity, locus of control, sexual-guilt scores, and continuous recording of subject's penile tumescence. Using a balanced placebo design, subjects were led to believe that they had consumed an alcoholic or a nonalcoholic beverage, and half of each of these two groups received either alcohol or tonic water. In addition, the effects of three doses of alcohol (placebo, low dose, high dose) were investigated. Instructional set, regardless of drink content, resulted in longer delay times and increased thoughts with sexual content. Although there was no significant relation between increasing dose of alcohol and delay time, there was an interaction between locus-of-control scores and alcohol dose. Externalizers showed an inverse linear relation between increasing dose of alcohol and delay time. Internalizers showed the opposite trend. Implications for the self-regulation of sexual behavior under the influence of alcohol are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Effects of tolerance on the anxiety-reducing function of alcohol.

Thirty-two male social drinkers were arranged into two tolerance groups, based on changes in standing stability after ingestion of alcohol. Subjects consumed either a large (1.0 g/kg) or small (0.5 g/kg) dose of alcohol. On finishing their drinks, subjects were requested to interact with a female confederate whose continued silence induced anxiety. Heart rate, skin conductance, overt behavior, and self-report measures were taken. Heart rate increased more at the small than the large dose, consistent with the tension-reduction hypothesis. Further, heart rate of high-tolerance subjects increased significantly more than that of low-tolerance subjects, which suggests that alcohol was less effective at tension reduction for the high-tolerance group. Finally, measures of both skin conductance and heart rate showed significant dose-by-tolerance interactions. High-tolerance subjects were more aroused than were low-tolerance subjects at the small but not at the large dose, suggesting that high-tolerance subjects must consume more alcohol to achieve the same autonomic effect experienced by the low-tolerance subjects.

Adolescent↗