Biomedical subjects

Hiram E Fitzgerald

Publications and source records attributed to Hiram E Fitzgerald.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Does home internet use influence the academic performance of low-income children?

HomeNetToo is a longitudinal field study designed to examine the antecedents and consequences of home Internet use in low-income families (http://www.HomeNetToo.org). The study was done between December 2000 and June 2002. Among the consequences considered was children's academic performance. Participants were 140 children, mostly African American (83%), mostly boys (58%), and most living in single-parent households (75%) in which the median annual income was 15,000 (U.S. dollars) or less. Average age was 13.8 years. Ages ranged between 10 and 18 years, Internet use was continuously recorded, and multiple measures of academic performance were obtained during the 16-month trial. Findings indicated that children who used the Internet more had higher scores on standardized tests of reading achievement and higher grade point averages 6 months, 1 year, and 16 months later than did children who used it less. Older children used the Internet more than did younger children, but age had no effect on the nature or the academic performance benefits of Internet use. Implications for the digital "use" divide are discussed.

Black People↗

PubMed2006

Marital interaction in alcoholic and nonalcoholic couples: alcoholic subtype variations and wives' alcoholism status.

The authors examined problem-solving marital interactions of alcoholic and nonalcoholic couples (N = 132). Four alcoholic groups (husband alcoholic with antisocial personality disorder or not, paired with alcoholic or nonalcoholic wives) were compared with each other and with a both-spouses-nonalcoholic group. Consistent with the alcoholic subtypes hypothesis, couples with an antisocial alcoholic husband had higher levels of hostile behavior regardless of wives' alcoholism status. In contrast, rates of positive behaviors and the ratio of positive to negative behaviors were greatest among couples in which either both or neither of the spouses had alcoholic diagnoses and were lowest among alcoholic husbands with nonalcoholic wives. Discussion focuses on possible mechanisms linking antisocial alcoholism and discrepant alcoholic diagnoses to poorer marital outcomes.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Poor response inhibition as a predictor of problem drinking and illicit drug use in adolescents at risk for alcoholism and other substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive power of executive functions, in particular, response inhibition, in relation to alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use in adolescence. METHOD: A total of 498 children from 275 families from a longitudinal high-risk study completed executive function measures in early and late adolescence and lifetime drinking and drug-related ratings at multiple time points including late adolescence (ages 15-17). Multi-informant measures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder were obtained in early childhood (ages 3-5), middle childhood, and adolescence. RESULTS: In multilevel models, poor response inhibition predicted aggregate alcohol-related problems, the number of illicit drugs used, and comorbid alcohol and drug use (but not the number of drug-related problems), independently of IQ, parental alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct symptoms, or age. Multivariate models explained 8% to 20% of residual variance in outcome scores. The incremental predictive power of response inhibition was modest, explaining about 1% of the variance in most outcomes, but more than 9% of the residual variance in problem outcomes within the highest risk families. Other measured executive functions did not independently predict substance use onset. CONCLUSION: Models of alcoholism and other drug risks that invoke executive functions may benefit from specifying response inhibition as an incremental component.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Predicting risky drinking outcomes longitudinally: what kind of advance notice can we get?

This paper summarizes the proceedings of a symposium presented at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Santa Barbara, California, that spans the interval from toddlerhood to early middle adulthood and addresses questions about how far ahead developmentally we can anticipate alcohol problems and related substance use disorder and how such work informs our understanding of the causes and course of alcohol problems and alcohol use disorder. The context of these questions both historically and developmentally is set by Robert Zucker in an introductory section. Next, Maria Wong and colleagues describe the developmental trajectories of behavioral and affective control from preschool to early adolescence in a high risk for alcoholism longitudinal study and demonstrate their ability to predict alcohol and drug outcomes in adolescence. Duncan Clark and Jack Cornelius follow with a report on the predictive utility of parental disruptive behavior disorders in predicting onset of alcohol problems in their adolescent offspring in late adolescence. Next, Kenneth Leonard and Gregory Homish report on adult development study findings relating baseline individual, spouse, and peer network drinking indicators at marriage onset that distinguish different patterns of stability and change in alcohol problems over the first 2 years of marriage. In the final paper, John Schulenberg and colleagues, utilizing national panel data from the Monitoring the Future Study, which cover the 18- to 35-year age span, show how trajectories of alcohol use in early adulthood predict differential alcohol abuse and dependence outcomes at age 35. Finally, Robert Zucker examines the degree to which the core symposium questions are answered and comments on next step research and clinical practice changes that are called for by these findings.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Smoking is associated with neurocognitive deficits in alcoholism.

BACKGROUND: Impaired problem solving, visual-spatial processing, memory, and cognitive proficiency are consequences of severe alcoholism. Smoking is much more prevalent among alcoholics than the general population, yet the possible neurocognitive effects of cigarette smoking in alcoholism have not been studied, despite evidence that long-term smoking is associated with neurocognitive deficits. OBJECTIVE: Determine whether smoking contributes to neurocognitive deficits associated with alcoholism. DESIGN: Neurocognitive function was examined in a community-recruited (n=172) sample of men. Alcohol problems/alcoholism were measured by the lifetime alcohol problems score (LAPS), DSM-IV diagnosis, and monthly drinking rate. Smoking was measured in pack-years. Neurocognitive function was measured with IQ (short version of WAIS-R), and cognitive proficiency (fast, accurate performance). RESULTS: Both alcoholism and smoking were negatively correlated with neurocognitive function. When alcoholism and smoking were included in regression models, smoking remained a significant predictor for both measures, but alcoholism remained significant only for IQ. CONCLUSIONS: Both smoking and alcoholism were related to neurocognitive function. Smoking may explain some of the relationship between alcoholism and neurocognitive function, perhaps especially for measures that focus on proficiency. Future studies are necessary to more fully understand the effects of smoking on neurocognitive function in alcoholism.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Normative Symbol Digit Modalities Test performance in a community-based sample.

The Symbol Digit Modalities Test is a substitution task that is the inverse of the Digit Symbol Test. The familiar task of filling numbers in boxes, and the availability of an oral administration, make this a popular screening instrument for brain impairment. Normative data were previously reported for a variety of clinical groups, but complete information on non-clinical samples across age, education, gender, and socioeconomic status is limited. The present study examines the performance of a community-dwelling control sample across age, education, gender, and income groupings. In a multivariate model, these four variables did not impact test performance. These results support the utilization of the SDMT as a robust screening test for adult neuropsychological impairment.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

The stages of change questionnaire as a predictor of trauma patients most likely to decrease alcohol use.

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that negative trauma-related consequences of drinking can predict readiness to change drinking behavior. These findings are confined to patients with positive blood alcohol levels at admission. The current study extends such findings by examining whether stage of readiness to change among all adult trauma activations admitted to the emergency department for 24 hours or more can be used to predict a change in behavior at followup. STUDY DESIGN: Patients 18 years of age or older admitted to a Level II trauma center between December 1, 2001, and January 31, 2003, with a trauma activation were eligible to participate. Enrolled patients were screened for alcohol use and readiness to change with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Short Form Stages of Change (SFSC), respectively, within 2 days of discharge. Blood alcohol level (BAL) was obtained for all study patients. Six to 18 months after discharge, patients were followed up with the AUDIT. The ability of the SFSC to predict change in alcohol behavior at followup was analyzed by multiple regression. RESULTS: Of 253 eligible patients, 146 patients were enrolled and had BAL taken. Most were men (64%) and 36% were women. Mean positive BAL (n = 57) was 186 mg/dL (range 10 to 537 mg/dL). Of these, 23% (13 of 57) met AUDIT criteria for harmful drinking and 47% (27 of 57) met criteria for dependent drinking. Even among those with undetectable BAL (n = 89), harmful or dependent drinking was identified by the AUDIT for 11% (10 of 89). A readiness to change was common among those reporting harmful or dependent drinking (26%) at baseline. The SFSC independently and significantly predicted change in drinking behavior among the 72 patients with followup (p = 0.05). Patients indicating greater readiness to change at baseline were those more likely to decrease their consumption pattern at followup. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that administering the brief SFSC questionnaire to all trauma patients and providing assistance to those demonstrating a willingness to change may prove to be an effective strategy for reducing problem alcohol use.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Social competence in children of alcoholic parents over time.

In the current study, the authors tested the hypothesis that children of alcoholic parents (COAs) show deficits in social competence that begin in early childhood and escalate through middle adolescence. Teachers, parents, and children reported on the social competence of COAs and matched controls in a community sample assessed from ages 6 to 15. Hierarchical linear growth models revealed different patterns of change in social competence across development as a function of the reporter of various indicators of competence. Moreover, female COAs showed deficits in social competence in early childhood that receded in adolescence and that varied across subtypes of parent alcoholism. Implications of these findings for understanding the development of social competence in children, and at-risk children in particular, are discussed.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed2005

Individual and partner predictors of recovery from alcohol-use disorder over a nine-year interval: findings from a community sample of alcoholic married men.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have focused on the predictors of recovery in persons with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Most have been retrospective and have measured only predictors of short-term recovery after the completion of treatment. This prospective study evaluates the role of psychological and social factors in a community sample of both alcoholics and their partners in predicting recovery over a 9-year interval. METHOD: Alcoholic diagnostic status and life functioning of 134 community-recruited, initially coupled men meeting criteria for a 3-year Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, AUD diagnosis at baseline were assessed over the 9-year period. Their partners also were assessed. Prediction involved comparing those who still had an AUD diagnosis at 9-year follow-up against those who no longer met AUD criteria. RESULTS: Predictors of recovery included number of experiences with treatment, education, number of years of intervening recovery over the follow-up period, partner baseline AUD status and partner's social support network. Alcoholics' initial severity of drinking did not predict long-term outcome. Furthermore, recovered men's partners decreased their AUD in the interim, whereas nonremitters' partners increased their AUD. The findings highlight the transitions in and out of AUD, with 62% of the men having stable drinking patterns of either remission or unremitting AUD diagnosis over the entire follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the importance of interpersonal factors in maintaining AUD or promoting recovery. Consideration of partner characteristics and the marital context as factors in the recovery process is essential. Future research should examine the predictors of recovery in women, in adolescents and in racial groups other than white.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Inattention/hyperactivity and aggression from early childhood to adolescence: heterogeneity of trajectories and differential influence of family environment characteristics.

Inattention/hyperactivity and aggressive behavior problems were measured in 335 children from school entry throughout adolescence, at 3-year intervals. Children were participants in a high-risk prospective study of substance use disorders and comorbid problems. A parallel process latent growth model found aggressive behavior decreasing throughout childhood and adolescence, whereas inattentive/hyperactive behavior levels were constant. Growth mixture modeling, in which developmental trajectories are statistically classified, found two classes for inattention/hyperactivity and two for aggressive behavior, resulting in a total of four trajectory classes. Different influences of the family environment predicted development of the two types of behavior problems when the other behavior problem was held constant. Lower emotional support and lower intellectual stimulation by the parents in early childhood predicted membership in the high problem class of inattention/hyperactivity when the trajectory of aggression was held constant. Conversely, conflict and lack of cohesiveness in the family environment predicted membership in a worse developmental trajectory of aggressive behavior when the inattention/hyperactivity trajectories were held constant. The implications of these findings for the development of inattention/hyperactivity and for the development of risk for the emergence of substance use disorders are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Neuropsychological executive functioning in children at elevated risk for alcoholism: findings in early adolescence.

One component of individual risk for alcoholism may involve cognitive vulnerabilities prodromal to alcoholism onset. This prospective study of 198 boys followed between 3 and 14 years of age evaluated neurocognitive functioning across three groups who varied in familial risk for future alcoholism. Measures of intelligence, reward-response, and a battery of neuropsychological executive and cognitive inhibitory measures were used. Executive functioning weaknesses were greater in families with alcoholism but no antisocial comorbidity. IQ and reward-response weaknesses were associated with familial antisocial alcoholism. Executive function effects were clearest for response inhibition, response speed, and symbol-digit modalities. Results suggest that executive deficits are not part of the highest risk, antisocial pathway to alcoholism but that some executive function weaknesses may contribute to a secondary risk pathway.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Really underage drinkers: alcohol use among elementary students.

Despite the current societal concern with underage drinking, little attention has been paid to alcohol use within the preadolescent population. This article presents the proceedings of a symposium held at the 2003 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was organized and chaired by John E. Donovan. The intent of the symposium was to kick start research on alcohol use among elementary school children by reviewing what is known regarding drinking in childhood. Presentations included (1) The Epidemiology of Children's Alcohol Use, by John E. Donovan; (2) The Validity of Children's Self-Reports of Alcohol Use, by Sharon L. Leech; (3) Predicting Onset of Drinking From Behavior at Three Years of Age: Influence of Early Child Expectancies and Parental Alcohol Involvement Upon Early First Use, by Robert A. Zucker; and (4) Parent, Peer, and Child Risk Factors for Alcohol Use in Two Cohorts of Elementary School Children, by Carol J. Loveland-Cherry. Presentations indicated the need for better nationwide surveillance of children's experience with alcohol; suggested that children's reports of their use of alcohol tend to be reliable and valid; supported children's alcohol use schemas and parental drinking and alcoholism at child age three as independent predictors of early onset drinking; and showed that onset of drinking before fourth or fifth grade, peer pressure, and parental norms and monitoring predict elementary student alcohol use and misuse.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

Sleep problems in early childhood and early onset of alcohol and other drug use in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: No prospective studies exist on the relationship between sleep problems early in life and subsequent alcohol use. Stimulated by the adult literature linking sleep problems to the subsequent onset of alcohol use disorders in some adults, we examined whether sleep problems in early childhood predicted the onset of alcohol and other drug use in adolescence and whether such a relationship was mediated by other known predictors of this relationship, namely, attention problems, anxiety/depression, and aggression in late childhood. METHODS: This study is part of an ongoing longitudinal study of the development of risk for alcohol and other substance use disorders. Study participants were 257 boys from a community-recruited sample of high-risk families. RESULTS: Mothers' ratings of their children's sleep problems at ages 3 to 5 years significantly predicted an early onset of any use of alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs, as well as an early onset of occasional or regular use of cigarettes by age 12 to 14. Additionally, although sleep problems in early childhood also predicted attention problems and anxiety/depression in later childhood, these problems did not mediate the relationship between sleep problems and onset of alcohol and other drug use. CONCLUSIONS: This is, to our knowledge, the first study that prospectively examines the relationship between sleep problems and early onset of alcohol use, a marker of increased risk for later alcohol problems and alcohol use disorders. Moreover, early childhood sleep problems seem to be a robust marker for use of drugs other than alcohol. Implications for the prevention of early alcohol and other drug use are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Parental ratings of son's behavior problems in high-risk families: convergent validity, internal structure, and interparent agreement.

In this research, we examined the convergent validity, internal structure, and interparent agreement of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a) using data from a community sample of 317 high-risk families. The sample consisted of 218 families with alcoholism (biological mother, father, and son) and 99 matched comparison families without alcoholism; all families were intact and included a 3- to 5-year-old son at first contact. Evidence was found for the convergent validity of the CBCL. In addition, although interparent agreement was low, the internal structure was confirmed, and structural invariance was high between mothers and fathers and in families with and without alcoholism. The effects of parental psychological and cognitive functioning on parent agreement were examined and found to have a minimal effect on parent agreement. These results demonstrate the validity of the CBCL for use by parent raters with alcoholism and their sons and emphasize the importance of including both versus only 1 parent in research using the CBCL.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed2003

Predictors of aggression across three generations among sons of alcoholics: relationships involving grandparental and parental alcoholism, child aggression, marital aggression and parenting practices.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study uses a three-generation database involving measures of grandparental and parental alcohol use disorder (AUD), marital aggression and aggression to offspring to predict early and later childhood aggression of third generation offspring. Given the importance of aggressive, undercontrolled behavior in the etiology of alcoholism, the purpose of this study was to construct a statistical model of intergenerational aggression and alcoholism among family members. METHOD: Participants were a population-based sample of 186 young sons of alcoholics and both biological parents and 120 nonsubstance abusing families and their age-matched sons drawn from the same neighborhoods. Extensive family data were collected at baseline and at 6 years postbaseline. Structural equation modeling evaluated retrospective and prospective relationships between grandparental and parental predictors of the sons' childhood aggression when they were 3-5 and 9-11 years of age. RESULTS: The final model showed that grandparental marital aggression predicted development of parental antisocial behavior, which predicted parental alcoholism and marital aggression and partially mediated level of child aggression among their sons as preschoolers. Significant autostabilities in level of child aggression, parental AUD and marital aggression were present in families over the 6-year interval. Marital aggression was a more important predictor of son's preschool aggression; direct parental aggression to the child was more important at 9-11. Child aggression at 3-5 also was a partial mediator of level of parent-to-child aggression at 9-11. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate continuity of aggression across three generations and also indicate that the child's pathway into risk for later AUD is not simply mediated by parental alcoholism, but is carried by other comorbid aspects of family functioning, in particular aggression.

Aggression↗

PubMed2003

Developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems among sons of alcoholics: effects of parent psychopathology, family conflict, and child undercontrol.

This study examined trajectories of disruptive behavior problems from preschool to early adolescence in 302 boys from a community-recruited sample of high-risk families. Growth modeling showed that paternal alcoholism was associated with elevated levels of sons' disruptive behavior problems. Family conflict predicted more disruptive behaviors at school entry and a slower rate of decline in such problems. Parent antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) exacerbated the effects of high preschool levels of sons' undercontrol on level of disruptive behaviors at school entry; this effect became progressively stronger across time. Low levels of undercontrol protected sons of ASPD parents from experiencing heightened levels of disruptive behaviors both at school entry and increasingly as sons grew older. Implications for subsequent maladjustment are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism, peripheral indexes of serotonin function, and personality measures in families with alcoholism.

A functional polymorphism in the regulatory region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) is considered to be a plausible candidate gene for anxiety-related personality traits and for alcoholism. Empirical support for the association between 5-HTTLPR and psychological traits has been somewhat inconsistent; however, observations of the functional dominance of the low-activity s-allele over the l-allele have been more consistent. When studying the influence of particular genes on psychological traits, it seems useful also to assess more biological intermediate traits that may mediate the effects of those genes on the traits of interest. The present study examined relationships between 5-HTTLPR genotype, whole blood serotonin (5-HT) level, and platelet 5-HT binding in 150 Caucasian subjects from 50 biological families. Individuals with the s-allele had lower average platelet 5-HT binding availability than those with the l/l genotype (P<0.025). Whole blood 5-HT level was not associated with 5-HTTLPR genotype. In adult men, those with the s-allele had higher mean scores on the NEO-FFI personality trait of openness than did those with the l/l genotype (P=0.002). The effect was not statistically significant in women (P=0.42), although it was in the same direction. Our findings do not support an association of 5-HTTLPR genotype with alcoholism diagnosis, alcoholism subtype, or the personality trait of neuroticism. The results of this pilot study suggest that further work should examine the mediation of the genetic effects on personality traits by biochemical measures and their moderation by gender.

Alcoholism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral control and resiliency in the onset of alcohol and illicit drug use: a prospective study from preschool to adolescence.

The developmental trajectories of behavioral control and resiliency from early childhood to adolescence and their effects on early onset of substance use were examined. Behavioral control is the tendency to express or contain one's impulses and behaviors. Resiliency is the ability to adapt flexibly one's characteristic level of control in response to the environment. Study participants were 514 children of alcoholics and matched controls from a longitudinal community sample (Time 1 age in years: M=4.32, SD=0.89). Children with slower rates of increase in behavioral control were more likely to use alcohol and other drugs in adolescence. Children with higher initial levels of resiliency were less likely to begin using alcohol.

Adaptation, Psychological↗