Biomedical subjects

J S Chaikelson

Publications and source records attributed to J S Chaikelson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Individual differences in trajectory of intellectual development over 45 years of adulthood.

The hypothesis that individual differences in adult intellectual development reflect variation in life context and personality was examined in 132 World War II (WWII) veterans. Intelligence data from the Canadian Army M Test were available for 3 occasions, WWII, 1984-1986 (Int85), and 1989-1991 (Int90). Performance declined over the 45 years on 5 subtests but improved on the 6th, Vocabulary. Correlations between WWII and Int90 scores showed considerable stability of individual differences in intelligence over 45 years. Younger age predicted less decline over 45 years on all subtests; a more engaged lifestyle predicted less decline on most subtests, and better health and greater introversion predicted less decline on some subtests. Predictors of change since Int85 were similar to those for the whole period. Implications for theories of adult intellectual development are discussed.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Measurement of lifetime alcohol consumption.

The reliability and validity of a retrospective, self-report measure, the Concordia Lifetime Drinking Questionnaire (CLDQ), were assessed with a group of 72 elderly Canadian men. The CLDQ includes quantity and frequency questions on current beverage-specific alcohol use and a series of questions about the start of alcohol use. The innovative features of the CLDQ include requiring subjects to collaborate with the interviewer in drawing a graph that represents their lifetime drinking patterns and encouraging more accurate recall by the use of salient events in the subject's life history. Drinking was assessed on two occasions approximately 33 months apart. Forty-six wives responded to questions about their husband's drinking. The reliability coefficient for lifetime drinking was .78. A comparison of the two graphs every fifth year from 1945 to 1985 yielded significant correlations that ranged from .65 to .87. Validity was tested by comparing each wife's rating of her husband's drinking at present and at time of marriage with similar points on the husband's graphs; the correlations were .87 and .72, respectively. Moderate correlations were obtained between the MAST and the CLDQ. The CLDQ was judged to be a reliable and valid measure of lifetime drinking, appropriate for use with the elderly. The longitudinal lifetime drinking patterns appeared similar to those found in cross-sectional studies.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Social drinking and cognitive functioning revisited: the role of intellectual endowment and psychological distress.

The hypothesis that alcohol consumption affects the cognitive functioning of sober social drinkers was investigated in 140 male World War II veterans. All had been tested on an intelligence test during their army service and retested on the same test in 1984-86 and again in this study. On all three occasions heavy lifetime drinkers had the lowest verbal and nonverbal intelligence scores and moderate drinkers, the highest. Performance declined across test occasions for all groups on the nonverbal subtests. On the verbal subtests performance of light and moderate drinkers improved while that of heavy drinkers did not. After controlling for age, education, young adult intelligence and psychological distress, greater lifetime drinking was significantly associated with poorer performance on two of 17 neuropsychological measures and better performance on one measure, while greater current drinking was associated with poorer performance on one measure. The findings appeared to rule out psychological distress and lower intelligence in young adulthood as alternative explanations of cognitive deficits in social drinkers, but they also suggested that, with these factors controlled, social drinking had relatively circumscribed effects on cognitive functions. Reasons why the present findings might underestimate long-term effects of social drinking are discussed.

Aged↗

PubMed1983

Cognitive changes with aging in schizophrenia.

Hospitalized, male chronic schizophrenics (N = 21) in their late sixties performed as well as those in their early forties when normal age effects were determined on measures of verbal fluency, picture anomaly recognition, tapping speed, and maze learning. The findings contraindicated the Kraepelinian view of schizophrenia as a deteriorative disorder and were more in accord with recent longitudinal evidence of clinical stabilization and amelioration of disruptive symptoms in chronic schizophrenia.

Adult↗