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Biomedical subjects

K J Sher

Publications and source records attributed to K J Sher.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Assessing alcohol problems in college students.

Alcohol abuse among college students is prevalent, yet few instruments with sound reliability and validity are available to assess these problems in this population. As part of a large, baseline assessment battery for a prospective study of offspring of alcoholics, the 27-item Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST) was given to 490 freshmen at a large midwestern university; approximately 9 months later, 482 subjects completed the scale again. In addition to asking about such traditional problems as experiencing blackouts and driving while intoxicated, the YAAPST included specific items relating to college experiences (eg, getting into sexual situations that were later regretted, missing classes, and receiving lower grades than usual). The YAAPST was designed to assess these drinking consequences over two different time frames, lifetime and past year, and also to indicate the frequency of occurrence during the past year. Results indicated that the YAAPST is a unidimensional scale with good psychometric properties (good internal consistency and test-retest reliability). Three different approaches were used to demonstrate the validity of the YAAPST. Findings supported criterion validity (with interview-based alcohol abuse/dependence diagnoses as the criterion), concurrent validity (comparing the YAAPST with other drinking measures), and construct validity (correlating the YAAPST with etiologically relevant personality, motivational, and peer influence variables). The YAAPST is a promising screening instrument for alcohol problems in college students. It has excellent psychometric properties and the potential to provide a range of useful information to the clinician or researcher.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Using adapted short MASTs for assessing parental alcoholism: reliability and validity.

In previous research adapted versions of the Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) have been employed to assess an individual's father's (F-SMAST) and mother's alcohol abuse (M-SMAST). However, to date psychometric information on these forms has been limited. In order to more broadly assess the psychometric properties of these forms, several critical issues in five related studies were addressed. The samples for the five studies were drawn from a college population at a large midwestern university. Overall, the reliability and validity of the adapted SMASTs appears to be quite good. The F-SMAST demonstrated high reliability (from the standpoint of internal consistency, temporal stability, and reliability across siblings) as well as validity (both in respect to convergence with an interview measure and with father's own report on a parallel instrument). Furthermore, shortening both of these instruments to nine-item versions appears to improve their reliability and validity. For researchers and clinicians interested in assessing parental history of alcoholism, the F-SMAST and M-SMAST would appear to be a reliable and valid paper-and-pencil measure.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1991

Prevalence of DSM-III-R disorders among nonclinical compulsive checkers and noncheckers in a college student sample.

The prevalence of lifetime DSM-III-R disorders was assessed in a sample of 100 college students who were classified as compulsive checkers (n = 50) or noncheckers (n = 50) on the basis of their responses to the Checking subscale of the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI). DSM-III-R disorders were assessed on the basis of responses to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version III Revised (DIS-III-R), administered by trained, lay interviewers, blind to Ss' checking status. Checkers, compared to noncheckers, were significantly more likely to meet lifetime diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Episode, Drug Abuse/Dependence, and Social Phobia. Analysis of a subsample (n = 74) selected on the basis of the consistency of responses to the MOCI across two administrations replicated the above effects, with two exceptions: (1) checkers were more likely to meet criteria for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder than were noncheckers, and (2) for males, but not females, Simple Phobia was more prevalent among checkers than among noncheckers. These findings extend our previous work by demonstrating that 'nonclinical' checking behavior is associated with a broad range of psychological syndromes and may, in fact, be more strongly associated with other disorders than it is with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in a nonclinical sample.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The effects of smoking cessation on food craving.

Weight gain is considered a frequent consequence of smoking cessation. Several psychological mechanisms may play an important role in weight gain following smoking cessation. The present investigation examined changes in food craving associated with smoking cessation using psychophysiologic (i.e., salivation), self-report, and behavioral (i.e., ad lib consumption) measures of reactivity to food cues in a prospective design. Although quitters (n = 16) evidenced weight gain (approximately 5 lbs.) at 1 week and 5 weeks post quit date and while control groups of smokers (n = 11) and nonsmokers (n = 16) did not, no support was found for increased craving assessed via self-report or salivation. The quitters did show evidence of increased craving as measured by ad lib consumption, while smokers and nonsmokers did not. However, the failure to find a significant Group by Session interaction limits our ability to make a strong statement concerning between-group differences on ad lib consumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Characteristics of children of alcoholics: putative risk factors, substance use and abuse, and psychopathology.

A sample of 253 children of alcoholics (COAs) and 237 children of nonalcoholics (non-COAs) were compared on alcohol and drug use, psychopathology, cognitive ability, and personality. COAs reported more alcohol and drug problems, stronger alcohol expectancies, higher levels of behavioral undercontrol and neuroticism, and more psychiatric distress in relation to non-COAs. They also evidenced lower academic achievement and less verbal ability than non-COAs. COAs were given Diagnostic Interview Schedule alcohol diagnoses more frequently than non-COAs. The relation between paternal alcoholism and offspring alcohol involvement was mediated by behavioral undercontrol and alcohol expectancies. Although gender differences were found, there were few Gender X Family History interactions; the effects of family history of alcoholism were similar for men and women. When gender effects were found, they showed greater family history effects for women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Psychological characteristics of children of alcoholics. Overview of research methods and findings.

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic interest in the psychological characteristics of children of alcoholics (COAs). This chapter provides an overview of this research, focusing on (1) studies suggesting genetic contributions to the intergenerational transmission of alcoholism, (2) studies characterizing the features of an alcoholic rearing environment, and (3) empirical studies contrasting COAs and children of nonalcoholics (non-COAs). Although it appears that COAs do differ from non-COAs on a number of variables that might have etiological significance for the development of alcoholism, the pattern and consistency of findings defy a simple integration. Perhaps more important, much of the available research is characterized by methodological limitations that preclude strong inferences concerning the nature and extent of deficits in COAs. Relevant methodological issues such as ascertainment strategy, the heterogeneity of parental alcoholism, the specificity of COA deficits, and design strategies are described and their possible impact on study outcomes is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Alcohol cue reactivity and ad lib drinking in young men at risk for alcoholism.

Individuals at high risk for alcoholism have been hypothesized to acquire alcoholic characteristics more rapidly than those at low risk. Two studies examined reactivity to alcohol cues, a phenomenon linked to craving for alcohol in clinical alcoholics, and ad lib drinking behavior in young men at varying risk for alcoholism. In Study 1, subjects exhibited increased autonomic and subjective responses during exposure to an alcohol beverage relative to a control beverage, suggesting that alcohol cue reactivity is not merely a clinical alcoholic phenomenon but also present in more moderate drinkers. This alcohol cue reactivity, however, was unrelated to risk status. Also, high-risk subjects exhibited greater nonspecific electromyographic and skin temperature reactivity, and higher baseline salivation volume than low-risk subjects. Of special note, ad lib alcohol consumption in Study 1 was correlated with subjects' self-report of craving during exposure to the alcoholic beverage. Study 2 attempted to replicate the baseline salivation finding but results were equivocal concerning the robustness of this effect. Also in Study 2, subjects exhibited decreased salivation volume following a placebo beverage and increased salivation volume following alcohol consumption. Studies 1 and 2 compared ad lib drinking behavior in high-risk and low-risk samples, but no group differences were found.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The relation between alcohol problems and the anxiety disorders.

The idea that people suffering from anxiety have a proclivity to consume alcohol to relieve their symptoms is supported by reports showing high comorbidity rates of alcohol and anxiety problems. The authors reviewed relevant epidemiologic surveys, family studies, and field studies and conclude that the relationship between alcohol problems and anxiety appears to be variable among the anxiety disorders. In agoraphobia and social phobia, alcohol problems appear more likely to follow from attempts at self-medication of anxiety symptoms, but panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder may be more likely to follow from pathological alcohol consumption. Simple phobia does not appear to be related to alcohol problems in any meaningful way.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1990

Labeling the child of an alcoholic: negative stereotyping by mental health professionals and peers.

Although the establishment of programs for children of alcoholics (COAs) is laudable for those who are in distress, the effects of identifying and labeling COAs have largely been unknown. These studies investigated the possibility of negative stereotypes toward COAs emanating from peers and from the mental health community. In Study 1, 570 high school students were asked to rate six separate roles (typical teenagers--male and female; teenagers with an alcoholic parent--male and female; and mentally ill teenagers--male and female) using 11 bipolar adjective pairs. Subjects rated "COAs" as significantly different overall from both "typical teenagers" and "mentally ill teenagers." When individual nonsignificant differences occurred, COAs were more often grouped with mentally ill teenagers. These correlational findings were extended in an experimental study (Study 2) using mental health workers (N = 80). Subjects watched videotapes of an adolescent who was described as having either a positive or negative family history of alcoholism and as having either a high degree of social success (school leader) or social problems (behavior problems). The adolescent targets labeled COA were judged as more pathological than those labeled non-COA in terms of current and predicted psychological health and psychopathology. These judgments held regardless of the teenagers' labeled current behavior. Both studies demonstrated robust negative stereotypes about COAs both from the COAs' peers and from those responsible for treating COAs. The potentially harmful consequences of labeling COAs--especially those who are currently well-adjusted--are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Personality variables as mediators and moderators of family history risk for alcoholism: conceptual and methodological issues.

Recently there has been great interest in possible mediators and moderators of family history risk for alcoholism. However, previous studies have failed to employ appropriate designs and data analytic strategies to identify moderators and mediators. This article uses a large data set to illustrate such analyses. In the current data, both presumed personality risk and dispositional self-awareness were found to play moderator (rather than mediator) roles. The conceptual, methodological and data analytic implications of the mediator-moderator distinction are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Checking behavior in a threatening situation.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether compulsive checking was associated with greater checking behavior and slower performance in a personally relevant and potentially threatening task. Students in an abnormal psychology class completed the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory and the Everyday Checking Behavior Scale early in the semester. One month later during the first examination they were asked to record the number of times they went over (checked) each exam question after first answering it. The amount of time taken by subjects to complete this and the final exam was also recorded. The MOCI-check subscale and ECBS were correlated with the number of answer checks. MOCI-check scores were also correlated with the time taken to complete each exam. It was suggested that the characteristic of indecisiveness may be responsible for these relationships.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Memory deficits in compulsive checkers: replication and extension in a clinical sample.

Thirteen checkers and twelve noncheckers, identified on the basis of their responses to the checking subscale of the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI; Rachman and Hodgson, 1980), were recruited from a sample of 99 consecutive admissions to the outpatient department of a community mental health center. Consistent with our previous research with nonclinical samples of college students (Sher et al., 1983, 1984), checkers were found to show deficits in memory, especially recall for recently completed actions, compared to noncheckers. This result demonstrates the replicability of our previous findings across different types of samples and implicates deficits in memory for actions as a potentially important determinant of checking behavior. Assessment of spontaneous imagery associated with the anamnestic process suggested that checkers utilized less imagery, especially visual imagery, when recalling biographical information. Additional measures collected at the time of testing indicated that checkers were more neurotic and reported more psychological distress than noncheckers.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The effects of consent procedures on the psychophysiological assessment of anxiety: a methodological inquiry.

The present study investigated the effects of informed consent regarding upcoming, aversive stimuli on autonomic and self-report measures of anxiety. Physiological and self-report measures were recorded prior to the subject receiving information regarding the nature of the upcoming stressor (naive baseline block), following the receipt of this information (informed baseline block), during the anticipation of the stressor (anticipation block), and following the expected stressor (post-stressor baseline block). Examination of mean levels of autonomic activity during the naive and informed baseline blocks and the patterns of correlations involving those blocks indicated that the naive and informed baseline blocks were noncomparable. Implications of these findings for experimental design and clinical assessment are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The Alcohol Dependence Scale: a validation study among inpatient alcoholics.

The present study investigated whether the degree of alcohol dependence, as operationalized by Skinner and Allen's Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS), covaried with concurrent and predictive criteria in a sample of hospitalized alcoholics. As previously reported, the ADS was found to be unidimensional and internally consistent. However, compared to Skinner and Allen's findings, these inpatients had significantly lower ADS scores. Correlations with concurrent measures of cognitive functioning, psychiatric and physical symptoms tended to be smaller than, but in the same direction as, those previously reported using an outpatient sample. ADS scores did not significantly predict attrition from inpatient treatment, self-reported alcohol consumption over 9-month follow-up or duration of aftercare involvement. Patients who relapsed reported significantly higher ADS scores at admission, however, the magnitude of this relationship was modest (r = .16). In its present form, the ADS appears to have fair concurrent validity, but limited predictive utility within a sample of inpatient alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The HK/MBD questionnaire: replication and validation of distinct factors in a nonclinical sample.

Although Tarter et al.'s (1977) HK/MBD questionnaire has been found useful in subtyping populations of clinical alcoholics, its potential utility in nonclinical populations has yet to be determined. The current study examined the family history, personality, and substance use/abuse correlates of Tarter et al.'s HK/MBD questionnaire and factor analytically derived subscales (Alterman and McLellan, 1986) in a nonclinical sample of 580 young, adult males. In addition, a factor analysis of the HK/MBD questionnaire was undertaken to assess the extent to which the factor structure determined on a clinical alcoholic sample replicates in a nonclinical sample. Results indicated that each of the HK/MBD subscales showed relatively unique patterns of correlations with the various personality measures employed suggesting that they are measuring separate constructs. Perhaps of greatest importance, the HK/MBD items that appear to be of greatest relevance for understanding substance use/abuse are those related to antisocial behavior. Finally, the factor structure of the HK/MBD questionnaire in the nonclinical sample was found to be quite similar to the structure obtained in a clinical sample. These results demonstrate the multidimensional structure of the HK/MBD questionnaire and the utility of using the more homogeneous subscales in research with both clinical and nonclinical samples.

Adult↗