PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Fendrich

Publications and source records attributed to M Fendrich.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Strategies for school-based response to loss: proactive training and postvention consultation.

The suicide of a student or staff member is one of the most difficult crisis confronting a high school. This article describes the first year of a school-based postvention program to train and consult with crisis personnel in a structured response to this crisis. Responding to Loss (RTL) is one program offered by Community Action for Youth Survival, a project of the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities. Serving a contiguous three county urban area, this program integrates public health, epidemiological, psychiatric, and prevention paradigms to provide a comprehensive approach to the aftermath of adolescent suicide. RTL provides an interdisciplinary model for comprehensive, school-based postvention programs based on the guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and national and local psychological autopsy data. It highlights the significance of responding to increased rates of suicide in minority youth, suicide witnessed by peers, and suicide victims who have dropped out of school. Organizational issues, such as systematic school entry, development of a computerized school database, proactive training, and collaboration with the offices of medical examiners and coroners, are described. Initial evaluation data from year 1 indicate significant gains in participants' knowledge and skills, as well as a high rate of consumer satisfaction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Inconsistencies in lifetime cocaine and marijuana use reports: impact on prevalence and incidence.

We evaluated inconsistencies in responses to questions about lifetime cocaine and marijuana use asked of nearly 10,000 respondents from the United States in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in 1984 and 1988. Our analyses showed that 14% of all responses on cocaine use and 17% of all responses on marijuana use were inconsistent in some way. The types of inconsistencies varied according to the substance; cocaine reports yielded more inconsistencies with regard to timing of first use, while for marijuana most of the inconsistencies were with respect to use disclosure. For both substances, lower level users were more likely to be inconsistent in their reports of drug use. Alternative methods for handling inconsistencies affected estimates of incidence and prevalence. Inconsistencies also varied according to respondent race/ethnicity. Implications of these findings for program evaluation are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Substance involvement among juvenile murderers: comparisons with older offenders based on interviews with prison inmates.

We evaluated substance involvement among incarcerated juvenile offenders convicted of murder of manslaughter. Patterns of substance involvement among juvenile offenders were compared with patterns found in older offenders. Irrespective of age group, close to one-third of all homicide perpetrators reported that they were affected by alcohol prior to the offense. In every age group, alcohol was the substance showing the highest rate of "regular" lifetime use and the highest rate of ingestion in the week preceding the homicide. In many respects, the reported substance use patterns in the 16-17-year-old age group were closer to the patterns demonstrated by the oldest (36+) age group than they were to the adjacent 18-20-year-old group. Juvenile offenders were generally less substance involved than all but the oldest group of offenders. Almost all of the juveniles who were substance involved prior to the homicide attributed the homicide to the effects of those substances. Narrative accounts suggest that substances (almost always alcohol) escalated impulsive, spontaneous violent outbursts. Implications for the interpretation of self-reports about substance use provided by murderers are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Symptom and substance use reporting consistency over two years for offspring at high and low risk for depression.

We examined 2-year recall of reports of lifetime symptomatology and substance use questions on the K-SADS-E in a sample of offspring at high and low risk for depression. Comparisons were made between those who forgot and those who remembered reports of screening symptoms made at the initial interview. In general, recall for symptoms of internalizing disorders (depression and anxiety disorder) was much worse than recall for symptoms of externalizing disorders (conduct disorder and substance use). Less than two-thirds of those initially meeting the lifetime depression screening criteria provided reports which met the lifetime screening criteria at followup. Significant correlates of screening criteria recall included the following variables (measured at the initial interview): history of treatment for any disorder, impairment on the GAS (a score less than 61), and the presence of hypersomnia and suicidal symptoms (thoughts or ideation). Logistic regression suggested that a prior report of suicidal symptoms (including thoughts, ideation, or behavior) was the most important correlate of screen recall.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The role of marijuana in homicide.

In this paper we examine the relationship between marijuana use and homicide. Data derive from interviews with 268 individuals incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities for homicides that occurred in 1984. We found that in terms of lifetime use, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug in this sample; that about one-third of respondents who had ever used marijuana used the drug in the 24-hour period before the homicide; and that almost three-quarters of those respondents were experiencing some type of effect from the drug when the homicide occurred. A total of 18 respondents (7% of the total sample) said that the homicide was related to their marijuana use. We examine the reasons these respondents gave for this relationship and the other substances they reported using at the time of the homicide. We also demonstrate that from the perspective of a conceptual framework that specifies the ways that drugs and violence may be linked, there are various nuances in the ways that marijuana and homicide are related. We discuss the implications and limitations of using self-report data from perpetrators of violence for our understanding of the drugs-violence connection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The validity of drug use reports from juvenile arrestees.

Using urine test results as a gold standard, this report evaluates the validity of illicit drug use reports for five illicit substances provided in a multisite, national interview study of juvenile arrestees. Willingness to report substance use varied according to the type of substance, the time frame for substance use reports, and the characteristics of the juveniles asked to provide the reports. Youth were particularly reluctant to disclose recent use of cocaine and heroin. Race/ethnicity and willingness to disclose other substance use were the most important predictors of cocaine use disclosure among those testing positive for this drug. Race/ethnicity differences in validity were evaluated in the context of other recent epidemiological findings from surveys of drug use in the United States. Implications for the measurement of drug use in criminal justice samples are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The course of major depression in the offspring of depressed parents. Incidence, recurrence, and recovery.

The 2-year course, first onset (incidence), recurrence, and recovery of major depression in 174 offspring at high and low risk for major depression were studied. A variety of predictors of course were examined, including parental diagnosis, demographic and clinical characteristics of the family and offspring, comorbidity and social functioning in offspring, and family risk factors. The 2-year incidence rate was 8.5%. All of the incident cases of major depression occurred in offspring of depressed parents. Additional predictors of incidence were a preceding diagnosis of conduct disorder and subclinical symptoms of depression. The recurrence rate results are tentative because of the small sample. The 2-year recurrence rate was 16.1%. Predictors of recurrence were a previous comorbid diagnosis of dysthymia or problems in social functioning. By the end of 2 years, the majority of offspring (87%) had recovered. The mean number of weeks to recovery was 54 in the offspring of depressed parents and 23 in the offspring of nondepressed parents. Offspring with an onset of major depression at age 13 years or younger, who were exposed to divorce in the family or who had been exposed to more than one parental depressive episode, had significantly more protracted times to recovery. We conclude that there are different predictors of incidence of major depression, its recurrence, and time to recovery in offspring, and that parental depression has an impact on the course in offspring.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Incidence of psychiatric disorder in offspring at high and low risk for depression.

First onsets (incidence) of suicide attempts and DSM-III psychiatric disorders, including major depression, any anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, or substance abuse were determined in a 2-year longitudinal study of 174 offspring at high and low risk for major depression. All of the suicide attempts, the first onsets of major depression, and anxiety disorders were in offspring of depressed parents. Compared with asymptomatic offspring, offspring with subclinical manifestations of major depression, conduct disorder, and substance abuse at the initial interview were significantly more likely to become incident cases of the same disorder over the next 2 years. Either conduct disorder or substance abuse at initial interview were highly predictive of first onset of each other, but not of any other disorders 2 years later. Family risk factors (such as poor marital adjustment, parent-child discord, low cohesion, and affectionless control) at initial interview were associated with increased incidence of substance abuse, or conduct disorder, but not major depression or anxiety disorder. Combining both retrospective and prospective data, the overall suicide attempt rate was 7.8% in the offspring of depressed parents as compared with 1.4% in the offspring of nondepressed parents. By age 20, over 50% of the offspring of depressed patients reported a major depression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Longitudinal assessment of major depression and anxiety disorders in children.

Two-year recall and mother-child agreement with respect to a child's DSM-III lifetime diagnoses of major depression and anxiety disorder, based on K-SADS-E interviews with children, were assessed for a sample of 59 children, 6 to 16 years of age, at high and low risk for depression. The mothers had excellent recall and the children had good recall of a child's major depression. Both mothers and children had poor recall of a child's anxiety disorder. Mother-child agreement on major depression in children improved at the 2-year follow-up. A comparison of diagnoses based on mother and child reports with the psychiatrists' best estimate diagnoses of major depression suggested that children were more informative than mothers at the initial interview. The children were slightly less informative than the mothers at follow-up. These findings underscore the importance of multiple informants and longitudinal assessment in research on childhood psychiatric disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Two-year recall of lifetime diagnoses in offspring at high and low risk for major depression. The stability of offspring reports.

Stability of recall of DSM-III diagnoses was assessed at two interviews 2 years apart in a sample of 150 offspring, aged 6 to 23 years, at high and low risk for major depression. Stability of recall was good for major depression with the use of DSM-III criteria and fair for major depression with the use of "strict" criteria (based on 4 weeks' duration of illness and an impairment in a major social role). Stability of recall was good for substance abuse and conduct disorder. Stability of recall was generally poor for anxiety disorder, regardless of subtype. For all major disorders except anxiety disorder, the difference in reported age at onset between the two interviews was small (less than 1 year) and not statistically significant. The most important correlates of stability of reports of major depression were previous psychiatric treatment and dysthymia and poor social functioning at the initial interview. This is the first study to evaluate long-term recall of DSM-III lifetime diagnoses in a nonreferred sample of children, adolescents, and young adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Screening for depressive disorder in children and adolescents: validating the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children.

The utility of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC), a modified version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, was explored in a sample of children, adolescents, and young adults at high or low risk for depression according to their parents' diagnosis. Proband parents were participants in the Yale Family Study of Major Depression who had children between the ages of 6 and 23 years. Diagnostic and self-report information on offspring was collected over two waves, spaced 2 years apart, from 1982 to 1986. Support was obtained for the reliability and validity of the CES-DC as a measure of depressive symptoms, especially for girls and for children and adolescents aged 12-18 years. Children with major depressive disorder or dysthymia, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III), had elevated scores in comparison with all other respondents. The CES-DC lacked diagnostic specificity; children with a range of current DSM-III diagnoses had elevated scores on the measure. A cutoff point of 15 and above for screening children and adolescents for current major depressive disorder or dysthymia may be optimal. Depressed respondents scoring below this cutoff point (false negatives) showed better social adjustment than true positives; nondepressed respondents scoring above this cutoff point (false positives) showed worse adjustment than true negatives. Factor analysis was used to construct an abbreviated, four-item version of the scale. The abbreviated scale was shown to be useful as a screen.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The stability of temperament by child and mother reports over two years.

The stability of temperament dimensions in children, adolescents, and young adults was examined over a 2-year period through the use of multiple informants and a measure of temperament, presumably applicable to informants of all ages. The study is based on 220 children from 91 families at high- and low-risk for major depression by virtue of the presence or absence of major depression in their parents. The Dimensions of Temperament Survey was completed independently by the child and by the parents about their child. Results showed a fair to moderate stability for child self-report of temperament and moderate to good stability for mother reports of child temperament. Discussion focuses on factors that may influence the stability of temperament ratings such as age, sex, mother's depression, socialization pressures, and expectations of temperament held by others.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Applying impairment criteria to children's psychiatric diagnosis.

This paper examines the effect of applying impairment criteria using the Children's Global Assessment Scale on rates, agreement between informants, and recall of diagnosis over 2 years in a sample of 220 offspring of depressed and nondepressed parents. The findings show that the offspring of depressed parents, compared with nondepressed parents, were more impaired overall. The rates of most psychiatric disorders in both groups of children were markedly reduced when impairment criteria were applied. The application of impairment criteria improved agreement between mother and child on many of the children's diagnoses and also improved stability of recall of child's diagnosis at 2-year follow-up. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to determine the clinical consequences for children who meet diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disorder but who have minimal functional impairment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

From bag brides to skeezers: a historical perspective on sex-for-drugs behavior.

There are many ways that women support their use of crack cocaine, including sex-for-crack bartering and other forms of prostitution. Empirical studies conducted in the mid-1970s and in the mid-1980s in New York City, and in Chicago in the late 1980s to early 1990s are compared, analyzing similarities and differences between the contemporary crack-prostitution scene and previous prostitution scenes. Findings suggest that the arrival of crack cocaine has directly and indirectly affected the drugs-prostitution nexus by lowering the price of sex for street prostitutes, altering the social status of cocaine, and increasing the level of social disorganization in illicit street activities, including prostitution. Barterers are shown to be the heaviest drug users, using the greatest variety of drugs, using larger amounts of drugs, and using more frequently.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug use by homicide offenders.

This article uses data derived from interviews with 268 homicide offenders incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities to examine their drug use prior to and at the time of the homicide, and their perceptions as to whether and how the homicides were related to their drug use. Most respondents who used a drug were not hard-core users of that drug. About one in five of the respondents could be considered polydrug abusers. Thirty percent of the sample believed that the homicide was related to their drug use. Alcohol was the drug most likely to be implicated in these homicides. The implications of this research are discussed.

Adult↗