Biomedical subjects

M Whiteman

Publications and source records attributed to M Whiteman.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Coping with AIDS. A longitudinal study.

The goals of this longitudinal, prospective study were to 1) examine coping strategies of HIV-positive (HIV+) and HIV-negative (HIV-) injecting drug users; 2) study the relationship of earlier social support to later coping in HIV+ men; and 3) examine the effects of earlier coping strategies on later psychosocial function. The authors studied 287 men given a structured questionnaire at two points in time. HIV+ subjects scored higher than HIV- subjects on measures of AIDS-related adaptive coping (social support) and AIDS-related maladaptive coping (aggression), but not on general coping. General coping was not specifically AIDS-related, but was correlated positively with adaptive coping and negatively with maladaptive coping. These results suggest that earlier general coping is related to the later avoidance of maladaptive coping, and they have specific implications for teaching preventive strategies. AIDS-related adaptive or maladaptive coping techniques may be used simultaneously, and coping behavior may change over time. Earlier social support is related positively to aspects of later coping in HIV+ men.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1997

Psychosocial risk factors for HIV transmission in female drug abusers.

The authors studied the influences of domains of psychosocial risk factors on needle-sharing with familiar people and with strangers in a cohort of female injecting drug users (IDUs). Subjects were 119 female IDUs, 46% of whom were HIV+. Subjects were given individually administered questionnaire interviews: Using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple hierarchical regression analyses, the authors found that personality, family, and peer attributes related to needle-sharing in women were similar to those found in men, with certain exceptions. The role of the family, particularly the Significant Other, was more important and proximal in its effect on needle-sharing behavior in women than in men. There was a main effect as well as a mediating effect of family in women, buffering risk factors leading to needle-sharing.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

African-American and Puerto Rican drug use: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the interrelationship of acculturation, family, personality, ecology, and peer domains measured in adolescence as they impact drug use 5 years later and to assess the role of family variables as buffers against personality risks. METHOD: Youths completed questionnaires in classrooms at T1 and were individually interviewed at T2 (mean age = 20 years). Data were analyzed separately for African-Americans and Puerto Ricans using correlations, hierarchical multiple regressions, and two-way interactions. RESULTS: Most results were similar for both ethnic groups. Eighty percent of the T1 variables significantly related to T2 stage of drug use. A mediational model of the path to drug use was supported. Acculturative influences were associated with family relations, which in turn were related to personality attributes. A reciprocal relationship emerged between the personality and peer domains in their impact on drug use. Family variables primarily enhanced the effect of protective personality traits on drug use. CONCLUSIONS: Stability of drug use alone cannot explain the relationship between the earlier domains and later drug use. Specific adolescent risks have long-lasting effects. The personality domain has a direct effect on later drug use despite a benign picture in the acculturation, family, and peer domains.

Acculturation↗

PubMed1996

Protection against peroxynitrite-dependent tyrosine nitration and alpha 1-antiproteinase inactivation by oxidized and reduced lipoic acid.

Peroxynitrite, formed by combination of superoxide radical with nitric oxide, is a reactive tissue-damaging species apparently involved in the pathology of several human diseases. Peroxynitrite nitrates tyrosine residues and inactivates alpha 1-antiproteinase. We show that both lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid efficiently protect against damage by peroxynitrite. By contrast, other disulphides tested did not. The biological antioxidant effects of lipoate/dihydrolipoate may involve scavenging of reactive nitrogen species as well as reactive oxygen species.

Antioxidants↗

PubMed1996

Effects of parent drug use and personality on toddler adjustment.

The interrelation between parental drug use and parental personality and the effects on 18-month-old children's adjustment were examined. Data on the parents were available at four points in time: Time 1 at mean age 6.1 years, Time 2 at mean age 13.7 years, Time 3 at mean age 16.4 years, and at Time 4 at mean age 22.2 years. Data on their toddlers at 18 months of age were also available. Structured interviews were used to assess personality and drug use and the toddlers' adjustment. Time 3 parental personality traits were related to Time 4 personality traits, which in turn were related to toddler adjustment. The influence of parental alcohol involvement (Time 3) on toddler adjustment was mediated by parental personality (Times 3 and 4) and parental alcohol problems (Time 4). Interactive effects demonstrated that protective parental personality traits (nondrug conducive) enhanced the effects of low parental drug use, resulting in the highest amounts of toddler adjustment. There are significant pathways between parental personality and drug use and toddler adjustment. Parental protective factors enhance the effect of parental low drug use on toddler adjustment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

Incidence, natural history and cardiovascular events in symptomatic and asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease in the general population.

BACKGROUND: Intermittent claudication is associated with a poor prognosis, but less is known of the risks associated with asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and natural history of claudication, and the incidence of cardiovascular events in symptomatic and asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease. METHODS: In 1988, 1592 subjects aged 55-74 years were selected randomly from the age-sex register of 10 general practices in Edinburgh, Scotland. The presence of peripheral arterial disease was determined by the World Health Organization questionnaire on intermittent claudication, the ankle brachial pressure index and a reactive hyperaemia test. This cohort was followed prospectively over 5 years for subsequent cardiovascular events and death. RESULTS: One hundred and sixteen new cases of claudication were identified (incidence density 15.5 per 1000 person-years). Of those with claudication at baseline, 28.8% and still had pain after 5 years, 8.2% underwent vascular surgery or amputation, and 1.4% developed leg ulceration. Claudicants had a significantly increased risk of developing angina compared with normals (RR: 2.31, 95% CI: 1.04-5.10), and asymptomatic subjects had a slightly increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. Deaths from cardiovascular disease were more likely in both claudicants (RR: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.34-5.29) and subjects with major (RR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.13-3.83) or minor asymptomatic disease (RR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.09-2.76). Subjects with major asymptomatic disease also had an increased risk of non-cardiovascular death (RR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.33-3.59), and therefore had the highest overall risk of death (RR: 2.44, 95% CI: 1.59-3.74). CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease appear to have the same increased risk of cardiovascular events and death found in claudicants.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

Young adult drug use and delinquency: childhood antecedents and adolescent mediators.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were (1) to examine the childhood, early adolescent, and late adolescent predictors of young adult drug use and delinquency; and (2) to explore the effects of drug use on delinquent behavior. METHOD: Data were gathered during the course of a 20-year longitudinal study of children representative of the Northeast. Data were gathered on childhood aggression, early and late adolescent drug use and delinquency, and young adult drug use and delinquency. RESULTS: Overall, the results were consistent with our proposed model. Childhood aggression had an adverse effect on young adult drug use and female deviant behavior. Drug use and delinquency during early and late adolescence served as the mediator between childhood aggression and young adult drug use. Moreover, adolescent drug use was associated with later delinquency. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that childhood aggression was related to both young adult drug use and delinquency. Second, there was stability of drug use and delinquency between early adolescence and young adulthood. Third, drug use during early adolescence had an impact on delinquency not only in early adolescence, but also in late adolescence and young adulthood.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Protection against peroxynitrite dependent tyrosine nitration and alpha 1-antiproteinase inactivation by some anti-inflammatory drugs and by the antibiotic tetracycline.

OBJECTIVE: To examine in vitro the ability of several drugs to protect against deleterious effects of peroxynitrite, a cytotoxic agent formed by reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide radical, that may be generated in the rheumatoid joint and could cause joint damage. METHODS: The ability of several drugs to protect against such possible toxic actions of peroxynitrite as inactivation of alpha 1-antiproteinase and nitration of tyrosine was evaluated. RESULTS: Most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were moderately (indomethacin, diclofenac, naproxen, tolmetin) or only weakly (sulindac, ibuprofen, aurothioglucose, flurbiprofen, sulphasalazine, salicylate, penicillamine disulphide) effective in preventing tyrosine nitration and alpha 1-antiproteinase inactivation by peroxynitrite, but 5-aminosalicylate and penicillamine were much more effective, as was the antibiotic tetracycline (but not ampicillin). Phenylbutazone and flufenamic acid protected effectively against tyrosine nitration, but could not be tested in the alpha 1-antiproteinase system. The analgesic paracetamol was highly protective in both assay systems. CONCLUSION: Many drugs used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are unlikely to act by scavenging peroxynitrite. The feasibility of peroxynitrite scavenging as a mechanism of penicillamine, 5-aminosalicylate, and paracetamol action in vivo is discussed.

Acetaminophen↗

PubMed1996

Protection against peroxynitrite-dependent tyrosine nitration and alpha 1-antiproteinase inactivation by ascorbic acid. A comparison with other biological antioxidants.

Peroxynitrite, formed by reaction of superoxide and nitric oxide, appears to be an important tissue-damaging species generated at sites of inflammation. In this paper, we compare the abilities of several biological antioxidants to protect against peroxynitrite-dependent inactivation of alpha 1-antiproteinase, and to inhibit tyrosine nitration upon addition of peroxynitrite. GSH and ascorbate protected efficiently in both systems. Uric acid inhibited tyrosine nitration but not alpha 1-antiproteinase inactivation. The possibility that ascorbic acid is an important scavenger of reactive nitrogen species in vivo is discussed.

Antioxidants↗

PubMed1995

Parent drug use, parent personality, and parenting.

This study examined the relationship of parent drug use and specific parent personality traits with four indicators of the parent-child bond: affection, child-centeredness, involvement, and nonconflictual relations. The participants (N = 71) were young mothers or fathers who have participated in a longitudinal study of 1,000 children and their parents from 1975 to the present. They answered a self-administered questionnaire about themselves and their oldest child. Regression analyses indicated that the domains of parent drug use and parent personality had independent effects on most of the parent-child variables. Specific parent personality traits buffered the effect of drug use on aspects of the bond. The implications of these findings are that reducing parental drug use can have direct and positive effects on the bond and can enhance some parent personality traits, thus strengthening the bond. Protective personality characteristics can mitigate the impact of drug use on the bond.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Aggression, intrapsychic distress, and drug use: antecedent and intervening processes.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the interrelation of childhood aggression, early and late adolescent intrapsychic distress, unconventionality, and drug use. METHOD: Data were obtained from the subjects when they were 5 to 10 years old. Follow-up interviews were conducted when the subjects were between 13 and 18 years old and again when they were 15 to 20 years old. RESULTS: A LISREL analysis indicated that childhood aggression was related to later intrapsychic distress, unconventionality, and drug use. There were significant pathways from childhood aggression to drug use at 15 to 20 years of age, with mediation through intrapsychic distress and unconventionality, and during adolescence there was a pathway from intrapsychic distress to unconventionality, leading to legal and subsequently illegal drug use. There was also considerable stability in intrapsychic distress, unconventionality, and drug use. CONCLUSION: Intrapsychic distress and unconventionality are important mediators of childhood aggression and adult drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Longitudinally predicting late adolescent and young adult drug use: childhood and adolescent precursors.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the childhood and adolescent personality determinants of young adult drug use. METHOD: Data were obtained on children when they were approximately 5.5 (time 1; T1), 14 (T2), 16 (T3), and 22 (T4) years of age. T2-T4 interviews of subjects and their mothers assessed child personality and behavior. At T1, 976 mothers were interviewed. The analysis was based on 734 subjects. RESULTS: Specific childhood and adolescent personality traits are related to stage of drug use in young adulthood. Regressions showed that (1) traits at T2 and T3 mediated the effect of traits at earlier ages on T4 drug use and (2) stage of drug use was stable from T3 to T4 despite controlling for personality. Significant interaction revealed two buffers weakening the effect of T3 drug use on T4 drug use. Many more T1-T3 personality traits, particularly low aggression, enhanced the effect of low T3 use on T4 use. CONCLUSIONS: Earlier findings that childhood personality is related to adolescent personality and then to drug use were extended to young adulthood. This mediational model indicates the stability of personality across development. Despite this stability, other results suggest ways to modify drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Coping with AIDS and the threat of AIDS in intravenous drug abusers.

In this investigation of patterns of coping with AIDS or the threat of AIDS by male intravenous drug abusers (both HIV positive and HIV negative), psychosocial measures were used to study the effects of personality factors and social support. Correlational analyses and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were used to assess the results. The pathways by which psychosocial factors affected coping differed in HIV-positive and HIV-negative subjects. A mediational model best depicted the interrelation of personality, family, and peer factors among HIV-positive subjects. Anger and rebelliousness interfered with coping among HIV-negative subjects, but not among HIV-positive subjects. This cross-sectional study provides insight into the interplay of inner personality factors and external support factors and their effects on coping ability in male intravenous drug abusers. Differences between those with HIV and those at risk for HIV infection are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1993

Role of mutual attachment in drug use: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines childhood aggression, mutual attachment and later drug use. METHOD: Data on 397 children and adolescents at three points in time were collected and analyzed. Mothers and their children were individually interviewed. RESULTS: A weak parent-child mutual attachment in girls can be viewed as a consequence of childhood aggression. Moreover, mutual parent-child attachment affects later drug use through three stabilities: (1) the stability of attachment during adolescence, (2) the stability of unconventionality during adolescence, and (3) the stability of drug use during adolescence. CONCLUSION: The multiple pathway perspective on drug use poses a number of ways in which to think about interventional approaches. First, interventions may be targeted toward those risk factors showing the strongest relations with later drug use. A second mode of orientation to intervention would deal with the amenability of the target to particular interventional agents. Interventions may be geared to intraindividual characteristics or may focus more attention on familial characteristics. A third way of considering interventions, as suggested by the developmental pathways to drug use, seeks to address the temporal order of risk factors leading to drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Psychosocial risk factors for HIV transmission in male drug abusers.

We studied the psychosocial risk factors associated with Black, Hispanic, and White (N = 257) male intravenous drug abusers' needle-sharing behavior with familiar individuals and with strangers. Approximately half the subjects were HIV+. The findings supported a mediational model in that risk factors in the family domain were associated with peer and personality risk factors conducive to needle sharing that, in turn, were related to needle-sharing behavior.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

African-American and Puerto Rican drug use: personality, familial, and other environmental risk factors.

Using a family interactional theoretical framework giving primacy to the mutual attachment between parent and child, we examined the interrelationship of acculturation, ecological factors, family, personality, peers, and drug context domains with drug use in an inner city sample. We also assessed the extent to which family protective factors mitigated against risks for drug use from most of the other domains. The sample consisted of 695 African-American and 637 Puerto Rican 7th-10th graders who answered the questionnaire while listening to it on personal tape players in their classrooms. The results of hierarchical regression analyses sufficiently supported the hypothesized sequence of interrelationships in both ethnic groups to substantiate our developmental model of drug use. We also found protective buffers common to both ethnic groups and buffers specific to each group. The implications of the results for targets and timing of intervention in the path to drug use are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Childhood precursors of adolescent drug use: a longitudinal analysis.

Childhood and adolescent intrapersonal and interpersonal influences on older adolescents' drug use were examined with an interactional approach. Data were obtained when subjects were 5-10, 13-18, and 15-20 years old. Latent-variable confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the fit of the variables to the latent constructs. Next, a structural model was hypothesized and tested to assess the influences of childhood and earlier adolescent factors on later adolescent drug use. Childhood aggression and parental sociopathy affected drug use in late adolescence. Unconventionality during early and middle adolescence had an important and pervasive impact on all aspects of middle and late adolescent functioning. Finally, both intrapersonal and interpersonal factors from childhood and early adolescence affected self-drug use during middle and late adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Sibling influences on adolescent drug use: older brothers on younger brothers.

This study was designed to examine sibling influences on adolescent drug use. The sample was composed of 278 white, predominantly middle-class male college students and their oldest brothers. Self-administered questionnaires were taken separately by the students and their brothers. The findings indicated that the oldest brother's personality and the sibling relationship had an influence on the younger brother's drug use. Three hypothesized mechanisms that supported the findings, the Personality Influence Mechanism, the Genetic Temperament Connection, and the Environmental Reactive Mechanism were discussed.

Adolescent↗