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Biomedical subjects

R J Craig

Publications and source records attributed to R J Craig.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

MMPI substance abuse scales on drug addicts with and without concurrent alcoholism.

The range and utility of the MMPI-derived MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC) and the Heroin Addiction Scale (He) was assessed with a large sample of drug addicts with and without concurrent alcoholism. Results indicated that addicts with a co-existing alcohol problem obtained higher MAC scores than addicts without a current alcohol problem. Opiate abusers scored higher on the MAC than non-opiate abusers. No such effects were observed with the He scale. The MAC is a particularly robust scale that taps generic substance abuse and may even be sensitive enough to detect alcoholism in drug addicts.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Can personality tests predict treatment dropouts?

Patients who completed a detoxification/rehabilitation drug abuse program were compared with program dropouts on a new personality instrument, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory. No differences were found between groups on any of the 20 comparison variables, replicating previous results with the MMPI. Data are presented showing that discriminant function predictors lose their potency within 3 years and maybe sooner. It is concluded that clinical judgments must form the basis of predicting dropouts until it can be demonstrated that personality tests can make reliable predictions on treatment dropouts.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Effects of opiate withdrawal on MMPI profile scores.

A sample of 200 opiate addicts were given the MMPI either during or after detoxification. Results showed decreases in K and in scores on the MacAndrews Alcoholism Scale; and increases in Hypocondriasis and Hypomania, and on the Wiggins Content Scales of Authority Conflicts, Psychoticism, Poor Health, and Hypomania during detoxification. When adjusted for age effects, Ss still showed significant elevations on Hypocondriasis, Hypomania, and Poor Health. Results are discussed in terms of documenting the specific effects of detox on MMPI profiles and may be construed as a construct validation report on the MMPI itself.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Naloxone reverses neonatal depression caused by fetal asphyxia.

Pregnant near-term rabbits were given an intravenous dose of saline or the opiate antagonist naloxone and then asphyxiated. The fetuses were delivered by cesarean section and evaluated for respiration, color, muscle tone, response to stimulation, and general activity at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes of age. The naloxone-treated pups had significantly better scores during the first 15 minutes after birth than the saline-treated pups. Naloxone did not adversely affect the scores of nonasphyxiated pups. These data suggest that endogenous opiates worsen the neonatal depression caused by intrauterine asphyxia and that this effect can be reversed by naloxone.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Predicting treatment dropouts from a drug abuse rehabilitation program.

Seventy-five drug addicts who completed an opiate detoxification program were compared with 75 addicts who dropped out prematurely on 14 variables. Results showed that patients were more likely to complete detox when the number of staff absences and primary therapist absences increased, when more patients were admitted during their hospitalization, and if they were prescribed methadone. A discriminant function analysis successfully classified 88% of the sample into stay/leave categories. The results were cross-validated on an independent sample of 25 completers and 25 dropouts, resulting in 75% classification accuracy. Primary drug of abuse (heroin/Talwin) was not a factor on any measure. Results indicate that treatment dropout among drug addicts is based more on situational interactionism than on individual determinism.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Personality characteristics of heroin addicts: review of empirical research 1976-1979.

Reviewed are 47 empirical studies. The paper contains sections on results from studies using specific psychometric instruments and measuring specific traits, personality differences in subgroups of heroin addicts, personality changes following treatment, and suggestions for future research. Measuring the presence or absence of a particular trait or characteristic is no longer sufficient. Rather, we need typologies within an interactional framework that systematically relates traits to other variables of interest (i.e., recidivism, treatment retention, and etiology).

Black or African American↗
PubMed1981

Drug themes in metropolitan newspapers: review and analysis.

Content analysis of newspaper articles dealing with illicit drugs over a 6-month period in 1978 revealed several themes. Heroin gets "more press" than other drugs, while treatment and prevention appear to be neglected--perhaps because they are not newsworthy. The secondary analysis of the media seems to be an unobtrusive barometer to gauge the material being disseminated to the public, which helps shape their attitudes and values of drug abuse.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1980

Characteristics of inner city heroin addicts applying for treatment in a Veteran Administration Hospital Drug Program (Chicago).

Based on a total sample of 469 clients processed for admission to an inner city Veteran Drug Abuse Program, reliable information was obtained from a total of 322 heroin addicts. The following is a summary profile of the "average" narcotic addict prior to program entry: Black male, age 30, and unmarried. He has an 11th grade education, including 1/3 who completed the GED while in prison. He has been unemployed for over 1 year and receives $383 per month in legitimate benefits. He began to use heroin at 21 and did not perceive himself to have a drug problem until a year later. He has been addicted for over 8 years and has made five attempts to autonomously detox while ambulatory without the benefit of a treatment program. He has been treated on two other occasions for drug abuse in formal programs. He uses heroin from 2 to 3 times per day at an average daily cost of $68. He has spent 3 years in prison for committing crimes against property or narcotic crimes. He abuses alcohol and marijuana regularly, but has discontinued his use of amphetamines, barbiturates, and hallucinogens. These have been replaced with Talwin and Pyribenzamine. His personality tends to have traits associated with the Character Disorder or Schizoid Personalities. He has been refractory to past treatment efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Effectiveness of low-dose methadone maintenance for the treatment of inner city heroin addicts.

Addicts were maintained on a daily average methadone dose of 30 mg. Clients remaining in treatment for 6 and 12 months were compared to clients dropping out of treatment within the first 30 days and followed up 1 year later. Results showed that clients remaining in treatment showed signficant reductions in heroin usage and arrests, and large increases in full-time employment. One year later, the dropouts were doing as poorly as they had 1 year earlier. Methadone maintenance averaging 30 mg/day achieved similar "success' rates as other studies using larger daily doses, but did so at the expense of retaining fewer clients in treatment. It was recommended that treatment strategies be designed to impact at the first 30 days of treatment to retain them in treatment in view of the beneficial effects awaiting them if they stay.

Crime↗
PubMed1979

Evidence for organicity in concrete vs. overinclusive thought-disordered schizophrenics.

Matched 20 overinclusive schizophrenics, 13 schizophrenics with a concrete thought disorder, defined in terms of performance errors on a conceptual ability test, and 11 brain-damaged patients on age, education, vocabulary proficiency, severity of illness and length of hospitalization. Ss then were given the Combined Test Battery for Organicity. No differences were found between the overinclusive and concrete schizophrenics on any measure of organicity. The Organic Test Battery had poor concurrent validity in distinguishing between brain-damaged and schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenics with a concrete thought disorder have a relatively rare condition that continues to defy explanation, though on the basis of past research an organic involvement seems to be the most parsimonious explanation.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Locating drug addicts who have dropped out of treatment.

Staff at a VA-sponsored drug treatment center followed up dropouts one year after they left the program; they were able to locate 80 per cent of those clients. The staff found several contacts useful in locating the difficult-to-find population, including the addicts' mothers, other drug programs, prisons, and the department of motor vehicles. To make it easier for researchers to tract down dropouts, the author suggests that when patients enter a program they should be required to give names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least two friends or relatives who would know where they were. Staff should emphasize to patients that the information is for research purposes and that confidentiality will be preserved.

Chicago↗
PubMed1979

Emergency room admissions for acute drug reactions in a VA hospital.

To determine the extent to which veterans used a VA Emergency Room (ER) for the treatment of acute drug reactions, the ER log of a VA Hospital was examined to ascertain the number of drug-related visits during the past 24 months. The low base rate suggests that veterans do not rely on a VA ER for the treatment of acute drug reactions and that proper medical supervision and medication management is maintained in the majority of cases. Those who did utilize a VA ER appear to be young (age range 25 to 34), used legally prescribed drugs in combination with alcohol or tranquilizers, and were often suicidal. More attention to the crisis state precipitated by the acute drug reaction is recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Personality characteristics of heroin addicts: a review of the empirical literature with critique--part II.

This paper is the second part of a two-part series reviewing the empirical literature on personality characteristics of heroin addicts. It focuses on MMPI-based studies, personality differences between addict subgroups, and changes during the addiction cycle and following treatment. Several personality characteristics of heroin addicts have been consistently validated experimentally, but it is impossible to determine whether these traits comprise the "addictive personality" and predated drug use, or whether they are the result of drug addiction. Most research in this area has proceeded without the benefit of a theoretical premise on which to generate hypotheses and build models of heroin addiction. It is recommended that more study-based research occur that tests postulates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Diabetes and associated variables in the South Australian Aboriginal.

Diabetes of a predominant maturity-onset type has been identified as being up to ten times more prevalent in South Australian Aborigines than in Caucasians. On the evidence provided, nutritional status and obesity are thought to be dominant in the aetiology of the hyperglycaemia, although relative hyperinsulinaemia in full blood Aborigines suggests a significant racial genetic effect. It is suggested on these and other grounds that the diabetic genotype may represent a factor of previous survival advantage to the Aboriginal, now rendered deleterious by urbanization. The degree of hyperglycaemia, and its association with hyperlipidaemia, obesity, retinal arteriovenous changes and abnormal electrocardiographic findings, accentuates the significance of the diabetes, and underlines the serious need for ongoing nutritional education in these communities.

Adult↗