Biomedical subjects

Ralph E Tarter

Publications and source records attributed to Ralph E Tarter.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Etiology of adolescent substance abuse: a developmental perspective.

Approximately 5% of adolescents in the U.S. qualify for a diagnosis of substance use disorder (SUD). Low affect and behavior self-regulation during child development interacting with family, peer and other ecological factors predisposes to substance use in adolescence. Maturational processes during adolescence, particularly involving the brain and reproductive system, exacerbate the low psychological self-regulation evidenced during childhood to promote initiation of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) consumption. This discussion examines the etiology of ATOD abuse and SUD from a developmental perspective. The ramifications of a developmental perspective for clinical practice and social policy are also considered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Predicting adolescent violence: impact of family history, substance use, psychiatric history, and social adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to provisionally develop an efficient screening method to detect adolescents at high risk for committing a violent act by young adulthood. In addition, the authors sought to use this screening instrument, in conjunction with child and parent psychopathology and substance abuse data, to determine the accuracy of violent outcome predictions. METHOD: The probands were men with a lifetime history of DSM-III-R substance use disorder (N=38) and men with no adult psychiatric disorder (N=61). Their biological sons were studied at two time points. At age 12-14, the offspring completed a 13-item Violence Proneness Scale, which was derived by using items from the revised Drug Use Screening Inventory. The occurrence of violent acts was then assessed at a follow-up evaluation when the offspring were 19 years of age. RESULTS: Among the offspring, a DSM-III-R axis I psychiatric disorder and a Violence Proneness Scale score of 10 or higher at age 12-14 predicted a violent outcome by age 19. The overall accuracy of prediction was 77%. Sensitivity was 81%, and specificity was 76%. Substance use disorder or psychopathology in the probands or substance use frequency in the children did not contribute to the prediction of violence. CONCLUSIONS: The brief Violence Proneness Scale, which measures school and peer adjustment, in conjunction with a childhood psychiatric history may constitute an efficient screening procedure for identifying youth who are at high risk for committing acts of violence.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Borderline personality and substance use in women.

The association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance use disorder (SUD) was examined in a predominantly psychiatric (77.6%) sample of 232 women. BPD proved to be a significant predictor of a lifetime diagnosis of SUD across four different categories: any SUD (including alcohol); alcohol use; drug use; and heroin, cocaine, or poly-substance use. BPD continued to be a predictor of SUD even when the effects of other cluster B and all cluster C PDs were controlled statistically. Antisocial personality disorder generally yielded larger odds ratios than BPD and emerged as a partial mediator of the relation between BPD and SUD. Histrionic PD was the only other PD that showed meaningful relations with SUD.

Adult↗