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Biomedical subjects

T G Bowers

Publications and source records attributed to T G Bowers.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Cognitive and neuropsychological characteristics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder children receiving stimulant medications.

10 children receiving stimulant medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder were compared to normal children on cognitive and neuropsychological dimensions in a pilot study. When compared with 10 normal children the ADHD children showed significant differences on cognitive measures, including the Wechsler Developmental Index, the Bender Visual-motor Gestalt Test, and the Benton Revised Visual Retention Test. Elevated levels of polyspike EEG activity were also noted for these children. Analysis suggested that ADHD children receiving stimulant medications may have persisting neuropsychological difficulty. Further research on the neuropsychological correlates of ADHD seems warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A developmental index using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: implications for the diagnosis and nature of ADHD.

The possible utility of Wechsler's Deterioration Index (WDI) in analyzing children's Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) results was explored in this study. Clinical records of children with learning disabilities (LD) and children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were reviewed to determine if the WDI predicted the presence or severity of the disorders. The ages of the children ranged from 6 to 14. In two independent samples of children with LD (n = 35 and n = 26), the WDI did not predict LD status or severity. The LD samples were mostly male--85% and 57%, respectively. However, the WDI scores did significantly distinguish children with ADHD (n = 10) from nondisabled children (n = 10). The results were cross-validated on an independent sample of children with ADHD (n = 17) when compared to non-ADHD children (n = 22) who experienced significant behavioral difficulties. The ADHD samples were also mostly male--90% and 89%, respectively. The WDI classified only 59% of the children with ADHD and 86% of the non-ADHD children correctly. It is recommended that the WDI be considered a developmental index rather than a deterioration index in children. It is also recommended that significant WDI elevation (greater than .20) be considered to raise the question of ADHD, rather than simply yielding a diagnosis of ADHD.

Achievement↗
PubMed1990

A comparison of outcome with group/marital and standard/individual therapies with alcoholics.

Sixteen couples were assigned to either a standard individual therapy condition or a couples group therapy condition. The standard individual treatment condition was conventional outpatient therapy at an outpatient alcohol treatment center, while the couple condition was a group outpatient therapy for alcoholics and their spouses. Treatment outcome was assessed on alcohol consumption for the alcoholic partner. In addition, measures of marital or relationship adjustment, ratings of social functioning and ratings of work functioning were administered to both the alcoholic and the spouse. Assessment was conducted at pretreatment, posttreatment, 6-month follow-up and 1-year follow-up. While the two treatment groups were not significantly different on any measures at the termination of therapy, the conjointly treated alcoholics had significantly lower alcohol consumption than the standard group at 6-month follow-up. There was also a trend for the couple treatment condition to be drinking less than the standard condition at 1-year follow-up. There was also a trend for the conjointly treated couples to report better Marital Adjustment Scale (MAS) scores than those in the standard treatment condition at 6-month follow-up. The conjointly treated couples also had significantly higher relationship ratings adjusted for pretreatment differences at the 6-month and 1-year follow-up. The couple therapy condition appeared to facilitate greater maintenance of improvement, as reflected in follow-up assessments.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Prognosis in a smoking cessation program.

In an attempt to develop a heuristic model of outcome in smoking cessation programs, pretreatment measures of smoking behavior, smoking severity, chronicity of smoking, addictive liability, and health functioning were utilized in order to predict outcome on the number of cigarettes smoked and carbon monoxide (CO) levels at 6-month follow-up. The results of multiple regression analyses supported the view that addictive liability, as indicated by high nicotine ingestion, contributed to higher levels of smoking on follow-up. Poor health status also predicted higher smoking levels on follow-up, as did pretreatment measures of the number of cigarettes smoked per day. However, measures of smoking severity (carbon monoxide and thiocyanate levels) at pretreatment were negatively related to smoking behavior on follow-up. The number of years of smoking history was negatively related to smoking behavior on follow-up. These results need to be cross-validated with larger samples, but the results suggest that prognosis in smoking cessation is worsened by addictive liability and poor health, but not by severe levels of smoking behavior or chronicity in smoking.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Nicotine fading, behavioral contracting, and extended treatment: effects on smoking cessation.

Twenty-eight subjects were randomly allocated to either a nicotine fading or a maintenance condition. The maintenance condition utilized behavioral contracting and extended treatment in addition to the nicotine fading to improve treatment outcome and avoid relapse. The maintenance condition achieved superior outcome on smoking measures at post-treatment and follow-up periods for self-reported smoking levels. Carbon monoxide levels were significantly lower for the maintenance condition at post-treatment, three month and six month follow-up. Saliva thiocyanate levels were significantly lower for the maintenance condition at the three month follow-up. Changes in health functioning indicated significantly lower diastolic and systolic blood pressure at six month follow-up for the maintenance condition. Additional research on nicotine regulation during nicotine fading and thiocyanate levels during experimental smoking would be useful. The use of behavioral contracting to enhance maintenance without therapeutic support warrants further research as well.

Behavior Therapy↗