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W R Blount

Publications and source records attributed to W R Blount.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

The effect of perceived neighborhood setting on self-reported tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among inner-city minority junior high school youth.

The relationship between neighborhood setting and drug use appears to be drug specific. For alcohol and tobacco a knowledge of peer (friends') use was highly predictive of personal use, independent of how tough or drug involved the neighborhood was thought to be, but quite dependent on neighborhood perceptions for personal marijuana use, becoming more predictive as the neighborhood was perceived as tougher and more drug involved. Knowledge of spare-time activities was predictive of tobacco and marijuana use (independent of neighborhood) but not predictive for alcohol use. The data suggest that because the relationships are complex, intervention/prevention strategies must not only be drug specific but must proceed on many fronts simultaneously. Some suggestions are offered, along with a discussion of findings which may help identify non-users and users in the same population.

Adolescent↗

Orbital lymphoma associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

A new case of AIDS-associated, small noncleaved cell (Burkitt's) lymphoma that presented as an orbital mass is described. Extraocular muscle involvement was documented by computed tomography and confirmed by orbital biopsy. Extensive abdominal involvement was subsequently diagnosed and this caused the patient's death only 15 days after the initial consultation and orbital biopsy. A literature review discloses only eight previous case reports of AIDS-associated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) involving the orbit: two cases of Burkitt's type and six cases of large cell immunoblastic type. Three additional cases of orbital NHL can be found among larger series of AIDS cases. Affected patients are uniformly young adult males with a history of homosexuality and/or IV drug abuse. Variations in clinical presentation are discussed. Although the morphology of the histopathologic specimen in our case was consistent with a high-grade, small noncleaved cell NHL, flow cytometry revealed an atypical immunophenotype for Burkitt's lymphoma in that CD20 and immunoglobulin light chain antigens were not expressed. Morphologic classification and immunophenotypic characteristics of AIDS-associated NHLs are discussed.

Adult↗

Perceived environmental drug use risk and the correlates of early drug use or nonuse among inner-city youths: the motivated actor.

The extent to which youth perceive their neighborhood to be at risk was found to be directly related to a series of life-style and drug use context variables. Further, the extent of drug use (nonuse, only alcohol, both alcohol and marijuana) was directly related to two of these variables, but inversely related to the extent their friends used "hard" drugs. These results indicate the critical importance of incorporating a measure of perceived risk into drug studies of adolescents, and highlight the need to view youth as motivated actors, guiding their own behavior in an attempt to actualize self-defined values. This is in direct contrast to most theoretical perspectives which regard this age group as merely responding to powerful external influences.

Adolescent↗