Sociodemographic, behavioral, and cognitive predictors of alcohol-impaired driving in a sample of U.S. college students.

Alcohol-impaired driving continues to be a major public health concern, particularly among college students. The current study examined whether sociodemographic, behavioral, and cognitive variables predicted alcohol-impaired driving in a sample of college students. Data were collected via telephone interviews from a random sample of undergraduates, ages 18-25 years old, stratified by sex and class in school.

Predictors of college student support for alcohol control policies and stricter enforcement strategies.

Objectives: With alcohol-related problems remaining a concern on college campuses, prevention efforts are increasingly directed to addressing the environmental factors that encourage consumption. This study examined students' support for alcohol control policies, correlates of that support, and actual vs. perceived peer support.

Associations between depression subtypes and substance use disorders.

Evaluating whether certain subtypes of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are more strongly associated with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) may help clarify reasons for MDD-SUD relations. Therefore, this study compared DSM-IV-defined non-atypical/non-melancholic depression (undifferentiated depression; n=365), atypical depression (n=117), melancholic depression (n=245), and atypical-melancholic depression (n=68) in the prevalence of current SUDs, while controlling for relevant demographic and clinical variables. Psychiatric outpatients with a current diagnosis of unipolar MDD were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, supplemented by questions from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Problems applying the DSM-IV eating disorders diagnostic criteria in a general psychiatric outpatient practice.

Objective: A substantial number of patients treated in specialized eating disorder programs fail to meet criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, the 2 eating disorders with specified criteria in DSM-IV, and are diagnosed with eating disorder not otherwise specified (NOS). In a general psychiatric setting, where the severity of eating pathology is likely to be milder than in specialty programs, we predicted that most patients with disordered eating would fail to meet the full criteria for one of the DSM-IV eating disorders and instead would be diagnosed with eating disorder NOS.

Method: Two thousand five hundred psychiatric outpatients were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) upon presentation for treatment.

Presurgical psychiatric evaluations of candidates for bariatric surgery, part 1: reliability and reasons for and frequency of exclusion.

Objective: Many bariatric surgery programs include psychiatric evaluations as part of the pre-operative screening procedure. Surveys of surgeons and mental health professionals have found variability in opinion regarding what psychosocial problems warrant denial of clearance for surgery. Few studies have reported the number of patients who are not cleared for surgery due to psychiatric reasons, and no study has reported the reliability of decision making.