Publications by authors named "Dawn M Marsh"

Research aimed at identifying and studying subtypes of aggression have historically dichotomized aggressive subtypes, although specific nomenclature has varied; one approach has been to classify aggressive behavior as predominantly impulsive or predominantly premeditated. There are a number of behavioral and cognitive differences between those exhibiting these different forms of aggression. This study was designed to extend understanding of the impulsive/premeditated aggression dichotomy by comparing time estimation among adolescents exhibiting predominantly impulsive or predominantly premeditated forms of physical aggression who have a psychiatric diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD).

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We examine two issues linking personality pathology and judgment of traits within the Five-Factor Model of personality. We hypothesize that pathology moderates self-other agreement--"target" participants with pathology should be less judgable than participants without pathology. In addition, we hypothesize that pathology could partially produce agreement across a variety of traits, particularly those traits fundamental to the pathology.

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Because of the widespread use of drugs by adolescents, there is demand for scientific rigor in sampling and accuracy in methods for ascertaining drug use patterns. The present study: (1) characterized adolescents who responded to advertisements for marijuana users; (2) compared rates of drug use reported on the telephone versus an on-site interview; and (3) examined drug use patterns as a function of parental awareness of drug use. Adolescents, identifying themselves as marijuana users during telephone interviews, reported more use of other drugs than those denying marijuana use.

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This study extends the use of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale for subtyping aggressive behavior among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. Of the Conduct Disorder symptoms, aggression has the strongest prognostic and treatment implications. While aggression is a complex construct, convergent evidence supports a dichotomy of impulsive and premeditated aggressive subtypes that are qualitatively different from one another in terms of phenomenology and neurobiology.

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Rationale: Indirect evidence supports a link between serotonergic activity and individual differences in the behavioral response to alcohol, but few studies have experimentally demonstrated that an individual's biological state can influence the sensitivity to alcohol-induced behaviors.

Objective: Our purpose was to temporarily modify serotonin synthesis in healthy individuals to determine how altered biological states may interact with alcohol administration to affect impulsive behavior.

Materials And Methods: In a repeated-measures design, 18 normal controls consumed a 50-g L: -tryptophan (Trp) depleting (ATD) or loading (ATL) amino-acid beverage that temporarily decreased or increased (respectively) serotonin synthesis before receiving either a moderate dose of alcohol (0.

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Previous research and theory have conceptualized impulsivity as a multifaceted construct that requires multiple modes of measurement for accurate assessment. This article describes a software package that includes four paradigms for measuring multiple and unique aspects of impulsivity. Specifically, four tasks are described: (1) the two choice impulsivity paradigm, (2) the single key impulsivity paradigm, (3) the GoStop impulsivity paradigm, and (4) the time paradigm.

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Background: This study examined the relationship between laboratory-measured impulsivity and age at first drink.

Methods: Using a laboratory behavioral measure of impulsivity [Immediate (IMT) and Delayed Memory Tasks (DMT)], we compared two groups of women differing in their self-reported age at first drink (early-onset drinking, age <18 years, n = 40; late-onset drinking, age > or =21 years, n = 23). It was expected that those who first consumed alcohol before the legal drinking age (i.

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Background: Behavioral impulsivity paradigms vary widely and studies using these measures have typically relied on a single measure used in isolation. As a result, comparisons between measures are difficult, with little consensus regarding which method may be most sensitive to individual impulsivity differences of different populations.

Method: A single testing session of each of four different impulsivity tasks was completed by two groups of adolescents aged 13-17: hospitalized inpatients with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD; n = 22) and controls (n = 22).

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This study is one in a series investigating the relationship between impulsive behavior on a Continuous Performance Test (i.e., the Immediate and Delayed Memory Task) and other cognitive deficits measured by clinical instruments.

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Continuous Performance Tests (CPTs) provide information on attentional processing and impulsive behavior. The results of previous research that used self-report measures have provided evidence for familial transmission (through genetic and/or environmental influences) of impulsive characteristics. The authors of the present study examined whether the impulsive behavioral parameters that are measured by the CPT also share familial relationships.

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The Immediate and Delayed Memory Tasks are variations of the Continuous Performance Test. While previous research with the tasks has focused on group performance across multiple blocks and sessions, reliability estimates have not been established. We estimated reliability (1) between blocks of a single testing session (N=106), (2) across four sessions within a single testing day (N=20), and (3) across sessions on four consecutive testing days (N=20).

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The Immediate and Delayed Memory Task (IMT/DMT), a variant of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), is a new software package designed to be a flexible research tool for the study of attention, memory, and impulsivity. This package allows researchers to determine the design to be used during a testing session and to manipulate many of the parameters. It features two components: the IMT and the DMT, both of which present sequential 2- to 7-digit stimuli with variable presentation rates and intertrial intervals.

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Plasma L-tryptophan (Trp) reductions have been related to aggression increases in men. Impairment of serotonin synthesis and neurotransmission is one explanation. Using repeated-measures, this Trp manipulation study measured laboratory-induced aggression in 12 women after Trp augmentation (T+), depletion (T-), and food-restricted (fasting control) conditions.

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