PERSONALITY DISORDERS AND THE PREDICTION OF ALCOHOL USE OUTCOMES FOR WOMEN: DIMENSIONAL VERSUS CATEGORICAL CLASSIFICATION.

The impending shift in DSM-5 from categorical to a hybrid categorical-dimensional diagnosis scheme has generated considerable interest in the relative merits of these respective approaches. This is particularly true for the diagnostically complex category of personality disorders (PDs). The present study assessed whether categorical or dimensional measures better predicted alcohol consumption in a sample of 102 women enrolled in a clinical trial comparing individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to conjoint CBT for alcohol use disorders (AUD).

Does session attendance by a supportive significant other predict outcomes in individual treatment for alcohol use disorders?

Background: A significant amount of research has supported the efficacy of couple versus individual treatment for alcohol use disorders, yet little is known about whether involving a significant other during the course of individual treatment can improve outcomes. Likewise, several barriers to couple treatment exist and a more flexible approach to significant other involvement may be warranted.

Methods: This study constituted secondary analyses of the COMBINE data, a randomized clinical trial that combined pharmacotherapy and behavioral intervention for alcohol dependence.

Do co-morbid anxiety disorders predict drinking outcomes in women with alcohol use disorders?

Aims: It is unclear whether co-morbid anxiety disorders predict worse drinking outcomes during attempts to change drinking behavior. Studies have yielded mixed results, and have rarely examined drinking outcomes based on a specific type of anxiety disorder. Women with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are of particular interest as they are at risk for co-morbid anxiety [Kessler et al.

Promoting behavior change from alcohol use through mobile technology: the future of ecological momentary assessment.

Background: Interactive and mobile technologies (i.e., smartphones such as Blackberries, iPhones, and palm-top computers) show promise as an efficacious and cost-effective means of communicating health-behavior risks, improving public health outcomes, and accelerating behavior change.

Pretreatment clinical and risk correlates of substance use disorder patients with primary depression.

Objective: The current study examined the distinction between primary and secondary depression among substance use patients to test whether the primary depressed subgroup presents to treatment with a unique profile of clinical and vulnerability characteristics.

Method: The heterogeneous sample comprised 286 individuals (76% male) with alcohol and/or drug abuse or dependence (according to criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised) across four treatment outcome studies conducted at the alcohol research center at the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies. Participants were classified as having comorbid lifetime history of primary depression (21%), secondary depression (24%), or no depression (55%).

Indirect effect of social support for drinking on drinking outcomes: the role of motivation.

Objective: This study tested an integrated relapse model drawing hypotheses from both interpersonal and intra-individual relapse models. It was hypothesized that the relationships between alcohol-specific social support (support for drinking and support for not drinking) and drinking outcomes would be partially mediated by motivation.

Method: Participants were 158 women with alcohol use disorders participating in two linked randomized controlled trials.

A Novel Approach to Treating Anxiety and Enhancing Executive Skills in an Older Adult with Parkinson's Disease.

Scientific interest in the nonmotoric symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) has increased dramatically, and psychiatric symptoms (e.g., cognitive impairment, anxiety and mood disorders) are now considered prime targets for treatment optimization.

Emphasizing interpersonal factors: an extension of the Witkiewitz and Marlatt relapse model.

Aim: Recently, Witkiewitz & Marlatt reformulated the Marlatt & Gordon relapse model to account for current research findings. The present paper aims to extend this model further to incorporate social variables more fully.

Methods: The social-factors and alcohol-relapse literatures were reviewed within the framework of the reformulated relapse model.

The effects of causal beliefs and binge eating on the stigmatization of obesity.

Objective: Weight disorders and overeating are increasingly labeled as addictions. It is important to identify the consequences of this label on the stigmatization of obesity.

Method: Participants (N = 374) were assigned randomly to one of six conditions, in which they read a scenario about an obese woman either with or without binge eating, followed by an account of the cause of her obesity as psychological, a biological addiction, or ambiguous.