Effectiveness of text message interventions with different behavior change techniques on alcohol consumption among young adults: a five-arm randomized controlled trial.

Aims: This studys aim is to test the effectiveness of five interventions each utilizing a unique set of behavior change techniques on reducing alcohol consumption at 3 and 6 months among young adults with hazardous drinking.

Design, Setting And Participants: This study used a five-arm parallel randomized controlled trial with 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Recruitment occurred at four emergency departments in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Opioid use patterns and risk characteristics among injured patients.

Injured patients are at risk for prolonged opioid use after discharge from care. Limited evidence exists regarding how continued opioid use may be related to opioid medication misuse and opioid use disorder (OUD) following injury. This pilot study characterized opioid consumption patterns, health characteristics, and substance use among patients with active prescriptions for opioid medications following injury care.

"Running Trains" and "Sexing-In": The Functions of Sex Within Adolescent Gangs.

Gang members are exposed to unique sexual risks, yet little work has explored the influence of gang social norms. This study examines the functions and meanings of sex within gangs, with a specific focus on the ways in which sex is used to reinforce gang membership and norms, gender roles, and group cohesion. We conducted 58 semi-structured interviews with adolescent members of six gangs.

The Association Between Daily Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Pain Over the First 14 Days After Injury: An Experience Sampling Study.

Objectives: Psychosocial factors and responses to injury modify the transition from acute to chronic pain. Specifically, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms) exacerbate and cooccur with chronic pain. Yet no study has prospectively considered the associations among these psychological processes and pain reports using experience sampling methods (ESMs) during the acute aftermath of injury.

The Role of Negative Affect on Headache-Related Disability Following Traumatic Physical Injury.

Objective: Acute postinjury negative affect (NA) may contribute to headache pain following physical injury. Early psychiatric-headache comorbidity conveys increased vulnerability to chronic headache-related disability and impairment. Yet, it is unknown whether NA is involved in the transition to chronic headache related-disability after injury.

Postconcussive Symptoms Over the First 14 Days After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Experience Sampling Study.

Objective: This study examined changes in postconcussive symptoms (PCS) over the acute postinjury recovery period, focusing on how daily PCSs differ between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and other injury types.

Setting: An urban emergency department (ED) in Western Pennsylvania.

Subjects: A total of 108 adult patients with trauma being discharged from the ED were recruited and grouped by injury type: mild TBI (mTBI; n = 39), head injury without mTBI (HI: n = 16), and non-head-injured trauma controls (TCs: n = 53).

Quantitative sensory testing measures individual pain responses in emergency department patients.

Background: Refining and individualizing treatment of acute pain in the emergency department (ED) is a high priority, given that painful complaints are the most common reasons for ED visits. Few tools exist to objectively measure pain perception in the ED setting. We speculated that variation in perception of fixed painful stimuli would explain individual variation in reported pain and response to treatment among ED patients.

A multi-level modeling approach examining PTSD symptom reduction during prolonged exposure therapy: moderating effects of number of trauma types experienced, having an HIV-related index trauma, and years since HIV diagnosis among HIV-positive adults.

People living with HIV (PLWH) have extensive interpersonal trauma histories and higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the general population. Prolonged exposure (PE) therapy is efficacious in reducing PTSD across a variety of trauma samples; however, research has not examined factors that influence how PTSD symptoms change during PE for PLWH. Using multi-level modeling, we examined the potential moderating effect of number of previous trauma types experienced, whether the index trauma was HIV-related or not, and years since HIV diagnosis on PTSD symptom reduction during a 10-session PE protocol in a sample of 51 PLWH.

The association between daily PTSD symptom severity and alcohol-related outcomes in recent traumatic injury victims.

The self-medication hypothesis proposes that individuals experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may use alcohol (or other substances) to self-medicate distress, while the mutual maintenance hypothesis proposes that alcohol use also exacerbates or maintains distress. Existing research largely supports the self-medication hypothesis. However, findings are often based upon retrospective reporting of problems and assessment of symptoms anchored to a trauma occurring in the remote past.

Childhood Adversity and the Continued Exposure to Trauma and Violence Among Adolescent Gang Members.

This study investigates interfaith groups from across the United States to understand how these religious settings may serve as mediating structures to facilitate individual political action. Based on a multilevel modeling analysis with 169 individuals from 25 interfaith groups, we found that core activities of the group, such as group members sharing community information (e.g.

The utility of hair cortisol concentrations in the prediction of PTSD symptoms following traumatic physical injury.

Rationale: Although cortisol alterations have been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD symptoms (PTSS), the direction of association is mixed. Cortisol which is measured in blood, saliva, or urine is subject to transient factors that may confound results. Recent advances in cortisol sampling techniques provide novel opportunities to address these inconsistencies.

Convention Versus Deviance: Moral Agency in Adolescent Gang Members' Decision Making.

Background: Adolescent gang members are a source of concern due to their involvement in criminal activity, violence, substance use, and high-risk sexual behaviors. Adolescent gang theories hypothesize that social institutions, including the family and school, fail to meet the needs of adolescents who therefore feel less attachment to these institutions and find an unconventional institution (i.e.

Trajectories of daily PTSD symptoms in recent traumatic injury victims.

Objective: Prior research has identified different PTSD symptom (PTSS) trajectories over months and years posttrauma that warrant different levels of clinical attention. Earlier identification of at-risk trauma victims can facilitate efficient and appropriate intervention efforts.

Method: Using latent class growth analysis, we examined daily PTSS trajectories beginning 6 weeks postinjury in 68 injury victims.

Gang masculinity and high-risk sexual behaviours.

High-risk sexual behaviours include practices such as relationship violence and substance use, which often cluster together among young people in high-risk settings. Youth gang members often show high rates of such behaviours, substance use and relationship violence. This paper draws on data from in-depth interviews with male and female gang members from six different gangs to explore the role of powerful socialising peer groups that set gender, sexual and relationship roles and expectations for their male and female members.

Partnership-Level Analysis of African American Women's Risky Sexual Behavior in Main and Non-Main Partnerships.

The majority of research on risky sexual behavior in African American women has examined global associations between individual-level predictors and behavior. However, this method obscures the potentially significant impact of the specific relationship or relationship partner on risky sexual behavior. To address this gap, we conducted partnership-level analysis of risky sexual behavior among 718 African American women recruited from HIV counseling, testing, and referral sites in four states.

Comparing the effect of DSM-congruent traumas vs. DSM-incongruent stressors on PTSD symptoms: A meta-analytic review.

Experts have long debated how to define the PTSD traumatic stressor criterion. Prior research demonstrates that PTSD symptoms (PTSS) sometimes stem from events that do not meet the DSM requirements for Criterion A (e.g.

The impact of PTSD treatment on the cortisol awakening response.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with abnormal functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; however, limited research has examined whether cortisol levels change following successful PTSD treatment. The current study examined the impact of successful PTSD treatment on the cortisol awakening response (CAR).

Method: Twenty-nine adults participating in a treatment trial for chronic PTSD provided saliva samples (upon waking, and 30-, 45-, and 60 min postwaking) before and after receiving either prolonged exposure therapy or sertraline.

PTSD symptom severity and psychiatric comorbidity in recent motor vehicle accident victims: a latent class analysis.

We conducted a latent class analysis (LCA) on 249 recent motor vehicle accident (MVA) victims to examine subgroups that differed in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, current major depressive disorder and alcohol/other drug use disorders (MDD/AoDs), gender, and interpersonal trauma history 6-weeks post-MVA. A 4-class model best fit the data with a resilient class displaying asymptomatic PTSD symptom levels/low levels of comorbid disorders; a mild psychopathology class displaying mild PTSD symptom severity and current MDD; a moderate psychopathology class displaying severe PTSD symptom severity and current MDD/AoDs; and a severe psychopathology class displaying extreme PTSD symptom severity and current MDD. Classes also differed with respect to gender composition and history of interpersonal trauma experience.

The physical health consequences of PTSD and PTSD symptoms: a meta-analytic review.

The present meta-analysis systematically examined associations between physical health and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/PTSD symptoms (PTSS), as well as moderators of this relationship. Literature searches yielded 62 studies examining the impact of PTSD/PTSS on physical health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), general health symptoms, general medical conditions, musculoskeletal pain, cardio-respiratory (CR) symptoms, and gastrointestinal (GI) health. Sample-specific and methodological moderators were also examined.

An examination of PTSD symptoms as a mediator of the relationship between trauma history characteristics and physical health following a motor vehicle accident.

Background: It has been suggested that a history of trauma exposure is associated with increased vulnerability to the physical health consequences of subsequent trauma exposure, and that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) may serve as a key pathway in this vulnerability. However, few studies have modeled these relationships using mediation, and most have failed to consider whether specific characteristics of the prior trauma exposure have a differential impact on physical and mental health outcomes.

Methods: The present study examined 180 victims of a serious motor vehicle accident (MVA) who reported prior exposure to traumatic events.

The impact of prolonged exposure on PTSD symptoms and associated psychopathology in people living with HIV: a randomized test of concept.

People living with HIV (PLWH) report elevated levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSS) and associated comorbidities. The present study tested the efficacy of prolonged exposure (PE) at reducing PTSS, depression, negative posttraumatic cognitions, and substance use in PLWH. Participants were randomly assigned to receive PE (n = 40) or to a weekly monitoring control group (n = 25).

Avoidant coping as a mediator between peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Peritraumatic dissociation consistently predicts posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Avoidant coping may serve as a mechanism through which peritraumatic dissociation contributes to PTSD symptoms. Path analysis was used to examine whether avoidant coping assessed 6 weeks following a motor vehicle accident mediated the relationship between in-hospital peritraumatic dissociation and 6-month (n = 193) and 12-month (n = 167) chronic PTSD symptoms.

What do perceived cognitive problems reflect?

Women with breast cancer frequently report cognitive problems to healthcare providers during and after adjuvant therapy. Patients' perceptions of their cognitive problems would be expected to relate to objectively measured cognitive impairments. We explored the relationship between perceived cognitive function and objective ratings of thinking ability in early-stage breast cancer patients receiving hormonal therapy.