Design and methods of the Longitudinal Eating Disorders Assessment Project research consortium for veterans.

Introduction: Military service members must maintain a certain body mass index and body fat percentage. Due to weight-loss pressures, some service members may resort to unhealthy behaviors that place them at risk for the development of an eating disorder (ED).

Objectives: To understand the scope and impact of EDs in military service members and veterans, we formed the Longitudinal Eating Disorders Assessment Project (LEAP) Consortium.

Measurement-based care and psychological assessment: Using measurement to enhance psychological treatment.

This special issue highlights new research in psychological assessment and measurement-based care. Psychological assessment has historically been central to the field of psychology. Measurement-based care, considered an evidence-based practice, is a special type of applied psychological assessment in which patient-reported outcome measures are used to track progress in care as part of a clinical process.

Demographic Profile and Service-Connection Trends of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury in US Veterans Pre- and Post-9/11.

Introduction: This study seeks to understand the demographic changes in the active-duty service member profile, both prior to and following September 11, 2001 (9/11). The study analyzed diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and measures of severity of those diagnoses as recorded in service-connection ratings (percent disability).

Methods: A retrospective cohort-study of military veterans who received care at Veterans Health Administration medical centers between December 1998 and May 2014 was conducted based on clinical data recorded and stored within the Corporate Data Warehouse.

External Correlates of the MMPI-2-Restructured Form across a National Sample of Veterans.

This study examines the convergent validity of the substantive scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) in the Veteran Affairs (VA) population. The sample includes test protocols drawn from all administrations of the MMPI-2-RF or MMPI-2 entered into the electronic medical record system between January 1, 2008 and May 31, 2015 at any VA across the United States. After excluding invalid protocols, substantive scale scores were correlated with external measures of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder if they were administered within |14| days of the MMPI-2/-RF.

Comparing MMPI-2-Restructured Form Scores by Service Era for Veterans Assessed Within the Veteran Affairs Healthcare System.

This study compares profiles of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scale scores from 1492 VA test-takers who served during the Vietnam or Gulf War service eras. The sample includes all such cases collected at any VA posttraumatic stress disorder Clinical Teams across the United States between January 1, 2008 and May 31, 2015 using the MMPI-2 or MMPI-2-RF (via the VA Mental Health Assistant suite). Associations between gender and score differences were also examined.

Measurement-based care: Use of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in a veteran population.

The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) is widely used within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), both as an assessment tool and as a part of measurement-based care practices. However, there is preliminary evidence that the BAI may perform uniquely in veteran samples, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive investigation of the BAI in this population. The present study compared the normative data reported by Beck and Steer (1993) to secondary data generated by a nationwide sample of U.

A preliminary review of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) in veterans: Are new norms and cut scores needed?

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is used within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to measure depression symptom severity. This naturalistic study aimed to examine VHA-specific BDI-II use and establish normative data and psychometric properties. Initial BDI-II data for 152,260 individual veterans were extracted from preexisting medical records using the VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure.

Patterns of MMPI-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) validity scale scores observed across Veteran Affairs settings.

The purpose of this investigation is to provide descriptive information on veteran response styles for a variety of VA referral types using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), which has well-supported protocol validity scales. The sample included 17,640 veterans who were administered the MMPI-2-RF between when it was introduced to the VA system in 2013 until May 31, 2015 at any VA in the United States. This study examines frequencies of protocol invalidity based on the MMPI-2-RF's validity scales and provides comprehensive descriptive findings on validity scale scores within the VA.

Daily Drinking Is Associated with Increased Mortality.

Background: There is evidence that low-level alcohol use, drinking 1 to 2 drinks on occasion, is protective for cardiovascular disease, but increases the risk of cancer. Synthesizing the overall impact of low-level alcohol use on health is therefore complex. The objective of this paper was to examine the association between frequency of low-level drinking and mortality.

Psychometric properties of the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder based on veterans' period of service.

The Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (M-PTSD) is a 35-item screening instrument for combat-related PTSD (Keane, Caddell, & Taylor, 1988) that has been normed largely on veterans from the Vietnam era. Research on its psychometric properties with veterans across different periods of service (POS) remains limited; however, this is an important research endeavor because of the uniqueness in experiences across eras which may influence PTSD rates, symptom expression/complaints, and treatment completion/outcomes. In this study, our objective was to examine the instrument's properties, replicating Keane et al.

Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Among U.S. Veterans With a History of MDD or PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on Sex and Race.

The aim of this study was to examine major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosed at age < 55 as predictors, and sex and race as potential moderators, of dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment. Veterans ( = 4,800) aged ⩾ 56 years were grouped by psychiatric history, sex, and race. Hierarchical and stepwise regression were employed to determine significant predictors.

Effectiveness of Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Objective This study evaluated the effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure in conditions reflective of current clinical practice within the Veterans Health Administration. Method This study involved a retrospective review of 2030 charts. A total of 750 veterans from 10 U.

Association Between Substance Use Disorder and Polygenic Liability to Schizophrenia.

Background: There are high levels of comorbidity between schizophrenia and substance use disorder, but little is known about the genetic etiology of this comorbidity.

Methods: We tested the hypothesis that shared genetic liability contributes to the high rates of comorbidity between schizophrenia and substance use disorder. To do this, polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia derived from a large meta-analysis by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium were computed in three substance use disorder datasets: the Collaborative Genetic Study of Nicotine Dependence (ascertained for tobacco use disorder; n = 918 cases; 988 control subjects), the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (ascertained for alcohol use disorder; n = 643 cases; 384 control subjects), and the Family Study of Cocaine Dependence (ascertained for cocaine use disorder; n = 210 cases; 317 control subjects).

One-year outcomes of telephone case monitoring for patients with substance use disorder.

Background: Many patients treated for substance use disorder (SUD) do not achieve lasting recovery from a single episode of treatment and require continuing care. The current randomized clinical trial investigated whether in-person continuing care as usual (CCAU) following intensive outpatient SUD treatment leads to better SUD outcomes when compared with telephone case monitoring (TCM).

Method: This study randomized 667 intensive SUD outpatients to telephone case monitoring versus face-to-face continuing care as usual at two sites.

Evaluation of a Shortened South Oaks Gambling Screen in veterans with addictions.

Rates of pathological gambling have increased with the availability of legalized gambling. Substance-abuse units increasingly recognize the need to assess for gambling problems. The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H.

Internship placement data: is nonplacement the only concern?

Current discussion regarding securing internships often focuses on their availability. Thus, quantity is especially emphasized. However, quality is also an issue of importance.