Differential posttraumatic stress disorder symptom cluster response to stellate ganglion block: secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Empirically supported treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exist, but research suggests these therapies are less effective, acceptable, and feasible to deliver to active duty service members (SMs) compared to civilians. Stellate ganglion block (SGB) procedure, in which a local anesthetic is injected around the cervical sympathetic chain or stellate ganglion to temporarily inhibit sympathetic nervous activity, is gaining popularity as an alternative PTSD treatment in military settings. However, it is unknown whether certain PTSD symptoms are more responsive to SGB than others.

Factors That Influence HIV Risk among Hispanic Female Immigrants and Their Implications for HIV Prevention Interventions.

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in North Carolina with increasing incidence of HIV infection. Gender roles, cultural expectations, and acculturation of women may explain some of Hispanic women's risks. The perspectives of Hispanic female immigrants and community-based providers were sought to identify services they offer, understand HIV risk factors, and support the adaptation of a best-evidence HIV behavioural intervention for Hispanic women.

Using a modified intervention mapping approach to develop and refine a single-session motivational intervention for methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men.

There is an ongoing need for the development and adaptation of behavioral interventions to address behaviors related to acquisition and transmission of infectious diseases and for preventing the onset of chronic diseases. This paper describes the application of an established systematic approach to the development of a behavioral intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors for HIV among men who have sex with men and who use methamphetamine. The approach includes six steps: (1) a needs assessment; (2) preparing matrices of proximal program objectives; (3) selecting theory-based methods and practical strategies; (4) producing program components and materials; (5) planning for program adoption, implementation, and sustainability; and (6) planning for evaluation.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Mental Health Surveillance Study: calibration analysis.

The Mental Health Surveillance Study (MHSS) is an ongoing initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop and implement methods for measuring the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) among adults in the USA. The 2008 MHSS used data from clinical interviews administered to a sub-sample of respondents to calibrate mental health screening scale data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for estimating the prevalence of SMI in the full NSDUH sample. The mental health scales included the K6 screening scale of psychological distress (administered to all respondents) along with two measures of functional impairment (each administered to a random half-sample of respondents): the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS).

Substance use and sexual risk within the context of gender inequality in South Africa.

This study examines substance use and sexual risk within the context of gender inequality among 163 women from an urban region of South Africa who were participating in a 2004-2006 study funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Items assessed patterns of substance use, gender inequality, risk communication, and psychological distress. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that economic dependence on a main partner and traditional beliefs about a woman's right to refuse sex were associated with substance use prior to or during sex with that partner.

A clinical validation of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health assessment of substance use disorders.

Alcohol and illicit drug abuse and dependence continue to be of great national concern in the United States, as is true in other nations. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides national annual estimates of substance use and abuse/dependence among the U.S.

Alcohol, cannabis, and methamphetamine use and other risk behaviours among Black and Coloured South African women: a small randomized trial in the Western Cape.

Background: There is a pressing need for brief behavioural interventions to address the intersection of high HIV prevalence, increasing substance use, and high-risk sex practices among South African women. The primary aim of this pilot, randomized trial was to examine whether an adapted evidence-based intervention would be equally, more, or less effective at reducing HIV risk behaviours when delivered using an individual or group format. The secondary aim was to examine differences between Black and Coloured South African women across pre- and post-intervention measures of alcohol and illicit drug use and sex risk behaviours.

Fear responses to mock magnetic resonance imaging among college students: toward a prototype experiment.

Two hundred randomly selected student participants (139 females, 61 males) responded initially to questionnaires that quantified variables such as state and trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, claustrophobia, and panic/agoraphobia. Later they were informed that a mock magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure was upcoming, and were prompted to provide self-efficacy ratings vis-à-vis completing the procedure. Finally, the participants' behavioral reactions to a mock MRI procedure were characterized; their heart beats were recorded and ratings of fearfulness were acquired.

Heavy drinking among college students is influenced by anxiety sensitivity, gender, and contexts for alcohol use.

In order to quantify relationships between anxiety sensitivity and situational antecedents to heavy alcohol consumption, 245 university student drinkers completed the anxiety sensitivity index-revised (ASI-R) and the inventory of drinking situations (IDS-42). The observed correlations indicated that anxiety sensitivity is related to negatively reinforced drinking, positively reinforced drinking, and temptation-motivated drinking. However, anxiety sensitivity is most clearly implicated as a factor in negatively reinforced drinking, i.