Feasibility and validity of ecological momentary assessment in adolescents with high-functioning autism and Asperger's disorder.

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) may increase accuracy of data compared with retrospective questionnaires by assessing behaviours as they occur, hence decreasing recall biases and increasing ecological validity. This study examined the feasibility and concurrent validity of an EMA tool for adolescents with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFASD). Thirty-one adolescents with HFASD completed a mobile phone EMA application that assessed stressors and coping for two weeks.

Coping, daily hassles and behavior and emotional problems in adolescents with high-functioning autism/Asperger's Disorder.

Although daily hassles and coping are associated with behavior and emotional problems in non-clinical populations, few studies have investigated these relationships in individuals with high-functioning autism/Asperger's Disorder (HFASD). This study examined the relationships between daily hassles, coping and behavior and emotional problems in adolescents with HFASD. Thirty-one adolescents with HFASD completed questionnaires assessing their coping and behavior and emotional problems, and completed an Ecological Momentary Assessment run via a mobile phone application on their coping and daily hassles.

A mobile phone application for the assessment and management of youth mental health problems in primary care: health service outcomes from a randomised controlled trial of mobiletype.

Background: GPs detect at best 50c of mental health problems in young people. Barriers to detecting mental health problems include lack of screening tools, limited appointment times and young people's reluctance to report mental health symptoms to GPs. The mobiletype program is a mobile phone mental health assessment and management application which monitors mood, stress and everyday activities then transmits this information to general practitioners (GPs) via a secure website in summary format for medical review.

Temporal mood changes associated with different levels of adolescent drinking: using mobile phones and experience sampling methods to explore motivations for adolescent alcohol use.

Introduction And Aims: Alcohol use during adolescence is associated with the onset of alcohol use disorders, mental health disorders, substance abuse as well as socially and physically damaging behaviours, the effects of which last well into adulthood. Nevertheless, alcohol use remains prevalent in this population. Understanding motivations behind adolescent alcohol consumption may help in developing more appropriate and effective interventions.

Using a mobile phone application in youth mental health - an evaluation study.

Background: This study evaluates a mobile phone self monitoring tool designed to assist paediatricians in assessing and managing youth mental health.

Methods: Patients from an adolescent outpatient clinic monitored mental health symptoms throughout each day for 2-4 weeks. Paediatricians specialising in adolescent health and participants reviewed the collated data displayed online and completed quantitative and qualitative feedback.

Self-monitoring using mobile phones in the early stages of adolescent depression: randomized controlled trial.

Background: The stepped-care approach, where people with early symptoms of depression are stepped up from low-intensity interventions to higher-level interventions as needed, has the potential to assist many people with mild depressive symptoms. Self-monitoring techniques assist people to understand their mental health symptoms by increasing their emotional self-awareness (ESA) and can be easily distributed on mobile phones at low cost. Increasing ESA is an important first step in psychotherapy and has the potential to intervene before mild depressive symptoms progress to major depressive disorder.

A mobile phone application for the assessment and management of youth mental health problems in primary care: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Over 75% of mental health problems begin in adolescence and primary care has been identified as the target setting for mental health intervention by the World Health Organisation. The mobiletype program is a mental health assessment and management mobile phone application which monitors mood, stress, coping strategies, activities, eating, sleeping, exercise patterns, and alcohol and cannabis use at least daily, and transmits this information to general practitioners (GPs) via a secure website in summary format for medical review.

Methods: We conducted a randomised controlled trial in primary care to examine the mental health benefits of the mobiletype program.

Investigating the utility of mobile phones for collecting data about adolescent alcohol use and related mood, stress and coping behaviours: lessons and recommendations.

Introduction And Aims: The trajectory from alcohol use to alcohol use disorders in adolescence is yet to be understood. Momentary sampling may assist in capturing 'real-time' data on young people's alcohol use and associated motivational factors. This paper aims to review the feasibility and usefulness of a mobile phone momentary sampling program to capture data about alcohol use and related behaviours.

A mobile phone program to track young people's experiences of mood, stress and coping. Development and testing of the mobiletype program.

Background: Research examining adolescent mood, stresses, and coping has tended to use retrospective questionnaires which are affected by recall biases. The aim of this study was to develop, pilot, and evaluate a youth-friendly mobile phone program to monitor, in real-time, young people's everyday experiences of mood, stress, and their coping behaviours.

Method And Design: A momentary sampling program was designed for mobile phones, and ran for 7 days, administering a brief questionnaire four random times each day, capturing information on current activity, mood, responses to negative mood, stresses, alcohol and cannabis use.

Variation in the gene coding for the M5 muscarinic receptor (CHRM5) influences cigarette dose but is not associated with dependence to drugs of addiction: evidence from a prospective population based cohort study of young adults.

Background: The mesolimbic structures of the brain are important in the anticipation and perception of reward. Moreover, many drugs of addiction elicit their response in these structures. The M5 muscarinic receptor (M5R) is expressed in dopamine-containing neurones of the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area, and regulates the release of mesolimbic dopamine.

Problem alcohol use in young Australian adults.

Objective: To examine the extent to which excessive drinking in young adults is associated with alcohol abuse and dependence.

Method: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using data from the eighth wave of the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study, which comprised 1943 Victorians currently aged 24-25 years drawn from 44 secondary schools across the state in 1992. The main outcome measures of interest were short-term risk drinking status (based on daily alcohol consumption) and long-term risk drinking status (based on total weekly alcohol consumption).

Naltrexone versus acamprosate in the treatment of alcohol dependence: A multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Aim: To compare the efficacy of acamprosate and naltrexone in the treatment of alcohol dependence.

Design: A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Three treatment centres in Australia.

The efficacy of compliance therapy in pharmacotherapy for alcohol dependence: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of compliance therapy in increasing adherence to pharmacological treatment for alcohol dependence.

Method: Forty subjects were randomly allocated to receive usual medical care (n = 20) or usual medical care plus compliance therapy (n = 20). All subjects were prescribed acamprosate (Campral) for 4 months.