Heavy Episodic Drinking in College Students: Associations With Features of Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder

Abstract

Objective: This study extends the college heavy episodic drinking literature by examining the associations between features of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), on the one hand, and heavy episodic drinking and associated problem behaviors, on the other. Participants: Participants were 159 (85 male, 74 female) undergraduates from a private university. Methods: Participants completed self-report measures assessing alcohol use, frequency, and consequences of heavy episodic drinking, and personality pathology. Results: It was found that psychopathy, independent of ASPD, was related to the prediction of heavy episodic drinking frequency and problems associated with alcohol use. It was also found that the relation between traits of psychopathy and heavy episodic drinking are limited largely to the impulsive and antisocial aspects of this condition. Conclusion: These findings point to the need for further investigation of the association between psychopathy and ASPD traits and heavy episodic drinking behaviors in college students.     

Peer Substance Use Associated With the Co-occurrence of Borderline Personality Disorder Features and Drug Use Problems in College Students

Abstract

Objective: To determine if the substance use patterns of one's close friends and romantic partners would be a significant contributor to the co-occurrence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) features and drug use problems above and beyond impulsivity and negative emotionality. Participants: Participants were 2,202 undergraduates who attended a large southeastern university between 2003 and 2006. Methods: All subjects completed measures assessing the presence of BPD symptoms, drug use problems, general personality traits, and the proportion of their friends and partners who had used illicit drugs within the past 12 months. Results: The illicit drug use patterns of one's friends and romantic partners was a significant contributor to the co-occurrence of BPD features and drug use problems even when controlling for levels of impulsivity and negative emotionality. Conclusions: These findings suggest possible additional avenues for treatment focusing on helping students with BPD and drug use problems modify their social group.     

With God on One's Side: The Social Geometry of Death Row Apologies

Apology is an increasingly prominent form of conflict management in many areas of social life. Yet there are few systematic studies of apology as a dependent variable. Analyzing the last statements of Texas death row prisoners, we find that the best predictor of apology is affiliation with God. Under traditional Western conceptions, God is an actor endowed with extraordinarily high status. Drawing on the theoretical paradigm known as pure sociology, we argue that death row prisoners who invoke God as a third party in their conflict thereby elevate their own status. Greater vertical closeness to the victim's side generates more social assertiveness and a greater willingness to apologize publicly. In addition, affiliation increases prisoners' relational closeness to God, enhancing their probability of adopting God's modern message of reconciliation. God's status has, however, declined somewhat over the past several centuries—a trend that helps to explain the modern religious emphasis on reconciliation over punishment, apology over defiance.     

Sexual activity and risk taking in young heterosexual men: The relevance of sexual arousability,mood, and sensation seeking

In this research we explored three aspects of personality relevant to sexual activity and sexual risk taking in heterosexual men. Men with low inhibition of sexual arousal in the face of risk (low SIS2) reported more partners with whom they use no condoms and more lifetime “one night stands.” Men who experience increased sexual interest in states of depression (MSQ) reported more partners in the past year and more one night stands. The disinhibition subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scale was predictive of whether sexual intercourse had occurred in the past 6 months, and also of the number of sexual partners in the past year. A measure of an intention to practice safer sex was strongly related to measures of sexual arousability and inhibition (SIS/SES). We discuss some clear similarities and also some interesting differences with a parallel study of gay men. Individual differences in sexual excitation and inhibition proneness and the relation between mood and sexuality are clearly relevant to high‐risk sexual behavior and should be taken into consideration when designing behavioral interventions.     

Changing aids‐ and fertility‐related behavior: The effectiveness of sexual education

A questionnaire was used to access the effectiveness of a ten‐week university course on human sexuality in changing students' AIDS‐ and fertility‐related behavior. The students' knowledge and behavior were evaluated (1) early in the class before there were any discussions or readings about sexual behavior, AIDS, or birth control and (2) three months later—approximately one month after completing the class. A randomly selected control group of students who did not take the class on sexuality was given the questionnaire at the same two points in time. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant increases in knowledge about the likelihood of contracting the virus from one act of vaginal intercourse. The experimental group also reported increased worry about contracting AIDS from their sexual activity, while the control group did not. Further, compared with the control group, the experimental group increased certain cautious behaviors, such as being more selective in their choice of sexual partners and asking their partners more questions about their AIDS‐related behavior. However, the course did not lead students to: 1) significantly increase their use of the condom or other forms of contraception, 2) decrease their number of sexual partners, or 3) spend a longer time getting to know new partners before engaging in sexual activity. Implications for sexual education are discussed.     

Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse Among Adult Male Survivors

Men who were sexually abused during childhood are a stigmatized, under-studied, and marginalized population that is at risk for long-term mental health problems. However, many mental health practitioners feel under-prepared and ill-equipped to effectively treat male survivors of child sexual abuse. Furthermore, little is known about factors that may impact the mental health of male survivors such as disclosure of the sexual abuse. The purpose of this study was to (a) describe the disclosure process of male survivors using a lifespan approach, (b) identify disclosure differences based on age and type of abuser, and (c) explore relationships between disclosure attributes and current mental health. Using a large, purposive sample of male survivors (N = 487), the study found that, on average, men delayed telling (M = 21.38 years) and discussing the abuse (M = 28.23 years) for many years. Older age and being abused by a family member (i.e., incest) were both related to delays in disclosure. Most participants who told someone during childhood did not receive emotionally supportive or protective responses and the helpfulness of responses across the lifespan was mixed. Several variables (e.g., timing of disclosure, discussing with a spouse, response to disclosure) were related to current mental health problems. These findings are helpful for clinical social workers who practice with clients from this population. Specific suggestions for improving clinical practice (e.g., assessment, treatment, professional training) are discussed.     

Becoming Parents

Ninety-six lesbian adoptive parents were part of a cross-sectional study to explore their adoption experiences, specifically focusing on their sources of consultation/information and possible bias, adoption timeframes and costs, and their satisfaction with the adoption experience. Questions within each of these domains were tested for significant differences across international, private domestic and child welfare adoption venues. While their overall experiences were positive, several key significant findings are discussed, with practice considerations suggested for adoption professionals and other lesbians seeking adoption. Lastly, a call for future research is made to further our understanding of lesbian mothers' transition to adoptive parenthood.     

Catching a wave: auto‐ethnographic notes on love and war in Hawaii

This is an autoethnographic account of a research visit to Hawaii in the spring and summer of 2003. The substantive research, of which conventional reports have been published, was an exploratory study of implementing new information technology in a large US health care provider organisation. However, the fieldwork opened a door onto the wider culture of Hawaii, as different from our English culture as from that of northern California, our temporary home. This is my attempt to record that experience in the context of our year abroad.     

Fertility and social mobility among teachers

Social mobility is defined as the teacher's present position in the professional hierarchy relative to his father's occupation, and fertility as the average number of children per married male teacher after 10 years of marriage. A sample of all male teachers in gran-earning schools in England and Wales was used for the study. The hypothesis examined is that put forward and tested in one form or another by numerous authors, that upward mobility is associated with relatively low fertility; and Berent's finding, that among persons of equal social status social origin is negatively correlated with size of family of procreation.

The study of teachers fails to reveal any relation for either of the hypotheses. This also holds when account is taken of the wife's social origin and size of family of origin of the teacher. The latter analysis suggests, however, that this was a factor in the teacher's own rise in the social scale. The question remaines why teachers do not conform to the national pattern shown to exist by Berent. It is argued that while teachers' socal origin still affects their choice of marriage partner, its influence is gradually obliterated by the overriding and homogenising influence pattern of the teacher's life. This suggests that care must be exercised in applying a general finding to selected populations and calls for more detailed study of other occupational groups to explain the forces at work in the process of social mobility.