Daily associations between PTSD, drinking, and self-appraised alcohol-related problems.

Alcohol dependence (AD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly comorbid, yet limited research has focused on PTSD and daily drinking as they relate to self-appraised alcohol-related problems. In treatment contexts, patients' appraisals of alcohol-related problems have implications for assessment, intervention strategies, and prognosis. This study investigated the moderating effect of within-person (daily symptoms) and between-person (overall severity) differences in PTSD on the association between daily drinking and same-day alcohol-related problems. Participants with comorbid AD and PTSD (N = 86) completed 1 week of Interactive Voice Recognition data collection, and logistic and γ-adjusted multilevel models were used to estimate odds and magnitude of self-appraised alcohol-related problems. Results revealed that both within-person and between-person PTSD moderated the association between number of drinks and severity of self-appraised problems. As within-person and between-person PTSD symptoms increased, there was a weaker association between number of drinks consumed and perceived alcohol-related problems. Contrasts further revealed that on nondrinking and light-drinking days, PTSD (both daily symptoms and overall severity) was positively associated with ratings of alcohol-related problems. However, PTSD was not associated with alcohol-related problems on heavier drinking days. In conclusion, more severe PTSD is associated with a less directly contingent relationship between drinking quantity and perceived alcohol-related problems. These findings suggest the importance of further investigations of this moderating effect as well as clinical treatment of comorbid AD and severe PTSD with functional analysis of drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record

Prospective prediction of viral suppression and immune response nine months after ART initiation in Seattle, WA.

Knowing at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation which patients might be at greatest risk for failure to achieve viral suppression would enable providers to target patients most in need and tailor their care appropriately. This study involved multilevel modeling of data from a randomized controlled trial among outpatients in Seattle, WA, USA. The 224 participants initiating or switching ART at baseline were 24% female, 34% heterosexual, and 47% Caucasian. Of 24 baseline demographic and psychosocial patient-level variables modeled in separate generalized estimating equations, only employment predicted changes in HIV-1 RNA viral load or CD4 lymphocyte count over the course of the 9-month trial. Although the findings require replication, they suggest adherence support strategies should emphasize close monitoring and support for all patients initiating ART.

Prevention needs of HIV-positive men and women awaiting release from prison.

Greater understanding of barriers to risk reduction among incarcerated HIV+ persons reentering the community is needed to inform culturally tailored interventions. This qualitative study elicited HIV prevention-related information, motivation and behavioral skills (IMB) needs of 30 incarcerated HIV+ men and women awaiting release from state prison. Unmet information needs included risk questions about viral loads, positive sexual partners, and transmission through casual contact. Social motivational barriers to risk reduction included partner perceptions that prison release increases sexual desirability, partners' negative condom attitudes, and HIV disclosure-related fears of rejection. Personal motivational barriers included depression and strong desires for sex or substance use upon release. Behavioral skills needs included initiating safer behaviors with partners with whom condoms had not been used prior to incarceration, disclosing HIV status, and acquiring clean needles or condoms upon release. Stigma and privacy concerns were prominent prison context barriers to delivering HIV prevention services during incarceration.

Patient-level moderators of the efficacy of peer support and pager reminder interventions to promote antiretroviral adherence.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) greatly reduces morbidity and mortality for people with HIV/AIDS. However, for optimal effectiveness patients must achieve strict adherence to dosing regimens, which is difficult to maintain over the long term. Interventions to improve adherence have shown promising results, but with small effects. One explanation for small overall effects is that some patient subgroups are less able to benefit from current interventions; however, this explanation lacks empirical support. This study used multilevel modeling of data from a randomized controlled trial in an exploratory analysis to assess whether patient factors moderated the impact of peer support and pager reminders on ART adherence and biological markers of HIV. According to 272 interaction models using an alpha-corrected significance criteria, none of 34 patient characteristics significantly moderated either intervention. Findings suggest that intervention research might more profitably focus on other ways of improving effects, like individual patient needs, rather than target subgroups.

Peer interventions to promote health: conceptual considerations.

Peers have intervened to promote health since ancient times, yet few attempts have been made to describe theoretically their role and their interventions. After a brief overview of the history and variety of peer-based health interventions, a 4-part definition of peer interveners is presented here with a consideration of the dimensions of their involvement in health promotion. Then, a 2-step process is proposed as a means of conceptualizing peer interventions to promote health. Step 1 involves establishing a theoretical framework for the intervention's main focus (i.e., education, social support, social norms, self-efficacy, and patient advocacy), and Step 2 involves identifying a theory that justifies the use of peers and might explain their impact. As examples, the following might be referred to: theoretical perspectives from the mutual support group and self-help literature, social cognitive and social learning theories, the social support literature, social comparison theory, social network approaches, and empowerment models.

Are peer interventions for HIV efficacious? A systematic review.

Behavioral interventions to prevent HIV or assist HIV-positive persons often incorporate peers, yet empirical support for their efficacy is only recently accumulating. We describe the results of a review of the global literature, identifying 117 studies evaluating the efficacy of peer-based interventions in the area of HIV/AIDS. About half were conducted in the developing world and half in Western nations. Across a range of populations and intervention modalities, the majority of studies provided some support for peer interventions according to outcome indicators in the domains of sexual risk behavior, attitudes and cognitions, HIV knowledge, and substance use. However, outcomes assessed using biomarkers and other non-self-report variables were less likely to indicate intervention efficacy. Overall, findings suggest that we can have some confidence in peer interventions, yet more data are needed demonstrating an effect in the most rigorous study designs and with outcomes that are not potentially affected by respondent bias.

Hypnotizability as a potential risk factor for posttraumatic stress: a review of quantitative studies.

The authors review the literature relating hypnotizability and posttraumatic stress. Sixty-seven abstracts containing the key terms ASD, acute stress, trauma, traumatic, or PTSD in combination with either hypnotic susceptibility or hypnotizability were reviewed. Six articles were found containing data on hypnotizability and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Each of the studies showed some relation between hypnotizability and posttraumatic stress, but, in all of them, hypnotizability was measured after the potentially traumatizing event. High hypnotizability might be a risk factor for both acute and chronic posttraumatic symptoms. However, this cannot be determined until prospective studies measure hypnotizability in individuals before and after a potentially traumatizing event, perhaps by targeting populations that are at risk for experiencing trauma.

The negative syndrome as a dimension: factor analyses of PANSS in major depressive disorder and organic brain disease compared with negative syndrome structures found in the schizophrenia literature.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the concept of the negative syndrome as a dimensional entity that exists in multiple primary diagnoses, and to compare the negative syndrome in nonschizophrenic disorders and schizophrenia. BACKGROUND: Although initially considered specific to schizophrenia, the negative syndrome has subsequently been described in major depression, stroke, and dementia. METHOD: We performed an exploratory factor analysis on Positive and Negative Symptom Scale scores of 82 subjects with major depressive disorder and 76 subjects with organic brain disease (dementia or stroke). RESULTS: The examination of the resultant symptom clusters revealed that the structure of the negative syndrome in major depressive disorder and organic brain disease closely corresponded to that in schizophrenia literature. CONCLUSIONS: The negative syndrome may be a nosologic entity, which remains fairly consistent across psychotic and nonpsychotic diagnostic categories. Confirmatory studies are merited to determine the degree and strength of the similarity in structure of the negative syndrome in psychotic, affective, and cognitive illness.