Will I get there? Effects of parental support on children's possible selves.

BACKGROUND: Imagining one's future self is a hallmark of adolescence. But imagining is not enough; adolescents must fell that this future is plausibly likely and take action, which may require pragmatic support. Prior research has examined the effect of parental aspirations and expectation on children's possible self, not the effect of their support. AIMS: Therefore, this study assessed the role of parental support on youths' possible selves, strategies, and subjective likelihood of attaining possible selves. SAMPLE: A representative sample of Hong Kong Chinese secondary students aged 12-20 (N = 3,078). METHODS: Students responded to an in-class questionnaire. Responses were analysed using generalized linear mixed models and linear mixed models. RESULTS: Content of hoped-for possible selves was mostly about school and career. Content of feared possible selves was more diverse. Girls had more school-and career-focused possible selves and were more likely to have strategies to attain their positive and avoid their negative possible selves. Students reporting more pragmatic support (if I need to know something about the world, I can ask my parent about it) from parents had more school-and career-focused possible selves and were more likely to believe they could attain their hope-for and avoid their feared possible selves and to report having at least one strategy to do so. CONCLUSIONS: Parental pragmatic support provides students a secure base to engage in their future generally and in their school-and career-focused future in particular.

Probiotics and Cat Health: A Review of Progress and Prospects.

Cats are increasingly favored as companion animals; their health has drawn widespread attention. Given the continuous improvements in the required living standards of both humans and animals, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, diarrhea, constipation, periodontal disease, obesity, diabetes, and other health issues have become recognized as valid pet problems. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat pet diseases, greatly improving animal health. However, antibiotic abuse is common, especially when seeking to treat bacterial infections. Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that may be directly ingested in food or as feed additives; they improve the intestinal microflora balance, enhance immunity, and ensure healthy growth. However, cat data are usually inferred from reports on dogs or humans; cat research remains preliminary in nature. Therefore, we here describe the current understanding of how probiotics improve cat health, facilitating the further development and application of probiotics for cats.

Unravelling the intricacies between gaming motivations and internet gaming disorder symptoms in adolescents: a network analysis of 2-year healthy and deteriorating transition profiles.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD) among adolescents has become a global concern, while gaming plays a large role in many adolescents' lives. While prior research emphasised the significance of investigating IGD through an etiological lens, the interconnections between diverse gaming motivations and IGD symptoms in adolescents remain inadequately understood. This study explored the associations between distinct gaming motivations and IGD symptoms by conducting network analysis in adolescents. METHODS: Data from a two-year longitudinal school-based survey (N = 2148) was utilized. LPA was used to offer a straightforward and interpretable solution for identifying adolescents with two-year healthy and deteriorating transitions of IGD profiles. Subsequently, we conducted a network analysis to explore and compare the associations between gaming motivations and IGD symptoms in adolescents with two-year healthy transition profiles and deteriorating transition profiles. RESULTS: Three profiles were delineated: 'low IGD' (T1: n = 808, 37.62%; T2: n = 731; 34.03%), 'middle IGD' (T1: n = 1063, 49.49%; T2: n = 1103, 51.35%), and 'severe IGD' (T1: n = 277, 12.89%; T2: n = 314, 14.62%), classifying adolescents with healthy transitions and those with deteriorating transitions. Three gaming motivations (i.e., 'Daily entertainment', 'I am good at it', and 'Improvement of ability and mindset') were identified as protective motivations. Two others, 'Enjoy being in the gaming world' and 'Preoccupation', were identified as bridge nodes in adolescents with deteriorating transitions. Three core nodes (i.e., 'Sense of victory', 'Enjoy being in the gaming world', and 'Sense of achievement') were identified in both adolescents with healthy profile transitions and deteriorating transitions. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that not all gaming motivations contribute to the development of IGD in adolescents. Adolescents with deteriorating transitions showed specific gaming motivation and IGD symptom that is closely connected. Future interventions should consider corresponding gaming motivation when addressing IGD among adolescents.

Risk and protective factors in suicidal behaviour among young people in Hong Kong: A comparison study between children and adolescents✰.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people worldwide. Few studies examined the factors of childhood suicidality and compared them with adolescent suicidality to meet their age-specific needs. We examined the similarities and differences in risk and protective factors of children and adolescent suicidality in Hong Kong. A school-based survey with 541 students in grades 4-6 and 3,061 students in grades 7-11 from 15 schools was conducted. We measured the demographic, familial, school, mental health, and psychological factors of suicidality. Hierarchical binary logistic regressions were performed to examine the association between correlates and child and youth suicidality, and the interaction effects of these factors and school-age groups. Approximately 17.51% and 7.84% of secondary school respondents and 15.76% and 8.17% of primary school respondents reported suicidal ideation and attempt, respectively. Common correlates for suicidal ideation were depression, bullying, loneliness, self-compassion, and growth mindset, while those for suicide attempt were depression and bullying. Secondary school respondents with higher life satisfaction reported less suicidal ideation, while primary school respondents with higher self-control reported fewer suicide attempts. In conclusion, we recommended recognizing the factors of suicidal ideation and attempt in children and adolescents to tailor preventive strategies in a culturally sensitive manner.

Examination of Web-Based Single-Session Growth Mindset Interventions for Reducing Adolescent Anxiety: Study Protocol of a 3-Arm Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide. In Hong Kong, 7% of adolescents are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, and 1 in every 4 secondary school students reports clinical-level anxiety symptoms. However, 65% of them do not access services. Long waitlists in public services, the high cost of private services, or the fear of being stigmatized can hinder service access. The high prevalence of anxiety and low intervention uptake indicate a pressing need to develop timely, scalable, and potent interventions suitable for adolescents. Single-session interventions (SSIs) have the potential to be scalable interventions for diagnosable or subclinical psychopathology in adolescents. Providing precise and context-adapted intervention is the key to achieving intervention efficacy. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of three SSIs: single-session intervention of growth mindset on negative emotions (SIGMA), SSI of growth mindset of personality (SSI-GP), and active control, in reducing adolescent anxiety. METHODS: Adolescents (N=549, ages 12-16 years) from secondary schools will be randomized to 1 of 3 intervention conditions: the SIGMA, SSI-GP, or active control. The implementation of each intervention is approximately 45 minutes in length. Adolescent participants will report anxiety symptoms (primary outcome), perceived control, hopelessness, attitude toward help-seeking, and psychological well-being at preintervention, the 2-week follow-up, and the 8-week follow-up. A pilot test has confirmed the feasibility and acceptability of SIGMA among adolescents. We hypothesized that SIGMA and SSI-GP will result in a larger reduction in anxiety symptoms than the control intervention during the posttest and 8-week follow-up period. We also predict that SIGMA will have a more significant effect than SSI-GP. We will use the intention-to-treat principle and linear regression-based maximum likelihood multilevel models for data analysis. RESULTS: This study will be conducted from December 2022 to December 2023, with results expected to be available in January 2024. CONCLUSIONS: This protocol introduces the implementation content and strategies of growth mindset SSIs (consists of 2 forms: SIGMA and SSI-GP) among school students. The study will provide evidence on the efficacy of different growth mindset SSIs for adolescent anxiety. It will also establish implementation strategies for self-administrative SSIs among school students, which can serve as a pioneer implementation of a scalable and self-accessible brief intervention to improve the well-being of young people. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05027880; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05027880. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/41758.

Study on the Thermal Distribution Characteristics of a Molten Quartz Ceramic Surface under Quartz Lamp Radiation.

More and more researchers are studying the heat transfer performance of aeronautical materials at high temperatures. In this paper, we use a quartz lamp to irradiate fused quartz ceramic materials, and the sample surface temperature and heat flux distribution were obtained at a heating power of 45~150 kW. Furthermore, the heat transfer properties of the material were analyzed using a finite element method and the effect of surface heat flow on the internal temperature field was investigated. The results show that the fiber skeleton structure has a significant effect on the thermal insulation performance of fiber-reinforced fused quartz ceramics and the longitudinal heat transfer along the rod fiber skeleton is slower. As time passes, the surface temperature distribution tends to stability and reaches an equilibrium state. The surface temperature of fused quartz ceramic increases with the increase in the radiant heat flux of the quartz lamp array. When the input power is 5 kW, the maximum surface temperature of the sample can reach 1153 °C. However, the non-uniformity of the sample surface temperature also increases, reaching a maximum uncertainty of 12.28%. The research in this paper provides important theoretical guidance for the heat insulation design of ultra-high acoustic velocity aircraft.

Single-session intervention on growth mindset on negative emotions for university student mental health (U-SIGMA): a protocol of two-armed randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The university years are a developmentally crucial phase and a peak period for the onset of mental disorders. The beliefs about the changeability of negative emotion may play an important role in help-seeking. The brief digital growth mindset intervention is potentially scalable and acceptable to enhance adaptive coping and help-seeking for mental health needs in university students. We adapted the Single-session Intervention on Growth Mindset for adolescents (SIGMA) to be applied in university students (U-SIGMA). This protocol introduces a two-armed waitlist randomized controlled trial study to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of U-SIGMA in promoting help-seeking among university students in the Greater Bay Area. METHODS: University students (N = 250, ages 18-25) from universities in the Greater Bay Area will be randomized to either the brief digital growth mindset intervention group or the waitlist control group. Participants will report on the mindsets of negative emotions, perceived control over anxiety, attitude toward help-seeking, physical activity, hopelessness, psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress at baseline and the 2-week and 8-week follow-ups through web-based surveys. A 30-min digital intervention will be implemented in the intervention group, with a pre- and post-intervention survey collecting intervention feedback, while the control group will receive the link for intervention after 8 weeks. DISCUSSION: This protocol introduces the implementation plan of U-SIMGA in multi-cities of the Greater Bay Area. The findings are expected to help provide pioneer evidence for the effectiveness and acceptability of the brief digital intervention for university students in the Chinese context and beyond and contribute to the development of accessible and effective prevention and early intervention for university students' mental health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: HKU Clinical Trials Registry: HKUCTR-3012; Registered 14 April 2023.  http://www.hkuctr.com/Study/Show/7a3ffbc0e03f4d1eac0525450fc5187e .

What matters for adolescent suicidality: Depressive symptoms or fixed mindsets? Examination of cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between fixed mindsets and suicidal ideation.

BACKGROUND: Fixed mindsets or beliefs about the non-malleability of self-attributes are linked to a wide range of negative psychological outcomes. Its association with suicidal ideation (SI) among young people has not been explored. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association of fixed mindsets of depression, anxiety, and stress and SI; and its mediating role underlying the association between depression and SI. METHODS: A sample of 1393 adolescents (Mage  = 13.04, SD = 0.85, 640 boys) from 11 middle schools voluntarily participated in a two-wave longitudinal study before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with a 9-month interval. RESULTS: Both depressive symptoms and fixed mindsets were positively and significantly associated with concurrent and future suicidality, after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic status and previous SI. Participants with stronger fixed mindsets were more likely to have SI than those with only depressive symptoms. Also, fixed mindsets mediated the association between depressive symptoms and SI in both cross-sectional and longitudinal models. CONCLUSION: The current study provides empirical evidence of the effects of fixed mindsets and SI and the mediating role of fixed mindset between depressive symptoms and SI among young people. Interventions to foster a growth mindset may enhance hope and reduce suicidality among adolescents.

Psychometric properties of the Mindsets of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (MDASS) in Chinese young adults and adolescents.

AIM: Mindset has been found to be closely related to mental health symptoms. Yet no scale for the Mindsets of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (MDASS) has been validated. This study developed a 12-item MDASS with four items in each domain and examined its psychometric properties among young adults and adolescents. METHODS: Young adults (Study 1: N = 1735, aged 18-25) and adolescents (Study 2, N = 1648, aged 9-16) completed socio-demographics information, MDASS (unidirectional items in Study 1 and bi-directional items in Study 2), and mental health symptoms measures. Both samples were randomly divided into two equal sub-samples, one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to identify the factor structure, the other for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the goodness-of-fit of EFA models. Spearman correlations were used to assess the convergent validity of MDASS with measures of depression, anxiety, and stress. RESULTS: In Study 1, EFA yielded a three-factor model with underlying factors of fixed mindsets on depression, anxiety, and stress; CFA revealed a good goodness-of-fit (CFI and TFI >0.95; RMSEA and SRMR <0.08). In Study 2 with reversed items, EFA and CFA yielded a complex model structure. Fixed mindsets were positively correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (all absolute correlations >0.3) in both studies. CONCLUSION: MDASS is a reliable scale with clear factor structure to measure mindsets of negative emotions among early adults. MDASS is suggested to use only fixed-mindset statements. The MDASS are highly associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Work-Family Conflicts, Stress, and Turnover Intention Among Hong Kong Police Officers Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Although work stress, turnover intention, and work-family conflicts among police officers have been extensively investigated, no studies have explored these issues simultaneously under the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Clearly, both work and family domains have been drastically affected by this global health crisis, and it is likely that each domain has a distinctive impact on work outcomes. Using survey data based on a representative random sample of 335 police officers in Hong Kong, this study examines the impacts of resource losses and gains across family and work domains on occupational stress and turnover intention amid the pandemic. A multiple regression indicates that both family-to-work and work-to-family conflicts lead to work stress and turnover intention among police officers. Among officers, supervisory support is negatively associated with turnover intention and moderates the impact of work-to-family conflicts on turnover intention. Finally, measures to mitigate work stress during public health disasters are discussed.

Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor 1A Antagonist JMV2959 Effectively Prevents Morphine Memory Reconsolidation and Relapse.

Relapse to drug seeking after prolonged abstinence is a major problem in the clinical treatment of drug addiction. The use of pharmacological interventions to disrupt established drug reward memories is a promising strategy for the treatment of drug addiction. A growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1 A antagonist, JMV2959, has been shown to reduce morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats within hours of intervention; thus, JMV2959 is a potential candidate for drug addiction treatment. However, the effect of JMV2959 on reconsolidation to disrupt drug seeking remains unknown. In this study, we assessed the effect of JMV2959 on morphine induced memory reconsolidation to inhibit drug seeking after drug withdrawal. Our results showed that the administration of JMV2959 (6 mg/kg) significantly reduced environmental cue induced CPP, which suggested a preventive effect of JMV2959 on morphine induced memory reconsolidation. Additionally, JMV2959 administration significantly altered the locomotor activity and food and water intake but did not significantly alter the natural reward preference. We concluded that JMV2959 may be an effective candidate to treat drug addiction.

Impacts on Children and Adolescents' Lifestyle, Social Support and Their Association with Negative Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health-related behaviors among children and adolescents are likely to be profound and long-lasting. This study aimed to investigate the changes in lifestyle and social support and their associations with negative impacts due to the pandemic. A classroom survey using stratified random sampling and structured questionnaire was conducted among Hong Kong primary and secondary school students. The paper-and-pen survey, administered by well-trained research assistants, was completed by 2863 participants aged 9-17 years old (M = 12.6, SD = 1.3) at a brief school reopening six months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 48% and 37% of the participants stated that they paid increased attention to physical and mental health, respectively. About 20% to 40% stated that they found more support from their friends and family members; only a small percentage reported decreased social support. Around 25% to 50% spent more time to rest, relax, and exercise. The aforementioned changes varied among genders, education groups, and socio-economic status. In general, higher perceived vulnerability, feeling more stressed, apprehensive, and helpless were associated with more reported positive lifestyle changes, including more social/family support, increased mental health awareness, and a positive lifestyle. These positive changes serve as important cushions against the negative impacts of COVID-19.

The changes of suicidal ideation status among young people in Hong Kong during COVID-19: A longitudinal survey.

BACKGROUND: Pandemics affect the physical and mental well-being of all potentially at-risk young people globally. This longitudinal study examines changes of suicidal ideation status among adolescents during COVID-19. METHOD: A follow-up after nine-months of a school-based survey among 1,491 secondary school students was conducted during COVID-19. Psychological well-being, psychological factors, family support, and COVID-19-related experiences were examined. RESULTS: The prevalence of suicidal ideation were 24% and 21% among the participants before and during COVID-19, respectively. In particular, 897 (65.0%) remained non-suicidal, 193 (14.0%) recovered from being suicidal, 148 (10.7%) newly reported being suicidal, and 143 (10.4%) remained suicidal. Respondents who remained suicidal were found to have significantly higher depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and social anxiety, fixed mind-set, lower meaning of life and self-control; and lower parental support and supervision than the other three groups. Participants with suicidal ideation reported more negative perceptions about COVID-19 than non-suicidal participants. Multinomial logistic regression showed that anxiety, trait anxiety and life satisfactory in baseline were associated with suicidal ideation at follow-up. LIMITATION: This study was limited by the small number of protective variables being included in the baseline survey to examine the potential reasons for the recovery of suicidal ideation at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Poor psychological well-being, lower level of family support, and negative impacts of the pandemic were consistently associated with students' presence of suicidal ideation during the pandemic. Further intervention studies are needed to examine effects of mental health consequences of COVID-19 on youth mental health and to promote positive youth well-being.

Investigating prolonged social withdrawal behaviour as a risk factor for self-harm and suicidal behaviours.

BACKGROUND: Self-harm and suicidal behaviour are recognised as public health concerns. Prolonged social withdrawal behaviour, or hikikomori, is reported as a risk factor for suicidal behaviour. AIMS: To examine the occurrence and additional risk of prolonged social withdrawal behaviour on self-harm and suicidal behaviour among Chinese university students. METHOD: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with three universities in southern China. A two-stage random sampling was adopted for recruitment, with students in different years of study, in different departments of each participating university. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the sociodemographic and psychological correlates of self-harm and suicidal behaviours among male and female participants with hikikomori status. RESULTS: Of the students who completed the online survey, 1735 (72.23%) were included in the analysis; 11.5% (n = 200) reported self-harm behaviour and 11.8% (n = 204) reported suicidal behaviours in the past 12 months. Men showed a higher prevalence rate of self-harm than women (14.7% v. 10.8%, P = 0.048), but a similar rate of suicidal behaviours (11.9% v. 11.3%, P = 0.78). The overall prevalence rate of social withdrawal behaviour was 3.2% (7.0% for men and 2.3% for women, P < 0.001). Prolonged social withdrawal behaviour status was significantly associated with self-harm (odds ratio 2.00, 95% CI 1.22-3.29) and suicidal behaviour (odds ratio 2.35, 95% CI 1.45-3.81). However, the associations became statistically insignificant after adjustment for psychological factors in the final models in the logistic regression analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged social withdrawal behaviour appears to be associated with self-harm and suicidal behaviour, but psychological factors have stronger links with suicidality.

Leisure and Problem Gaming Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents During School Closures Caused by COVID-19 in Hong Kong: Quantitative Cross-sectional Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated students' loneliness, addictive gaming behaviors, and poor mental health. These mental health issues confronting young people are of public concern. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the associations between loneliness and gaming addiction behaviors among young people in Hong Kong and to investigate how familial factors, psychological distress, and gender differences moderate these relationships. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020 when schools reopened after 6 months of school closures. Participants included 2863 children and adolescents in primary (Grades 4 to 6) and secondary (Grades 7 and 8) schools (female participants: 1502/2863, 52.5%). Chi-square tests, one-way analyses of variance, and independent-samples t tests were performed to compare the differences of distribution in gaming addiction behaviors across gender, age, and other sociodemographic characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors that relate to excessive or pathological gaming behaviors separately, in comparison with leisure gaming. RESULTS: A total of 83.0% (2377/2863) of the participants played video games during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of excessive and pathological game addiction behaviors was 20.9% (597/2863) and 5.3% (153/2863), respectively. More male students had gaming addiction symptoms than female students. The multinomial logistic regressions showed that feeling lonely was associated with more problematic gaming behaviors, and the association was stronger for older female students. Low socioeconomic status, less parental support and less supervision, and poor mental health were risk factors for gaming addiction behaviors, especially among primary school students. CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness was associated with gaming addiction behaviors; the findings from this study suggested that this association was similar across gender and age groups among young people. Familial support and supervision during school closures can protect young people from developing problematic gaming behaviors. Results of this study have implications for prevention and early intervention on behalf of policy makers and game developers.

Cognition malleability belief, emotion regulation and adolescent well-being: examining a mediation model among migrant youth.

Objective: The well-being of migrant youth is a major global public health concern. This developmental stage is fraught with many challenges, with migrant youth suffering additional challenges as a result of migration. One avenue to better understand the psychological mechanisms that underpin the well-being of migrant youth is examining how mindsets - or implicit theories about the malleability of human characteristics - affect well-being. The aim of the current study was to test a conceptual model in which cognition malleability belief on well-being would be mediated by emotion regulation styles in two samples of migrant youth using two different measures of well-being. Methods: In Study 1, mainland China migrant youth (N = 735, Mean age = 13.89, SD = 1.23) completed a survey measuring demographics and cognition malleability belief, emotion regulation style (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression), and well-being (holistic well-being). In Study 2, Hong Kong migrant youth (N = 285, Mean age = 15.09, SD = 2.75) completed the same measures; however, well-being was assessed by the Life Satisfaction Scale. As different measures of the dependent variable (well-being) were used, two separate models were specified. Computations were performed with SPSS 22 and with the PROCESS macro. Results: Both studies demonstrated support for the conceptual model. As predicted, cognition malleability belief was associated with cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and well-being of migrant youth from mainland China and Hong Kong. Cognitive reappraisal was positively associated with well-being, while expressive suppression was not significantly associated with well-being. The association between cognition malleability belief and well-being was mediated by cognitive reappraisal. Conclusion: Current findings provide avenues for future longitudinal and experimental research to test the efficacy of these mechanisms in changing beliefs about cognition malleability to promote the well-being of migrant youth.

Domain Specificity or Generality: Assessing the Chinese Implicit Theories Scale of Six Fundamental Psychological Attributes.

Implicit theories have been widely studied in different domains; however, it is still debatable whether these theories are domain-specific or domain-general. Using the Implicit Theories Scale (ITS) about six fundamental psychological attributes, i.e., intelligence, personality, cognition, feeling, behavior, and emotion, we examined domain specificity versus generality using a factor analytic approach; in addition, we investigated associations between implicit theories about these domains and related psychological attributes. In four sequential studies, we translated a Chinese version of the ITS (Study 1), tested inter-item correlations within and between subscales (Studies 1-4), and conducted exploratory factor analysis (Studies 2 and 3) and confirmatory factor analysis (Studies 3 and 4). We tested associations between implicit theory domains and coping, resilience, grit, and school performance (Studies 3 and 4). Results showed that the six ITS subscales were independent, while the implicit theories about cognition, feeling, behavior, and emotion shared a common component. The implicit theories of intelligence and personality were independent and did not share a common component. The six domains presented different patterns of association with psychological variables. Overall, our results suggest that implicit theories are both domain-specific and domain-general. Future studies are needed to examine the mechanism underlying the domain specificity and generality of implicit theories.

Alcohol inhibits morphine/cocaine reward memory acquisition and reconsolidation in rats.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: Alcohol is a recreational substance that is generally socially acceptable and legal in most areas worldwide. An alcohol overdose will produce an inhibitory effect on the brain and impair cognition and memory. In this study, we examined the effect of alcohol on the acquisition, consolidation, and reconsolidation of drug reward memory induced by morphine and cocaine in rats. METHODS: Rats were trained to acquire morphine sulfate (10 mg/kg, s.c.) and cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) conditioned place preference (CPP) via an unbiased CPP paradigm. Vehicle or alcohol (0.25, 0.75, 1.5 g/kg, i.p.) was administered at various time-points, including 30 min before each CPP conditioning session (acquisition), immediately after each CPP conditioning session (consolidation), immediately after the reactivation of CPP (reconsolidation with re-exposure), or without reactivation to the drug-paired context (reconsolidation without re-exposure). Conditioning scores were recorded before or after each conditioning session or memory reactivation. RESULTS: Alcohol at a dose of 1.5 g/kg but not 0.25 g/kg or 0.75 g/kg significantly inhibited the acquisition and reconsolidation of morphine- and cocaine-associated memory. In contrast, alcohol had no effect on the consolidation of morphine- or cocaine-induced CPP. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that pre-exposure alcohol dose-dependently attenuated morphine- or cocaine-induced place preference and prevented drug reinstatement in rats by disrupting memory reconsolidation, which may be explained by the inhibitory effect of alcohol on dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission.

The Longer-Term Psychosocial Development of Adolescents: Child Development Accounts and the Role of Mentoring.

Objective: To examine the long-term development of adolescents who participated in the Child Development Fund (CDF), which was a community intervention that consisted of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) and mentorship components. Design: This was an evaluative study of the CDF community intervention and was conducted between January and June 2016 in Hong Kong. Participants: A total of 902 adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds participated in this study (552 in the CDF and 350 in the comparison group). All CDF participants completed the 3-year CDF program between 2011 and 2015. Main outcome measures: We assessed different developmental aspects of the adolescents, including health in terms of health-related quality of life; behavioral problems; attitude in terms of hope; cognitive capacity in terms of schooling; and social aspects in terms of social support. Results: Compared to the non-participants, the CDF participants appeared to have fewer behavioral problems, higher levels of perceived social support, higher levels of hope, better understanding of academic subjects, higher levels of motivation to study, fewer school withdrawal behaviors, and better quality of life related to social functioning. The male gender moderated the program's effect on hope. Results also show that higher levels of mentorship quality moderated the program's effect on social support, hope, self-perceived understanding of academic subjects, and motivation to study. Conclusion: Adolescents who participated in the CDF program appeared to perform better than the non-participants in regard to behavioral, academic, attitudinal, and social aspects. Good quality of mentorship had a positive influence on the program's effects. The CDF appears to be a promising program offering long-term and multi-dimensional benefits to participants.