Elementary school drinking: the role of temperament and learning.

Drinking in elementary school, despite its low base rate, has been shown to predict alcohol use in middle school (Wilson, Battistich, Syme, & Boyce, 2002), which in turn predicts alcohol abuse or dependence in young adults (Guo, Collins, Hill, & Hawkins, 2000). The authors report 1 of the 1st examinations of the relationship between personality and psychosocial learning risk factors and drinking behavior among elementary school students. Fifth-grade students completed measures of disinhibition, positive and negative alcohol expectancies, and drinking. MIMIC modeling, tests of mediation, and tests of moderation were completed to test these relations. It was found that disinhibition and positive alcohol expectancies were each related to drinking in 5th graders. Disinhibition moderated the relation between positive alcohol expectancies and drinking in some cases. Mediation was not supported.

Psychological response to test results in an ovarian cancer screening program: a prospective, longitudinal study.

To identify the psychological impact of receipt of an abnormal yet benign screening test result, the authors examined the response to a transvaginal ultrasound screening (TVS) test for ovarian cancer (OC) in asymptomatic women (N=540) undergoing an initial TVS screening test. Interviews were conducted prior to undergoing TVS screening and at 2 weeks and 4 months following this baseline. Women receiving an abnormal yet benign TVS test result (n=33) reported elevated OC-specific, but not general, distress at 2-week follow-up. Distress returned to baseline levels at 4-month follow-up. Consistent with the monitoring process and cognitive-social health information processing models, response to an abnormal TVS result was moderated by a monitoring coping style, low optimism, and a family history of OC.

Clinical, demographic, and psychological characteristics of new, asymptomatic participants in a transvaginal ultrasound screening program for ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Attitudinal, mood, and personality variables have been identified as predictors of uptake of routine screening for a variety of cancers, including those of the breast, cervix, and colon. Little information exists, however, regarding characteristics of participants in ovarian cancer (OC) screening. METHOD: Asymptomatic women (n = 312; mean age = 57.45 years; range = 26-80) were assessed immediately before undergoing an initial transvaginal sonography (TVS) screening test for ovarian cancer (OCS group). Their responses were compared to identical information obtained from an age- and education-matched group of women with no history of screening for OC (HC group). All respondents completed measures of OC-related attitudes, knowledge, beliefs and risk perceptions, dispositional characteristics (informational coping style and dispositional optimism), and psychological distress. RESULTS: Analyses revealed the OCS group was characterized not only by more OC-specific distress and a more extensive family history of OC but also by less optimism and less knowledge of OC risk factors. Group membership was unrelated to beliefs about the efficacy of TVS screening. CONCLUSION: Results have implications for development of programs to increase appropriate participation in OC screening programs.

Similarities and differences between women and men on eating disorder risk factors and symptom measures.

Researchers studying eating disorders in men often use eating disorder risk and symptom measures that have been validated only on women. Using a sample of 215 college women and 214 college men, we report on the validity of doing so with a set of measures chosen to reflect a wide range of risk factors and symptoms. The Bulimia Test-revised (BULIT-R), the restraint scale (RS), the three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ), the Eating Expectancy Inventory, and the eating attitudes test (EAT) all had the same factor structures for both genders, and tests of invariance showed that factor loadings, factor variances, and intercorrelations among factors were equivalent across gender. A modified Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV anorexic symptoms questionnaire did not perform adequately for either gender. Men produced slightly less reliable scores on virtually all measures, with the result that Pearson-based estimates of correlations among the measures were slightly lower for men. Men had lower scores on symptom and risk measures, but not on other eating measures.

Comparability of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 between women and men.

Researchers studying eating disorders in men often use eating-disorder risk and symptom measures that have been validated only on women. Using a sample of 215 college women and 214 college men, this article reports on the validity the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), one of the best-validated among women and the most widely used risk and symptom measure for women. The EDI-2 had the same, standard eight-factor structure for both genders, and tests of invariance showed that factor loadings, factor variances, and factor intercorrelations were equivalent across gender. The EDI-2 scales correlated with questionnaire measures of bulimic and anorexic symptomatology equivalently across gender. However the EDI-2 scales were generally less reliable for men, leading to slightly lower Pearson-based estimates of correlations among the measures for men.