Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Sexual Difficulties: A Systematic Review of Veterans and Military Personnel.

BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with sexual difficulties but the nuances of this relationship remain elusive. Research has increased in recent years, most notably following publication of several reviews in 2015. AIM: This systematic review examines the relationship between PTSD and sexual difficulties in veterans/military personnel. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines in PsycINFO and PubMed databases for studies examining a diagnosis of PTSD or PTSD severity in relation to a range of sexual difficulties. Forty-three studies were identified that met inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. RESULTS: PTSD was associated with increased risk of experiencing at least one sexual difficulty. PTSD was most clearly associated with overall sexual function, sexual desire, sexual satisfaction, and sexual distress. Results were mixed for sexual arousal, orgasm function, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, sexual pain, and frequency of sexual activity. PTSD symptom clusters of avoidance and negative alterations in cognition/mood were most commonly associated sexual difficulties. Few studies compared results by gender and trauma type. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Clinicians should inquire about sexual health in relation to PTSD symptoms and target avoidance and negative mood symptoms by incorporating sexual exposure assignments and sexual activation exercises when appropriate. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: This systematic review synthesizes an extensive literature that has grown substantially in the past 5 years and includes studies with low to moderate risk of bias. Limitations of the existing literature include challenges differentiating between PTSD and depression, inconsistent measurement of PTSD and trauma histories, inconsistent operationalization and measurement of sexual outcomes, and largely cross-sectional study designs. CONCLUSION: PTSD is linked to a range of sexual outcomes. The current literature suggests that PTSD is associated with sexual difficulties related to both the sexual response cycle (ie, sexual desire) and one's emotional relationship to sexual activity (eg, sexual distress). More research is needed to increase confidence in findings. Bird ER, Piccirillo M, Garcia N, et al. Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Sexual Difficulties: A Systematic Review of Veterans and Military Personnel. J Sex Med 2021;18:1398-1426.

Measuring the complex syntax of school-aged children in language sample analysis: A known-groups validation study.

BACKGROUND: Complex syntax is affected by developmental language disorder (DLD) during the school years. Targeting areas of syntactic difficulty for children with DLD may yield useful assessment techniques. AIMS: To determine whether wh-movement can be measured in language samples from typically developing mono- and bilingual school-aged children, and, if so, to provide preliminary evidence of validity by comparison with traditional measures of syntax in a cross-sectional, known-groups design. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Participants were 48 typically developing children recruited from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia in four groups: monolingual English and bilingual French-English children in early (7-8 years of age) and late (11-12 years of age) elementary school. Language samples were collected and analysed with mean use of wh-movement, mean length of utterance and clausal density. These measures were compared for effects of age, bilingual development and elicitation task. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The results from all measures closely paralleled each other, providing preliminary evidence of validity. Wh-movement-based and traditional measures demonstrated similar age-related and discourse genre effects. Neither demonstrated an effect of mono- versus bilingual development. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The results confirm research interest in syntactic movement as an area of language assessment. Further research is required to understand its application to clinical populations. What this paper adds What is already known on the subject Complex syntax is known to be an area of difficulty for children with DLD. Certain syntactic constructions appear to be particularly difficult for these children. Assessments targeting these areas of difficulty are emerging. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The paper compares traditional measures of syntax with measures based on wh-movement. It shows similar results for both types of measures, suggesting construct and convergent validity. Results suggest that syntactic movement is an age-appropriate area of assessment for elementary school-aged children's language. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Language sample assessment measures based on wh-movement appear promising. The impact of task effects of the discourse genre on assessing syntax must be carefully considered in research and clinical practice.

What's That You Say? Communication Breakdowns and Their Repairs in Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Conversational fluency is important to form meaningful connections and relationships with the people around us but is understudied in children who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). Communication breakdowns reduce conversational fluency. They occur when a speaker says something that interrupts the flow of conversation requiring a request for clarification or confirmation from their listener to repair the misunderstanding. Young children who are D/HH are at risk of more frequent communication breakdowns and fewer successful repairs than children with typical hearing (The missing link in language development of deaf and hard of hearing children: Pragmatic language development. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33 (04), 297-309). About 14 children who were D/HH aged 7-12 year and 15 children with typical hearing were matched on chronological age. Comparisons of the number and duration of communication breakdowns, requests for repair, and responses to requests used by children in a 10-min conversation with an adult were completed. Results showed that while children who were D/HH demonstrated some differences, they were more similar to their typically hearing peers in communication breakdowns and repairs than previously reported in the literature.

Women's Sex-Related Dissociation: The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication, Attentional Control Instructions, and History of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

This study examined influences of alcohol intoxication, attentional control, and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) severity on sex-related dissociation. Sex-related dissociation is defined here as dissociation (e.g., feeling as if the world is unreal and feeling disconnected from one's body) during sexual activity or in the presence of sexual stimuli. Women (N = 70) were randomized to a 2 (alcohol condition: none,.10% peak breath alcohol concentration) X 2 (attentional control instructions: none, "relax and maximize" sexual arousal) experiment and exposed to sexual stimuli. Alcohol intoxication was positively associated with sex-related dissociation. CSA severity and sex-related dissociation were positively associated in the no-instruction condition but not in the "relax and maximize" condition. For some women, efforts to relax and maximize sexual arousal may buffer the association between CSA and sex-related dissociation.

Mothers' talk to children with Down Syndrome, language impairment, or typical development about familiar and unfamiliar nouns and verbs.

This study investigated how forty-six mothers modified their talk about familiar and unfamiliar nouns and verbs when interacting with their children with Down Syndrome (DS), language impairment (LI), or typical development (TD). Children (MLUs < 2·7) were group-matched on expressive vocabulary size. Mother-child dyads were recorded playing with toy animals (noun task) and action boxes (verb task). Mothers of children with DS used shorter utterances and more verb labels in salient positions than the other two groups. All mothers produced unfamiliar target nouns in short utterances, in utterance-final position, and with the referent perceptually available. Mothers also talked more about familiar nouns and verbs and labelled them more often and more consistently. These findings suggest that mothers of children in the early period of language development fine-tune their input in ways that reflect their children's vocabulary knowledge, but do so differently for nouns and verbs.

Dissociation during sex and sexual arousal in women with and without a history of childhood sexual abuse.

Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) experience dissociative symptoms and sexual difficulties with greater frequency than women without a history of CSA. Current models of sexual dysfunction for sexual abuse survivors suggest that dissociation may mediate the relationship between CSA and sexual arousal difficulties. Dissociation, however, is often conceptualized as a single construct in studies of CSA and not as separate domains as in the dissociation literature. In the present study, women with (CSA, N = 37) and without (NSA, N = 22) a history of CSA recruited from the community were asked to indicate the frequency and intensity of their experience in two dissociation subgroups, derealization and depersonalization, during sex with a partner and in their daily life. Findings showed that, in the NSA group, more depersonalization during sex with a partner was associated with lower sexual arousal functioning. However, for both the NSA and CSA groups, more derealization during sex was associated with higher sexual arousal functioning. No measure of dissociation was significantly associated with sexual responses in the laboratory. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between different forms of dissociation (i.e., derealization and depersonalization) in the study of sexual arousal functioning. In addition, the findings challenge the notion that dissociation is a main predictor of sexual arousal problems in survivors of CSA and suggest that a more nuanced relationship may exist.

Effectiveness of the corrective babbling speech treatment program for children with a history of cleft palate or velopharyngeal dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of a phonetic-based, parent-administered treatment to reduce cleft-related speech errors. DESIGN: Immediate treatment (IT) versus delayed treatment (DT) comparison followed by analysis of gains over approximately 4 months and again after a longer period of treatment for participants in both groups. PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen participants with a history of cleft palate or velopharyngeal dysfunction and speech disorder. INTERVENTION: After training, parents were instructed to conduct daily 10-minute sessions of phonetic drills with their children. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Group differences in percent consonants correct (PCC) were compared between those who did and those who did not receive the treatment. Pre- and posttreatment PCC comparisons were made after approximately 4 months of treatment and after termination of treatment. RESULTS: Participants receiving Corrective Babbling therapy showed significant gains in PCC in limited contexts after 4 months of therapy. However, gains were not significantly greater for the IT versus DT group. Participants who continued with the treatment for longer than 4 months showed the greatest gains in PCC and had significant improvements in all speech contexts assessed. Parents reported satisfaction with the program. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that this treatment shows promise for at least some children with a history of cleft palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction.

Self-Reported Listening Abilities in Educational Settings of Typically Hearing Children and Those Who Are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing.

Children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) learning in inclusive educational settings must be aware of how well they hear and understand spoken language to advocate for themselves. This study explored elementary-age children's self-reported listening abilities using thematic analysis of brief interviews. Participants were 16 D/HH and 16 typically hearing (TH) 7- to 12-year-old monolingual English speakers in Canada. Children were asked about their ability to hear and understand the teacher, other students, and people in different environments. Findings showed surprising similarities across groups in terms of numbers of "no difficulty" responses and awareness of listening barriers related to speaker and environmental characteristics. Unsurprisingly, children who are D/HH were more likely to discuss hearing technologies and to attribute difficulties to their hearing abilities. Findings suggest that children who are D/HH with poor speech discrimination in noise abilities require support in developing awareness of and expressing difficulties with listening abilities.

Mapping the Spatial Extent of Hypoperfusion in Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension Using Multienergy CT.

Purpose: To assess if a novel automated method to spatially delineate and quantify the extent of hypoperfusion on multienergy CT angiograms can aid the evaluation of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) disease severity. Materials and Methods: Multienergy CT angiograms obtained between January 2018 and December 2020 in 51 patients with CTEPH (mean age, 47 years ± 17 [SD]; 27 women) were retrospectively compared with those in 110 controls with no imaging findings suggestive of pulmonary vascular abnormalities (mean age, 51 years ± 16; 81 women). Parenchymal iodine values were automatically isolated using deep learning lobar lung segmentations. Low iodine concentration was used to delineate areas of hypoperfusion and calculate hypoperfused lung volume (HLV). Receiver operating characteristic curves, correlations with preoperative and postoperative changes in invasive hemodynamics, and comparison with visual assessment of lobar hypoperfusion by two expert readers were evaluated. Results: Global HLV correctly separated patients with CTEPH from controls (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.84; 10% HLV cutoff: 90% sensitivity, 72% accuracy, and 64% specificity) and correlated moderately with hemodynamic severity at time of imaging (pulmonary vascular resistance [PVR], ρ = 0.67; P < .001) and change after surgical treatment (∆PVR, ρ = -0.61; P < .001). In patients surgically classified as having segmental disease, global HLV correlated with preoperative PVR (ρ = 0.81) and postoperative ∆PVR (ρ = -0.70). Lobar HLV correlated moderately with expert reader lobar assessment (ρHLV = 0.71 for reader 1; ρHLV = 0.67 for reader 2). Conclusion: Automated quantification of hypoperfused areas in patients with CTEPH can be performed from clinical multienergy CT examinations and may aid clinical evaluation, particularly in patients with segmental-level disease.Keywords: CT-Spectral Imaging (Multienergy), Pulmonary, Pulmonary Arteries, Embolism/Thrombosis, Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension, Multienergy CT, Hypoperfusion© RSNA, 2023.

Survey of bilingualism in autism spectrum disorders.

This survey study investigates issues related to bilingualism and autism. Bilingualism is common around the world but there is little published information to guide professionals and parents in making decisions about bilingualism for children with autism. Participants were 49 parents or guardians of children with autism who were members of a bilingual family; 75% were raising their child with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to be bilingual or multilingual. Professionals did not always support this choice. Parents reported that living in a bilingual community and the need to communicate with various people in a variety of venues supported a bilingual choice along with the enrichment and job opportunities that bilingualism afforded. Parents also reported concerns around choosing bilingualism for their children with ASD, such as lack of services and supports and concerns about whether their children would be able to learn two languages. Children with ASD exposed to two languages were often reported to be acquiring their languages of exposure, albeit to varying degrees. Given the small sample size and the exploratory nature of the study, the need for more research is emphasized.

Examination of Sex-Related Distress and Self-Medication Drinking Model in U.S. College Women.

Adult sexual assault (ASA) in college remains a concern. Consequently, many college-aged women experience negative emotions surrounding sexual activity (sex-related distress). Consistent with self-medication theory, some drink to cope with sex-related distress, which may reduce distress, but lead to greater drinking quantity before sex and negative sexual consequences. How women with ASA histories navigate sexual situations and cope with sex-related distress is under researched. We examined ASA, sex-related distress, and drinking to cope motives to understand correlates of drinking before sex. First and second year college women (n = 300) reported on a recent sexual experience in the past six weeks. In the full sample, ASA severity was associated with a greater likelihood of drinking before sex, while general sex-related distress was associated with a lower likelihood. General sex-related distress was associated with event-specific sex-related distress and sexual consequences. There were no differences in number of pre-sex drinks or subjective intoxication during sexual activity based on ASA. In a subsample of women who drank before sexual activity (n = 179), drinking to cope with sex-related distress motives mediated the association between sex-related distress and sexual consequences. Interventions can draw on these findings to target self-medication drinking in consensual sexual situations.

Mechanisms of the association between PTSD and sexual arousal and lubrication functioning among trauma-exposed female service members/veterans.

BACKGROUND: The presence of a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis or higher PTSD severity is associated with higher overall sexual dysfunction in female service members/veterans. However, the mechanisms linking PTSD to specific components of women's sexual arousal function, like lubrication and mental arousal, are unknown. METHODS: We conducted a survey among 464 women who reported probable Criterion A exposure for PTSD. Path analysis examined (1) the association of PTSD with sexual arousal, (2) whether specific PTSD symptom clusters were uniquely associated with sexual arousal, and (3) whether this association is indirect, through the effects of higher depression severity and lower romantic relationship satisfaction. Arousal was operationalized to measure both mental (subjective arousal) and physical (lubrication) experiences. RESULTS: Higher PTSD severity was associated with lower lubrication and arousal function. The association of PTSD severity with arousal was indirect, through lower romantic relationship satisfaction (estimate: -0.12; 95% CI: [-0.014, -0.007]) and higher depression (estimate: -0.08, 95% CI: [-0.012, -0.002]). The association of PTSD severity with lubrication was also indirect, but only through lower relationship satisfaction (estimate: -0.10, 95% CI: [-0.013, -0.006]). PTSD symptom clusters were not uniquely associated with arousal and lubrication through mediated pathways. LIMITATIONS: Data were from a cross-sectional study using a convenience sample. Criterion A exposure could not be confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD may lead to arousal and lubrication dysfunction by contributing to higher depression severity and strained romantic relationships. Interventions targeting reductions in depressive symptoms and bolstering relationship satisfaction may minimize the burden of PTSD on sexual arousal concerns.

The Interplay of Sexual Arousal and Power-Related Emotions in Men's Alcohol-Involved Sexual Aggression Intentions.

Research has identified power/dominance and sexual arousal as key motivators of men's sexual aggression; however, little research has examined the interplay of these two factors in alcohol-involved sexual aggression. Two alcohol administration experiments investigated the roles of power-related sex motives and power- and sexual arousal-related emotions on men's sexual aggression intentions. In Study 1, participants (N = 96) read a sexual aggression scenario after random assignment to consume either an alcoholic (target peak BrAC = .10%) or nonalcoholic beverage. Results indicated that power-related sex motives indirectly predicted stronger sexual aggression intentions through greater in-the-moment power-related emotions but not through sexual arousal-related emotions. Intoxicated men with more severe perpetration histories reported stronger sexual aggression intentions. In Study 2, participants (N = 203) completed similar measures after random assignment to receive either a brief emotion regulation-focused intervention (cognitive restructuring or mindfulness) or a control, followed by either alcohol (target peak BrAC = .08%) or nonalcoholic beverage consumption. Results demonstrated that greater power-related sex motives indirectly predicted stronger sexual aggression intentions through greater feelings of power and sexual arousal. Additionally, findings suggest that cognitive restructuring approaches may mitigate these relationships in sober men, while mindfulness approaches may exacerbate these relationships in intoxicated men.

Mastering inflectional suffixes: a longitudinal study of beginning writers' spellings*.

This study tracked the order in which ten beginning spellers (M age=5 ; 05; SD=0·21 years) mastered the correct spellings of common inflectional suffixes in English. Spellings from children's journals from kindergarten and grade 1 were coded. An inflectional suffix was judged to be mastered when children spelled it accurately in 90 percent of the contexts in which it was grammatically required, a criterion used to study the order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes in oral language. The results indicated that the order in which children learned to spell inflectional suffixes correctly is similar to the order in which they learn to use them in oral language, before school age. Discrepancies between the order of mastery for inflectional suffixes in written and oral language are discussed in terms of English spelling conventions, which introduce variables into the spelling of inflected words that are not present in oral language.

"Undating" and "Quarter Ponies": Comparing the Use of Derived Words and Compounds Across Discourse Types and Age Groups.

Purpose Derivational morphology and compounds are important aspects of academic vocabulary. However, investigation of the development of expressive derivational and compound morphology using language sampling is sparse. This cross-sectional study used three types of language samples to investigate quantitative and qualitative changes in the spontaneous production of derived words and compounds in early and late elementary-age children as a function of age and discourse type. Method Twenty-three children in two age groups (early elementary, n = 12; late elementary, n = 11) participated. Three types of language samples were elicited: conversational (10-min conversation with an adult examiner), narrative ("I tell-you tell" narrative with single picture stimulus combined with a story stem narrative), and expository (explanation of how to play a favorite game or sport with text-based topic prompts). Language samples were transcribed using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (Miller & Chapman, 2012) conventions with the addition of researcher-created codes to identify derived words and compounds. Quantitative measures (number of derived words, different derived words, number of compounds, and different compounds) were calculated as percentages of total words or number of different words to control for differing sample length. The types of derivational morphemes and compounds produced by children in each age group were listed and qualitatively analyzed for evidence of a sequential development of specific morpheme types, variation in complexity, and productivity. Results Developmental change in quantitative and qualitative measures of derivational and compound morphology was evident across early and late elementary-age children in the language samples. Lists of derived words and compounds produced provided a rich source for analyzing developmental patterns in expressive morphology. Conversational and, to a lesser extent, expository discourse generated the greatest number and diversity of multimorphemic words. Conclusions This research provided new insights into academic vocabulary development in elementary school-age children. The clinical usefulness of language sampling to quantitatively and qualitatively assess derivational morphology and compounds was demonstrated. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12170373.

Improving the Gender-Affirmation Process for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Individuals: Associations Among Time Since Transition Began, Body Satisfaction, and Sexual Distress.

Sexual distress is associated with a variety of negative outcomes. Unique contributors to sexual distress exist among transgender individuals. The current study examined the impacts of gender-affirming interventions (i.e., hormone therapy [HT], gender-affirmation surgery [GAS]) and body satisfaction on sexual distress among 317 transgender adults recruited nationally to participate in an anonymous online survey. As expected, individuals who had received HT and/or GAS reported better body satisfaction compared to those who wanted these interventions but had not yet received them. Sexual distress did not differ by transition status. As hypothesized, time since transition began was positively associated with body satisfaction, and there was an indirect relationship between time since transition began and sexual distress through body satisfaction. These results replicated findings in the extant literature suggesting that body satisfaction is improved by GAS. Furthermore, this was the first study of which we are aware to examine the role of time since transition began with respect to body satisfaction and the resulting impact on sexual distress. Results from this study may have clinical implications that could help improve the gender-affirmation experience for transgender individuals.

Associations between mindfulness and mental health outcomes: A systematic review of ecological momentary assessment research.

Objectives: Psychological science has taken up investigations of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) and mechanisms through which people benefit from mindfulness. Reliable and valid psychometric tools are essential components of psychological science, and efforts have been made to produce tools for the accurate measurement of mindfulness as a construct. However, trait measurement methods, which are commonly used, may not adequately assess mindfulness and mental health outcomes in a way that allows for mechanisms to be adequately tested. Intensive longitudinal assessment methods sample behavior and experience multiple times over a brief period of several days or weeks, and may be more appropriate methods for testing mechanisms of action. We provide a systematic review of published, peer-reviewed studies that used intensive longitudinal methods to investigate the effects of mindfulness on mental health outcomes. Methods: Articles were included in the systematic review if mindfulness measures and/or mindfulness interventions were a part of the study design and if intensive longitudinal methods were used to assess mindfulness or mental health outcomes. Results: Findings consistently demonstrated a positive association between mindfulness and mental health. Only two studies collected both trait and state measurements of either mindfulness or mental health outcomes, and results indicated that EMA produced larger effect sizes between mindfulness and mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Theorized associations between mindfulness and mental health are supported by the current EMA literature. Intensive longitudinal methods may produce more consistent and reliable results through increased sensitivity and ecological validity in that they examine the momentary relationships between mindfulness and mental health outcomes. Thus, intensive longitudinal assessment may be a more appropriate method for investigating hypothesized mechanisms of action in MBPs.

Disrupting the path to craving: Acting without awareness mediates the link between negative affect and craving.

Low treatment utilization, relapse, and chronicity are characteristic of substance use disorders (SUDs). Craving is an important predictor of relapse. Individuals with an SUD report using various coping strategies in response to negative affect, two of which are investigated in the current study: suppression and acting with awareness. Suppression is typically understood to be avoidance of unwanted experience through turning attention away from unwanted stimuli. Acting with awareness (AWA) is a facet of mindfulness, which includes turning toward experience with kindness and curiosity, even when the experience is unwanted. Evidence suggests mindfulness may reduce craving, while suppression has been associated with increased craving. In the current study, participants (N = 210) had recently completed inpatient or intensive outpatient SUD treatment followed by a randomized controlled trial of aftercare. Participants completed measures within 2 weeks following the completion of the aftercare intervention. Negative affect and severity of dependence were both positively associated with craving. Structural equation modeling evaluated AWA and suppression as partial mediators of the link between negative affect and craving. Suppression was positively associated and AWA was negatively associated with craving. Mediation analyses revealed the indirect effect of negative affect on craving through AWA was significant, but the path through suppression was not. These findings suggest that AWA may inhibit the development of craving from negative affect, but further research is needed. Future research should investigate the path from negative affect to craving with greater temporal resolution to evaluate how these phenomena function with increased ecological validity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Mobile Lower Body Negative Pressure Suit as an Integrative Countermeasure for Spaceflight.

BACKGROUND: Persistent headward fluid shift and mechanical unloading cause neuro-ocular, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal deconditioning during long-term spaceflight. Lower body negative pressure (LBNP) reintroduces footward fluid shift and mechanical loading.METHODS: We designed, built, and tested a wearable, mobile, and flexible LBNP device (GravitySuit) consisting of pressurized trousers with built-in shoes to support ground reaction forces (GRF) and a thoracic vest to distribute load to the entire axial length of the body. In eight healthy subjects we recorded GRF under the feet and over the shoulders (Tekscan) while assessing cardiovascular response (Nexfin) and footward fluid shift from internal jugular venous cross-sectional area (IJVa) using ultrasound (Terason).RESULTS: Relative to normal bodyweight (BW) when standing upright, increments of 10 mmHg LBNP from 0 to 40 mmHg while supine induced axial loading corresponding to 0%, 13 ± 3%, 41 ± 5%, 75 ± 11%, and 125 ± 22% BW, respectively. Furthermore, LBNP reduced IJVa from 1.12 ± 0.3 cm² to 0.67 ± 0.2, 0.50 ± 0.1, 0.35 ± 0.1, and 0.31 ± 0.1 cm², respectively. LBNP of 30 and 40 mmHg reduced cardiac stroke volume and increased heart rate while cardiac output and mean arterial pressure were unaffected. During 2 h of supine rest at 20 mmHg LBNP, temperature and humidity inside the suit were unchanged (23 ± 1°C; 47 ± 3%, respectively).DISCUSSION: The flexible GravitySuit at 20 mmHg LBNP comfortably induced mechanical loading and desired fluid displacement while maintaining the mobility of hips and knee joints. The GravitySuit may provide a feasible method to apply low-level, long-term LBNP without interfering with daily activity during spaceflight to provide an integrative countermeasure.Petersen LG, Hargens A, Bird EM, Ashari N, Saalfeld J, Petersen JCG. Mobile lower body negative pressure suit as an integrative countermeasure for spaceflight. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2019; 90(12):993-999.

Feasibility pilot of a brief mindfulness intervention for college students with posttraumatic stress symptoms and problem drinking.

OBJECTIVE: A significant subset of college students experience PTSD symptoms, and many engage in problematic alcohol use. Some college students with PTSD symptoms may use alcohol and other substances to cope with their symptoms, and those with PTSD experience more negative alcohol and drug consequences than those without PTSD. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have been successfully utilized for individuals with PTSD or substance use disorders. However, to date, no studies have evaluated MBIs for college students with co-occurring PTSD symptoms and problem drinking. METHOD: This study was a feasibility pilot of a 4-week group loving-kindness meditation (LKM) intervention, a practice of intentionally directing well wishes to oneself and others. LKM was compared to referral to treatment as usual (RTAU) for non-treatment seeking college students (N=75) with PTSD symptoms and problem drinking. RESULTS: Overall, the LKM group had low to moderate feasibility and acceptability among college students, as recruitment was lower than expected and attendance at LKM groups was modest. Participants' PTSD symptoms, drinking quantity, and negative drinking consequences decreased, and state mindfulness increased over the course of the study, but there were no significant differences between LKM and RTAU on these outcomes. Additionally, higher coping drinking motives predicted greater PTSD symptoms and more drinking consequences over the course of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Effective interventions for college students with PTSD symptoms and problematic alcohol use are needed, especially for individuals who drink to cope with their PTSD symptoms. Future research on LKM that addresses the limitations of the current study is warranted.