Intra-group Stigma: Examining Peer Relationships Among Women in Recovery for Addictions

This grounded theory study explores how women with histories of addiction perceive stigma while in treatment. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 women participating in a residential drug treatment centre. Previous research has found that support from peers during recovery can be critical to managing illnesses. In fact, researchers have postulated that peers can be a more effective form of support than even family. This study extends existing literature indicating that peer support systems can be supportive, however they can also can be perceived as negative support that impose stigmas. Findings reveal that women perceive stigmas due to how various types of drug use violate societal expectations and conflict with notions of deservingness. Specifically, the hard users\u27\u27 (i.e. women who use heroin or crack cocaine) perceive stigmas regarding how their drug use violates norms of womanhood. Moreover, the soft users\u27\u27 (i.e. those who use alcohol or marijuana) perceive stigmas that their drug use is considered undeserving of support. This article explores the factors that contribute to stigma amongst populations who potentially face marginalisation from larger society. Implications for treatment and group work are discussed

CEO’s Young Adult Program: Engaging Formerly Incarcerated Young People in the Workforce

The report introduces CEO’s Young Adult Program in the context of the nationwide crisis of disconnected youth—young people neither in work or school. CEO’s Young Adult Program addresses this issue by engaging 18–25 year olds coming home from prison or jail with a specialized version of CEO’s comprehensive work program. The program, like CEO’s regular programming, offers immediate, paid transitional work concurrently with placement into permanent employment, but offers extra support and coaching, and helps young people with little work experience and less maturity ease in to the workplace. CEO, through a series of qualitative and quantitative analysis, found that Young Adult Program participants worked more days of transitional work, and were placed in permanent jobs at a higher rate than young adults of the same age at CEO who were not part of the progra

Prescription Drug Diversion: Predictors of Illicit Acquisition and Redistribution in Three U.S. Metropolitan Areas

Objective: Prescription drug diversion, the transfer of prescription drugs from lawful to unlawful channels for distribution or use, is a problem in the United States. Despite the pervasiveness of diversion, there are gaps in the literature regarding characteristics of individuals who participate in the illicit trade of prescription drugs. This study examines a range of predictors (e.g., demographics, prescription insurance coverage, perceived risk associated with prescription drug diversion) of membership in three distinct diverter groups: individuals who illicitly acquire prescription drugs, those who redistribute them, and those who engage in both behaviors. Methods: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional Internet 763 AIMS Public Health Volume 2, Issue 4, 762-783. study (N = 846) of prescription drug use and diversion patterns in New York City, South Florida, and Washington, D.C.. Participants were classified into diversion categories based on their self-reported involvement in the trade of prescription drugs. Group differences in background characteristics of diverter groups were assessed by Chi-Square tests and followed up with multivariate logistic regressions. Results: While individuals in all diversion groups were more likely to be younger and have a licit prescription for any of the assessed drugs in the past year than those who did not divert, individuals who both acquire and redistribute are more likely to live in New York City, not have prescription insurance coverage, and perceive fewer legal risks of prescription drug diversion. Conclusion: Findings suggest that predictive characteristics vary according to diverter group

Aptamer-based multiplexed proteomic technology for biomarker discovery

Interrogation of the human proteome in a highly multiplexed and efficient manner remains a coveted and challenging goal in biology. We present a new aptamer-based proteomic technology for biomarker discovery capable of simultaneously measuring thousands of proteins from small sample volumes (15 [mu]L of serum or plasma). Our current assay allows us to measure ~800 proteins with very low limits of detection (1 pM average), 7 logs of overall dynamic range, and 5% average coefficient of variation. This technology is enabled by a new generation of aptamers that contain chemically modified nucleotides, which greatly expand the physicochemical diversity of the large randomized nucleic acid libraries from which the aptamers are selected. Proteins in complex matrices such as plasma are measured with a process that transforms a signature of protein concentrations into a corresponding DNA aptamer concentration signature, which is then quantified with a DNA microarray. In essence, our assay takes advantage of the dual nature of aptamers as both folded binding entities with defined shapes and unique sequences recognizable by specific hybridization probes. To demonstrate the utility of our proteomics biomarker discovery technology, we applied it to a clinical study of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We identified two well known CKD biomarkers as well as an additional 58 potential CKD biomarkers. These results demonstrate the potential utility of our technology to discover unique protein signatures characteristic of various disease states. More generally, we describe a versatile and powerful tool that allows large-scale comparison of proteome profiles among discrete populations. This unbiased and highly multiplexed search engine will enable the discovery of novel biomarkers in a manner that is unencumbered by our incomplete knowledge of biology, thereby helping to advance the next generation of evidence-based medicine

Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Birth weight variation is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors, and has been reproducibly associated with future cardio-metabolic health outcomes. In expanded genome-wide association analyses of own birth weight (n = 321,223) and offspring birth weight (n = 230,069 mothers), we identified 190 independent association signals (129 of which are novel). We used structural equation modeling to decompose the contributions of direct fetal and indirect maternal genetic effects, then applied Mendelian randomization to illuminate causal pathways. For example, both indirect maternal and direct fetal genetic effects drive the observational relationship between lower birth weight and higher later blood pressure: maternal blood pressure-raising alleles reduce offspring birth weight, but only direct fetal effects of these alleles, once inherited, increase later offspring blood pressure. Using maternal birth weight-lowering genotypes to proxy for an adverse intrauterine environment provided no evidence that it causally raises offspring blood pressure, indicating that the inverse birth weight-blood pressure association is attributable to genetic effects, and not to intrauterine programming.The Fenland Study is funded by the Medical Research Council (MC_U106179471) and Wellcome Trust

“Every time I tell my story I learn something new”: Voice and inclusion in research with Black women with histories of substance use and incarceration

While current ethical procedures aim to minimize risks to imprisoned individuals, there is heightened awareness of the need to protect those who participate in research post-incarceration while under community-based supervision. Formerly incarcerated women, in particular, face myriad challenges to community reintegration which also make them vulnerable participants in research. As such, this study explores how 28 formerly incarcerated Black women experience the qualitative research process. Findings revealed that women engaged in research because these contexts were viewed as therapeutic spaces for raising awareness that can help others. Moreover, the interview process allowed women to share their pasts in ways that promote their recovery from addiction. Participants also reported risks of emotional distress and fears regarding researcher stigma. The implications for trauma-informed interviewing practices underscore the need for greater considerations of the role of the researcher, research environment, and how they contribute to one’s personal recovery

Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors

Birth weight variation is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors, and has been reproducibly associated with future cardio-metabolic health outcomes. In expanded genome-wide association analyses of own birth weight (n = 321,223) and offspring birth weight (n = 230,069 mothers), we identified 190 independent association signals (129 of which are novel). We used structural equation modeling to decompose the contributions of direct fetal and indirect maternal genetic effects, then applied Mendelian randomization to illuminate causal pathways. For example, both indirect maternal and direct fetal genetic effects drive the observational relationship between lower birth weight and higher later blood pressure: maternal blood pressure-raising alleles reduce offspring birth weight, but only direct fetal effects of these alleles, once inherited, increase later offspring blood pressure. Using maternal birth weight-lowering genotypes to proxy for an adverse intrauterine environment provided no evidence that it causally raises offspring blood pressure, indicating that the inverse birth weight-blood pressure association is attributable to genetic effects, and not to intrauterine programming