Monograph No. 7: School based drug prevention: A systematic review of the effectiveness on illicit drug use

This Monograph (No. 7) outlines a systematic review of school based drug education. Whilst the Griffith team started with the broad brief of prevention, it became clear that a focus on school based drug education would be most useful, particularly as a systematic review in relation to its impact on illicit drugs had not been previously conducted. The review identified 58 relevant studies, and both a qualitative (narrative) and quantitative (meta-analytic) review was undertaken. Those programs demonstrating most effectiveness were social influence and competency enhancement programs. Less promising and iatrogenic effects were found for affective education and knowledge dissemination. In contrast to previous research on school based drug education, this review found that professionals were less effective than teachers, that multifaceted programs did not demonstrate substantially greater efficacy; and involvement of peers or booster session had minimal impact. Programs with a greater number of sessions were more effective, and interactive programs were associated with greater effectiveness

Intimate partner violence around the time of pregnancy and postpartum depression: The experience of women of Bangladesh.

Background and objectivesIntimate partner violence (IPV) around the time of pregnancy is a serious public health concern and is known to have an adverse effect on perinatal mental health. In order to craft appropriate and effective interventions, it is important to understand how the association between IPV and postpartum depression (PPD) may differ as a function of the type and timing of IPV victimization. Here we evaluate the influence of physical, sexual and psychological IPV before, during and after pregnancy on PPD.MethodsCross-sectional survey data was collected between October 2015 and January 2016 in the Chandpur District of Bangladesh from 426 new mothers, aged 15-49 years, who were in the first six months postpartum. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between IPV and PPD, adjusted for socio-demographic, reproductive and psychosocial confounding factors.ResultsApproximately 35.2% of women experienced PPD within the first six months following childbirth. Controlling for confounders, the odds of PPD was significantly greater among women who reported exposure to physical (AOR: 1.79, 95% CI [1.25, 3.43]), sexual (AOR: 2.25, 95% CI [1.14, 4.45]) or psychological (AOR: 6.92, 95% CI [1.71, 28.04]) IPV during pregnancy as opposed to those who did not. However, both before and after pregnancy, only physical IPV evidences a direct effect on PPD. Results highlight the mental health consequences of IPV for women of Bangladesh, as well as the influence of timing and type of IPV on PPD outcomes.Conclusions and implicationsThe findings confirm that exposure to IPV significantly increases the odds of PPD. The association is particularly strong for physical IPV during all periods and psychological IPV during pregnancy. Results reinforce the need to conduct routine screening during pregnancy to identify women with a history of IPV who may at risk for PPD and to offer them necessary support

Factors of Stress, Burnout, and Frustrations Experienced by Athletic Training Students

Purpose: College students are at a risk for increased levels of stress and burnout, and those enrolled in healthcare degree programs are more likely to experience higher levels due to balancing demanding roles. Our purpose was to assess sources of stress, burnout, and/or frustration in athletic training students (ATSs) of different academic standings. Methods: Data were collected through the use of an original, 33-question questionnaire. An inductive approach was used to analyze the data and multiple analyst triangulation and interpretive member checks were used to secure credibility. Results: 27 male and female ATSs from freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes from one institution voluntarily participated within this study. We were able to identify distinct themes of stress and burnout for each class of ATSs. Freshman reported concern for the time demand from the major and a desire to have more hands-on activity involved with their clinical education experiences. The sophomores reported feeling stressed regarding the expectation to retain information and the expectations to perform hands-on duties, as well as their ability to balance academic and clinical responsibilities. Challenging coursework, pressure during clinical experiences, and social conflicts appeared as themes for the junior ATSs. Finally, the seniors stated a fear of not achieving professional proficiency was a source of frustration. Conclusions and Recommendations: Based on our findings, efforts should be made to assist student time management practices, improve communication between preceptors and students, and make expectations of the athletic training program (ATP) faculty and preceptors clear. Such measures could help influence other positive changes within ATPs to improve the learning environment for ATSs

Intra-individual variability in information processing speed reflects white matter microstructure in multiple sclerosis

AbstractSlowed information processing speed is commonly reported in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), and is typically investigated using clinical neuropsychological tests, which provide sensitive indices of mean-level information processing speed. However, recent studies have demonstrated that within-person variability or intra-individual variability (IIV) in information processing speed may be a more sensitive indicator of neurologic status than mean-level performance on clinical tests. We evaluated the neural basis of increased IIV in mildly affected relapsing–remitting MS patients by characterizing the relation between IIV (controlling for mean-level performance) and white matter integrity using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Twenty women with relapsing–remitting MS and 20 matched control participants completed the Computerized Test of Information Processing (CTIP), from which both mean response time and IIV were calculated. Other clinical measures of information processing speed were also collected. Relations between IIV on the CTIP and DTI metrics of white matter microstructure were evaluated using tract-based spatial statistics. We observed slower and more variable responses on the CTIP in MS patients relative to controls. Significant relations between white matter microstructure and IIV were observed for MS patients. Increased IIV was associated with reduced integrity in more white matter tracts than was slowed information processing speed as measured by either mean CTIP response time or other neuropsychological test scores. Thus, despite the common use of mean-level performance as an index of cognitive dysfunction in MS, IIV may be more sensitive to the overall burden of white matter disease at the microstructural level. Furthermore, our study highlights the potential value of considering within-person fluctuations, in addition to mean-level performance, for uncovering brain–behavior relationships in neurologic disorders with widespread white matter pathology

Criminal Careers Among Female Perpetrators of Family and Non-family Homicide in Australia

Knowledge of women’s pathways to serious offending, including homicide, is limited. This study contributes to a small but growing body of literature examining the criminal careers of serious female offenders by using interview data with females convicted of murder or manslaughter in Australia to examine various dimensions of their criminal careers, specifically, prevalence, frequency, age of onset, duration, and offending variety. In particular, in this study we compared criminal career dimensions across women who had killed a family member (e.g., intimate partner, children) and those whose victims were not part of the family unit (i.e., acquaintances or strangers). Our findings reveal differences between female homicide offenders who kill within and outside of the family unit. Although both groups had comparable overall lifetime prevalence of self-reported participation in criminal offending, findings indicate that participation among the family group was typically at low levels of frequency, of limited duration, and with relatively little variety in categories of offending. The family group also reported lower contact with the criminal justice system compared with the nonfamily group, and were less likely to have experienced some form of criminal/legal sanction in the 12 months prior to the homicide incident. This suggests that women who kill family members are more “conventional” than their nonfamily counterparts, in terms of having low and time-limited (i.e., short duration) lifetime participation in criminal offending

Comparing Preceptor and Student Perceptions on Mentoring Characteristics: An Exploratory Study

Key Points: No significant differences exist in students and preceptors perceptions of mentoring. Preceptors and students value professional and interpersonal attributes of mentorship. Gender and ethnicity were not highly rated aspects of mentorship

Enhancing public trust and police legitimacy during road traffic encounters:Results from a randomised controlled trial in Scotland

Objectives This paper reports results from the Scottish Community Engagement Trial (ScotCET), devised to replicate the Queensland Community Trial (QCET). ScotCET was an RCT that tested the effects of ‘procedurally just’ policing on public trust and police legitimacy Methods A block-randomized (matched pairs) design, with pretest and posttest measures, was implemented in the context of road policing in Scotland. Participants were drivers stopped by police in December and January 2013/14 as part of Police Scotland’s ‘Festive Road Safety Campaign’. The experimental intervention comprised a checklist of key messages to include in routine roadside vehicle stops, and a leaflet for officers to give to drivers. Analysis proceeds via random effects regression models predicting latent variable measures of trust, satisfaction and legitimacy Results Contrary to expectations the intervention did not improve trust and legitimacy; rather, trust in the officers who made the stop, and satisfaction with their conduct fell in the test sites, relative to the controls, after implementation of the intervention. The intervention had no significant effect on general trust in the police, or on police legitimacy. Conclusions Results demonstrate the difficulty in translating experimental interventions across policing contexts, and challenge the notion that public perceptions may be improved through a simple, additive approach to the delivery and communication of procedural justice.</p

Investigation of fMRI activation in the internal capsule

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in white matter has long been considered controversial. Recently, this viewpoint has been challenged by an emerging body of evidence demonstrating white matter activation in the corpus callosum. The current study aimed to determine whether white matter activation could be detected outside of the corpus callosum, in the internal capsule. Data were acquired from a 4 T MRI using a specialized asymmetric spin echo spiral sequence. A motor task was selected to elicit activation in the posterior limb of the internal capsule.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>White matter fMRI activation was examined at the individual and group levels. Analyses revealed that activation was present in the posterior limb of the internal capsule in 80% of participants. These results provide further support for white matter fMRI activation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ability to visualize functionally active tracts has strong implications for the basic scientific study of connectivity and the clinical assessment of white matter disease.</p

Body size and tree species composition determine variation in prey consumption in a forest-inhabiting generalist predator

Trophic interactions may strongly depend on body size and environmental variation, but this prediction has been seldom tested in nature. Many spiders are generalist predators that use webs to intercept flying prey. The size and mesh of orb webs increases with spider size, allowing a more efficient predation on larger prey. We studied to this extent the orb-weaving spider Araneus diadematus inhabiting forest fragments differing in edge distance, tree diversity, and tree species. These environmental variables are known to correlate with insect composition, richness, and abundance. We anticipated these forest characteristics to be a principle driver of prey consumption. We additionally hypothesized them to impact spider size at maturity and expect shifts toward larger prey size distributions in larger individuals independently from the environmental context. We quantified spider diet by means of metabarcoding of nearly 1,000 A. diadematus from a total of 53 forest plots. This approach allowed a massive screening of consumption dynamics in nature, though at the cost of identifying the exact prey identity, as well as their abundance and putative intraspecific variation. Our study confirmed A. diadematus as a generalist predator, with more than 300 prey ZOTUs detected in total. At the individual level, we found large spiders to consume fewer different species, but adding larger species to their diet. Tree species composition affected both prey species richness and size in the spider's diet, although tree diversity per se had no influence on the consumed prey. Edges had an indirect effect on the spider diet as spiders closer to the forest edge were larger and therefore consumed larger prey. We conclude that both intraspecific size variation and tree species composition shape the consumed prey of this generalist predator