A Latent Profile Analysis of Affective Triggers for Risky and Impulsive Behavior

Common theoretical models of risky and impulsive behaviors suggest that individuals engage in risky behavior to avoid negative affect or enhance positive affect. However, little research has been done to identify person-centered affective profiles of risky and impulsive behavior, and delineate the individual differences across these profiles. The present study used the Risky, Impulsive, and Self-destructive Behavior Questionnaire in community (N = 439) and incarcerated (N = 262) samples to examine latent affect profiles for risky and impulsive behavior. Four affective profiles emerged: low avoidance and low approach, average avoidance and average approach, high avoidance, and high approach. Conditional probability correlations revealed meaningful differences across these profiles in psychiatric symptomatology, personality characteristics, and behavior. Consideration of affective triggers provides an important framework for dissociating the underlying reasons why individuals engage in risky behavior

Prospective Study of Violence Risk Reduction by a Mental Health Court

Although many mental health courts (MHCs) have been established to reduce criminal justice involvement of persons with mental disorders, research has not kept pace with the widespread implementation of these courts. Whereas early MHCs were restricted to persons charged with nonviolent misdemeanors, many MHCs now accept persons with more serious charges for whom ameliorating risk of violence is a greater concern. This study evaluated the relationship between MHC participation and risk of violence by using a prospective design. It was hypothesized that MHC participation would decrease the risk of violence during a one year follow-up compared with a matched comparison group.The sample included 169 jail detainees with a mental disorder who either entered an MHC (N=88) or received treatment as usual (N=81). Seventy-two percent had been charged with felonies. Participants were interviewed at baseline and during a one-year follow up, and their arrest records were reviewed. Propensity-adjusted logistic regression evaluated the relationship between MHC participation and risk of violence, controlling for potential confounders such as history of violence, demographic characteristics, baseline treatment motivation, and time at risk in the community.MHC participation was associated with reduction in risk of violence (odds ratio=.39). During follow-up, 25% of the MHC group perpetrated violence, compared with 42% of the treatment-as-usual group.MHC participation can reduce the risk of violence among justice-involved persons with mental disorders. The findings support the conclusion that the MHC model can be extended beyond persons charged with nonviolent misdemeanors in a way that enhances public safety

A longitudinal investigation of the impact of emotional reactivity and COVID-19 stress exposure on substance use during the pandemic.

Background: Substance use has spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting potential links between reactivity to pandemic-related stress and increases in substance use engagement. Leveraging population-level exposure to a novel environmental stressor, the current study investigated whether emotion reactivity measured prior to the pandemic predicts the degree to which COVID-related stress impacts future substance use during the pandemic. Methods: Participants included 240 socioeconomically diverse adults (M/SD=33.47/9.39 years old) who were recruited from communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, with COVID-19 positivity and unemployment rates higher than the national average. All participants completed a research study prior to the start of the pandemic, and 90 of those participants were randomly selected to complete a follow-up study approximately six months into the pandemic. Results: On average, the sample reported high levels of stressors that they attributed specifically to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed that trait emotional reactivity moderated the impact of pandemic-inflicted stressors on future substance use, such that COVID-related stress exposure was associated with an increase in substance use for individuals who tend to experience negative emotions for prolonged periods of time. Limitations: Limitations of the study are that the data were collected in a fixed timeframe of the COVID-19 pandemic and the exclusive use of self-report measures. Conclusions: The longitudinal design of the present study extends the current literature by highlighting the potential role of emotional reactivity in predicting substance use coping behaviors. Findings suggest that emotion reactivity may be a useful intervention target among individuals highly impacted by the pandemic

Facets of Anger, Childhood Sexual Victimization, and Gender as Predictors of Suicide Attempts by Psychiatric Patients After Hospital Discharge

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Models of suicidal behavior that assess the interplay of multiple risk factors are needed to better identify at-risk individuals during periods of elevated risk, including following psychiatric hospitalization. This study investigated contributions of facets of anger, gender, and sexual victimization to risk for suicide attempts after hospital discharge. Psychiatric patients (N � 748; ages 18–40; 44 % female) recruited from 3 inpatient facilities were assessed during hospitalization and every 10 weeks during the year following discharge as part of the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study. Multiple logistic regression models with facets of anger (disposition toward physiological arousal, hostile cognitions, and angry behavior) from the Novaco Anger Scale (Novaco, 1994), gender, and childhood sexual victimization history were used to predict suicide attempts in the year following hospital discharge. Facets of anger differentially predicted suicide attempts as a function of gender and sexual victimization history, over and above the variance accounted for by symptoms of depression, anxiety, and recent suicide attempts. In men, greater disposition toward angry behavior predicted an overall greater likelihood of a suicide attempt in the year following hospital discharge, particularly among men with childhood sexual victimization. In wome