Mid-adolescent predictors of adult drinking levels in early adulthood and gender differences: longitudinal analyses based on the South Australian school leavers study

There is considerable public health interest in understanding what factors during adolescence predict longer-term drinking patterns in adulthood. The aim of this study was to examine gender differences in the age 15 social and psychological predictors of less healthy drinking patterns in early adulthood. The study investigates the relative importance of internalising problems, other risky health behaviours, and peer relationships after controlling for family background characteristics. A sample of 812 young people who provided complete alcohol consumption data from the age of 15 to 20 years (5 measurement points) were drawn from South Australian secondary schools and given a detailed survey concerning their psychological and social wellbeing. Respondents were classified into two groups based upon a percentile division: those who drank at levels consistently below NHMRC guidelines and those who consistently drank at higher levels. The results showed that poorer age 15 scores on measures of psychological wellbeing including scores on the GHQ-12, self-esteem, and life-satisfaction as well as engagement in health-related behaviours such as smoking or drug-taking were associated with higher drinking levels in early adulthood. The pattern of results was generally similar for both genders. Higher drinking levels were most strongly associated with smoking and marijuana use and poorer psychological wellbeing during adolescence.Paul H. Delfabbro, Helen R.Winefield, Anthony H.Winefield, and Anne Hammarströ

Reliability and Validity of Self-Reported Questionnaires Related to Adolescent Violence and Consequences, Thailand

Copyright © 2013 Wongtonkam et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.In Thailand physical violence among male adolescents is considered a significant public health issue, although there has been little published research into the aetiology and functions of violence in Thai youth. Research in this area has been hampered by a lack of psychometrically sound tools that have been validated to assess problem behaviours in Asian youth. The purpose of this paper is to provide validity and reliability data on an instrument to measure violence in Thai youth. In this study, reliability and validity data for a sample of adolescent Thai youth are reported for the Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTC-YS), a measure of risk and protective factors for violent behaviour, and the STAXI-II, a measure of angry experience and expression. The findings showed overall high internal consistency for both questionnaires, and there was evidence of construct validity. It is concluded that these measures are appropriate for use in research that seeks to investigate youth violence among adolescents in Thailand

Integrating psychosocial safety climate in the JD-R model: a study amongst Malaysian workers

ORIENTATION: Job characteristics are well accepted as sources of burnout and engagement amongst employees; psychosocial safety climate may precede work conditions. RESEARCH PURPOSE: We expanded the Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) model by proposing psychosocial safety climate (PSC) as a precursor to job demands and job resources. As PSC theoretically influences the working environment, the study hypothesized that PSC has an impact on performance via both health erosion (i.e. burnout) and motivational pathways (i.e. work engagement). MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: So far, integration of PSC in the JD-R model is only tested in a Western context (i.e. Australia). We tested the emerging construct of PSC in Malaysia, an Eastern developing country in the Asian region. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: A random population based sample was derived using household maps provided by Department of Statistics, Malaysia; 291 employees (response rate 50.52%) from the State of Selangor, Malaysia participated. Cross-sectional data were analysed using structural equation modelling. MAIN FINDINGS: We found that PSC was negatively related to job demands and positively related to job resources. Job demands, in turn, predicted burnout (i.e. exhaustion and cynicism), whereas job resources predicted engagement. Both burnout and engagement were associated with performance. Bootstrapping showed significant indirect effects of PSC on burnout via job demands, PSC on performance via burnout and PSC on performance via the resources-engagement pathway. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Our findings are consistent with previous research that suggests that PSC should be a target to improve working conditions and in turn reduce burnout and improve engagement and productivity. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD: These findings suggest that JD-R theory may be expanded to include PSC as an antecedent and that the expanded JD-R model is largely valid in an Eastern, developing economy setting.Mohd A. Idris, Maureen F. Dollard and Anthony H. Winefiel

Perceptions of unfairness in the management of bullying complaints: exploring the consequences

This exploratory study aimed to examine why some bullied workers submitted compensable injury claims for psychological injury after they had made a workplace bullying grievance, and others did not. This study was carried out using a mixed methodology. Forty-four participants who had complained about bullying at work completed a survey about their experiences, and 31 were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the interview data was undertaken. Those participants who submitted workers’ compensation claims were found to be significantly more depressed than those who did not submit workers’ compensation claims, although no significant differences were found between the anxiety and stress scores of all participants. Results also indicated that participants who submitted a workers’ compensation claim perceived less organisational justice in the way their complaint of bullying was managed than those participants who did not submit a claim. These results were endorsed by the qualitative aspects of the study where themes of frustration and unfairness were closely linked with the decision to submit a workers’ compensation claim. This is one of the few studies that have examined the effect of an organisation’s response to workplace bullying allegations on an employee’s decision to claim workers’ compensation for psychological injury.Moira F Jenkins, Helen Winefield, Aspa Sarri

Psychological well-being and psychological distress: is it necessary to measure both?

Extent: 14p.Background: The objectives of the study were to explore a self-report measure for psychological well-being and to investigate the relationship between psychological well-being and psychological distress. Method: Telephone interviews of a representative sample of adults (N = 1933) collected information about sociodemographic variables, a standardised measure of psychological distress, and three brief existing scales to assess aspects of psychological well-being: Positive Relations with Others, Environmental Mastery, and Satisfaction with Life. The total of these three scales was also computed and explored as a measure of overall well-being. Results: Variables positively associated with psychological well-being were negatively associated with psychological distress and vice versa. For example low psychological well-being and high psychological distress were associated with being the only adult in the household, speaking a language other than English at home, being divorced or separated, having no educational qualifications beyond secondary school, being unable to work, having a low income, renting one’s accommodation, and receiving a pension. Conclusions: The measure of well-being shows psychometric promise for community surveys. Psychological well-being is not exactly the opposite end of the continuum to psychological distress, but more debate is needed about whether and when, research participants need to be asked questions about both.Helen R Winefield, Tiffany K Gill, Anne W Taylor and Rhiannon M Pilkingto

Pliocene Te Aute limestones, New Zealand: Expanding concepts for cool-water shelf carbonates

Acceptance of a spectrum of warm- through cold-water shallow-marine carbonate facies has become of fundamental importance for correctly interpreting the origin and significance of all ancient platform limestones. Among other attributes, properties that have become a hallmark for characterising many Cenozoic non-tropical occurrences include: (1) the presence of common bryozoan and epifaunal bivalve skeletons; (2) a calcite-dominated mineralogy; (3) relatively thin deposits exhibiting low rates of sediment accumulation; (4) an overall destructive early diagenetic regime; and (5) that major porosity destruction and lithification occur mainly in response to chemical compaction of calcitic skeletons during moderate to deep burial. The Pliocene Te Aute limestones are non-tropical skeletal carbonates formed at paleolatitudes near 40-42°S under the influence of commonly strong tidal flows along the margins of an actively deforming and differentially uplifting forearc basin seaway, immediately inboard of the convergent Pacific-Australian plate boundary off eastern North Island, New Zealand. This dynamic depositional and tectonic setting strongly influenced both the style and subsequent diagenetic evolution of the limestones. Some of the Te Aute limestones exhibit the above kinds of "normal" non-tropical characteristics, but others do not. For example, many are barnacle and/or bivalve dominated, and several include attributes that at least superficially resemble properties of certain tropical carbonates. In this regard, a number of the limestones are infaunal bivalve rich and dominated by an aragonite over a calcite primary mineralogy, with consequently relatively high diagenetic potential. Individual limestone units are also often rather thick (e.g., up to 50-300 m), with accumulation rates from 0.2 to 0.5 m/ka, and locally as high as 1 m/ka. Moreover, there can be a remarkable array of diagenetic features in the limestones, involving grain alteration and/or cementation to widely varying extents within any, or some combination of, the marine phreatic, burial, and meteoric diagenetic environments, including locally widespread development of meteoric cement sourced from aragonite dissolution. The message is that non-tropical shelf carbonates include a more diverse array of geological settings, of skeletal and mineralogical facies, and of diagenetic features than current sedimentary models mainly advocate. While several attributes positively distinguish tropical from non-tropical limestones, continued detailed documentation of the wide spectrum of shallow-marine carbonate deposits formed outside tropical regions remains an important challenge in carbonate sedimentology

N-Acetyl-S-(N,N-diethylcarbamoyl) cysteine in rat nucleus accumbens, medial prefrontal cortex, and in RAT and human plasma after disulfiram administration

Disulfiram (DSF), a treatment for alcohol use disorders, has shown some clinical effectiveness in treating addiction to cocaine, nicotine, and pathological gambling. The mechanism of action of DSF for treating these addictions is unclear but it is unlikely to involve the inhibition of liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2). DSF is a pro-drug and forms a number of metabolites, one of which is N-acetyl-S-(N,N-diethylcarbamoyl) cysteine (DETC-NAC). Here we describe a LCMS/MS method on a QQQ type instrument to quantify DETC-NAC in plasma and intracellular fluid from mammalian brain. An internal standard, the N,N-di-isopropylcarbamoyl homolog (MIM: 291 > 128) is easily separable from DETC-NAC (MIM: 263 > 100) on C18 RP media with a methanol gradient. The method's linear range is 0.5–500 nM from plasma and dialysate salt solution with all precisions better than 10% RSD. DETC-NAC and internal standards were recovered at better than 95% from all matrices, perchloric acid precipitation (plasma) or formic acid addition (salt) and is stable in plasma or salt at low pH for up to 24 h. Stability is observed through three freeze-thaw cycles per day for 7 days. No HPLC peak area matrix effect was greater than 10%. A human plasma sample from a prior analysis for S-(N,N-diethylcarbamoyl) glutathione (CARB) was found to have DETC NAC as well. In other human plasma samples from 62.5 mg/d and 250mg/d dosing, CARB concentration peaks at 0.3 and 4 nM at 3 h followed by DETC-NAC peaks of 11 and 70 nM 2 h later. Employing microdialysis sampling, DETC-NAC levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and plasma of rats treated with DSF reached 1.1, 2.5 and 80 nM at 6 h. The correlation between the appearance and long duration of DETC-NAC concentration in rat brain and the persistence of DSF-induced changes in neurotransmitters observed by Faiman et al. (Neuropharmacology, 2013, 75C, 95–105) is discussed

Inequalities of quality of life in unemployed young adults: A population-based questionnaire study

BACKGROUND: It is well known that unemployment is a great problem both to the exposed individual and to the whole society. Unemployment is reported as more common among young people compared to the general level of unemployment. Inequity in health status and life-satisfaction is related to unemployment. The purpose of this population-based study was to describe QOL among unemployed young people compared to those who are not unemployed, and to analyse variables related to QOL for the respective groups. METHODS: The sample consisted of 264 young unemployed individuals and 528 working or studying individuals as a reference group. They all received a questionnaire about civil status, educational level, immigration, employment status, self-reported health, self-esteem, social support, social network, spare time, dwelling, economy and personal characteristics. The response rate was 72%. The significance of differences between proportions was tested by Fisher's exact test or by χ(2 )test. Multivariate analysis was carried out by means of a logistic regression model. RESULTS: Our results balance the predominant picture of youth unemployment as a principally negative experience. Although the unemployed reported lower levels of QOL than the reference group, a majority of unemployed young adults reported good QOL, and 24% even experienced higher QOL after being unemployed. Positive QOL related not only to good health, but also to high self-esteem, satisfaction with spare time and broad latitude for decision-making. CONCLUSION: Even if QOL is good among a majority of unemployed young adults, inequalities in QOL were demonstrated. To create more equity in health, individuals who report reduced subjective health, especially anxiety need extra attention and support. Efforts should aim at empowering unemployed young adults by identifying their concerns and resources, and by creating individual programmes in relation not only to education and work, but also to personal development

Validity and reliability of the multidimensional health locus of control scale for college students

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the present study was to assess the validity and reliability of Form A of Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales in Iran. Health locus of control is one of the most widely measured parameters of health belief for the planning of health education programs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>496 university students participated in this study. The reliability coefficients were calculated in three different methods: test-retest, parallel forms and Cronbach alpha. In order to survey validity of the scale we used three methods including content validity, concurrent validity and construct validity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We established the content validity of the Persian translation by translating (and then back-translating) each item from the English version into the Persian version. The concurrent validity of the questionnaire, as measured by Levenson's IPC scale was .57 (P < .001), .49 (P < .01) and .53 (P < .001) for IPC, respectively. Exploratory principal components analysis supported a three-factor structure that items loading adequately on each factor. Moreover, the approximate orthogonal of the dimensions were obtained through correlation analyses. In addition, the reliability results were acceptable, too.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results showed that the reliability and validity of Persian Form A of MHLC was acceptable and respectable and is suggested as an applicable criterion for similar studies in Iran.</p