Mentoring Experiences of Women in Graduate Education: Factors that Matter

This exploratory study focused on the mentoring experiences of women faculty members and graduate students within a counseling psychology graduate program. Results from semi-structured interviews and focus groups identified the women’s contextual mentoring experiences in higher education and highlighted several factors that contribute to mentorship experiences unique to women in graduate higher education. Findings demonstrate the importance of relational mentoring relationships and investment by mentors. Implications for building upon mentoring theories for women and future research are discussed

Validation of the Patient Activation Measure in a Multiple Sclerosis Clinic Sample and Implications for Care

Purpose. Patient engagement in multiple sclerosis (MS) care can be challenging at times given the unpredictable disease course, wide range of symptoms, variable therapeutic response to treatment and high rates of patient depression. Patient activation, a model for conceptualising patients’ involvement in their health care, has been found useful for discerning patient differences in chronic illness management. The purpose of this study was to validate the patient activation measure (PAM-13) in an MS clinic sample. Methods. This was a survey study of 199 MS clinic patients. Participants completed the PAM-13 along with measures of MS medication adherence, self-efficacy, depression and quality of life. Results. Results from Rasch and correlation analyses indicate that the PAM-13 is reliable and valid for the MS population. Activation was associated with MS self-efficacy, depression and quality of life but not with self-reported medication adherence. Also, participants with relapse-remitting MS, current employment, or high levels of education were more activated than other subgroups. Conclusions. The PAM-13 is a useful tool for understanding health behaviours in MS. The findings of this study support further clinical consideration and investigation into developing interventions to increase patient activation and improve health outcomes in MS

Olanzapine Attenuates Cue-elicited Craving for Tobacco

Rationale: Recent biological conceptualizations of craving and addiction have implicated mesolimbic dopamine activity as a central feature of the process of addiction. Imaging, and pharmacological studies have supported a role for dopaminergic structures in cue-elicited craving for tobacco. Objective: If mesolimbic dopamine activity is associated with cue-elicited craving for tobacco, a dopamine antagonist should attenuate cueelicited craving for tobacco. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine whether an atypical antipsychotic (olanzapine, 5 mg) decreased cue-elicited craving for tobacco. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to 5 days of pretreatment with olanzapine (5 mg; n=31) or were randomly assigned to 5 days of a matching placebo (n=28). Approximately 8 h after the last dose, participants were exposed to a control cue (pencil) followed by exposure to smoking cues. Participants subsequently smoked either nicotine cigarettes or de-nicotinized cigarettes. Results: Olanzapine attenuated cue-elicited craving for tobacco but did not moderate the subjective effects of smoking. Discussion: This study represents one of the first investigations of the effect of atypical antipsychotics on cue-elicited craving for tobacco. The results suggest that medications with similar profiles may reduce cue-elicited craving, which in turn, may partially explain recent observations that atypical antipsychotics may reduce substance use

The Effect of Olanzapine on Craving and Alcohol Consumption

Previous studies have indicated that olanzapine decreases craving after a priming dose of alcohol, that craving after a priming dose of alcohol is greater among individuals with the seven-repeat allele of the DRD4 variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism, and that the effect of olanzapine (a D2/D4 antagonist) is more pronounced among individuals with this allele. The present study tested the hypothesis that olanzapine may be differentially effective at reducing cue-elicited craving and differentially effective as a treatment for alcohol dependence over the course of a 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial among individuals with and without the seven-repeat allele. Participants who met DSM IV criteria for alcohol dependence were randomly assigned to receive olanzapine (5 mg) or a placebo over the course of the trial. After 2 weeks of treatment, participants completed a cue reactivity assessment. The results suggested that participants who were homozygous or heterozygous for the seven (or longer)-repeat allele of the DRD4 VNTR responded to olanzapine with reductions in cue-elicited craving as well as reductions in alcohol consumption over the course of the 12-week trial, whereas individuals with the shorter alleles did not respond favorably to olanzapine

Variables Associated with Patient Activation in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis

Identifying variables associated with patient activation in the multiple sclerosis population could serve to facilitate better multiple sclerosis self-management behaviors. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 199 participants were recruited from a multiple sclerosis center in the Southeastern United States. Depression, multiple sclerosis quality of life, and multiple Sclerosis self-efficacy were all significantly correlated with patient activation. Results of a hierarchical regression indicated that patient activation was significantly related to educational attainment, depression, and self-efficacy but not to quality of life. The results suggest several possible targets for intervention to increase patient activation, including health literacy, depression symptoms, and self-efficacy for multiple sclerosis disease management