Predicting Bullying Among High School Students Using Individual and School Factors: Analysis of a National Survey

Being bullied has been recognized as a problem within the U.S. school systems. Individuals who have been bullied physically, verbally, relationally, or electronically typically suffer from mental health problems as a result. As it has been shown that males are more at risk for being bullied, it is important to understand what variables can predict males being bullied in order to design appropriate preventions and interventions to curb bullying in the schools. Four forms of school bullying behaviors among U.S. adolescent males and their association with type of bullying, school environment, and school performance and engagement variables were examined. Data were examined from the National Crime Victimization Survey School Crime Supplement. A sample of 1,636 males ages 14 to 18 was used from the survey. A series of logistic regression analyses were performed for each type of bullying (physical, verbal, relational, and cyber) and school environment (presence of gangs, guns, graffiti, drugs, and number of school safety measures in place) and school performance and engagement predictors (grades, extracurricular activity engagement, truancy, and number of fights). Linear regression analyses were also used to look at all the predictor variables and the frequency of each type of bullying. Results: The R2 values for the logistic regression analyses were quite small. However, trends could be observed from the odds ratios showing that fighting, drug availability, and graffiti were predictive of all four forms of bullying. The linear regression analyses also produced small R2 values. Effect plots were created to identify which significant variables had a greater effect on the frequency of being bullied. Conclusion: Schools should focus on removing graffiti and drugs from the schools. Prevention work should be used to help students find alternative ways to deal with problems other than resorting to fighting. Problems with reliability and validity of the survey are also discussed

Screening for Hazardous/Harmful Drinking and Depressive Symptoms in an At-Risk Emergency Department Population

Although co-occurring alcohol use and depression have been identified in many populations, wide-spread screening for these disorders has not occurred in many Emergency Departments (EDs). Co-morbidity of alcohol use and mood disorders places a person at increased risk for psychosocial and medical-physical problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between hazardous/harmful alcohol use and depressive symptoms in an urban ED population of problem drinkers and risky drivers. Cross-sectional data from the baseline interview of a randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention protocol to reduce problem drinking and risky driving in the ED population were used to test the study hypothesis. Data were collected using the Health Interview Schedule, a modification of the WHO Composite Interview Schedule, with addition of the AUDIT questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10). Data from a sample of 255 individuals (68% male) were used in the present study (age: M = 28.38, CES-D 10: M = 9.79, SD = 6.22, AUDIT: M = 8.10, SD = 4.13). Multiple regression analyses indicated that total CES-D 10 scores were significantly associated with total AUDIT scores, drinks per week, income, and gender [F (4, 242) = 3.81, p = .005, R2 = .06]. Total AUDIT scores were positively associated with CES-D 10 scores (p \u3c .001). Due to co-morbidities associated with co-occurring depressive symptoms and hazardous/harmful drinking, it is imperative to assess ED patients for both of these conditions to provide expedient, optimal referral and treatment for patients at risk, particularly for patients injured in vehicular collisions because of their risky driving

Functional selectivity of 6\u27-guanidinonaltrindole (6\u27-GNTI) at κ-opioid receptors in striatal neurons

There is considerable evidence to suggest that drug actions at the κ-opioid receptor (KOR) may represent a means to control pain perception and modulate reward thresholds. As a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), the activation of KOR promotes Gα(i/o) protein coupling and the recruitment of β-arrestins. It has become increasingly evident that GPCRs can transduce signals that originate independently via G protein pathways and β-arrestin pathways; the ligand-dependent bifurcation of such signaling is referred to as “functional selectivity” or “signaling bias.” Recently, a KOR agonist, 6′-guanidinonaltrindole (6′-GNTI), was shown to display bias toward the activation of G protein-mediated signaling over β-arrestin2 recruitment. Therefore, we investigated whether such ligand bias was preserved in striatal neurons. Although the reference KOR agonist U69,593 induces the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and Akt, 6′-GNTI only activates the Akt pathway in striatal neurons. Using pharmacological tools and β-arrestin2 knock-out mice, we show that KOR-mediated ERK1/2 phosphorylation in striatal neurons requires β-arrestin2, whereas Akt activation depends upon G protein signaling. These findings reveal a point of KOR signal bifurcation that can be observed in an endogenous neuronal setting and may prove to be an important indicator when developing biased agonists at the KOR

6'-Guanidinonaltrindole (6'-GNTI) is a potent and functionally unique kappa opioid agonist that displays bias against beta-arrestin recruitment and receptor internalization

<p>Endogenous ligands, and drugs which mimic their effects, can activate multiple second messenger pathways through one receptor. Structurally distinct ligands can bias G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling towards selected cellular signaling pathways both in cell culture and in vivo. The implications of such signaling divergence is particularly intriguing considering that engaging differential pathways may be useful for imparting different and distinct pharmacological effects in vivo. The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) can be activated in just such a manner to induce differential signaling. In this study, we find that 6'-guanidinonaltrindole (6’-GNTI) is a partial agonist at KOR in regards to G protein coupling while it is a full agonist at the receptor for activating ERK and for its ability to induce changes in cellular impedance. In all three signaling assays, 6’-GNTI is more potent than the standard selective kappa opioid agonist, U69,593. Interestingly, 6’-GNTI does not promote βarrestin-2 recruitment and receptor internalization and therefore displays bias against this signaling pathway. Moreover, 6’-GNTI partially antagonizes U69,593-stimulated G protein coupling and fully blocks U69,593-stimulated βarrestin2 coupling and KOR internalization. 6’-GNTI also displays functional selectivity in vivo by acting as an inverse agonist for G protein coupling in spinal cord but not striatum, and by differentially activating ERK MAPK and Akt in primary neonatal striatal neurons. Thus, 6’-GNTI is a unique ligand of the KOR that may prove useful in delineating functionally selective signaling complexes and behaviors both in vitro and in vivo.</p> <p>Presented on 10th April 2011 at Experimental Biology (Washington DC).</p> <p>Abstract published as:</p> <p>Streicher JM, Groer CE, Munro T, Béguin C, Cohen BM, Bohn LM (2011): 6'-Guanidinonaltrindole (6'-GNTI) is a potent and functionally unique kappa opioid agonist that displays bias against beta-arrestin recruitment and receptor internalization.<br>The FASEB Journal, 25(Meeting Abstracts):626.2.</p> <p>Full report subsequently published as:</p> <p>Schmid CL, Streicher JM, Groer CE, Munro TA, Zhou L, Bohn LM (2013): Functional Selectivity of 6′-Guanidinonaltrindole (6′-GNTI) at κ-Opioid Receptors in Striatal Neurons.<br>Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288(31):22387-22398. doi:10.1074/jbc.M113.476234<br>© the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.</p