Non-treatment Sample Research Articles

Impulse control disorders in non-treatment seeking hair pullers.

Background and aims Hair pulling is a common body focused repetitive behavior. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of impulse control disorders (as defined in DSM-IV-TR) in a non-treatment seeking sample of hair pullers. Methods 1,717 college students with (n = 44) and without (n = 1673) hair pulling completed a mental health survey. The college students were sent an online survey assessing hair pulling behavior and other impulse control disorders using the Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview. Results Students with hair pulling were significantly more likely to have a co-occurring impulse control disorder (20.5% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.009, OR = 2.71, CI = 1.28-5.75) and were significantly more likely to meet criteria for compulsive buying, compulsive sexual behavior and intermittent explosive disorder than students without hair pulling. Differences seemed to be moderated by the male gender among students with hair pulling. Discussion and conclusions Hair pulling is often comorbid with another impulse control disorder, which suggests that elements of impulsivity may be important in our understanding of hair pulling. Furthermore, gender may moderate impulse control comorbidity in hair pulling disorder.

Motivations to quit cannabis use in an adult non-treatment sample: Are they related to relapse?

BackgroundThe majority of cannabis smokers who quit do so without formal treatment, suggesting that motivations to quit are an important part of cessation process. However, little is known about how motivations relate to successful quitting. MethodA convenience sample of 385 non-treatment-seeking adult cannabis smokers (58% male, age 16–64years at start of quit attempt) who made a “serious” (self-defined) quit attempt without formal treatment while not in a controlled environment were administered the 176-item Marijuana Quit Questionnaire (MJQQ) to assess their motivations to quit and outcome of the quit attempt. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify significant motivational factors. Subgroup comparisons used t-tests and ANOVA. Cox proportional hazard regression and the General Linear Model were performed to evaluate the influence of motivational factors, gender, and age on relapse status at time of interview and risk of relapse over time, with time between quit attempt and interview as a covariate. ResultsExploratory factor analysis identified 6 motivational factors with eigenvalues >1 which accounted for 58.4% of the total variance: self-image and self-control, health concerns, interpersonal relationship concerns, legal concerns, social acceptability concerns, and self-efficacy. Women were more likely than men to be motivated by self-image/self-control, health concerns, and social acceptability concerns. Older individuals were more likely to be motivated by health concerns. At the time of interview, 339 subjects had relapsed. Self-image and self-control, health concerns, interpersonal relationship concerns, and social acceptability concerns were associated with greater likelihood of abstinence at the study interview. Legal concerns and social acceptability concerns were associated with significantly lower hazard ratios (0.88, 0.83) for relapse during the abstinent period. ConclusionThese findings show gender and age differences in motivations to quit cannabis smoking and that adult cannabis smokers have motivations to quite similar to those of adolescent cannabis smokers and of adults who quit alcohol and tobacco use without formal treatment. The findings suggest areas of focus to improve secondary prevention and psychosocial treatment efforts.

Depressive Symptoms Among Heavy Cigarette Smokers: The Influence of Daily Rate, Gender, and Race

Cigarette smokers experience higher levels of depressive symptoms and are more likely to be diagnosed with depressive disorders than nonsmokers. To date, the nature of the smoking-depression relationship has not been adequately studied among heavy smokers, a group at elevated risk for poor health outcomes. In this study, we examined depressive symptom expression among heavy smokers while considering the moderating roles of smoking status, gender, and race. We also explored whether amount of tobacco usually consumed had an impact. We extracted data from a large, highly nicotine-dependent, nontreatment cigarette smoking study sample (N = 6,158). Participants who consented were screened for major exclusions, and they completed questionnaires. Smokers reported a higher, clinically meaningful level of depressive symptoms relative to nonsmokers (27.3% of smokers vs. 12.5% of nonsmokers) scored above the clinical cutoff on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale (p < .001), which differed among race × gender subgroups. Further, amount of daily intake was inversely associated with self-report of depressive symptoms. For every 10-cigarette increment, the likelihood of scoring above the CES-D clinical cutoff decreased by 62% (p < .0001). These findings improve our understanding of tobacco's influence on depressive symptom expression among heavy smokers, with implications for tailoring evidence-based tobacco treatments.

Anti-Reflective Structure of PMMA/Glass Fiber Membrane Produce by Argon Plasma Etching and Variation of Transmitted Intensity

The aim of this research is to increase the membrane’s transmitted intensities; it used Argon plasma etching to process the anti-reflective structure on PMMA/glass fiber membrane surface. The anti-reflective structure could increase the light transmission at the identical specification of membrane’s basic cloth. Membrane’s transmitted intensities can directly affect it products competitiveness. The parameter of experimentation set with distance between sample and RF plate are 19 or 5.5 centimeters, plasma output power is 270, 240, 210 Watt respectively, each process time is 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 seconds. In this stage, the best transmitted intensity of parameter is 19cm, 210W, 30sec; it increased 2.4 % than non-treatment sample. The summary of this study, decreased plasma output power would reduce the impact extent of plasma gas but uniformity of structure should increase. Decreased the distance between sample and RF plate can avoided the degeneration of energy, reinforced the problem of insufficient etching and reduced the turbulence.

Exploring Clinical and Personality Characteristics of Adult Male Internet-Only Child Pornography Offenders

Despite the dramatic increase in the number of convicted child pornography offenders, little is known about their potential clinical needs. The few studies that do explore this subgroup of sex offenders suggest clinical heterogeneity compared with other sex offender subgroups. However, research designs used in many studies have limited generalizability, have examined primarily treated or treatment samples, and have not included comparisons with nontreatment, community samples of men. The current study addresses such limitations by using nontreatment samples and multiple comparison groups to examine mean scales score differences on a commonly used clinical and personality assessment, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). The sample, drawn from an admissions cohort of federal offenders, those Internet-only Child Pornography Offenders (ICPOs; n = 35) and those with a history of child molesting exclusively (child molesters, n = 26). They were compared with each other and the male normative sample from the PAI. Results indicate that interpersonal deficits and depression featured most prominently in the profiles of the ICPOs. Consistent with prior research, they also obtained lower scores on aggression and dominance compared with the child molesters and the male normative sample. Implications for future research, training, and clinical practice with incarcerated ICPOs are offered.

증자 및 건조조건이 올벼쌀의 이화학적 특성에 미치는 영향

증자 및 건조조건을 달리하여 올벼쌀을 제조하고 호화도, 물결합력, 팽윤력, 및 경도 및 관능적 기호도의 변화를 시험하였다. 원료는 동진찰벼를 사용하였으며 탈곡된 벼를 24시간 수침한 다음 <TEX>$95-100^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 60분 또는 <TEX>$121^{\circ}C$</TEX>에서 20분간 증자하였고 45, 60, <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX>의 열풍과 햇볕을 이용하여 수분함량 13-15%가 되도록 각각 건조하여 준비하였다. 올벼쌀의 호화개시온도는 생쌀 보다 낮았으며 상압증자 후 <TEX>$45-60^{\circ}C$</TEX>의 열풍으로 건조한 올벼쌀은 최고점도, 강하점도, 치반점도, 최종점도가 다른 가공조건에 비하여 높았다. 올벼쌀의 수분결합력과 팽윤력은 고압증자가 상압증자보다 높았으며 건조조건에 따른 유의적인 차이는 없었다. 올벼쌀의 경도는 고압증자조건에서 건조온도가 높을수록 올벼쌀의 경도는 증가하는 경향을 보였다. 올벼쌀에 대한 관능검사 결과는 고압에서 증자한 다음 <TEX>$45^{\circ}C$</TEX>와 <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX>의 열풍으로 건조한 올벼쌀이 외관, 색상, 맛, 전반적 기호도가 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 결과는 증자와 건조조건이 올벼쌀의 품질을 좌우하는 영향인자로서 중요성을 나타낸다. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different steam condition and dehydration condition on physicochemical characteristics of Olbyeossal made from Waxy rice. All samples were steamed at <TEX>$95-100^{\circ}C$</TEX> for 60 min or at <TEX>$121^{\circ}C$</TEX> for 20 min and then were dehydrated using hot air 45, 60, <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX> and sun-dried to achieve moisture contents 13-15%. Initial pasting temperature of Olbyeossal was the lower than that of nontreatment sample by parboiling. The combination in steaming <TEX>$95-100^{\circ}C$</TEX> and hot drying at <TEX>$45-60^{\circ}C$</TEX> was showed appropriate pasting properties compared with other condition. The hardness of Olbyeossal was significantly affected by steaming and dehydration condition. The hardness of Olbyeossal showed the higher value for steaming at <TEX>$121^{\circ}C$</TEX> than <TEX>$95-100^{\circ}C$</TEX>. The water binding capacity (WBC) and swelling power (SP) were higher steaming at <TEX>$121^{\circ}C$</TEX> than <TEX>$95-100^{\circ}C$</TEX>. No significant differences on WBC and SP of Olbyeossal by dehydration condition were observed. As the sensory evaluation results, the combination in steaming at <TEX>$121^{\circ}C$</TEX> and hot-air drying at 45 or <TEX>$80^{\circ}C$</TEX> led to increase preference for appearance, color, taste and overall acceptability. These results indicate that steaming and dehydration condition were affecting factor on physicochemical characteristics of Olbyeossal.

Micronized acellular dermal matrix as an efficient expansion substrate and delivery vehicle of adipose‐derived stem cells for vocal fold regeneration

Cell therapy has been shown to prevent vocal fold scarring and atrophy. However, problems that include the expansion of large numbers of cells in vitro and the poor survival of transplanted cells in vivo must be solved. The aim of this study was to use micronized acellular dermal matrix (MADM) as an expansion substrate of rabbit allogeneic adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) and to apply the combination of the matrix and cells, ADSC-MADM, to vocal fold regeneration. Animal experiment. The proliferation of ADSCs that were cultured on the MADM was evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthizazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxy-phenyl)-2-(4-sulfonyl)-2H-tetrazolium, and a rabbit acute vocal fold injury model was established by laser injury. Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups, which were injected with ADSC-MADM, ADSCs, and MADM, respectively. Morphological analysis was performed by laryngoscope, and histological analyses were indicated by hematoxylin and eosin staining, van Gieson staining, and immunofluorescence. Additionally, the in vivo survival of the ADSCs was determined by CM-Dil cell labeling. When compared with a two-dimensional culture, the MADM significantly promoted proliferation of ADSCs. Morphological and histological analyses indicated that, when compared to only using of MAMD or the nontreatment sample, the use of ADSC-MADM or only using ADSCs successfully prevent scarring and atrophy. Moreover, ADSC-MADM exhibited a better therapeutic effect than when only using ADSCs, which was probably due to the MADM significantly enhancing the survival of transplanted ADSCs. MADM could be used as an efficient expansion substrate and delivery vehicle for ADSCs in vocal fold regeneration.

Refinement of a brief anxiety sensitivity reduction intervention.

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the United States and result in substantial burden to the individual and society. Although effective treatments for anxiety disorders have been developed, there has been substantially less focus on interventions aimed at the amelioration of anxiety-related risk and maintenance factors. Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a well-established, malleable risk and maintenance factor for panic disorder and other psychopathology. The aim of the current investigation was to enhance the efficacy of AS treatment through the refinement of a previously validated intervention. This 1-session intervention utilized psychoeducation and interoceptive exposure to target AS and was compared with a health-focused control intervention among a nontreatment seeking sample (N = 104) of individuals with elevated AS. Study findings indicate that the active treatment group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in AS than the control group at posttreatment and across the 1-month study period. These treatment gains were seen across the ASI subscales. A Month 6 follow-up assessment indicated that the treatment group retained the majority of their AS reduction, whereas the control group retained their elevated AS scores. The intervention responses of participants meeting Axis I diagnostic criteria did not differ from the responses of those without a current diagnosis. Despite the brevity of the treatment intervention, findings demonstrate that it resulted in substantial reductions in AS that were largely maintained 6 months posttreatment. Anxiety treatment and prevention implications are discussed.

Parent–adolescent report correspondence on adolescent substance abuse among teens in residential rehabilitation

Research on the correspondence between adolescent and parent reports of adolescent substance abuse has typically been conducted on adolescent outpatient treatment samples, or on non-treatment samples. In the current study, fifty adolescents receiving residential substance abuse treatment, and their parents were assessed separately regarding the teen's substance use (e.g., cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, other illicit drugs) during the 90days preceding adolescent treatment entry. Correspondence between reporters was for the most part fair to excellent, with observed discrepancies generally due to parents providing lower estimates of use than did adolescents. Multiple regression analysis revealed that higher discrepancy between reporters occurred when the parent was younger, when the parent encountered fewer problems due to the teen's substance use, when the adolescent attended more probation or parole meetings, the fewer the number of days the adolescent was incarcerated, and the fewer days the adolescent lived at home prior to treatment. Results from exploratory analyses suggest that parents and adolescents are more discrepant when the assessment occurs later in the adolescent's treatment program. Overall, results suggest that in the absence of a cooperative teen, parental report of the adolescent's previous substance use could serve as a good proxy among families in which the adolescent is entering residential substance abuse treatment.

Predictors of Mental Health Service Utilisation in a Non-Treatment Seeking Epidemiological Sample of Australian Adults

This study sought to replicate Parslow and Jorm's (Aust N Z J Psychiatry 34(6): 997-1008, 2000) research on need, enabling and predisposing factors as predictors of mental health service use, with the addition of childhood trauma as a predisposing factor. It utilised a non-treatment seeking epidemiological sample of Australian adults (N=822) to examine 25 variables covering psychiatric disorder, socio-demographics, physical health problems, and childhood trauma as predictors of mental health visits to general practitioners (GP's), mental health specialists and non-mental health specialists. A consistent multivariate predictor of mental health visits to all types of professionals was psychological distress. Presence of an affective disorder, age, and number of health problems were additional predictors of visiting a GP. Being female, divorced, and exposure to childhood trauma predicted use of a mental health specialist, while rural living was associated with lower use of these services. Results highlight the importance of general psychological distress and need factors in seeking help for mental health, and reinforce the lifelong disadvantage arising from adverse childhood experiences and the need to address these issues in adult mental health services.

Microwave irradiation to pretreat rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) for maintaining antioxidant content during storage and to extract essential oil simultaneously

An efficient microwave pretreatment (MP) method was employed to maintain quality of postharvest rosemary leaves. The influence of MP on the contents of carnosic acid (CA) and rosmarinic acid (RA) in rosemary leaves was investigated under four storage conditions (sunlight, shade, −20°C, 55°C). Rosemary leaves after MP (800W, 15min) had much lower degradation rates of CA and RA than those of non-treatment samples during the storage period. Moreover, retentions of CA and RA of pretreated leaves stored in the shade and −20°C were higher than those of 55°C and sunlight. In the pretreatment process, we simultaneously used microwave radiation to extract essential oil. No obvious differences were found in yield or composition between essential oils obtained by MP and hydrodistillation. Thus, MP could be a good method for extracting essential oil and maintaining quality in rosemary and other aromatic herbs.

Psychosocial comorbidities of childhood obesity

This presentation will discuss psychosocial comorbidities of childhood obesity in treatment seeking and non-treatment seeking samples. Obese children can encounter weight-based stigma, particularly teasing and peer rejection. Psychosocial consequences of obesity are immediate, unlike many physical health comorbidities that can emerge later in life. The prevalence of psychological disorders increases substantially in adolescence; therefore, preadolescence is a crucial time for intervention. The childhood obesity literature has examined associations, mostly cross-sectional, between BMI status and constructs such as health-related quality of life, mood, self-esteem, body-image, behaviour problems and disordered eating. Across the literature, the most consistent relationships are evident for body-image, physical appearance self-esteem and eating behaviours (e.g. dieting and bingeeating). Body dissatisfaction appears to mediate relationships between obesity and other indicators of poor mental health in children such as depression. Higher rates of psychological disorders are evident in obese children recruited from obesity clinics (i.e. treatment-seekers) relative to obese children from community-based samples. Strong relationships are apparent between child and parent psychopathology, especially in obesity-clinics, indicating family is an important influence on the mental health of the obese child. Poor psychological health is traditionally considered an outcome rather than cause of obesity, although relationships are likely to be bidirectional. Depression appears to predict later obesity in adults, but it is less clear whether this direction of influence is relevant in childhood. However, some evidence suggests children’s pre-treatment psychological well-beingmay predict success within weight management programs. Specific domains of psychological health are impaired in obese children. Promoting healthy body-image, self-esteem and eating attitudes is important before psychological disturbance becomes entrenched, exacerbates weight problems and/or precipitates onset of clinical disorders of such as bulimia nervosa and major depression.

Coexisting difficulties and couple therapy outcomes: Psychopathology and intimate partner violence.

Couples presenting for treatment of relationship distress often experience additional problems, including individual psychopathology and intimate partner violence (IPV). Both issues are associated with current and future poor relationship functioning in nontreatment samples, but relatively little is understood about their association with initial presentation and outcomes in couple therapy. The current study examined these associations in a sample of 177 heterosexual couples who received therapy at two Veteran's Affairs clinics. Unlike most studies of couple therapy outcomes, couples were not excluded from treatment specifically because of high levels of psychopathology or IPV. Results of Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) analyses revealed actor and partner effects of depression, actor effects of anxiety, and partner effects of IPV on initial relationship satisfaction, such that greater coexisting difficulties were associated with poorer initial satisfaction. However, improvement in relationship satisfaction over the course of therapy was not associated with psychopathology, and, contrary to hypothesis, was positively associated with men's IPV prior to treatment, even when initial level of satisfaction was controlled. The results suggest that coexisting symptoms of psychopathology or IPV may not necessarily interfere with therapy outcomes and, indeed, therapy may have positive effects for couples with these problems.

The Association between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the Anxiety Vulnerability Factors

Individuals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) endorse greater negative affect, including anxiety psychopathology. To examine the role anxiety plays in the maintenance and exacerbation of IBS the links between IBS and two anxiety related constructs, body vigilance and discomfort intolerance, were examined. A non-treatment seeking college sample (N = 476) completed measures that assessed IBS symptomatology, vigilance to bodily sensations and ability to tolerate physical discomfort. A total of 4.2 percent of the sample met Rome II criteria for IBS. Consistent with the hypotheses, IBS symptoms were associated with increased vigilance to bodily sensations and increased desire to avoid these sensations.

Emotion regulation in pathological skin picking: Findings from a non-treatment seeking sample

Pathological skin picking (PSP) is characterized by excessive picking of the skin, resulting in significant distress or functional impairment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the emotion regulation hypothesis of PSP. University students with PSP ( n = 55) and without history of PSP ( n = 55) were asked to retrospectively rate the intensity of affective states before, during, and after skin picking episodes. The results showed that for a majority of the PSP sufferers, intensity of certain negative affective states (i.e. anxiety, tension or boredom) was pronounced just before picking, and diminished significantly in the period from before to after picking. Relief and gratification increased during picking whereas guilt increased afterwards. A similar pattern emerged in the control group, although a much lower level of intensity was reported. Participants were also asked to fill out questionnaires concerning emotion regulation difficulties, emotion reactivity, depression, anxiety and worry. Hierarchical logistic regressions demonstrated that emotion regulation difficulties as well as emotion reactivity predicted PSP diagnosis after depression, anxiety and worry were controlled for. Furthermore, emotion regulation difficulties statistically mediated the relationship between emotion reactivity and PSP. Overall, the findings support an emotion regulation model of PSP.

An Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis of the Short Inventory of Problems-Alcohol and Drugs (SIP-AD) among non-treatment seeking men-who-have-sex-with-men: Evidence for a shortened 10-item SIP-AD

The Short Inventory of Problems-Alcohol and Drugs (SIP-AD) is a 15-item measure that assesses concurrently negative consequences associated with alcohol and illicit drug use. Current psychometric evaluation has been limited to classical test theory (CTT) statistics, and it has not been validated among non-treatment seeking men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). Methods from Item Response Theory (IRT) can improve upon CTT by providing an in-depth analysis of how each item performs across the underlying latent trait that it is purported to measure. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the SIP-AD using methods from both IRT and CTT among a non-treatment seeking MSM sample ( N = 469). Participants were recruited from the New York City area and were asked to participate in a series of studies examining club drug use. Results indicated that five items on the SIP-AD demonstrated poor item misfit or significant differential item functioning (DIF) across race/ethnicity and HIV status. These five items were dropped and two-parameter IRT analyses were conducted on the remaining 10 items, which indicated a restricted range of item location parameters (− .15 to − .99) plotted at the lower end of the latent negative consequences severity continuum, and reasonably high discrimination parameters (1.30 to 2.22). Additional CTT statistics were compared between the original 15-item SIP-AD and the refined 10-item SIP-AD and suggest that the differences were negligible with the refined 10-item SIP-AD indicating a high degree of reliability and validity. Findings suggest the SIP-AD can be shortened to 10 items and appears to be a non-biased reliable and valid measure among non-treatment seeking MSM.

Differential performance on the go/no-go task as a function of the autogenous-reactive taxonomy of obsessions: Findings from a non-treatment seeking sample

It has been suggested that obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by impaired inhibitory control. Response inhibition is a cognitive process required for one to cancel or suppress dominant but inappropriate responses. The present study examined response inhibition among non-treatment seeking individuals diagnosed with OCD and individuals with low levels of OCD symptoms using a computerized visual go/no-go task. Specifically, we sought to examine a prediction from the autogenous-reactive subtype model of obsessions (Lee, H.-J., & Kwon, S.-M. (2003). Two different types of obsession: autogenous obsessions and reactive obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 11–29; Lee, H.-J., & Telch, M. J. (2008). Autogenous obsessions and reactive obsessions. In J. Abramowitz, S. Taylor, & D. McKay (Eds.), Obsessive-compulsive disorder: subtypes and spectrum conditions. New York: Elsevier., asserting that OCD individuals presenting with the autogenous subtype of obsessions will display greater difficulty in inhibitory control relative to individuals presenting with obsessions of the reactive subtype. Results showed that individuals with OCD of the autogenous subtype displayed more deficient inhibitory control on the visual go/no-go task as indexed by a longer response delay between the original stimuli set and the reversed stimuli set compared to individuals with OCD of the reactive subtype or individuals with low levels of OCD symptoms.

Time spent with smoking parents and smoking topography in adolescents

Although the relationship between parental and adolescent smoking has been linked to health consequences of smoking, limited study has explored the specific association between exposure to smoking and adolescent smoking topography (the way a cigarette is smoked). As a first step in this line of enquiry, smoking topography measures were collected from 67 adolescent dependent smokers. Participants smoked one cigarette of their own brand while being monitored by a computer-based smoking-topography unit and completed questionnaires about their time spent daily with parents who smoke. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that time spent daily with parents who smoke was significantly associated with maximum puff velocity ( r = 0.285, p = .019), a parameter predicting later pulmonary morbidity. ANOVAs, after a median split, were consistent with correlation analyses. There was a significant group effect on puff velocity ( F(2,66) = 5.197, p = .008); no significant relationship was found with puff volume ( F(2,66) = .617) or puff duration ( F(2,66) = .776). A post hoc Tukey HSD test indicated puff velocity was higher in the “high time spent” ( M = 54.37, SD = 12.03) than in the “low time spent” group ( M = 45.59, SD = 9.91) and in the group with non-smoking parents ( M = 44.96, SD = 10.17). Future research with a larger non-treatment seeking sample of adolescents aimed at preventing tobacco smoking related diseases should further examine parental influences on adolescent smoking, including potential modeling effects.

Occupational functioning and impairment in adults with body dysmorphic disorder

Objective Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is relatively common and appears to be associated with marked impairment in psychosocial functioning. Previous reports, however, did not investigate occupational functioning in detail, assess impairment specifically in occupational functioning using standardized measures in a nontreatment seeking sample, or examine correlates of occupational impairment. Methods Occupational functioning and other clinical variables were assessed in 141 adults with BDD. Measures included the Range of Impaired Functioning Tool and other reliable and valid self-report and interviewer-administered measures. Results Fewer than half of subjects were working full-time, and 22.7% were receiving disability pay. Thirty-nine percent of the sample reported not working in the past month because of psychopathology. Of those subjects who worked in the past month, 79.7% reported impairment in work functioning because of psychopathology. Adults with BDD who were not working because of psychopathology were comparable to subjects who were working in most demographic variables, delusionality of BDD beliefs, and duration of BDD. However, compared to subjects who worked in the past month, those not currently working because of psychopathology had more severe BDD and more chronic BDD. They also were more likely to be male, had less education, and had more severe depressive symptoms, a higher rate of certain comorbid disorders, poorer current social functioning and quality of life, a higher rate of lifetime suicidality, and were more likely to have been psychiatrically hospitalized. Conclusions A high proportion of individuals with BDD were unable to work because of psychopathology; most who worked reported impairment in occupational functioning. Certain clinical variables, including more severe and chronic BDD, were associated with not working.

Perpetration of Violence, Violent Victimization, and Severe Mental Illness: Balancing Public Health Concerns

Perpetration of Violence, Violent Victimization, and Severe Mental Illness: Balancing Public Health Concerns