Treatment Of Young Adults Research Articles

The role of supported education in the inpatient treatment of young adults: A two-site comparison.

The role of supported education in the inpatient treatment of young adults: A two-site comparison.

Should We Be Measuring Blood Cholesterol Levels in Young Adults?

Should we measure blood cholesterol levels in all adults, or only in those at high risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)? Most men under the age of 35 years and women under the age of 45 years--roughly half the adult population--are at very low short-term risk of CHD. One consequence is that drug treatment to lower high blood cholesterol levels in the average young adult is an extremely expensive means of prolonging life; the estimated $1 million to $10 million per year of life is 100 to 1000 times the cost of other approaches. Individualized dietary treatment is somewhat cheaper but relatively ineffective. Another consequence of the low CHD risk in young adults is the greater likelihood that intervention may have harmful effects that outweight the benefits. Meta-analysis of primary prevention trials in middle-aged men reveal an increase in non-CHD deaths among those randomized to cholesterol interventions, an unexpected finding that is more substantial than the decrease in CHD deaths. This raises the possibility that one or more of the cholesterol interventions could have very serious adverse effects among young adults, whose risk of non-CHD death is normally 100 times their risk of CHD death. We conclude that the policy of screening and treating high blood cholesterol levels in young adults is neither cost-effective, nor does it satisfy ethical standards requiring strong evidence that preventive interventions do more good than harm. Fortunately, cholesterol screening in young adults is also not necessary: most CHD events associated with high blood cholesterol levels in this population will not occur for decades and can be prevented by treatment that is begun in middle age. Cholesterol screening and treatment in young adults should be limited to individuals with known coronary disease or other unusual factors that place them at high short-term risk of CHD death.

Clomipramine in Autism: Preliminary Evidence of Efficacy

This report provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of clomipramine in the treatment of young adults with autistic disorder. Four of five outpatients with autistic disorder showed significant improvement in social relatedness, obsessive compulsive symptoms, and aggressive and impulsive behavior with clomipramine treatment. These findings are consistent with previous evidence, suggesting that serotonin neurotransmission may be relevant to the treatment, and possibly the pathophysiology, of some symptoms of autistic disorder.

Fitness: A viable adjunct to treatment for young adults with psychiatric disabilities.

Fitness: A viable adjunct to treatment for young adults with psychiatric disabilities.

The Role of Music Therapy in the Treatment of Young Adults Diagnosed with Mental Illness and Substance Abuse

The Role of Music Therapy in the Treatment of Young Adults Diagnosed with Mental Illness and Substance Abuse

Life review as a therapeutic frame in the treatment of young adults with AIDS.

In this article, the author describes developmental and clinical issues in the use of life review as a therapeutic frame in psychotherapy of young adults with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Presentation of clinical data suggests that elaboration of life narratives, by means of reminiscence, may help people to regain a cohesive sense of self, carry out psychological and social tasks, and revise life structures in the context of the illness experience. The author demonstrates how narrative approaches, informed by developmental theory, shift the focus from disability and dysfunction to concern for relative health and personal growth in social intervention with this population. Emergent research issues also are identified.

Changes in skeletal muscle after discontinuation of growth hormone treatment in young adults with hypopituitarism.

Skeletal muscle strength and size were measured for 1 year following discontinuation of human growth hormone (hGH) treatment in 11 patients with hypopituitarism. Quadriceps and forearm flexor maximum voluntary isometric strength and size were measured. At the end of the study, endocrine status was reassessed by an insulin tolerance test. Three of the 11 subjects were found to have normal hGH secretion and were not included in the analysis. At 12 months, quadriceps strength, size and fibre areas were 94.0 +/- 8.5%, 94.5 +/- 6.3% and 85.6 +/- 17.7% (mean +/- SD), respectively, of baseline values. Forearm flexor strength and size were 101.4 +/- 7.9% and 92 +/- 9.2% of control values. Although these changes are relatively small, they suggest a role for growth hormone in the maintenance of muscle in the adult.

The long-term treatment of young schizophrenics in a community support program.

AbstractThe clinical research unit from which the Training in Community Living model came is now investigating long‐term use of the model in the treatment of young adults with schizophrenic disorders.

Increasing medication compliance in young adult chronic psychiatric patients.

AbstractMedication compliance is a familiar problem in the treatment of chronic psychiatric patients, and it can present special difficulty in treatment of young adults. Compliance can be encouraged through enhanced communication with the patient.

Concurrent Group and Family Treatment for Young Adults

A treatment method that is uniquely suitable for young adults combines the use of long-term, intensive group therapy with short-term family treatment. This approach addresses clients' defects, builds on their strengths, and, finally, reconnects them in an improved and more mature fashion with their families.

A comprehensive approach to the treatment of young adults.

A comprehensive approach to the treatment of young adults.

Family Transactions in the Etiology of Dropping out of College

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsEdgar A. LevensonArthur H. Feiner Ph.D., faculty member; director of research, College Dropout Project; member, Family Therapy Unit—William Alanson White Institute; expresident, Association of Psychoanalyitic Psychologists. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Educational Psychology, the American Journal of Digestive Diseases, and Literature and Psychology.Nathan StockhamerEdgar A. Levenson M.D., faculty member; training and supervisory analyst; director, Young Adult Treatment Service; chief investigator, College Dropout Project—William Alanson White Institute. Author of “Socio-Cultural Issues in College Dropout” in The College Drop-out (L. Pervin et al., eds., Princeton University Press, 1966).Arthur H. FeinerNathan Stockhamer Ph.D., faculty member; clinical director, College Dropout Project; member, Family Therapy Unit—William Alanson White Institute. President-elect, Association of Psychoanalytic Psychologists. He has written for the American Journal of Psychotherapy.