Sibling agreement on retrospective reports of parental alcoholism and other childhood events

Retrospectively reported childhood adversity is associated with asthma and chronic bronchitis, independent of mental health

Several researchers have raised the concern that the cross-sectional association of retrospectively reported childhood adversity with self-reported onset of asthma and chronic bronchitis in adulthood may be confounded, as well as mediated by an individual's mental health. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of retrospectively reported childhood adversity on self-reported onset of asthma and chronic bronchitis in adulthood, independent of potential confounding and mediating variables (including respondent's mental health). We used data collected in 2007-2008 within the framework of the Tromsø Study (N = 12,981), a representative study of adult men and women in Norway. The associations of childhood adversity with asthma and chronic bronchitis were assessed with Poisson regression models. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated with bias-corrected bootstrapping. Childhood adversity was associated with a 9% increased risk of asthma (RR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.16) and a 14% increased risk chronic bronchitis (RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.26) in adulthood, independent of age, sex, parental history of psychiatric problems/asthma/dementia, education, smoking, social support, and respondent's mental health. Controlling for indicators of respondent's mental health reduced the strength of associations of childhood adversity with asthma and chronic bronchitis; however, the associations were still present in the same direction (p < .05). These findings suggest that the association of retrospectively reported childhood adversity with asthma and chronic bronchitis is independent of respondent's mental health. We recommend controlling for indicators of the respondent's mental health to assess an unbiased association of retrospectively measured childhood adversity with self-reported asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Parental Influences and Child Internalizing Outcomes across Multiple Generations

Our objective was to test ways parental caring and over-controlling rearing approaches predict internalizing problems across multiple generations of offspring: from grandparents to parents and from parents to children. We examined whether retrospective perceptions of grandparents' caring and over-controlling behaviors predicted parents' current anxiety problems and rearing behaviors toward their own children in a sample that participated in a clinical trial for youth with a specific phobia (SP). We further tested whether parental anxiety and rearing approaches (as perceived by parents and children) predicted children's longitudinal outcomes of internalizing problems and severity of the SP over time, above and beyond the effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of the SP. We were ultimately interested in testing indirect, intergenerational processes from grandparents to children to identify buffers or risks of anxiety via patterns of care and control from parents. Data were drawn from 113 treatment-seeking children with SPs and their parents (52.2% female, ages 6-15, M age = 8.77, SD = 1.75) from pre-treatment to three-year follow-up. Hierarchical linear models tested the effects of earlier grandparent rearing behaviors on parent and child outcomes and the effects of parent anxiety and rearing behaviors on child outcomes. Models supported indirect effects of grandparent rearing behaviors onto child outcomes via ongoing parent anxiety problems and select rearing behaviors, suggesting these intergenerational processes could potentially maintain anxiety (i.e., use of over-controlling behaviors) or buffer offspring from anxiety risks (i.e., use of care behaviors).

High-risk sexual behaviors among depressed Black women with histories of intrafamilial and extrafamilial childhood sexual abuse

OBJECTIVE

National estimates of childhood sexual abuse histories among black women range from 34% to 40%. Poor outcomes in adulthood, including impaired psychiatric functioning (e.g., depression), high-risk sexual behaviors (e.g., unprotected sex, exchange of sex for money or drugs), and lifetime sexually transmitted infections are robustly associated with sexual abuse histories. In the current study, we examined the relationships of intrafamilial and extrafamilial perpetration of childhood sexual abuse to high-risk sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted infections among black women.

METHODS

We conducted a secondary analysis of data from 60 black women who participated in a depression treatment trial in a community mental health center.

RESULTS

Our results demonstrated that intrafamilial perpetration of childhood sexual abuse, as compared to extrafamilial perpetration, was more strongly associated with high-risk sexual behaviors in a clinical sample of depressed black women. There were no significant associations between intrafamilial or extrafamilial perpetration of childhood sexual abuse and sexually transmitted infections.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that characteristics of childhood sexual abuse among depressed black women may be important factors for health professionals to consider when conducting clinical assessments and providing treatment.

The interpretability of family history reports of alcoholism in general community samples: findings in a midwestern U.S. twin birth cohort

BACKGROUND

Although there is a long tradition in alcoholism research of using family history ratings, the interpretability of family history reports of alcoholism from general community samples has yet to be established.

METHODS

Telephone interview data obtained from a large cohort of female like-sex twins (N = 3,787, median age 22) and their biological parents (N = 2,928, assessed at twins' median age 15) were analyzed to determine agreement between parent self-report, parent ratings of coparent, and twin narrow (alcohol problems) and broad (problem or excessive drinking) ratings of each parent.

RESULTS

In European ancestry (EA) families, high tetrachoric correlations were observed between twin and cotwin ratings of parental alcohol problems, between twin and parent ratings of coparent alcohol problems using symptom-based and single-item assessments, as well as moderately high correlations between twin and both mother and father self-reports. In African American (AA) families, inter-rater agreement was substantially lower than for EA families, with no cases where father ratings of maternal alcohol problems agreed with either twin ratings or mother self-report, and both cotwin agreement and mother-twin agreement were reduced. Differences between EA and AA families were not explained by differences in years of cohabitation with father or mother's education; however, underreporting of problems by AA parents may have contributed.

CONCLUSIONS

Results support the use of family history ratings of parental alcoholism in general community surveys for EA families, but suggest that family history assessment in AA families requires improved methods.

Use and accidental exposure to hallucinogenic agents reported to the Czech Toxicological Information Centre from 1995 to 2008

Intoxication by hallucinogenic agents is relatively common in the Czech Republic, with most cases of the use of these agents being by adolescents and young people. The objective of the study was to evaluate the number, trends, gender and age of the subjects, and the severity of exposure in intoxication by hallucinogenic plant and mushroom substances, in comparison with synthetic drugs, brought to the attention of the Toxicological Information Centre (TIC) through inquiries over the past 14 years (1995-2008) (from total 3,702 calls concerning the use of both natural and synthetic drugs, 917 calls were due to the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms).