Marya T. Schulte

Substance Use and Associated Health Conditions throughout the Lifespan

A life stage perspective is necessary for development of age-appropriate strategies to address substance use disorders (SUDs) and related health conditions in order to produce better overall health and well-being. The current review evaluated the literature across three major life stages: adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood.Findings: 1) Substance use is often initiated in adolescence, but it is during adulthood that prevalence rates for SUDs peak; and while substance involvement is less common among older adults, the risk for health complications associated with use increases. 2) Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and, increasingly, prescription medications, are the most commonly misused substances across age groups; however, the use pattern of these and other drugs and the salient impact vary depending on life stage. 3) In terms of health outcomes, all ages are at risk for overdose, accidental injury, and attempted suicide. Adolescents are more likely to be in vehicular accidents while older adults are at greater risk for damaging falls. Adulthood has the highest rates of associated medical conditions (e.g., cancer, sexually transmitted disease, heart disease) and mental health conditions (e.g., bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, antisocial personality disorder).Conclusion: Prolonged heavy use of drugs and/or alcohol results in an array of serious health conditions. Addressing SUDs from a life stage perspective with assessment and treatment approaches incorporating co-occurring disorders are necessary to successfully impact overall health.

Maternal Parenting Stress and Child Perception of Family Functioning Among Families Affected by HIV

&NA; Mothers living with HIV (MLWH) experience stressors inherent to parenting, often within a context characterized by poverty, stigma, and/or limited social support. Our study assessed the relationship between parenting stress and child perceptions of family functioning in families with MLWH who have healthy school‐age children. MLWH and their children (N = 102 pairs) completed measures addressing parenting stress and perceptions of family functioning (i.e., parent–child communication, family routines, and family cohesion). We used covariance structural modeling to evaluate the relationship between these factors, with results showing greater maternal parenting stress associated with poorer family functioning outcomes (reported by both the child and the mother). Findings offer support for the parenting stress–family functioning relationship by providing the child perspective along with the maternal perspective, and point to the need for interventions aimed at minimizing the impact of maternal parenting stress on family functioning.

Technological aids for improving longitudinal research on substance use disorders

BackgroundThere is a broad consensus that addictive behaviors tend to be chronic and relapsing. But for field studies of substance users, successfully tracking, locating, and following up with a representative sample of subjects is a challenge.MethodsThe purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview of how current technological aids can support and improve the quality of longitudinal research on substance use disorders. The review is grouped into four domains: (1) tracking and locating, (2) prompting/engaging, (3) incentivizing, and (4) collecting data.Results & conclusionsAlthough the technologies described in this review will be modified or replaced over time, our findings suggest that incorporating some or all of these currently available approaches may improve research efficiency, follow-up rates, and data quality.

Validation of a brief measure of HIV health-related anxiety among women living with HIV

Anxiety symptoms related to health are often present in populations coping with chronic illness, and among women living with HIV (WLWH), anxiety has been linked to a range of negative outcomes. This paper describes the validation of a four-item instrument designed to measure health-related anxiety (HRA) in WLWH by assessing the impact of thinking about HIV status and health on difficulty sleeping, lack of appetite, reduced desire to socialize, and difficulty concentrating at school or work. The scale was administered to 238 adult WLWH across three studies. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-factor solution; multi-group confirmatory factor invariance analyses supported the single factor model. For construct and criterion validity, correlations between the HRA scale and validated instruments measuring psychological, psychosocial, and physical distress were as predicted. Results support the validity of the HRA scale among WLWH as a brief measure of anxiety related to HIV status and health.