e w id r as e, se er t st al h r Overweight or obesity in adolescents has reache epidemic proportions in the USA and other industr alized countries. These conditions, although ofte lumped together in research and in commentarie reflect adolescents’ being toward the heavier point a continuum that would range from underweight morbidly obese. The terms may be used interchang ably, but there is no doubt that, in the US a considerable percentage of adolescents suffer fro too much body fat. The prevalence of obesity (bod mass index [BMI] >95th percentile) among adole cents aged 12–19 years is now one in six (17.6%); an one in three (34.9%) US adolescents are overweight obese (BMI>85th percentile) (Story et al. 2009). Oth industrialized countries, such as Canada, Japa Germany, and China also are beginning to experien increasing problems related to obesity (Cornette 2008 Being on the overweight side of the weight continuu means being afflicted with a serious, chronic disea that can cause substantial harm to adolescents’ curre and future health. Although terms may be used loosely, individua only are formally deemed obese by physicians. The are some rules of thumb and formulas that often a used, especially in social science studies, but physician diagnose whether adolescents are obese. Discussion measurements tends to focus on that diagnos A diagnosis of obesity typically involves using a bod mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of weight propo tionate to height, which is deemed a useful measure the amount of body fat. Although there are other mo precise ways to measure excess fat, experts now recom mend using BMI because it is easily obtained, strong

Obesity and Overweight

OBJECTIVE: Since signals for cocaine induce limbic brain activation in animals and cocaine craving in humans, the objective of this study was to test whether limbic activation occurs during cue-induced craving in humans. METHOD: Using positron emission tomography, the researchers measured relative regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in limbic and comparison brain regions of 14 detoxified male cocaine users and six cocaine-naive comparison subjects during exposure to both non-drug-related and cocaine-related videos and during resting baseline conditions. RESULTS: During the cocaine video, the cocaine users experienced craving and showed a pattern of increases in limbic (amygdala and anterior cingulate) CBF and decreases in basal ganglia CBF relative to their responses to the nondrug video. This pattern did not occur in the cocaine-naive comparison subjects, and the two groups did not differ in their responses in the comparison regions (i.e., the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, thalamus, and visu...

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Limbic Activation During Cue-Induced Cocaine Craving

Rationale: The notion that stress leads to drug abuse in vulnerable individuals and relapse in addicts is not new. Most major theories of addiction postulate that stress plays an important role in increasing drug use and relapse. Several animal studies and some human laboratory studies have shown that stress exposure enhances drug self-administration. Although clinical observations suggest that exposure to stress increases drug use, and are associated with craving and relapse in addicts, human research in this area is largely correlational and at times contradictory. Objective: Given the growing preclinical evidence that supports the key role of stress in substance abuse, careful examination of this research area in humans is warranted. This paper examines empirical evidence on how stress may increase the vulnerability to drug abuse, and explores whether chronic drug abuse alters the stress response and coping in addicts, thereby increasing the likelihood of drug seeking and relapse. Unanswered questions on the association between stress and substance abuse in humans are identified. Conclusion: Preclinical research has shown that stress, in addition to drug itself, plays a key role in perpetuating drug abuse and relapse. However, the mechanisms underlying this association in humans remain unclear. A greater understanding of how stress may perpetuate drug abuse will likely have a significant impact on both prevention and treatment development in the field of addiction.

How does stress increase risk of drug abuse and relapse

Addiction is caused, in part, by powerful and long-lasting memories of the drug experience. Relapse caused by exposure to cues associated with the drug experience is a major clinical problem that contributes to the persistence of addiction. Here we present the accumulated evidence that drugs of abuse can hijack synaptic plasticity mechanisms in key brain circuits, most importantly in the mesolimbic dopamine system, which is central to reward processing in the brain. Reversing or preventing these drug-induced synaptic modifications may prove beneficial in the treatment of one of society's most intractable health problems.

Synaptic plasticity and addiction

The purpose of this article is to discuss the psychological and emotional effects of racism on people of Color. Psychological models and research on racism, discrimination, stress, and trauma will be integrated to promote a model to be used to understand, recognize, and assess race-based traumatic stress to aid counseling and psychological assessment, research, and training.

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Racism and Psychological and Emotional Injury Recognizing and Assessing Race-Based Traumatic Stress

Psychological and environmental determinants of relapse in crack cocaine smokers

This study investigated the relationships among Africentric cultural values (i.e., the extent to which an individual adheres to a worldview emphasizing communalism, unity, harmony, spirituality, and authenticity), favorable psychological help-seeking attitudes, perceived counseling stigma, and selfconcealment (i.e., the tendency to withhold personal, sensitive information that is perceived as negative or upsetting) in a sample of African American college students. The authors found that for both African American women and men, higher degrees of Africentric cultural values were associated with greater perceived stigma about counseling and greater self-concealment. In addition, findings indicated that neither favorable psychological help-seeking attitudes nor perceived counseling stigma significantly mediated the relationship between Africentric cultural values and self-concealment behavior. Implication of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Africentric Cultural Values, Psychological Help-Seeking Attitudes, and Self-Concealment in African American College Students:

This study examined the extent to which perceived occupational barriers and perceived parental support predicted career certainty and career indecision in a sample of African American adolescents. Perceived occupational barriers were positively predictive of career indecision, and perceived parental support was positively associated with career certainty. The results provided support for the importance of considering contextual variables, such as perceived occupational barriers and perceived parental support, in the career decision-making processes of African American adolescents. The results also highlighted the salience of social cognitive career theory in conceptualizing career-related issues in African American high school students. Future research directions are discussed.

Examining Contextual Factors in the Career Decision Status of African American Adolescents

A Call for Change in Multicultural Training at Graduate Schools of Education: Educating to End Oppression and for Social Justice

Crack cocaine, like AIDS, has become an established feature of the terrain of contemporary health care problems. The press reminds us of its presence with regular reports of mayhem in the innercitics. Our journals describe crack users and the nascent attempts to treat their addiction with medication, conditioning, and psychotherapy. Those working with

Barbara C. Wallace

Papers

Psychological and environmental determinants of relapse in crack cocaine smokers

Africentric Cultural Values, Psychological Help-Seeking Attitudes, and Self-Concealment in African American College Students:

Examining Contextual Factors in the Career Decision Status of African American Adolescents

A Call for Change in Multicultural Training at Graduate Schools of Education: Educating to End Oppression and for Social Justice

Crack Cocaine: A Practical Treatment Approach For The Chemically Dependent