Vulnerability to Psychopathology: A Biosocial Model Marvin Zuckerman. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 1999, 535 pp., (hardcover). A great deal has been learned about psychopathology, but still many questions remain. One of the most important questions remaining to be answered is why people are vulnerable to the different variants of psychopathology ? Zuckerman has made this broad question the focus of his new book. It is a book that is remarkable by its scholarship. It provides a compendium of information on the history of mental disorders, and research findings on their course, diagnosis and prevalence, comorbidity, demographic features, genetic and biological characteristics, and social factors, and is punctuated by a strong biological orientation. Zuckerman indicates that his new book was written as a "logical sequel" to his previous book on the Psychobiology of Personality (Zuckerman, 1991). His book, which is divided into eight chapters, provides a review of the wealth of findings on psychopathology. The first cluster of chapters of the book deals with general considerations including diathesis-stress models (chapter 1), and diagnosis (chapter 2); the second cluster, and main body of the book (chapters 3 to 7), describes theory and research on a selected number of specific disorders, and the final concluding chapter is concerned with the prognosis of the future science of psychopathology. In the first chapter we learn that diathesis-stress theories are not monolithic but exhibit great variety. His model extends Paul Meehl's orientation to schizoprhenia to other disorders, and thus focuses on a biological diathesis and social stress (e.g., parenting) that increases risk of disorders. Zuckerman's book largely restricts the term diathesis to genetic and biological factors. As it happens, then, he questions the basis for the notion of cognitive vulnerability. His grounds for this are that the concept of a cognitive predisposition to psychopathology is not empirically well supported, and that it could simply be a "typical expression of a biological disposition" (p. 7), or other "interpersonal" and "developmental" factors (p. 197). For example, he suggests that research has not adequately demonstrated that cognitive factors predict subsequent levels of depression or other disorders, and are not simply state-manifestations of the disorders. These views are challenged by recent research of the Temple-Wisconsin depression project (e.g., Alloy, Abramson, Hogan et al., 2000). Although Zuckerman's book clearly reflects a monumental undertaking of scholarship, its review of the rapidly advancing cognitive literature on psychopathology is dated. Readers who are interested in a cognitively oriented approach to vulnerability to psychopathology will thus need to look for other references (e.g., Alloy & Riskind, in press). Along with his restriction of the concept of vulnerability to biological diathesis, Zuckerman's book pays little attention to methodological issues, and particularly to issues important for cognitively oriented researchers. Readers who are interested in such issues will have to turn to other sources, such as the excellent chapter by Alloy, Abramson, Raniere, & Dyller, (1999). …

Vulnerability to Psychopathology: A Biosocial Model

https://dionysus.psych.wisc.edu/LabPubs/LejuezC2005a.pdf

Differences in Impulsivity and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Inner-City Crack/Cocaine Users and Heroin Users

The association between heroin use and anxiety sensitivity among inner-city individuals in residential drug use treatment.

This publication is an update of a monograph first published in 1997. It was developed with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). The material contained in this publication does not necessarily represent the position of the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services. A significant and growing number of persons in the justice system have co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. For example, over 70 percent of offenders have substance use disorders, and as many as 15 percent have major mental disorders — rates that greatly exceed those found in the general population Persons with co-occurring disorders present numerous challenges within the justice system. These individuals exhibit greater impairment in psychosocial skills, are less likely to enter and successfully complete treatment, and are at greater risk for criminal recidivism and relapse. The justice system is generally ill equipped to address the multiple needs of this population, and few specialized treatment programs exist in jails, prisons, or court or community corrections settings that provide integrated mental health and substance abuse services (Peters, LeVasseur, & Chandler, 2004). Of major concern is the failure to effectively screen and assess persons with co-occurring disorders in the justice system (Chandler, Peters, Field, & Juliano-Bult, 2004). Key problems related to screening and assessment include: failure to comprehensively examine one or more of the co-occurring disorders; inadequate staff training to identify and assess the disorders; bifurcated mental health and substance abuse service systems that feature separate screening and assessment processes; use of ineffective screening and assessment instruments; and the absence of management information systems to identify and track this population. Another challenge in conducting screening and assessment is determining whether psychiatric symptoms are caused by recent substance abuse or reflect the presence of a mental disorder. Several other important threats to the accuracy of screening and assessment information include the disabling effects of co-occurring disorders on memory and cognitive function and the perceived consequences related to self-disclosure of mental health or substance abuse problems. Failure to accurately identify offenders with co-occurring disorders often prevents their involvement in treatment or leads to inappropriate placement in treatment (e.g., in less intensive services than are needed), resulting in high rates of criminal recidivism following release from custody and utilization of expensive community resources such as crisis care and hospital beds. This monograph provides an overview of the systemic and clinical …

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SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT OF Co-OCCURRING DISORDERS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Le but de cette etude est d'examiner les liens entre la psychopathologie maternelle, le soin sensible tres tot apporte a l'enfant, et la securite de l'attachement chez un groupe de femmes adonnees a la cocaine venant de miliieux a hauts risques contextuels qui incluent la pauvrete, le manque d'education, un statut minoritaire et un statut de famille monoparentale. Trente cinq femmes et leurs bebes participerent a l'etude. La psychopathologie maternelle et les troubles d'Axes I et Axes II ont ete evalues durant la periode prenatale via une mesure clinique par auto-rapport. La sensibilite maternelle fut evaluee a un mois et a six mois apres l'accouchement via la procedure de situation bizarre. Egalement, a dix-huit mois, le niveau depression de la mere dut evalue via un inventaire de depression. On trouva que la psychopathologie maternelle durant la grossesse etait liee a la fois au mode de soin precoce et a l'attachement. Les meres ayant des niveaux cliniques de certains troubles d'Axes Il faisaient preuve de moins de soin sensible envers leur enfant et avaient des enfants en bas âges plus a meme d'etre desordonnes/desorientes dans leurs attachements. Pour les troubles d'Axe I, on trouva que seuls les niveaux cliniques de dysthymie prenatale etaient lies a une plus grande chance d'avoir un attachement sůr et positif.

Maternal psychopathology and attachment in toddlers of heavy cocaine‐using mothers

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the indicators of psychiatric disorders of individuals and their choice of either cocaine or heroin, drugs that differ markedly in their pharmacological effects. Cocaine acts as an intense stimulant, and heroin has profound sedative effects. This investigation examined the relationship between preference for heroin or cocaine and indicators of psychiatric impairment. Data from 282 subjects were grouped according to drug of choice and analyzed. Ninety-three percent of these subjects were African-American, 32% were female, and the average age was 34. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, such as discriminant analyses, were used to determine group differences. The results are evaluated and interpreted in relation to both the current empirical findings and to the hypotheses and theories postulated as a result of earlier clinical observations on drug of choice and psychopathology. Discriminant analysis yielded an overall correct classification rate of 75%. The discriminant function suggests that members in the cocaine drug of choice group as contrasted with members in the heroin preference group can be characterized as more socially inhibited and more self-defeating after adjusting for differences in age, duration of use of illicit substances, and marital status. Those who favored cocaine as contrasted with those who favored heroin were more likely to have never married, be younger, and have used illicit substances for a shorter period of time.

J J Koman rd

Papers

Relationship between Drug Preference and Indicators of Psychiatric Impairment