Addiction Rehab: Evaluation of a Campaign to Improve Awareness and Attitudes of Young People Towards Mental Health Issues.

Evaluation of a campaign to improve awareness and attitudes of young people towards mental health issues.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2012 Nov 3;
Livingston JD, Tugwell A, Korf-Uzan K, Cianfrone M, Coniglio C

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the In One Voice campaign for raising mental health awareness and improving attitudes of youth and young adults towards mental health issues. The campaign featured a prominent male sports figure talking about mental health issues and used online social media. METHODS: A successive independent samples design assessed market penetration and attitudinal changes among the young people. Two samples completed an online questionnaire either immediately before (T1: n = 403) or 2 months after (T2: n = 403) the campaign launch. Website analytics determined changes in activity levels of a youth-focused mental health website (mindcheck.ca). RESULTS: One-quarter (24.8 %, n = 100) of the respondents remembered the campaign. The proportion of respondents who were aware of the website increased significantly from 6.0 % at T1 to 15.6 % at T2. Average overall scores on standardized measures of personal stigma and social distance were not significantly different between T1 and T2 respondents. Attitudes towards mental health issues were statistically similar between respondents who were or were not exposed to the campaign. Those who were exposed to the campaign were significantly more likely to talk about and seek information relating to mental health issues. CONCLUSIONS: The proximal outcomes of the campaign to increase awareness and use of the website were achieved. The distal outcome of the campaign to improve attitudes towards mental health issues was not successfully achieved. The brief social media campaign improved mental health literacy outcomes, but had limited effect on personal stigma and social distance.
HubMed – addiction

 

Therapist Self-Report of Evidence-Based Practices in Usual Care for Adolescent Behavior Problems: Factor and Construct Validity.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Adm Policy Ment Health. 2012 Nov 5;
Hogue A, Dauber S, Henderson CE

This study introduces a therapist-report measure of evidence-based practices for adolescent conduct and substance use problems. The Inventory of Therapy Techniques-Adolescent Behavior Problems (ITT-ABP) is a post-session measure of 27 techniques representing four approaches: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), family therapy (FT), motivational interviewing (MI), and drug counseling (DC). A total of 822 protocols were collected from 32 therapists treating 71 adolescents in six usual care sites. Factor analyses identified three clinically coherent scales with strong internal consistency across the full sample: FT (8 items; ? = .79), MI/CBT (8 items; ? = .87), and DC (9 items, ? = .90). The scales discriminated between therapists working in a family-oriented site versus other sites and showed moderate convergent validity with therapist reports of allegiance and skill in each approach. The ITT-ABP holds promise as a cost-efficient quality assurance tool for supporting high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based practices in usual care.
HubMed – addiction

 

High immunogenicity of nicotine vaccines obtained by intradermal delivery with safe adjuvants.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Vaccine. 2012 Oct 30;
Chen X, Pravetoni M, Bhayana B, Pentel PR, Wu MX

Immunotherapy for tobacco addiction may offer a safe, alternative treatment if the immunogenicity of the current nicotine vaccines can be improved. We show here that intradermal (ID) immunization induces the production of antibody directed against nicotine (NicAb) at a much higher level than conventional intramuscular (IM) immunization. The magnitude and duration of NicAb production was further increased robustly by non-inflammatory laser vaccine adjuvant (LVA), slightly inflammatory monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) or a combination of MPL and CpG adjuvants. Consequently, significantly fewer vaccination doses were required to attain a high level of NicAb production for an extended period of time and reduce nicotine entry into the brain in the presence of LVA, MPL or MPL/CpG adjuvant, respectively. Yet, the potency of these adjuvants to augment ID nicotine vaccine immunogenicity came at the expense of local skin reactogenicity, with LVA causing little skin reaction and MPL/CpG stimulating overt skin irritation. These observations underscore a necessity of a balance between optimal adjuvant potency and undesired local reactogenicity. In summary, our study presents a novel approach to significantly improve nicotine vaccine immunogenicity by a combination of safe cutaneous vaccine adjuvants with ID immunization.
HubMed – addiction

 

Emerging adults’ treatment outcomes in relation to 12-step mutual-help attendance and active involvement.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012 Oct 30;
Kelly JF, Stout RL, Slaymaker V

BACKGROUND: Participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) during and following treatment has been found to confer recovery-related benefit among adults and adolescents, but little is known about emerging adults (18-24years). This transitional life-stage is distinctive for greater distress, higher density of psychopathology, and poorer treatment and continuing care compliance. Greater knowledge would inform the utility of treatment referrals to 12-step organizations for this age-group. METHODS: Emerging adults (N=303; 18-24years; 26% female; 95% White; 51% comorbid [SCID-derived] axis I disorders) enrolled in a naturalistic study of residential treatment effectiveness assessed at intake, 3, 6, and 12 months on 12-step attendance and involvement and treatment outcomes (percent days abstinent [PDA]; percent days heavy drinking [PDHD]). Lagged hierarchical linear models (HLMs) tested whether attendance and involvement conferred recovery benefits, controlling for a variety of confounds. RESULTS: The percentage attending 12-step meetings prior to treatment (36%) rose sharply at 3 months (89%), was maintained at 6 months (82%), but declined at 12 months (76%). Average attendance peaked at about 3 times per week at 3 months dropping to just over once per week at 12 months. Initially high, but similarly diminishing, levels of active 12-step involvement were also observed. Lagged HLMs found beneficial effects for attendance, but stronger effects, which increased over time, for active involvement. Several active 12-step involvement indices were associated individually with outcome benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Ubiquitous 12-step organizations may provide a supportive recovery context for this high-risk population at a developmental stage where non-using/sober peers are at a premium.
HubMed – addiction

 

 

Speed Addiction – I just can’t stop – ZomG – A Vlog…it’s been quite awhile. Anyways, this Vlog is in regards to my speeding addiction and accumulation of traffic violations across Texas.

 

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