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Background: The problem of injection drug use in public bathrooms has been documented from the perspectives of people who inject drugs and service industry employees (SIEs). Previous studies suggest that SIEs are unaware of how to respond to opioid overdoses, yet there are no behavioral interventions designed for SIEs to address their specific needs. In response to this gap in the field, we constructed, implemented, and evaluated a three-module behavioral intervention for SIEs grounded in the Information-Motivation-Behavioral skills model. This paper focuses on the evaluation of one module, namely, the intervention component addressing overdose response and naloxone administration (ORNA).Methods: Participants were SIEs (N = 18 from two separate business establishments) recruited using convenience sampling. The study utilized a pre-/post-test concurrent nested mixed method design and collected quantitative and qualitative data including an evaluation of the intervention module. The primary outcomes were opioid overdose-related knowledge and attitudes. Acceptability was also assessed.Results: SIEs demonstrated significant improvements (p <  0.01, Cohen's d = 1.45) in opioid overdose-related knowledge as well as more positive opioid overdose-related attitudes (p< 0.01, Cohen's d = 2.45) following the intervention. Participants also reported high levels of acceptability of the module and suggestions for improvement (i.e., more role-playing).Conclusions: This study highlights the acceptability and evidence of efficacy of the ORNA module, as well as the utility of training SIEs in ORNA. The expansion of this training to other SIEs and public employees (librarians, etc.) who manage public bathrooms warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New York City (NYC) is considered to be one of the world’s most progressive cities and gender and sexuality diversity (GSD)-inclusive education departmental policies appear to reflect these values. However, even within such a context, NYC educators report challenges in their work to meet the needs of trans/gender-diverse students and the visibility of trans/gender diversity more generally within their pre-K - 12 school communities. This paper reports on interview data from 31 school staff members from nine public and independent schools located in the NYC metro region, with a specific focus on their framing of inclusivity and bullying, and reported support of trans/gender-diverse students. Based on educators’ representations of their schools, the nine schooling environments fell into two broad clusters: (1) those framing trans/gender inclusivity as an anti-bullying initiative and working at the minimum policy requirements, and (2) those working beyond bullying discourses and policy frameworks to conceptualise trans/gender inclusivity as integral to the school’s mission and as offering clear whole-community benefit. Findings support the constraints of bullying discourse on even supportive educators’ curricular ‘translation’ of GSD-inclusive policies, reinforcing the need for relevant policy reframing and targeted of professional development opportunities, particularly for school leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This New York City-based qualitative study rooted in minority stress and grounded theories explores the experiences of 11 transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Three themes emerged in the study: (1) AA as a foundation for sobriety and gender transition; (2) experiences with gender minority-based stigma in AA; and (3) use of adaptive strategies to negotiate survival in AA. This paper concludes with recommendations for AA members, substance abuse treatment professionals, social workers, and other healthcare providers to enhance TGNC experiences within substance abuse treatment and recovery communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether family structure and its transitions are associated with internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders among Puerto Rican-origin children. It uses longitudinal data (three waves) from the Boricua Youth Study, which includes probability samples of children in the South Bronx (New York) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) (n = 2,142). We also examine factors which may explain how family structure and transitions may be related to child psychiatric disorders. Our results show that for both internalizing and externalizing disorders there were no significant differences between children of cohabiting (biological or step) parents or of single parents compared to children of married biological parents. In Puerto Rico only, transitioning once from a two-parent family to a single-parent family was related to child internalizing disorders. Family transitions were not associated with externalizing disorders at either site. Context may be an important factor shaping the risk that family dissolution is followed by an internalizing disorder among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between social support and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among a sample of 55 widows who lost their firefighter husbands in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Data revealed that 73% gathered informally with other 9/11 widows in the years following the attacks and 55% participated in one-on-one therapy. Results found PTG was related to attending an FDNY-sponsored support group (r = .37), one-on-one therapy (r = .37), and socializing with other FDNY widows (r = .29). Qualitative responses suggested the primary benefits of informal peer support were a shared understanding of grief, close companionship, and emotional strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Young, African American and Latino gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately represented among new HIV cases according to the most recent national surveillance statistics. Analysts have noted that these racial/ethnic disparities in HIV among MSM exist within the wider context of sexual, mental and physical health disparities between MSM and heterosexuals. The intercorrelation of these adverse health outcomes among MSM, termed syndemics, has been theorized to be socially produced by a heterosexist social system that marginalizes lesbian, gay, bisexual, MSM and other sexual minorities. African American and Latino MSM experience overlapping systems of oppression that may increase their risk of experiencing syndemic health outcomes. In this paper, using data from twenty in-depth qualitative interviews with MSM living in four New York City (NYC) neighborhoods, we present accounts of neighborhood space, examining how space can both physically constitute and reinforce social systems of stratification and oppression, which in turn produce social disparities in sexual health outcomes. By analyzing accounts of emerging sexuality in neighborhood space, i.e. across time and space, we identify pathways to risk and contribute to our understanding of how neighborhood space is experienced by gay men, adding to our ability to support young men as they emerge in place and to shape the social topography of urban areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous research has demonstrated significant links between the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and secure base use and support in marital interactions. The mechanisms underlying such findings have not been examined in detail. This paper examines the hypothesis that script-like attachment representations shape both attachment narratives and attachment-related caregiving behavior and thus helps explain the correlation between them. Crowell et al. (2002) reported that AAI transcript coherence is significantly related to adults' caregiving and care seeking in couple problem solving interactions. In a random selection of 60 cases from that study, we assessed the extent to which interviewees conceptualized their early attachment experiences in terms of a secure base script. A series of regression analyses demonstrated that approximately 80% of the correlation between AAI coherence and laboratory caregiving and care seeking reported by Crowell et al. (2002) is accounted for by secure base script knowledge. Scoring secure base script knowledge from AAI transcripts is a useful step toward understanding links between early experience, adult attachment representations, and adults' ability to provide and seek support in close relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess whether preschoolers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behave differently during mother-child interaction tasks as a function of task palatability and whether differences are associated with the presence of comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Methods Typically developing, ADHD, and ADHD + ODD children and their mothers participated in digitally recorded interactions, which included three 5-min tasks, differing in level of palatability/engagement and parental structure (Free Play Task = highly engaging, not structured; Paper and Pencil Task = not engaging, highly structured; Duplo Task = highly engaging, structured). Results Mixed ANOVAs revealed that positive engagement, but not structure, differentially improved the behaviour of children with ADHD + ODD. Discussion Although ADHD and ODD are associated with more negative behaviours during the mother-child interaction, those with comorbid ADHD + ODD exhibit differentially greater impairment during relatively boring tasks. Implications for treatment are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current economic crisis has provoked concern about its effect on the lives of individuals including the mental health of Americans. Drawing from social capital and social buffer research, this paper examines the relationship between economic insecurity and mental health, and the extent to which social buffers provided through support networks help ameliorate poor mental health. An omnibus survey distributed to 329 residents of a major metropolitan city during the spring of 2009 revealed that part-time employment and economic hardship do have a significant negative impact on mental health, and that social support is important in mediating this relationship. Contrary to previous research, this study has determined that race, ethnicity, and being unemployed are not significantly related to mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical leaders and other practicing psychiatrists face a great deal of pressure and frustration in their professional lives. Organizational, supervisory, practice and interpersonal challenges are great. The potential for burnout is high, perhaps higher than for those in other medical disciplines. With these concerns in mind, a facilitated meeting of a large group of clinical directors working in New York State's Office of Mental Health was focused on a discussion of the role of the clinical director. The meeting employed an approach that can be termed "mindfulness". Clinical directors described their current roles, what they would like their roles to be, impediments to achieving the roles they wished to have and approaches that could be taken (mainly by themselves) to enhance their role success and satisfaction. The paper describes this process and its outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providers in prenatal care settings are well-positioned to help pregnant women with substance abuse problems take the first steps toward recovery. This study reports the results of the ANGELS Program, a program of enhanced prenatal care designed to reduce substance use among pregnant women. In a suburban office serving a broad range of pregnant women, certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and on-site addictions counselors addressed substance abuse during prenatal care. This paper describes a cohort of 77 pregnant women who were identified as abusers of alcohol and/or other drugs at the start of pregnancy. According to a level of change rating assigned by the CNM at delivery, 51% of women were able to be largely abstinent during their pregnancy, 35% had reduced their use somewhat, and 14% had shown no change in use. Discriminant analysis techniques were used to learn what characteristics differentiated women in these three level of change groups. Baseline variables that differentiated the groups included severity of cocaine and cannabis use, psychosocial stressors, and initiation of prenatal care. Significant process variables included number of prenatal visits and contact with the addictions counselors. Clinical vignettes illustrate the differences among women in the three level of change groups. Implications of the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are applying robotics and information technology to assist, enhance, and quantify neuro-rehabilitation. Our goal is a new class of interactive, user-affectionate clinical devices designed not only for evaluating patients, but also-for delivering meaningful therapy via engaging "video games". Notably, the novel robot MIT-MANUS has been designed and programmed for clinical neurological applications, and has undergone extensive clinical trials for more than four years at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital - White Plains, NY. This paper will review results of the first clinical trial of 20 patients, which showed that: - Stroke patients treated daily with additional robot-aided therapy during acute rehabilitation had improved outcome in motor activity at hospital discharge, when compared to a control group that received only standard acute rehabilitation treatment. - This improved outcome was sustained after three years. - The neuro-recovery process continued far beyond the commonly accepted 3 months post-stroke interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) held its 62nd annual meeting in 1991. The numbering of those meetings began with a meeting of the New York Branch of the American Psychological Association in 1930, but the roots of EPA are much deeper, originating with the formation of the New York Branch in 1903. The branch began as a forum for the exchange of scientific information in psychology in the New York City area. It was initially successful, meeting three times per year for a one-day program, and featured a Who's Who of speakers delivering some of the most important papers in the history of American psychology. After World War I its character, like that of psychology, began to change as the program reflected the growth in applied psychology and the membership began to be dominated by nonpsychologists. Its reorganization in 1930 restored control of the branch to university-based psychologists and reestablished the scientific goals that characterize EPA today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective To examine the validity and reliability of a questionnaire administered with an audience response system (ARS). Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Two New York City public elementary schools. Participants Fourth- and fifth-grade students. Main Outcome Measures A Food, Health, and Choices questionnaire (FHC-Q) assessed energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) including intake of fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, processed packaged snacks, and fast food; physical activity; recreational screen time; and associated psychosocial determinants (≥ 3 questions/outcome scale). Previously validated reference instruments were used for relative validation. The ARS format was compared with a paper-and-pencil format. All measures were administered in a classroom setting. Analysis Pearson correlation coefficients between the reference instruments and the FHC-Q were calculated. Internal consistency reliabilities were evaluated with Cronbach α. Spearman rank correlation, intra-class correlation, and percent agreement were used for test-retest reliability between paper-and-pencil and ARS, and between 2 ARS FHC-Q administrations. Results Correlations for EBRBs with reference instruments ranged from 0.38 to 0.61 ( P < .01). Cronbach α ranged from .77 to .92 for EBRBs and .74 to .90 for psychosocial determinants. Test-retest reliability correlations ranged from 0.36 to 0.87 ( P < .001). Agreement for knowledge questions ranged from 69.8% to 84.8%. Conclusions and Implications The ARS FHC-Q has acceptable validity and reliability for collecting data on EBRBs and associated psychosocial determinants for upper-elementary students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses presentations on the history of psychology at the March 2010 annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association held in Brooklyn, New York. Papers by various scholars are mentioned, including ones on the history of intelligence testing by Bernard Beins, on the social psychology of disability by Dana Dunn, and on incorporating history into nonhistory psychology courses by Ronald Sheese.

The article provides about the spring meeting of the American Psychological Association's Division of Psychoanalysis held in Waldorf Astoria, New York City. The title of the panel was "Swimming Against the Paradigm Tide: Practicing Analysis Today." The papers presented during the meeting were authored by Robert Prince, Marylou Lionells and David Anderegg.