A cohort of 2,289 children, previously studied at the age of 6-8 yr, were followed up by means of a postal questionnaire when aged 14 -16 yr to examine the association between potential risk factors and the natural history of respiratory symptoms. Children with current symptoms, persistent symptoms, and late-onset symptoms were identified and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the independent association between risk factors and these various symptom-based subgroups. Personal and family history of atopy was significantly associated with all symptom groups and with the presence of doctor-diagnosed asthma. Smoking, either active or passive, was shown to be significantly associated with current, persistent, and late-onset symptoms. Other factors shown to be significantly associated with certain symptom groups were gender (late-onset wheeze), single-parent households (current cough, persistent cough), social class (late-onset wheeze), number of children in the household (persistent wheeze, late-onset cough), number of furry pets in the household (current wheeze), birth weight (late-onset wheeze), and gas cookers (current wheeze, persistent wheeze). In a subgroup of children studied in more detail in 1987, bronchial hyperresponsiveness in 1987 was positively associated with persistent wheeze in 1995, whereas positive skin-prick testing in 1987 was not.

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The influence of contextual variation of category members during encoding on subsequent recognition of a target member was examined. Triads varying in the relative number of members subsumed by two adjacent levels of categorization were encoded . The superordinate level contained categories such as vehicles; members ofthis category were taxi, airplane, and subway. The subordinate level contained categories formed by combining the superordinate level with a common attribute, for example, motor vehicles; members of this category included taxi, bus, and limousine. The member that could be contextualized at either level was designated the target-in this example, taxi. During recognition, distractor triads contained a substitute for the target drawn from either of the above levels. Predictions were confirmed for contextual effects during encoding on subsequent false alarm rates.

We describe a slow-open analytic group for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and emphasize the importance of having both a male and a female co-conductor The Beck Depression Inventory and the Spielberger State Anxiety Scale were used as an outcome audit before and after the group and at six months follow-up. The results supported the clinical impression of overall improvement. We record similarities and distinguishing features between this group and a group for women survivors in which three of the authors had previously been engaged as co-conductors.

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