As a complement to research evaluating botanical marijuana as a medical therapy for various somatic and psychiatric conditions, there is a growing body of research assessing marijuana users' self-reports of the symptoms and conditions for which they use marijuana without a physician's recommendation. As part of two larger web-based surveys and one in-situ survey at an outdoor marijuana festival, we asked regular marijuana users if they consumed the drug without a physician's recommendation and, if so, to describe (or select from a checklist) the conditions for which they used marijuana as a medication. Participants reported using marijuana to self-medicate a wide variety of both somatic conditions (such as pain, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome) and psychiatric conditions (such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia). Because fewer than half of the American states, and only a few countries, allow physicians to recommend medicinal marijuana, these findings may be of interest to clinicians as they treat patients, to lawmakers and policymakers as they consider legislation allowing physicians to recommend botanical marijuana for somatic and psychiatric conditions, and to researchers evaluating conditions that individuals elect to self-medicate using botanical marijuana.

Given the variety and potential toxicity of synthetic cathinones, clinicians and educators would benefit from information about patterns of and motivations for use, frequency of psychosocial consequences, and experience of acute subjective effects. We administered a comprehensive, web-based survey to 104 recreational users of synthetic cathinones. Sixty percent of respondents consumed synthetic cathinones once or more per month, usually snorting or swallowing these drugs, typically at home, usually with others, customarily during the evening and nighttime hours, and often in combination with another drug such as alcohol or marijuana. Acute subjective effects attributed to synthetic cathinones were similar to those of other psychostimulants, including increased energy, rapid heartbeat, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping, euphoria, decreased appetite, open-mindedness, and increased sex drive. Reported reasons for using synthetic cathinones included its stimulating effects, curiosity, substitution for another drug, and being at a party/music event. Respondents had experienced an average of six negative consequences of using synthetic cathinones during the previous year (e.g., tolerance, neglecting responsibilities, personality change). In combination with previously published investigations, these findings increase our understanding of the reported rationales and outcomes of recreational use of synthetic cathinones.

Studies that relate normal personality traits to students' adjustment to college have relied heavily on self-rating methods, concurrent designs, and academic performance indicators as criteria. We conducted a prospective study of high school seniors with a follow-up assessment made near the end of their freshman year of college. Self-ratings of personality traits and college adjustment were obtained from 90 students using the revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) and the student adaptation to college questionnaire (SACQ; Baker & Siryk, 1989 ). Ratings of personality were also obtained from parents (n = 66) and same-sex peers from the college setting (n = 78) using the NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992 ). SACQ academic adjustment was correlated with conscientiousness ratings by all three sources and with openness ratings by parents and peers. SACQ Social Adjustment was correlated with self-ratings of neuroticism and peer ratings of extraversion. SACQ personal-emotional adjustment was correlated with self-ratings and parent ratings of neuroticism. Ratings by parents and peers showed significant incremental validity over self-ratings in the prediction of certain trait-adjustment relationships.

Patients with chronic illness are often stigmatized, which can lead to distress and poorer health. To address these problems, researchers must be able to effectively measure disease stigma. In line with Weiner's attribution theory (Weiner, 1985), we developed the Measure of Disease-Related Stigma (MDRS) to assess the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of enacted disease stigma. In each of 3 studies, participants read about a hypothetical patient who developed a condition through controllable, uncontrollable, or unknown means. In Study 1, participants rated a hypothetical HIV patient using a pool of 81 items that we wrote or adapted from past studies. This pool was reduced to a 28-item scale following psychometric analyses. The MDRS subscales that assess the cognitive and emotional components were reliable in 2 other disease contexts-lung cancer (Study 2) and anorexia nervosa (Study 3). Using this scale, participants reported greater stigma of a patient described as having control over disease onset. In addition, in all studies, the theorized mediation model of cognitive attribution predicting behavioral intentions through emotions was significant, supporting the construct validity of the scale. The MDRS is a reliable measure that improves the measurement of disease stigma.

Surgical weight loss had a significant impact on personality judgments. These negative views extended to hiring decisions.