The objective of this study was to profile trauma related psychiatric symptoms in a group of refugees not seeking mental health services and to consider the services implications. The study involved research assessments of two groups of Bosnian refugees: those who have not presented for mental health services and those who have. A total of 28 of 41 nonpresenters (70%) met symptom criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. All service presenters (N = 29) met symptom criteria for PTSD diagnosis. The group that did not present for services reported substantial but lower trauma exposure, PTSD symptom severity, and depression symptom severity. They had significant differences on all subscales of the MOS SF-36, indicating better health status. We concluded that those who do not seek services have substantial symptom levels, but their self-concept appears to be less oriented toward illness and help seeking. Innovative access, engagement, and preventive interventions are needed to address those who have symptoms but do not readily seek help for trauma mental health services.

This paper reports reliability and validity data on the Unpleasant Events Schedule (UES), a 320‐item scale that assesses stressful life events. The UES assesses both the frequency and aversive ness of events within a 1‐month time frame. Rational, empirical, and factorial scales were derived from the UES. Of these, nine scales were retained that were mutually independent, demonstrated good internal reliability, and tapped various dimensions of clinical interest. A short 53‐item form of the UES also was developed. The UES correlated moderately (r = .37) with depression. A discriminate analysis revealed that the UES contributed significantly above and beyond scores on the PES (MacPhillamy & Lewinsohn, 1982) to the proportion of variance in discriminating depressed from no depressed subjects.

Cannabis use is associated with risky sexual behavior (RSB) and sex-related negative health consequences. This investigation examined the role of inhibitory control and episodic memory in predicting RSB and sex-related negative consequences among current cannabis users. Findings indicated that the relationships between cannabis, neurocognition and sexual-risk varied according to the dimension of neurocognition and the parameter of RSB in question. Specifically, more risk-taking was associated with more RSB. Furthermore, amount of recent cannabis use was associated with more RSB and sex-related negative consequences, but only among those with worse performances on a measure of decision-making and of risk-taking. Contrary to hypotheses, worse episodic memory also significantly predicted higher overall sexual-risk and decreased safe-sex practices. Results indicate that worse neurocognitive performance in the areas of risk-taking, decision-making, and episodic memory may influence the degree to which cannabis users engage in RSB and experience negative health consequences as a result.

The effects of exercise and sedentary behavior have different physiologic responses, which have yet to be fully explained. Time spent in sedentary behavior has been associated with glucose intolerance in adults at risk for type 2 diabetes, but these data come largely from cross-sectional studies and do not explore this relationship in adults with diabetes. The specific aim of this study was to examine the relationship between time spent in sedentary behavior and glucose levels in adults with diagnosed type 2 diabetes over 3 to 5 days. Methods: Using continuous and concurrent data gathered from wrist accelerometry and a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS), we conducted a longitudinal, descriptive study involving 86 patients with type 2 diabetes. Results: More time spent in sedentary behavior was predictive of significant increases in time spent in hyperglycemia (B = 0.12, p < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings highlight the entwined relationship between time spent sedentary and time spent in hyperglycemia identified through our use of objective, continuous data collection methods for both sedentary behavior and glucose levels across multiple days (Actiwatch, CGMS). For patients with type 2 diabetes, these findings offer possibilities for the development of individualized interventions aimed at decreasing the amount of time spent in hyperglycemia by reducing sedentary time.

Although the prevalence of cigarette smoking has increased dramatically among youth over the past several years, there are significant ethnic and gender differences in prevalence rates. This paper presents highlights of the research literature on ethnic and gender differences in risk factors for smoking. The effects of peer and family influences may vary by both ethnicity and gender. White youth, especially females, may be more susceptible to the negative influence of friends' smoking than are African-American youth. Although the evidence about the relative importance of parent smoking among ethnic groups is contradictory, recent data suggest that African-American parents provide stronger anti-smoking messages than do white parents. The subgroups also vary in their perceptions of the negative consequences of smoking, with Asian-American and African-American females perceiving stronger negative consequences. Cultural expectations may place white females at increased risk for smoking. The link between depressed mood and smoking also varies by subgroup. Finally, popular media figures may influence the appeal of smoking and be differentially relevant to youth subgroups. We need: (1) specific examinations of ethnic and gender effects with attention paid to identifying protective factors among certain ethnic/gender subgroups; (2) to know more about how family influences may vary by the ethnic/gender subgroups and over the developmental course of smoking; (3) to know more about how youth cope with negative moods and the role of smoking in coping; and (4) to investigate whether the factors that protect youth in some subgroups can be diffused to others.