No abstract

Over the past two decades there has been a significant rise in the number of employers requiring their staff or prospective staff members to undergo testing to determine whether they have been taking illicit drugs. Such testing usually takes place within the framework of broad employee-assistance programs and is underpinned by the wish to ensure public safety and corporate security, as well as achieving a "drug-free workplace" by helping staff who have drug-use-related problems. By whatever means these tests are conducted, though, issues of privacy raise a question mark against whether this is truly an area in which the interests of collective security should always override individual civil liberties.

Among older youth transitioning from the foster care system, this longitudinal study examined the association of religious and spiritual capital to substance use in the past year at age 19. Participants consisted of African American (N = 179) and White non‐Hispanic (N = 133) older youth in foster care. Drawing from social capital theory, it was posited that religious service attendance (a proxy for religious capital) and belief in a spiritual force (a proxy for spiritual capital) would be inversely associated with substance use. Multiple logistic regression results indicated support for the first and second hypothesis for White foster youth only. Among White foster youth, more frequent religious service attendance and greater belief in a spiritual force were associated with a lower likelihood of illegal substance and polysubstance use. No association between religious or spiritual capital and substance use was found among African American foster youth. The findings underscore the importance of conducting spiritual assessments to help ensure older foster youth who have strong religious or spiritual orientations are in environments where they are accommodated and supported.

No abstract

Eight severely retarded residents took part in a double blind, placebo controlled trial of pimozide. The drug did not alter behavioural adjustment as assessed by behaviour observations. However, ratings on a standardised checklist of aberrant behaviour showed significant drug-induced improvements on two dimensions (Irritability and Hyperactivity/non-compliance). Learning performance, as assessed by a discrimination learning task, was not affected by the drug.