No abstract

The interrelationships of depression and suicide with adolescent drug use, delinquency, eating disorders, and the risk factors for these different problems were investigated among 597 9th and 11th graders in an urban high school. There is a strong association of drug use with suicidal ideation among girls, and a stronger relationship with attempts among girls and boys. Suicidal youths are ill-adjusted and display a lack of attachment and commitment to family and school. Causal models indicate that poor interpersonal interactions with parents, absence of peer interactions, and life events lead to depression, which in turn leads to suicidal ideation. Depressive symptoms are the strongest predictors of suicidal ideation. Among females, depression predicts drug involvement, and in turn, drug use increases suicidal ideation. Drug use is only one class of problem behaviors that constitutes a risk factor for suicidal behavior in adolescence. Delinquency and eating disorders also have direct effects on suicidal ideation beyond those of depressive affect. As for drug involvement, these problem behaviors are more predictive of suicidal behavior among girls than boys. Similarity and specificity of the predictors for problem behaviors within and between the sexes are discussed. Although young women use drugs to handle feelings of depression, drug use appears ineffective in the long run in relieving these depressive feelings. Understanding the dynamics of suicidal ideation in adolescence has important public health implications, since ideation is a strong predictor of attempts, especially among females.

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The research identified the importance of strengths and resilience among older adults living with HIV/AIDS. Further research is needed to explore these phenomena with larger samples. Practitioners should identify and implement methods for assessing resilience among older HIV-infected adults.

Four‐hundred eighty‐three patients with cancer and their informal caregivers were studied. Patients reported on met and unmet needs in personal care activities (bathing and dressing), instrumental activities (heavy and light housekeeping, cooking, shopping), transportation (medical and general), and home health care (health/treatment assistance). A minority (18.9%) experienced an unmet need. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to identify significant predictors of any unmet need. Patients were more likely to report any unmet needs when their illness/treatment resulted in restricted activity days, when their financial resources were reduced enough for them to apply for Medicaid or Public Assistance, or when their caregivers were not their spouses. Although in general, the likelihood of an unmet need decreased as the number of domains of assistance provided by the caregiver increased, if that care was associated with a high level of burden, the odds of a patient reporting an unmet need actually increased.