In this study, crack/cocaine-dependent (CD) and non-drug-using matched control (MC) participants were presented with hypothetical immediate and delayed rewards, with 16 delay conditions ranging from 5 min to 25 years. All participants were presented with hypothetical monetary rewards; however, the CD group was also presented with hypothetical crack/cocaine rewards. The objective value of the rewards ranged from $1 to $1,000. Hyperbolic discounting functions provided a good fit of the data. The CD group discounted monetary rewards at a higher rate than the MC group did, and the CD group discounted crack/cocaine rewards at a higher rate than it did monetary rewards. Moreover, scores on self-report measures indicated greater impulsivity in the CD group when compared with the MC group.

The current study examines a recently developed short version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. Participants were 251 undergraduate students (59.3% male; mean age = 21.16 (SD = 4.18); 72% Caucasian). The short version generally replicated the internal consistency (0.74 – 0.88 across subscales) and inter-scale correlations of the full UPPS-P. Moreover, the estimated loss of shared variance was small (0% – 6.4% reductions across subscales) as compared to a 66% time-savings. Structural equation modeling replicated previously supported factor structures and relationships to external outcomes using the full UPPS-P. The short UPPS-P scale should be considered a valid and reliable alternative to the full UPPS-P.

This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency, concurrent validity, and discriminative validity of the Impact of Event Scale -Revised (IES-R, Weiss & Marmar, 1997) in a sample of 182 individuals who had experienced a serious motor vehicle accident. Results supported the three-factor structure of the IES-R, Intrusion, Avoidance, and Hyperarousal, with adequate internal consistency noted for each subscale. Support was obtained for the concurrent and discriminative validity, as well as the absence of social desirability effects. Although some differences were noted between the IES-R Avoidance subscale and diagnostically-based measures of this cluster of symptoms, these differences do not necessarily signify measurement problems with the IES-R. The IES-R seems to be a solid measure of post-trauma phenomena that can augment related assessment approaches in clinical and research settings.

Hurricane Katrina was the most devastating natural disaster to hit the United States in the past 75 years. The authors conducted interviews of 810 persons who were representative of adult residents living in the 23 southernmost counties of Mississippi before Hurricane Katrina. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since Hurricane Katrina was 22.5%. The determinants of PTSD were female gender, experience of hurricane-related financial loss, postdisaster stressors, low social support, and postdisaster traumatic events. Kaplan-Meier survival curves suggest that exposure to both hurricane-related traumatic events and to financial and social stressors influenced the duration of PTSD symptoms. Postdisaster interventions that aim to improve manipulable stressors after these events may influence the onset and course of PTSD.

This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency, concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and discriminative validity of the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI; E. B. Foa, A. Ehlers, D. M. Clark, D. F. Tolin, & S. M. Orsillo, 1999) in a sample of 112 individuals who had experienced a serious motor vehicle accident. Results generally supported the 3-factor structure of the PTCI: (a) Negative Cognitions About Self, (b) Negative Cognitions About the World, and (c) Self-Blame. Subscales reflecting negative thoughts of the self and world showed adequate internal consistency, as well as good concurrent, discriminant, and discriminative validity. However, difficulties with the subscale representing self-blame emerged, specifically poor concurrent and discriminant validity. Potential reasons for this finding are discussed. The PTCI seems to be a promising measure of negative and dysfunctional posttrauma cognitions, which deserves continuing attention.Current accounts of posttrauma recovery place considerable emphasis on the role of negative and dysfunctional cognitions in the etiology and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, Foa and colleagues (Foa & Riggs, 1993;Foa & Rothbaum, 1998) have theorized that specific thoughts about the dangerousness of the world and one's own incompetence mediate the development of PTSD in the aftermath of sexual assault in women. Likewise, Ehlers and Clark (2000) emphasized the importance of negative appraisals of the traumatic event and one's reactions during the event as salient in PTSD. According to these authors, these negative appraisals help to create a sense of threat, which perpetuates PTSD symptomatology and heightens anxiety. Similar accounts have been presented by Resick and Schnicke (1993) and McCann and Pearlman (1990), indicating some convergence across writers concerning the importance of specific types of dysfunctional thoughts in PTSD, particularly thoughts about one's perceived weaknesses and the dangerousness of the world.Despite apparent agreement about the importance of dysfunctional thoughts in the origins and maintenance of PTSD, measurement of this domain has lagged behind other forms of assessment. As reviewed by Norris and Riad (1997), the field has concentrated in large part

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently co-occur. Among individuals seeking treatment for SUDs, approximately 36% to 50% meet criteria for lifetime PTSD. The self-medication and susceptibility hypotheses are two of the hypotheses that have been proposed to help explain the etiological relationship between PTSD and SUDs. It is also possible that common factors, such as genetic, neurobiological, or environmental factors, contribute to the high rate of PTSD-SUD co-occurrence. Preliminary results from integrated psychotherapy approaches for the treatment of patients with both disorders show promise. This article reviews these and other advances in the study of comorbid PTSD and SUDs, and suggests areas for future work.

With a sample (N = 43) of participants meeting current diagnostic criteria for both alcohol dependence and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the authors tested the hypothesis that alcohol craving elicited by a trauma cue might be attenuated if trauma-elicited negative emotion were reduced following trauma-focused imaginal exposure. In a laboratory-based experiment, participants were randomly assigned to either trauma-focused imaginal exposure or imagery-based relaxation. A cue reactivity paradigm was used to assess alcohol craving prior to, and after completion of, the 6 clinical sessions. Attrition was high but did not differ between experimental conditions. For study completers, PTSD symptoms decreased in the exposure condition but not in the relaxation condition. Alcohol craving and distress elicited by trauma images decreased in the exposure condition but did not change in the relaxation condition. Results support the hypothesis that negative emotion is a mechanism of alcohol craving.