International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Year:2014 | Volume:3 | Issue:3|Papers Count:10

Background: According to recent theories on addiction, attentional bias towards drug-related stimuli plays a pivotal role in the initiation of drug abuse.Objectives: The present study attempted to investigate attentional bias towards drug-related words in addicts and non-addicts.Patients and Methods: To attain the objectives, following a causal-comparative study, a number of 15 addicts under treatment in anonymous groups, and 15 non-addicts from among students at Isfahan University were selected through available sampling. Both groups were evaluated through Stroop test, and the results were analyzed adopting independent t-test. Findings: as indicated by the findings, a significant difference was observed in the two groups concerning color-naming accuracy (P<0.05, X2 (1) =3.896) as well as reaction time (P<0.0001, X2 (1) =17.404). The calculated difference between accuracy and reaction time for congruent and incongruent stimuli was significant.Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the average reaction time of the two groups. In terms of the number of errors, however, no significant difference was observed.Conclusions: The attentional bias of drug addicts is associated with drug-related cues or the temptation for drug abuse.

Background: Substance abuse is a serious global problem that is affected by multiple psychosocial and socio-demographic factors.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the leading factors in positive attitude and tendency toward substance abuse in terms of personality, socio-economic, and socio-demographic factors.Patients and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 200 college students (105 females and 95 males) residing in Damghan University dormitory in northeast of Iran were recruited by random sampling from March to July 2013. The participants were instructed and asked to complete the NEO FIVE-factor Inventory, the attitude to substance abuse scale, and the demographic questionnaire. Then data were analyzed by stepwise multiple regression employing PASW 18.Results: Being male sex and neuroticism had a significant positive role in predicting positive attitude toward substance abuse in university students. In addition, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and socio-economic status had a significant negative role in predicting tendency toward substance abuse (P<0.001). Extraversion had no significant role in prediction of positive attitude to substance abuse (P>0.05).Conclusions: Lower agreeableness, decreased conscientiousness, higher neuroticism, diminished openness, low socio-economic status, and male sex might make university students more inclined to substance abuse. Thus, it is reasonable to show the importance of these factors in tailored prevention programs.

Background: Loneliness is one of the psychological variables related to high risk behaviors that should be investigated more.Objectives: The current study aimed to assess emotional, social, romantic, and familial dimensions of loneliness in drug abuser and nondrug abuser individuals.Patients and Methods: Two hundred and twenty eight individuals were enrolled in this cross sectional study. Hundred and eighteen drug abusers were recruited through random sampling among the clients referred to Baharan Psychiatric Hospital, and 110 non-substance dependent individuals were selected from their companions, students, and staffs. In addition to clinical interview, the Iranian short version of the social and emotional loneliness scale for adults (SELSA-S) was used to evaluate the participants.Results: There were statistically significant difference between the scores of all four emotional, social, familial, and romantic dimensions of loneliness in substance dependent individuals. Although there was no difference between the scores of men and women, the mean scores of romantic and emotional dimensions were higher in non-substance dependent women.Conclusions: The feeling of loneliness is stronger in drug abusers rather than non-drug abusers that could develop the sense of being different from community and increase the probability of taking high risk behaviors and abusing drugs. Thus, it is suggested to consider the feeling of loneliness in all programs designed to prevent or treat addiction.

Background: This quantitative explanatory study was designed to explain the relationship between HIV/AIDS risk-taking behaviors among African American women and their knowledge surrounding HIV/AIDS. More specifically, the research considers whether knowledge alone was sufficient to alter African-American women’s risk-taking behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS.Objectives: This study was designed to investigate knowledge surrounding sexual risk-taking behaviors including 1) heterosexual transmission, 2) low and sporadic condom usage, 3) illicit drug use, and 4) multiple sex partners associated with HIV positive and negative status among African-American women.Patients and Methods: Participants in this study were African-American women who ranged in age between 24 and 44 years. This sample of African-American women was divided into two groups according to their HIV status: 53 women who were HIV positive and 62 women who were HIV negative women. The data for this investigation were obtained through self-administered questionnaires. The t-test was used to analyze the data through the use of the windows version of the statistical package for social sciences (19.0).Results: Findings suggest that knowledge of HIV was not found to be significantly different for the HIV positive and negative groups, and thus, suggest that knowing about the consequences of risk-taking behaviors is not sufficient to alter one’s behavior among African American women. The findings from this investigation will contribute new empirical knowledge to the existing social work database on HIV/AIDS and knowledge specifically relative to African-American women.Conclusions: It was anticipated that knowledge of HIV would have been significantly higher in the HIV negative group than in the HIV positive group. However, the hypothesis was not supported by data. The HIV positive women and negative women were equally knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS.

Dear Editor, Addiction is a complex behavior (1). Acquisition, development, and maintenance of addictive behaviors are resulted from the interplay between many interacting factors (2) including the psychological and/or biological predispositions of the individual (e.g. genetic, attitudinal, belief and personality factors, unconscious motivations, etc.), the social environment in which the individual lives (i.e. situational characteristics), and the activity itself (i.e. structural characteristics) (3)…

Background: Aloe vera is a medicinal herb used as an anti-inflammatory and sedative agent.Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of Aloe vera aqueous extract on morphine withdrawal symptoms in morphine-dependent female rats.Patients and Methods: The current research was performed on 40 female Wista-Albino rats which were made dependent on morphine using Houshyar protocol and were randomly divided into five groups (A, B, C, D, and E). Group A did not receive any agent in the period of handling but other groups (B, C, D and E) received 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg of Aloe vera aqueous extract by gavage, three times daily for a week, respectively. Withdrawal symptoms, stool form, agitation, disparity, floppy eyelids, and body mass variations were checked for 10 days. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS v.11 software, and Friedman, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney statistical tests. Statistical difference was considered significant (P<0.05).Results: The results of the present study showed that agitation, disparity, and floppy eyelids in group E were significantly higher than those of others groups, however, these symptoms in group C were significantly lower than those of the other groups.Conclusions: The results of the present study revealed that the Aloe vera aqueous extract had various effects on morphine withdrawal syndrome in morphine-dependent female rats.

Background: The new millennium has been together with a variety of synthetic and caffeinated high-energy drinks targeting the youth market. Energy drinks raise the level of energy and their consumption has been increased significantly worldwide.Objectives: This research aimed to determine patterns of energy drink consumption and to assess the prevalence of adverse side effects among energy drink users.Patients and Methods: A pilot cross-sectional study survey was undertaken on students aged between 13 and 30 years in private and public schools and universities in Lebanon over 5 months. A self-administered questionnaire was used inquiring about sociodemographic characteristics, consumption patterns, attitudes and beliefs about energy drinks. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Data was analyzed using SPSS 17.Results: We studied 1500 students (mean age: 18.92 ± 1.85, 51.3% were males). The overall prevalence of energy drinks consumption was 63.6% (60.5% were males), among which 50.5% used alcoholic energy drinks. Respondents indicated that most consumed energy drinks were "Red Bull" and "Boom Boom" (70.9% and 51.5% respectively). In total, 64.5% of participants believed the effect of these drinks in energizing the body, and 72.7% believed that they can stimulate intellectual capacities. In addition, 29.6% of consumers experienced at least one adverse effect, where tachycardia was reported in 21.1% of cases. On the other hand, desired effects felt after consumption were mostly pleasure (33.8%). Males had a 3-time more risk of consuming such drinks compared to females (OR: 0.381, P<0.001, 95% CI: 0.300-0.484). Additionally, this analysis demonstrated a significant association between energy drinks consumption and regions outside Beirut (OR: 1.401, P: 0.006, 95% CI: 1.103-1.781), medical field of work (OR: 0.376, P: 0.010, 95% CI: 0.179-0.790) and higher personal income (OR: 1.317, P<0.001, 95% CI: 1.117-1.553).Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of energy drinks consumption among youth. The current results highlight the importance of education to prevent the consumption of energy drinks in excessive quantities and modifying some wrong perceptions regarding the benefits of energy drinks in youth.

Background: Poisoning is a common pediatric emergency among children and adolescents in the Emergency Department of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences hospital.Objectives: The aim of this study was comparing the characteristics and variations of pediatric poisoning between two retrospective studies (1998 and 2008). We hypothesized that the epidemiology of pediatric patients admitted for poisoning is related to variations of environmental agents and drug usage.Patients and Methods: Records of 170 patients from 1998 and 147 from 2008 with acute poisoning were retrospectively evaluated and compared.Results: Poisoning mostly occurred in children younger than five years old via oral route (72.94%-87%) and by single exposure (94.12%-96.6%). It was also noted that 86.8%-90% of cases were accidentally poisoned. Drugs were the most common poisoning agents in both studies (52.94% and 37.41%, respectively) and analgesics-antipyretics were the most common poisoning drugs. Drug poisoning was more common among children under five years old in both the studies. Neurological signs including lethargy and coma were the main presenting signs. About 80%-95% of cases were referred to the hospital within three hours of poisoning and supportive-symptomatic therapy was provided to them, charcoal/naloxone was administered for most of the patients (26.2% in 2008 and 21% in 1998). Mortality rate due to drug poisoning was 3-4 cases in both studies, but, non-drug poisoning mortality rate was higher.Conclusions: Preventable accidental poisoning is a significant cause of morbidity in children in developing countries. The study provided information on evolving trends and the need for increasing awareness about potential toxins as well as appropriate storage of toxins in the house to reduce the occurrence of accidental poisoning.

There is a consensus among psychological theorists indicating that beliefs and behaviors are related. Since most of the homogeneous and institutionalized tenets among social groups and people, religious beliefs relation with behaviors is a theme deserved to be studied. Examining the relation between religious beliefs and risky behaviors will help to predict and prevent such behaviors. Most psychiatrists and psychologists working in religious-social environments may hear repeated sentences from their stressful clients every day such as: "I would put an end to my life to stop all these sufferings, if I were allowed by religion or if the afterlife and the hell did not exist; " or "I would have already done something (bad) to myself if I didn’t fear God"...

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection of the oropharynx is acquired through a variety of sexual and social forms of transmission. Recent epidemiologic evidence has suggested that HPV may be an independent risk factor for oropharyngeal cancers, but risk factors for persistent HPV infection in the oropharynx are unknown. More evidence is needed regarding the prevalence of oral high-risk HPV among healthy smoker and nonsmoker adults.Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare salivary infection with human papilloma virus types 16 and 18 between smokers and nonsmokers.Patients and Methods: A hundred healthy adult subjects were selected from Zahedan dental school for this pilot study. DNA was isolated from saliva samples and screened for high-risk HPV strains of HPV 16 and 18. Then, further processed using Real Time PCR for quantification and confirmation of sensitivity and specificity of the test. Data was analyzed by t-test.Results: There were no high-risk types of virus in patients and no significant differences between the groups (P=1).Conclusions: It seems that smoking cannot increase the prevalence of high risk HPV 16, 18 in saliva samples.