Study show major decrease in impulsivity-related problem drinking seen among 18-25-year-olds
Author: admin"Traits related to impulsivity, such as undirectedness or ‘reverse-scored conscientiousness,’ tend to normally decrease from late adolescence into early adulthood, approximately from ages 18 to 35," explained Andrew K. Littlefield, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri and corresponding author for the study.
"This study is unique in examining patterns of impulsive traits across time," added Danielle Dick, assistant professor of psychiatry, psychology, and human and molecular genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. "It is interesting that the trajectories of impulsivity identified here parallel previous work on trajectories of externalizing behavior - namely, that there is a class of individuals who appear to ‘mature out’ of impulsive behavior with emerging adulthood, while others do not show this normative maturing out."
"We used a person-centered trajectory approach in order to characterize individual differences in age-related changes in impulsivity," said Littlefield. "This approach allowed us to empirically discover groups of individuals that showed similar stability and change in impulsivity from ages 18 to 35."
Littlefield and his colleagues used data drawn from a longitudinal study of individuals at risk for alcohol dependence (AD) because of a family history of alcoholism. Analyses were based on data collected from 489 college students (266 females, 223 males; 51% with a family history of AD) who were first assessed as freshmen at a large, public university and were then assessed six more times during the next 15 years. Initial analyses identified five trajectory groups that differed in baseline levels of impulsivity and developmental patterns of change.
"Our longitudinal trajectory analyses suggested key differences in both initial levels and change in impulsivity from ages 18 to 35," said Littlefield. "Of most importance, our findings suggest that individuals that made the steepest decreases in impulsivity also made the sharpest decreases in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems from ages 18 to 25." The major correlates were alcohol use - typically quantity frequency and a heavy drinking measures - and alcohol problems.
Littlefield said that through identification of distinct trajectory groups, researchers can better understand how different changes in individuals’ impulsivity relate to alcohol use and related problems.
"Many researchers and clinicians think of personality as an incredibly stable construct that does not change across time, however, these findings provide clear evidence that at least some individuals undergo significant changes in impulsivity across time," he said. "Future studies could examine why some individuals make significant changes in impulsivity across time whereas other individuals’ level of impulsivity remains relatively stable. Identifying factors that enhance or inhibit seemingly beneficial changes in personality may inform treatment approaches that could facilitate decreased impulsivity."
Source:
Andrew K. Littlefield, M.A. University of Missouri
Danielle M. Dick, Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Based on recent medical studies those children facing vision problems should immediately undergo vision therapy before the medical condition could get worse.
According to medical experts undiagnosed and untreated vision related learning problems are significant contributors to early reading difficulties and ultimately to special education classification.
The researchers revealed vision problems can have a serious impact on a child’s education.
The team of medical experts said one of the most common vision disorders that interfere with reading was recently the focus of a national study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute, on convergence insufficiency.
The group explained this is a vision problem where the two eyes don’t work together in unison the way they are supposed to when one is reading.
They said the result can make reading very difficult.
Those children showing signs of vision problem need to seek medical help fast before things could get worse.
The researchers added while at least one out of every 20 school-age children is impacted by convergence insufficiency, there are other visual abnormalities to be considered.
The researchers said it is estimated that over 60% of problem learners have undiagnosed vision problems contributing to their difficulties.
Moreover, the researchers said the good news is the majority of these vision problems can be treated with a program of optometric vision therapy.
The study by the group found that in-office vision therapy was the best treatment for convergence insufficiency.
To detect if your child has vision problems here are the five most common signs that a vision problem may be interfering with your child’s ability to read and learn are:
A. Skips lines, rereads lines.
B. Poor reading comprehension.
C. Takes much longer doing homework than it should take.
D. Reverses letters like b’s into d’s when reading.
E. Has a short attention span with reading and schoolwork.
Pregnant women should make it a habit to take multivitamins during pregnancy to avoid low birth weights and other medical complication for their babies.
A group of medical experts revealed one of the key solutions to resolve low birth weights around the globe is the intake of prenatal multivitamin supplements among pregnant women.
Based on the research done by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) it was discovered that prenatal multimicronutrient supplementation is more effective than prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation in terms of resolving low birth weights among newborn babies.
Dr. Prakash Shah and his co-authors of the study at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto revealed low birth weight and related complications are considered the most common cause of global infant mortality under the age of 5 years.
Shah said with the possibility of reducing low birth weight rates by 17%, micronutrients supplementation to pregnant women, we believe, offers the highest possible return for the investment.
He said it is estimated that of the total 133 million births worldwide per year, 15.5% are low birth weight babies.
The medical expert and his team said approximately 1.5 million babies born with a low birth weight could be avoided each year globally, if all mothers receive prenatal multimicronutrient supplementation.
This study should serve as eye opener to mothers around the world regardless of status to always take multivitamins during pregnancy to avoid medical complications for them and their babies.