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This study explored the relationship of injury and posttraumatic stress symptoms in victims of the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City. Participants for the study were drawn from a sample of 85 individuals receiving bomb-related mental health services six months after the incident. Fourteen injured survivors were matched with 14 noninjured survivors from the same sample. A self-report instrument examining demographics, exposure, peritraumatic reaction, posttraumatic stress, worry about safety, trouble functioning, and coping was administered. Injured survivors reported stronger peritraumatic reactions and greater posttraumatic stress than their noninjured counterparts. Peritraumatic reaction to the explosion was the strongest predictor of PTSDsymptomatology. Injury was not a significant predictor of avoidance, though it did predict intrusion and arousal. The results indicate that even mild injury may be related to subsequent posttraumatic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current studies of neurocognitive function in alcoholics are generally restricted to a relatively small subsample of persons seeking treatment. Subjects are typically excluded from study if reporting signs or symptoms of possibly confounding disorders such as comorbid psychiatric disorders, medical, or neurologic disorders. Thus, the question arises as to whether those individuals who actually participate in these reported studies are representative of the larger population of unselected persons. Studies of women are particularly subject to this concern due to higher rates of comorbid medical and psychiatric disorders in women. The current study was directed to contrasting treatment-seeking women who either were or were not selected for a laboratory study of neurocognitive function. Specifically, we compared subgroups of women identified on the basis of the presence of an alcohol use disorder and/or being selected for study. A total of 638 women were available for comparison. Contrary to anticipated concerns, analysis of basic demographic, alcohol and drug use, and affective/cognitive measures revealed considerable similarities among the groups. Consistent with other literature, the large majority of these women reported a family history of alcohol use disorders. They also reported a preference for stimulants as opposed to other illicit substances as evidenced in self-report of their most frequently used drug in the six months prior to treatment (excluding alcohol). These findings suggest that current selection procedures, although necessarily biasing samples in response to specific questions, do not result in samples that are significantly different from the majority of treatment-seeking women, at least on the basis of demographic and affective variables. Furthermore, as described herein, these findings have specific indications for primary care assessment and treatment referral.

Chronic abusers of alcohol and other drugs often exhibit persistent deficits on neuropsychological tests. These deficits are usually attributed to drug-induced brain dysfunction or to familial factors that depress performance independent of drug abuse. The aim of this study was to determine the plausibility of a third explanation: namely that some neuropsychological deficits of drug abusers arise because they acquire different forms of knowledge from non-drug abusers. This hypothesis predicts that drug abusers should excel on tests of knowledge that is related to their lifestyle. Sixty-three clients from a local methadone clinic and a comparison group of 24 non-abusing subjects who were knowledgeable about drugs listened to a song about cocaine addiction. They were asked to identify the title, artist, year the song was first popular and the meaning of the song. There were no significant differences between the groups in identifying the song title, artist or year, but the drug-abusers were significantly more likely to state that the song was about cocaine or drug addiction. In interpreting deficits by drug abusers on neuropsychological tests, differences in knowledge acquired should be considered.