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This study examined the relationship between perceptions of parent-child relations in the family of origin and antisocial tendency in a sample of drug-addicted adults. Data included retrospective accounts of childhood family factors, adolescent antisocial tendency, and self-reported hostility and risk-taking prior to treatment entry. A developmental model was tested that included adolescent antisocial tendency as a mediator of the relationship between childhood parenting factors and adulthood antisocial tendency. The effects of parental support and conflict were found to operate primarily through adolescent measures. Specifically, lower levels of parental support and higher levels of conflict with parents predicted greater adolescent antisocial tendency, which in turn predicted more hostility and risk-taking in adulthood. Thus, parental support appears to serve as a buffer against deviant behavior and drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between perceptions of parental absence, support, and conflict during childhood and psychosocial functioning in adulthood was examined for 411 drug user clients in methadone treatment. History of parental support was related to adult psychosocial functioning and parent-child conflict was related to psychosocial functioning only when parental support was low. Findings indicate parental absence is related to the quality of parental support, which in turn predicts psychosocial functioning in adulthood. Implications for treatment intervention are discussed.

The fidelity of DNA synthesis is critically dependent on the correct balance and availability of the deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) precursors for the polymerases involved in replication and repair. Since folate-derived one-carbon groups are essential for the de novo synthesis of both purines and pyrimidines, the purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether diet-induced depletion of folates would alter intracellular dNTP pools. Fischer 344 rats were fed one of four semi-purified diets for a period of 8 weeks: (i) supplemented control; (ii) deficient in folic acid; (iii) deficient in methionine and choline; and (iv) deficient in methionine, choline and folic acid. In contrast to natural diets, semi-purified diets are nucleotide-free and consequently lack substrates for salvage pathway synthesis. This omission may place unusual stress on folate-dependent de novo nucleotide synthesis especially under conditions of dietary methyl-donor deficiency. Reversed-phase HPLC analysis of dNTP in spleen cell extracts indicated that both the thymidylate monophosphate and thymidylate triphosphate pools were decreased in spleen cells from the deficient rats consistent with a decrease in folate-dependent de novo synthesis. In addition, purine biosynthesis appeared to be negatively affect by methyl-donor deficiency as evidenced by a reduction in dGTP and dATP pools. These data indicate that deoxynucleotide pool imbalance, well known to produce cytogenetic and mutagenic events in vitro, can also be induced in this in vivo model of diet-induced carcinogenesis.

The purpose of this study was to improve the reading performance of children with learning disabilities using a classroom-based metacognitive reading program. The participants were third- and fourth-level 8- and 9-year-olds (13 boys and 5 girls) at a school for children with learning disabilities. A cross-sectional time series design was used. During pre- and posttesting participants were assessed on two measures of strategy awareness and a measure of perceived self-competence. During the instructional phase the metacognitive reading program was introduced. Participants were assessed on measures of reading performance throughout the study. In general, the findings were positive: Students increased in performance and awareness of strategies from pre- to posttesting. In addition, participants were placed in subgroups based on pretesting assessments. The subgroups differed on their improvements over time. This study provides preliminary evidence that a metacognitive reading program can be used with children with learning disabilities to improve their awareness about reading and their comprehension skills.

Rat open field behavior is often used as a tool to study the behavioral effects of drugs. In this report, drug-induced patterns of locomotion in an open field were studied with the aid of a simple new statistic. Briefly, the animal's path through the open field is converted into a series of trips. Gamma (gamma) estimates the probability that the animal will repeat the trip that it has just exhibited; thus gamma quantifies "locomotor stereotypy". Trip lengths can also be compared across drug groups. Thus caffeine has no effect on gamma even though it produces a dose-related increase in locomotions. Caffeine does not produce amphetamine-like stereotypy. On the other hand, amphetamine produces a dose-related increase in gamma. Although gamma was designed to detect any pattern of locomotor behavior, rats treated with high doses of amphetamine almost always exhibited the same pattern of locomotor behavior - repetitive trips around the perimeter of the open field. Although further characterization of the statistic is necessary, these findings suggest that gamma has potential for quantifying "locomotor stereotypy" and for providing a more subtle description of locomotor behavior in general.