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The Majorana Collaboration is building the Majorana Demonstrator, a 60 kg array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The Majorana Demonstrator will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry out a dark matter search in the 110 GeV/c2 mass range. We have found that customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment, including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities, and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the Majorana Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

This study examined the gambling of a cohort of U.S. Air Force recruits (N = 31,104) and the relationship between their gambling and health-risk behaviors. Participants provided self-report data regarding gambling and health-related behaviors. Results suggest that 10.4% of participants gambled weekly or more often, 6.2% reported gambling problems, and 1.9% acknowledged loss of control over gambling. Men were more likely than women to report weekly gambling and possible problematic gambling. Minorities, compared to Caucasians, were more likely to experience gambling problems and report loss of control. Seven health-risk behaviors were significant predictors of frequent gambling; however, considerably fewer health behaviors were uniquely related to problematic gambling. These results suggest that gambling-related problems within the military warrant further attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising global greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of resultant climate change necessitate development and deployment of carbon capture and conversion technologies. Amongst the myriad of bio-based conversion approaches under evaluation, a formate bio-economy has recently been proposed, wherein CO 2 -derived formate serves as a substrate for concurrent carbon and energy delivery to microbial systems. To date, this approach has been explored in chemolithotrophic and heterotrophic organisms via native or engineered formatotrophy. However, utilization of this concept in phototrophic organisms has yet to be reported. Herein, we have taken the first steps to establish formate utilization in Picochlorum renovo , a recently characterized eukaryotic microalga with facile genetic tools and promising applied biotechnology traits. Plastidial heterologous expression of a formate dehydrogenase (FDH) enabled P. renovo growth on formate as a carbon and energy source. Further, FDH expression enhanced cultivation capacity on ambient CO 2 , underscoring the potential for bypass of conventional CO 2 capture and concentration limitations. This work establishes a photoformatotrophic cultivation regime that leverages light energy-driven formate utilization. The resultant photosynthetic formate platform has widespread implications for applied phototrophic cultivation systems and the bio-economy at large., Competing Interests: A U.S. provisional patent application corresponding to this work has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and has received application number 63/338,000. All authors are/were employed by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. All authors declare no other competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Dahlin, Meyers, Stefani, Webb, Wachter, Subramanian and Guarnieri.)

Objective: The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to examine the overall prevalence of dropout from psychological treatments for problem gambling and gambling disorder and to examine how study, client, and treatment variables influenced dropout rates., Method: A systematic search was conducted to identify studies of cognitive and/or behavioral therapies and motivational interventions for problem gambling and gambling disorder. Meta-analysis was used to calculate an overall weighted dropout rate. Random effect meta-regressions were used to examine covariates of dropout rates. Mixed-effect subgroup analyses were used to examine moderators of dropout rates., Results: The systematic search identified 24 studies (31 dropout rates) comprising 2,791 participants. Using a random-effects model, the overall weighted dropout rate was 39.1%, 95% CI [33.0%, 45.6%]. Increases in the percentage of married participants were significantly associated with lower dropout rates. Dropout rates were significantly higher when dropout was defined as attending all sessions of a treatment protocol compared to when defined as attending a prespecified number of sessions different from the total in the protocol and when defined as study therapists judging participants to be dropouts. Insufficient reporting of some gambling-related variables and other psychological symptom variables prevented a thorough examination of covariates and moderators., Conclusions: A large proportion of individuals drop out of treatment for problem gambling and gambling disorder. Future research should examine the reasons for dropout across marital statuses and should adopt dropout definitions that consider session-by-session symptom change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Problem gambling screeners are easily accessible and potentially reduce harm for those individuals who engage in risky levels of gambling behavior. However, a recent study found that when frequent gamblers were offered the chance to complete a screener and receive feedback, most chose not to do so. In this paper, secondary analysis was completed on frequent gamblers' open-ended responses to questions regarding reasons for and against completing a problem gambling screener. Participants (N = 262) were individuals who gambled at least once per week and were not currently being treated for gambling problems. A qualitative open-coding procedure independently completed by multiple researchers revealed that the most common reasons for completing the screener were individuals having a desire to check in on their behavior, because they were curious about the screener, because they were experiencing gambling-related harm, or that they were already considering making changes to their gambling. The most common reasons against completing the screener were that they were either avoidant of the experience because they thought it might cause psychological distress, or because they believed that they did not have a problem. This study provides insight into why many individuals who engage in risky levels of gambling behavior do not seek out helping resources. In addition to creating practically accessible helping resources, researchers should focus on techniques that can make help-seeking a less distressing and more acceptable experience., (© 2021. This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

While biomass-derived carbohydrates have been predominant substrates for biological production of renewable fuels, chemicals, and materials, organic waste streams are growing in prominence as potential alternative feedstocks to improve the sustainability of manufacturing processes. Catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) is a promising approach to generate biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass, but it generates a complex, carbon-rich, and toxic wastewater stream that is challenging to process catalytically but could be biologically upgraded to valuable co-products. In this work, we implemented modular, heterologous catabolic pathways in the Pseudomonas putida KT2440-derived EM42 strain along with the overexpression of native toxicity tolerance machinery to enable utilization of 89% (w/w) of carbon in CFP wastewater. The dmp monooxygenase and meta-cleavage pathway from Pseudomonas putida CF600 were constitutively expressed to enable utilization of phenol, cresols, 2- and 3-ethyl phenol, and methyl catechols, and the native chaperones clpB, groES, and groEL were overexpressed to improve toxicity tolerance to diverse aromatic substrates. Next, heterologous furfural and acetone utilization pathways were incorporated, and a native alcohol dehydrogenase was overexpressed to improve methanol utilization, generating reducing equivalents. All pathways (encoded by genes totaling ~30 kilobases of DNA) were combined into a single strain that can catabolize a mock CFP wastewater stream as a sole carbon source. Further engineering enabled conversion of all aromatic compounds in the mock wastewater stream to (methyl)muconates with a ~90% (mol/mol) yield. Biological upgrading of CFP wastewater as outlined in this work provides a roadmap for future applications in valorizing other heterogeneous waste streams., (Copyright © 2021 International Metabolic Engineering Society. All rights reserved.)

There is a need to better understand how to motivate individuals experiencing addiction-related concerns, such as gambling problems, to engage in help-seeking behaviors. This experiment tested whether online messages based on principles of motivational interviewing (MI) could be used to encourage individuals to complete a problem gambling screener. Participants ( N = 805) who gambled at least weekly and were not receiving treatment for gambling problems were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 message conditions that all offered participants the choice to complete either a problem gambling screener or an alternative questionnaire focused on gambling-related attitudes. The first condition was an MI-based interactive message, the second was similar in content but was presented in a noninteractive manner, and the third was a control message that did not include motivational elements. We found that the interactive motivational message yielded significantly higher rates of screener completion (39%) than the noninteractive message (28%) or control message (29%), χ² (2, N = 805) = 8.28, p = .016, Φ = .29. This remained significant after controlling for other study variables. Controlling for message condition, participants were more likely to complete the screener if they gambled more frequently, with more money, were more psychologically distressed and interested in receiving help for gambling problems, or had ever received treatment for gambling problems. These findings provide support for the use of interactive MI-based messages to encourage individuals at-risk for experiencing problems to use helping resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The legalization of recreational cannabis for adults is becoming more common across the United States of America, as well as other counties around the world. Previous research has documented shared risk factors between cannabis use and gambling. Experimental studies have shown cognitive effects of cannabis that might influence gambling behavior. The current study explored demographics, gambling behaviors, and mental health differences based on the degree to which individuals use cannabis while they gamble. Individuals (N = 805) who gambled at least weekly completed an online survey. Thirty percent reported gambling under the influence of cannabis. Of these individuals, 41% reported using cannabis 25% of the time that they gambled, 31% reported being under the influence 50% of the time when gambling, 16% were under the influence 75% of the time when gambling, and 13% reported always or almost always gambling under the influence of cannabis. Those who reported gambling while under the influence of cannabis were more likely to be younger, non-white and non-heterosexual. They also reported higher levels of psychological distress, were more likely to have had a diagnosis of ADHD and a history of treatment for gambling, substance use, or other kinds of mental health concerns. Individuals who used cannabis while gambling also reported gambling more frequently than those who did not. This study provides one of the first explorations into who uses cannabis while gambling. Future experimental studies are required to investigate the direct effects of cannabis on gambling behaviors., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A growing literature supports the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapies, motivational interventions, and personalized feedback to treat problem and disordered gambling. However, there is currently debate as to how much treatment is necessary. Some studies indicate that attending a greater number of sessions is related to enhanced therapeutic outcomes, while other studies indicate that one session produces equivalent therapeutic outcomes to multiple sessions. To contribute to this debate, meta-analysis was used to examine the relation between dose and outcome in studies of cognitive-behavioral, motivational, and personalized feedback interventions (both individual and group treatment formats were included). Fourteen studies of randomized controlled trials representing 1,203 participants across 19 treatment-control comparisons were identified. The intended treatment dose (i.e., the number of sessions prescribed to participants) across the 14 studies ranged from 1 to 30 sessions. Of the 10 studies reporting the received treatment dose (i.e., the number of sessions that participants attended), the weighted mean dose was 6.8 sessions ( SD = 2.7). Both intended treatment dose and received treatment dose were positively related to outcome at posttreatment-as the number of sessions increased, so too did the magnitude of the between group effect size. There were an insufficient number of studies reporting outcome at long-term follow up to evaluate the relation between intended dose, received dose, and outcome. Discussion centers on several areas for future research on psychological treatments for problem and disordered gambling. Specific recommendations are made for researchers and practicing clinicians. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

High rates of treatment refusal and dropout have complicated the delivery of psychological treatment for gambling disorder, which continues accumulating evidence for efficacy. Incorporating motivational interviewing and addressing outcome expectations into psychological treatments has been shown to increase overall attendance. However, no studies have investigated whether motivational interviewing and outcome expectations can increase attendance at the initial and subsequent sessions of psychological treatment for gambling disorder. Participants were 69 prospective clients who contacted an outpatient training clinic requesting treatment services for gambling-related problems. They were randomly assigned to receive a mailed letter that incorporated principles of motivational interviewing and addressed outcome expectancies plus a telephone reminder call or to receive a telephone reminder call only. Clients who received the letter plus reminder call were more likely to attend the initial session than were clients who received the reminder call only. Clients receiving the letter were also more likely to reschedule their initial session and less likely to not show up than were clients receiving the reminder call only. There was no significant difference in attendance at subsequent sessions. These results suggest that mailing a similar letter to prospective clients of psychological treatment for gambling disorder is worthwhile, given the associated ease and low cost. Future investigations should further investigate the value of strengthening the motivation of prospective clients and clinics before initial treatment sessions, and they should investigate the distinction between clients who reschedule versus not show up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Microbial conversion of aromatic compounds is an emerging and promising strategy for valorization of the plant biopolymer lignin. A critical and often rate-limiting reaction in aromatic catabolism is O -aryl-demethylation of the abundant aromatic methoxy groups in lignin to form diols, which enables subsequent oxidative aromatic ring-opening. Recently, a cytochrome P450 system, GcoAB, was discovered to demethylate guaiacol (2-methoxyphenol), which can be produced from coniferyl alcohol-derived lignin, to form catechol. However, native GcoAB has minimal ability to demethylate syringol (2,6-dimethoxyphenol), the analogous compound that can be produced from sinapyl alcohol-derived lignin. Despite the abundance of sinapyl alcohol-based lignin in plants, no pathway for syringol catabolism has been reported to date. Here we used structure-guided protein engineering to enable microbial syringol utilization with GcoAB. Specifically, a phenylalanine residue (GcoA-F169) interferes with the binding of syringol in the active site, and on mutation to smaller amino acids, efficient syringol O -demethylation is achieved. Crystallography indicates that syringol adopts a productive binding pose in the variant, which molecular dynamics simulations trace to the elimination of steric clash between the highly flexible side chain of GcoA-F169 and the additional methoxy group of syringol. Finally, we demonstrate in vivo syringol turnover in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 with the GcoA-F169A variant. Taken together, our findings highlight the significant potential and plasticity of cytochrome P450 aromatic O -demethylases in the biological conversion of lignin-derived aromatic compounds., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Personal Feedback Interventions (PFIs) have been widely used to reduce the amount of time and money individuals spend on gambling. A central component of these interventions is personalized information about an individual's gambling behavior, often in comparison to others' gambling. The purpose of the present review and meta-analysis was to evaluate these interventions in terms of content, mode of delivery, target sample, and efficacy. Sixteen interventions from 11 studies were reviewed. We found a small, statistically significant effect in favor of PFIs versus control (d = 0.20, 95% CI 0.12, 0.27). Six moderators of intervention efficacy were explored. These interventions appeared to be most efficacious when used in populations of greater gambling severity, when individuals were provided with gambling-related educational information, and when used in conjunction with motivational interviewing. Factors associated with reduced efficacy include in-person delivery of feedback without motivational-interviewing and informing participants of their score on a psychological measure of gambling severity. Efficacy did not vary as a function of college or community samples. PFIs are a low cost, easily disseminated intervention that can be used as a harm-reduction strategy. However, more substantial effects may be attained if used as part of a larger course of therapy.

The negative psychological effects of public stigma on disordered gamblers have been well documented. Public stigma deters treatment-seeking and other help-seeking behaviors, and negatively impacts individuals' view of themselves. Different types of disordered gambling activities may attract different degrees of stigma. One increasingly popular form of gambling involves placing bets on the outcomes of competitive video games, also called eSports gambling. This activity shares characteristics with Internet gaming and gambling. The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of public stigma held towards traditional casino gamblers, eSports gamblers, and Internet gamers, as compared to an individual experiencing comparable levels of impairment and distress due to a financial crisis. Using an experimental between-groups vignette study design, we found that all three types of behavioral addictions were more heavily stigmatized than the control condition. The three behavioral addictions were seen as being highly controllable, engendered a significant amount of anger and blame, and resulted in higher levels of desired social distance. Traditional casino gamblers were seen as significantly more dangerous to be around and created a higher level of desired social distance than the Internet gamer. Differences between the Internet gamer and eSports better were less pronounced. These findings underscore the importance of reducing public stigma for gambling and other behavioral addictions, and provide information that can be used when developing interventions to impact stigma.

Although readability has been traditionally operationalized and even become synonymous with the concept of word and sentence length, modern text analysis theory and technology have shifted toward multidimensional comprehension-based analytic techniques. In an effort to make use of these advancements and demonstrate their general utility, 6 commonly used measures of gambling disorder were submitted to readability analyses using 2 of these advanced approaches, Coh-Metrix and Question Understanding Aid (QUAID), and one traditional approach, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. As hypothesized, significant variation was found across measures, with some questionnaires emerging as more appropriate than others for use in samples that may include individuals with low literacy. Recommendations are made for the use of these modern approaches to readability to inform decisions on measure selection and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Premature termination challenges the successful outcomes of psychological treatments for gambling disorder. To date, research has primarily identified clients who are at particular risk for dropping out of treatment. A smaller but growing body of literature has investigated when dropout occurs. Typically, those studies have not considered improvement in psychological distress within their operationalizations of dropout and therefore may have misrepresented when dropout occurs. The current study examined when dropout occurs using an operationalization based on the criteria of attaining reliable change in a naturalistic sample of clients with gambling disorder, and the classification rates yielded from that operationalization were compared to the rates from a more common operationalization. Participants (n = 334) were clients meeting diagnostic criteria for gambling disorder at an outpatient private practice who completed a measure of psychological distress at baseline and prior to each subsequent treatment session. A survival analysis was conducted to determine temporal patterns of treatment dropout (i.e., clients who discontinued treatment before realizing reliable changes in psychological distress) and completion (i.e., clients who discontinued treatment after realizing reliable changes in distress) at each treatment session. Forty-nine percent of clients were classified as dropouts, and the majority of those clients did so in the first few sessions. The more common operationalization of dropout classified clients as dropouts when they had improved in their distress and clients as completers when they had not improved in their distress. Discussion centers on the implications of dropout occurring at various stages of treatment and future directions.

Disordered gamblers frequently present with concurrent anxiety, depressive, personality, and substance use disorders, which may complicate treatment. Although there is a need for a thorough assessment, some questionnaires may prove lengthy for clients and clinicians. Thus, there is a need for brief screens for identifying co-occurring psychopathology. The present study sought to examine whether a brief, self-report measure of psychological distress could indicate the presence of co-occurring psychopathology among an outpatient sample of disordered gamblers. At intake, 69 participants completed self-report measures of distress and gambling symptomatology, a personality inventory, and a structured interview for the diagnostic criteria for disordered gambling. Gamblers with greater elevations of psychological distress evidenced greater severity of gambling pathology. Clinically significant elevations were present for symptoms of depression, deviancy, and anxiety, but not substance abuse. Greater scores of psychological distress significantly predicted elevations of depression, deviancy, and anxiety. Sensitivity and specificity were evaluated and the findings supported that an average psychological distress score of 16 corresponded with the presence of co-occurring psychopathology. Clinicians treating disordered gamblers should consider screening for co-occurring psychopathology with brief, self-report measures of psychological distress.

Gambling warning messages have been shown to lead to prevention and modification of risk-taking behaviors. Laboratory studies have shown messages can increase a player's knowledge about gambling specific risks, modify their gambling-related cognitive distortions, and even change play. In the present laboratory study, participants were randomly assigned to a winning or losing slot machine gambling experience where they either viewed periodic warning messages or not. It was hypothesized that those in the message conditions would place smaller bets, spend more time considering bets, and spend less time gambling than those in the control conditions. We also hypothesized participants would play differently across the contexts of winning or losing. The results showed those who received warning messages while winning made the fewest number of spins and did not speed up their bet rate over the course of play as much as those in other conditions. Players who received warning messages while losing decreased the size of their bets over the course of play compared to those who received messages while winning. Despite receiving warning messages, losing players did not decrease their number of spins or rate of betting. Winning or losing during slot machine play appears to have significant consequences on the impact of a warning message. Whereas a message to change gambling behavior may encourage a winning gambler to stop play, the same message for a losing player may lead to a small minimization in harm by helping them to decrease bet size, though not their rate of betting. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)

Most high school adolescents have reported past year gambling, and males gamble more frequently and problematically than females. Ethnic minority adolescents appear to be gambling at a higher rate than Caucasian adolescents. There is evidence indicating that adolescent gambling outcome expectancies are correlated with gambling behavior, but limited evidence that this relation differs by gender. In the present study gender was evaluated as a moderator in the relation between gambling outcome expectancies and gambling behaviors in an African-American high school sample. Males gambled more frequently, gambled more problematically and held more positive gambling outcome expectancies than females. Gender was found to moderate the relations between gambling frequency and the expectations of material gain, affect, self-evaluation and parental approval. Gender also moderated the relations between gambling problems and expectations of affect and self-evaluation. These findings should inform future adolescent gambling prevention and intervention programs.

The acquired preparedness model posits that impulsivity influences the development of outcome expectancies that then influence the engagement in a specific risk taking behavior. The purpose of this study was to test the acquired preparedness model for gambling behavior of college students using a multidimensional approach to impulsivity. Employing a structural equation approach, it was predicted that a full mediational model that includes multiple dimensions of impulsivity and multiple outcome expectancies would predict gambling frequency and gambling symptomatology. Support was found for the acquired preparedness model in understanding why some college students gamble more frequently or problematically. Specifically, better model fit was found for the full mediational model that included outcome expectancies to predict both frequency and gambling symptomatology than the model that included the direct relation between impulsivity and gambling.

Growing evidence for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for disordered gambling supports the need for a comprehensive set of gambling-related assessment measures that have been validated with treatment-seeking samples. The Gamblers' Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ) is a self-report measure that was designed to identify gambling-related cognitive distortions (Steenbergh, Meyers, May, & Whelan, 2002). In this study, the GBQ demonstrated good internal consistency and adequate construct validity in a treatment-seeking sample of disordered gamblers. Additionally, scores on the measure significantly decreased across a brief cognitive-behavioral treatment, providing validity support for use of the GBQ with a clinical population., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Expectancy theory posits that decisions to engage in a given behavior are closely tied to expectations of the outcome of that behavior. Gambling outcome expectancies have predicted adolescent gambling and gambling problems. When high school students' outcome expectancies were measured by Wickwire et al. (Psychol Addict Behav 24(1):75-88 2010), the Adolescent Gambling Expectancy Survey (AGES) revealed five categories of expectancies that were each predictive of gambling frequency and pathology. The present study aimed to explore if the AGES could be successfully replicated with college students. When administered to a diverse college student population, factor analyses identified five factors similar to those found in the high school sample. Several factors of the AGES were also found to predict gambling frequency and gambling problems for college students. Gambling frequency and gambling activity preference were also addressed.

Compared to college females, college males are more likely to report frequent gambling. Research on gambling outcome expectancies has shown that expectations about gambling influence gambling behavior and that endorsement of particular expectancies differs by gender. Knowledge regarding the differential predictive utility of specific gambling expectancies based on gender would help to determine how beliefs about gambling may be fundamentally different for men and women. The present study explored whether gender moderates the relation between gambling expectancy and gambling frequency in a college sample. 421 college students completed an online survey that included questions about their demographics, gambling frequency, and gambling expectancies. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that gender moderated the relations between the expectancies of social consequences, material gain, and gambling frequency. For females, greater endorsement of social consequences predicted less frequent gambling. For both males and females, greater endorsement of material gain predicted more frequent gambling. The current findings can help inform prevention and intervention efforts by identifying gambling expectations that are differentially related to college student gambling behavior choices.

Gambling-related self-efficacy has been shown to correspond with treatment success and maintenance of treatment gains. Accordingly, there is a need for gambling assessment measures that have been validated with treatment-seeking individuals. In this study, we reported on the evaluation of a measure of perceived self-efficacy to control gambling behavior in high-risk relapse situations, the Gambling Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GSEQ; May, Whelan, Steenbergh, & Meyers, 2003). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses provided some support for the original single-factor solutions, but also suggested the presence of individual patterns of self-efficacy across high-risk situations. The GSEQ demonstrated convergence with indices of problem-gambling severity and scores on the measure significantly increased across a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention. The sensitivity and specificity were evaluated and the findings supported that an average self-efficacy rating of 70% corresponded with indices of pathological gambling.

Impulsivity has been implicated as a contributing factor in the development of gambling problems among college students, but attempts to confirm this relation have been inconsistent. One explanation for these incongruent findings is that impulsivity may be multidimensional and that distinct dimensions differentially predict separate behaviors. Using a large, diverse sample of college students, a factor analysis of self-report measures related to impulsivity revealed a three-factor structure of Behavioral Activation, Preference for Stimulation, and Inhibition Control that was similar to the structure found by Meda et al. (Behav Pharmacol 20(5-6):390-399, 2009) in a different adult sample. Low risk gamblers and symptomatic gamblers scored significantly lower on Behavioral Activation and Inhibition Control than non-gamblers. Conversely, low risk gamblers and symptomatic gamblers scored significantly higher on Preference for Stimulation. Prevalence of gambling and gambling activity preference for this sample was also assessed.

The U.S. Spanish-speaking population has rapidly increased in recent decades and there is a need for psychometrically supported assessment measures for researchers and clinicians who work with this population. A Spanish version of a self-report measure of gamblers' cognitive distortions [Gamblers' Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ); Steenbergh, Meyers, Whelan, & May, 2002] was translated and psychometrically evaluated in a sample of 219 Spanish-speaking Hispanics residing in the southeast United States. The GBQ-S showed high internal consistency (α = .95). Factor analytic data supported a factor structure similar to the initial psychometric evaluation of the English version. Probable pathological gamblers reported significantly more cognitive distortions on the GBQ-S than nongamblers and nonpathological gamblers., ((PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).)

The proposed DSM-V changes related to the pathological gambling diagnosis hold far-reaching implications, yet these modifications have been met with little public attention. This letter addresses the three changes proposed including the diagnosis' reclassification alongside other addictive behaviors, the lowering of the pathological gambling threshold to the endorsement of 4 symptoms, and the removal of the "illegal acts" criterion. Support for the initial change is well documented, but there is evidence to suggest that the latter two changes should be reconsidered.

This project sought to identify adolescent outcome expectancies for gambling and to evaluate their relation to gambling behavior among a sample of urban adolescents. In a preliminary study, 50 outcome expectancies were identified on the basis of a literature review or generated after surveying 35 urban high school students. These expectancies were then administered to 1,076 urban high school students. Rates of at-risk and problem gambling were 14.6% and 12.7%, respectively. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on randomly selected halves of the sample and identified 5 expectancy domains. In a structural equation model, material gain, negative affect, and positive self-evaluation displayed significant positive relations, and negative social consequences and parent disapproval displayed significant negative relations, to gambling behavior. The model explained 48% of the variance in gambling problems and 58% of the variance in gambling frequency. These results demonstrate the salience of gambling-related cognitions in understanding the gambling behavior among these at-risk youth and suggest that expectancies may be important prevention targets for this population.

The psychometric properties of two pathological gambling (PG) screening instruments, the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and the Massachusetts Gambling Screen-DSM-IV subscale (MAGS), were explored in a sample of college students (N = 159). Participants completed the two screening instruments, a diagnostic interview for PG, the Gambling-Timeline Followback (G-TLFB), Gambling Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GSEQ), and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL). Both screening measures were found to have adequate internal consistency and were highly correlated with each other and the diagnostic interview. The screening measures demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. Using the diagnostic interview as the criterion measure, the SOGS demonstrated better sensitivity in identifying PG college students than the MAGS. The MAGS demonstrated better specificity in identifying non-PG college students than the SOGS. The results of this study suggest that although neither measure is perfect in identifying PG college students, the SOGS is a more appropriate measure for screening purposes.

The present study considered the relation between adolescent gambling behavior and the perceived environment, the component of Jessor and Jessor's (1977) Problem Behavior Theory that assesses the ways that adolescents perceive the attitudes and behaviors of parents and peers. The predominantly African-American sample included 188 sophomores from two urban public high schools. Using the South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents to assess gambling risk, rates of both at-risk (20.7%) and problem (12.8%) gambling were found to be high. Boys displayed more gambling problems than did girls. The perceived environment accounted for significant variance in gambling problems and frequency, with proximal components displaying stronger relationships than distal components. Perceiving parent gambling and friend models for problem behavior were positively correlated with gambling problems, and friend models were positively related to gambling frequency. Among girls, family support was positively related to gambling problems. Among boys, this relation was negative.

This study investigated the prevalence of gambling, gambling related NCAA violations, and disordered gambling in student-athletes (n = 736) with a comparison cohort of students (n = 1,071) at four universities. Student-athletes reported similar rates of gambling frequency, use of a bookmaker, and disordered gambling as students. After accounting for demographic differences, student-athletes were less likely to engage in sports wagering than students. Several risk factors for disordered gambling were identified, including being male and reporting at least one parent with a history of gambling problems. These findings suggest that problems associated with gambling are a university-wide issue with student-athletes meriting additional attention because of implications for the integrity of intercollegiate sports. Improved prevention and intervention efforts for collegiate gambling are recommended.

This laboratory study assessed the effectiveness of warning messages intended to aid in the control of gambling. Participants were 120 undergraduate students from an urban state university who reported previous gambling activity. They were recruited to play a computerized roulette game with imaginary money. Money left at the end of play was exchanged for raffle tickets for a prize drawing. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions. In the warning-message condition, participants received an educational component discussing common irrational beliefs expressed by gamblers and, while playing roulette, viewed brief messages that addressed irrational gambling beliefs. In the control condition, participants received an educational component on the history of roulette but no warning messages. Participants in the warning-message condition reported significantly fewer irrational beliefs and demonstrated less risky gambling behavior than those in the control condition.

The Gambling Timeline Followback (G-TLFB), a measure of gambling behavior that uses the timeline followback methodology, was psychometrically evaluated with samples of frequent-gambling young adults. Seven dimensions of gambling behavior were assessed: type, frequency, duration, intent, risk, win-loss, and consumption of alcohol while gambling. The G-TLFB demonstrated adequate to excellent test-retest reliability with a sample of 57 frequent gamblers (r=.75 to.96) and with a group of 34 disordered gamblers (r=.73 to.93). With a separate sample of 58 frequent-gambling participants, convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity were assessed. The G-TLFB correlated positively with daily self-monitoring reports (r=.59 to.87). The dimensions of frequency and duration demonstrated concurrent validity with gambling screening instruments, and standard drinks consumed while gambling demonstrated concurrent validity with a measure of alcohol misuse. The G-TLFB also demonstrated discriminant validity with demographic variables and a measure of positive impression management., (((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved))

Instruments to assess individuals' self-efficacy for the control of addictive behaviors have been useful for monitoring behavior change, predicting maintenance of treatment gains, and identifying potential relapse situations. The Gambling Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GSEQ) was developed to assess perceived self-efficacy to control gambling behavior. A demographically diverse sample of 309 adult gamblers completed an initial set of 42 items, of which 16 were selected to form the final version of the GSEQ. The GSEQ showed high internal consistency (alpha =.96) and good test-retest reliability (r =.86). A factor analysis provided some support for a unitary factor structure. As expected, GSEQ scores were negatively correlated with reports of problematic gambling behavior. Participants experiencing problems related to their gambling behavior scored significantly lower on the GSEQ than those who were not experiencing gambling problems. This psychometric examination of the GSEQ supported its potential utility for treatment planning and outcome evaluation with problem gamblers.

The Gamblers' Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ) is a self-report measure of gamblers' cognitive distortions. GBQ test items were constructed on the basis of theory, empirical evidence, and expert review. Four hundred three adults completed the initial set of items, and 21 items were selected to make up the final GBQ. The factor structure of the GBQ consisted of 2 closely related factors: Luck/Perseverance and Illusion of Control. The full scale showed good internal consistency (alpha = .92) and adequate test-retest reliability (r = .77). Problem and pathological gamblers scored higher than nonproblem gamblers on the GBQ and its factors. GBQ scores were moderately correlated with the duration of gambling sessions among problem and pathological gamblers, and there was no relationship between GBQ scores and social desirability.

Objective: To assess the effects of different cognitive orientations focused on social comparison or self-comparison, followed by success or failure feedback, on mood, task persistence, and task difficulty choice in children with cancer., Method: Children with cancer (N = 79) and a group of age-matched controls (N = 72 were randomly assigned in a 2 (Achievement Orientation) x 2 (Feedback) between-subjects design., Results: Between-group differences revealed that children with cancer chose more difficult tasks for the future than those in the comparison group, while the comparison subjects chose to persist longer with the problems than did children with cancer, with no significant differences on measures of mood., Conclusions: The beneficial effects of achievement orientation as a clinical manipulation may not be as robust as expected with a medically ill population, due to the apparent stability of achievement orientations.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a history of depression in female smokers (age 18-65) who did not self-report any current depression was associated with adherence to a multisession, multicomponent smoking-cessation program. Participants in a 13-week cognitive-behavioral group program plus random assignment to nicotine gum, appetite suppressant gum, or placebo chewing gum were grouped by depressive-history and compared on attendance, average expired carbon monoxide after planned cessation, and number of pieces of gum chewed. No significant differences between the depressive history (yes/no) subgroups were found on any of the three measures of adherence. The power to detect a significant difference (alpha = 0.05) was calculated to be 0.89. Group cognitive-behavioral treatment appears to be the basis of an effective smoking-cessation program for women with a history of depression who are not currently depressed.

Forty women smokers were randomly assigned to smoking cessation for a 10-day period of time, either during the follicular or the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. Measurements of dietary intake and body weight were collected during the same phase the previous (smoking as usual) month and during the cessation phase. Physical activity was controlled across the 2 months. Comparisons between the smoking and cessation months indicated that both groups increased their dietary intake during the cessation month, but no interaction occurred between phase and month. That is, women in both groups increased dietary intake to the same degree. All energy nutrients tested (fat, complex carbohydrates, and sugar) increased significantly from baseline to cessation. Conversely, body weight increased by 1.8 kg (4 lb) in the Luteal group, while weight remained stable (0.1 kg change) in the Follicular group.

Participants in an 8-session, community based smoking cessation intervention rated whether they would stay quit if they experienced weight gain. The majority reported that they would not relapse to smoking, even after a 20-lb, (9.07-kg) weight gain. Those who were weight concerned were more likely to be female, to weight less and be normal or underweight, and to report chronic dieting. This group was also significantly less likely to be abstinent posttreatment, and at the 1-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Individuals presenting for formal smoking cessation interventions may be less weight concerned than the general population of smokers. However, weight-concerned smokers who do present for treatment are less likely to quit smoking. Implications for recruitment and intervention are discussed.

Estimates of postcessation weight gain vary widely. This study determined the magnitude of weight gain in a cohort using both point prevalence and continuous abstinence criteria for cessation. Participants were 196 volunteers who participated in a smoking cessation program and who either continuously smoked (n = 118), were continuously abstinent (n = 51), or who were point prevalent abstinent (n = 27) (i.e., quit at the 1-year follow-up visit but not at others). Continuously abstinent participants gained over 13 lbs. (5.90 kg) at 1 year, significantly more than continuously smoking (M = 2.4 lb.) and point prevalent abstinent participants (M = 6.7 lbs., or 3.04 kg). Individual growth curve analysis confirmed that weight gain and the rate of weight gain (pounds per month) were greater among continuously smoking participants and that these effects were independent of gender, baseline weight, smoking and dieting history, age, and education. Results suggest that studies using point prevalence abstinence to estimate postcessation weight gain may be underestimating postcessation weight gain.

This experiment evaluated the efficacy of television delivery of a behavioral weight reduction program. Seventy-one overweight adults were randomly assigned to a live-contact weight loss group that was videotaped for viewing by other groups, a live-contact group that was not videotaped, a television-delivered group that observed the videotaped weight loss sessions, or a waiting-list control group. Participants in all 3 treatment groups lost significantly more weight during the 8-week treatment program than those in the waiting-list control group. There was no significant weight loss differences among the 3 treatment groups during the program. These weight changes were maintained at 3-month follow-up. At 15-month follow-up, the television-delivered group and the live-contact group maintained their weight losses, whereas the videotaped group did not. Cost-effectiveness analyses indicated that the television-delivered group received the most cost-effective treatment.

While we might debate the role of sport in our culture, its influence is certainly pervasive. Each day millions of Americans engage in some form of competition, training, or physical exercise. Such popularity and the value our culture places on competition have made sport a valid area of psychological inquiry. Within the cognitive behavioral model, sport psychology and, specifically, athletic performance enhancement have experienced vigorous growth over the past two decades. Behavior change strategies familiar to most cognitive behaviorists form the core of virtually all athletic performance enhancement interventions. Goal setting, imagery or mental rehearsal, relaxation training, stress management, self-monitoring, self-instruction, cognitive restructuring, and modeling interventions dominate this literature. Our examination of these performance enhancement programs, both through a qualitative review and the Whelan et al. (1989) meta-analysis, supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral interventions for the enhancement of sport performance. First, the average effect size across the empirical literature indicates that these interventions are reliably effective. Furthermore, this positive result is observed across variations in treatment conditions, control conditions, and across different types of dependent measures. Evidence on goal setting, imagery, arousal management, cognitive self-regulation, and packaged programs specifically support the behavior change efficacy of these interventions. These findings are encouraging, but much work needs to be done. Few investigators cited in this review attend to crucial internal and external validity issues. Attention to treatment integrity, including training of behavior change agents, verification of intervention implementation, and verification of reception of the treatment, is sorely lacking. Psychological skill development and its relationship to performance improvements are rarely checked. Now that cognitive behavioral interventions appear to be reliably effective at posttreatment, we must have meaningful evaluation of maintenance of psychological skill and performance changes. Six-month, 12-month, and longer follow-up evaluations are necessary. We must also begin more detailed evaluations of these effective interventions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

This experiment examined the metabolic effects of smoking during rest and light activity under naturalistic conditions. Thirty-nine male subjects first completed a submaximal graded exercise treadmill test to standardize activity level. Then 3 groups of subjects--smokers smoking (SS), smokers not smoking (SNS), and nonsmokers (NS)--were exposed to 3 stages of rest or 3 stages of light activity with order of rest or activity randomly determined over 2 different days. Energy expenditure was monitored continuously during these sessions. Significant increases in smokers' energy expenditure were observed during light activity when compared with smokers not smoking and nonsmokers. No differences were identified among groups at rest. These findings strengthen the conclusion that smoking or its components contribute to metabolic changes during typical levels of daily activity and suggest a mechanism for the frequently observed relationship between smoking status and body weight.

Childhood depression, anxiety, and aggression assessment instruments were examined in a sample of 8- to 11-year-old elementary school children. A multitrait-multimethod design was used to evaluate self-, parent-, teacher-, and peer-report on each of the three traits. Results found the measures exhibited significant convergent and discriminant validity for both boys and girls. However, different patterns in convergence among the information sources emerged between boys and girls. Both the intercorrelations and the analyses of variance documented significant method variance. The implications of the high method variance or source bias in the assessment process are discussed. It is argued that investigators employ confirmatory factor analyses in evaluation of multitrait-multimethod data.

This study examined the relative efficacy of cognitive-behavioral and behavioral treatment approaches for bulimia nervosa. Female bulimic Ss were randomly assigned to cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, or attention placebo conditions. At posttreatment, 92% of the cognitive-behavioral group, 100% of the behavioral group, and 69% of the nonspecific self-monitoring group were abstinent from binge eating-purging. At 6-month follow-up, 69% of the cognitive-behavioral group, 38% of the behavioral group, and 15% of the nonspecific self-monitoring group were abstinent from binge eating and purging. The results support the conceptualization of bulimia nervosa as a multifaceted disorder best treated with an approach that directly addresses maladaptive cognitions, problematic behaviors, and the development of more adaptive coping skills.

The relationship between smoking status and body mass index (weight/height) was evaluated, controlling for demographics, dietary intake, and physical activity. Subjects were 10,778 adult respondents from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II). Results indicate that never smokers and long-term quitters had similar relative body weights and that low-rate current smokers were not significantly different from never smokers. However, both medium- and high-rate current smokers weighed less than nonsmokers and low-rate smokers. When medium- versus high-rate smokers were contrasted, sex interacted with results. Specifically, weight-control properties of smoking were more pronounced in women than men. It is proposed that future research should more closely evaluate metabolic changes as a function of smoking status.

The effects of nicotine chewing gum and cigarettes on resting energy expenditure (REE) were evaluated. Twenty smoking women participated in nicotine gum and smoking administration, after which their REEs were measured. Results indicate an acute increase in REE for both nicotine gum and cigarettes. Metabolic rates for nicotine gum slowly returned to baseline, whereas rates for cigarettes quickly dropped and fell significantly below baseline. Thus, the metabolic effect of nicotine gum was greater than the effect of smoking.

This investigation evaluated the measurement reliability and reactivity of repeated measurements of resting energy expenditure using different methods of data collection. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to either face mask, mouthpiece/nose clip, or ventilated canopy collection systems for 45 min a day over 3 days. Results indicated that there were no significant differences among data collection systems nor were there any differences either within or between systems over time. Across all three days of measurement, the first 5 min of data collection on all systems were reactive compared to the subsequent 40 min of assessment. Analyses indicated that acceptable reliability coefficients were obtained after 20 min of continuous data collection in the ventilated canopy and after 40 min with the face mask after a 5-min acclimation period. The results suggest that, following an acclimation period, a single 20-min assessment of resting energy expenditure in both a face mask and ventilated canopy are stable and reliable.

This investigation evaluated the effect of phenylpropanolamine on the weight gain associated with 2 weeks of abstinence from smoking. Subjects were 57 adult female cigarette smokers who were randomly assigned, in a double-blind procedure, to chew gum with phenylpropanolamine or placebo gum, or to chew no gum. After a baseline assessment, subjects were paid to quit smoking for a period of 2 weeks. Forty-one (72%) of the 57 subjects were successful in quitting smoking for the 2-week period. Results indicated that, relative to the other two conditions, abstinent subjects receiving phenylpropanolamine gained 1.5 to 1.9 pounds less weight (p less than 0.05). In addition, abstinence rates were higher (p less than 0.03) and dietary intake lower for subjects receiving phenylpropanolamine (p less than 0.05) relative to the other two conditions. No changes in physical activity were observed. It is concluded that phenylpropanolamine may help reduce weight gain associated with smoking abstinence and in this way may enhance smoking cessation efforts in certain individuals.

Carbon monoxide (CO) in expired breath is a common strategy for verifying smoking abstinence. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the comparability of two carbon monoxide (CO) analyzers: the commonly used Ecolyzer Series 2000 analyzer versus the new, highly portable, and less expensive Ecolyzer Model 210. Fifty-eight CO readings were obtained from 29 subjects (17 smokers, 12 nonsmokers) and analyzed on both systems simultaneously. Results indicated that the analyzers yielded highly comparable values for both smokers and nonsmokers. Moreover, the correlation between the two units' readings was very high (r = .92, p less than .001). There was, however, a significant analyzer by sex interaction with the Series 2000 analyzer yielding higher values for males. Overall, it was concluded that the Series 210 analyzer is a highly accurate and cost-effective instrument.