Body art and Russian Roulette were found to be intertwined in an East Tennessee State study (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 186(8), pp. 503-4 [Aug. 1998]) of 40 psychiatric patients. The study found a strong correlation between Russian Roulette (a game in which one spins the cylinder of a revolver loaded with only one bullet, aims the muzzle at one's head, and pulls the trigger) and the types and number of tattoos and body piercings. Of body-decorated patients, 10 percent played Russian Roulette, 20 percent saw another play and die and 35 percent saw it played without death or injury. In the control group, none had played, and 5 percent saw it played. As artistically violent themes and the number of TATTOOS increased, all forms of VIOLENT BEHAVIOR increased. The findings are particularly important given new attention to risk assessment in adolescent populations, particularly those from frontier cultures with access to weapons...

A study of EFFECTS OF SMOKING one MARIJUANA cigarette examined the drug's impact on 10 healthy male volunteers who had recently lit up (Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 60(4), pp. 777-784 [1998]). On three separate days, subjects smoked one marijuana cigarette containing either 0 percent, 1.8 percent, or 3.6 percent of the drug. Data were collected before smoking, following smoking that day, and the next morning. Researchers examined whether marijuana caused subjective (feeling high, drunk, or impaired), physiologic, and performance (physical response to visual cues, spatial reasoning, rapid arithmetic, logical reasoning) changes. Findings demonstrated that effects lasted longer and disappeared more slowly in the higher dose concentrations. Yet, other than eye movements, performance measures were not affected by smoking one cigarette. Effects were short-lived and not present 24 hours later. The study suggests that the dose of marijuana, the complexity of the tasks, and the subject's drug history are important determinants for residual effects...

Tomorrow's criminal responsibility questions may require familiarity with the effects of designer drugs popular among 1990s partiers. A study investigating the ACUTE PSYCHOLOGICAL and cardiovascular EFFECTS and short-term sequelae of 3,methylenediexymethamphetamine (MDMA, or ECSTASY) found the drug produced a different profile than that of classic hallucinogens and psychostimulants (Neuropsychopharmacology, 19(4), pp. 241-251, [1998]). In 13 drug naive volunteers who took a typical recreational dose of MDMA (1.7 mg/kg), the drug created a state of enhanced mood associated with heightened emotional sensitivity, moderate derealization, depersonalization, disorganized thinking, and marked increases in physical initiative. Blood pressure rises were moderate; more common was poor concentration, impaired balance, and restlessness. Notably absent was violent behavior...

A study of MALE ERECTILE DYSFUNCTON (MED) sought to determine whether MED is ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, and whether this association is independent of aging and para-aging factors (Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, pp. 458-465 [1998]). Data were drawn from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. Depressive symptoms, scored on the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale were used as a predictor of MED, which was assessed with a self-administration questionnaire returned by a random sample of over 1700 men aged 40-70. Moderate to complete erectile dysfunction was over twice as likely associated with depression. Findings were that the relationship between depressive symptoms and MED in middle-aged men is robust and independent of important aging and para-aging factors such as demographic (age, marital status, employment change, education) and lifestyle (frequency of sexual thoughts, smoking, alcohol intake) factors, health status (diabetes, ulcer, heart disease, blood pressure), medication use, and hormones (serum testosterone). Will this association bring more men forward to receive antidepressant treatment? It is only a matter of time before Viagra is examined for its antidepressant qualities...

Those who treat, and those who incarcerate mid-adolescent males with high degrees of antisocial behavior agree how difficult it can be to reverse the wild teen's inexorable slide into escalating criminality. Researchers recently compared the effectiveness of systematic group care (GC) and MULTIDIMENSIONAL TREATMENT FOSTER CARE (MTFC), with interesting results. The study examined their relative IMPACT ON CRIMINAL OFFENDING, incarceration rates, and program completion outcomes for male adolescents with histories of chronic, serious juvenile delinquency (J. Consulting Clinical Psychology, 66(4), PP. 624-633 [1998]). Results of this look at the lives of 79 young men indicate that participation in MTFC (which includes individual and family therapy and social skills training) produced more favorable outcomes than GC. MTFC boys had significantly fewer criminal referrals, ran away less, completed their programs, and returned to live with relatives more often...