Sharp rises in overdose deaths nationally coincided with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rural Appalachia, known for high rates of substance use and barriers to health care in general, was suspected to be disproportionately impacted in terms of recovery supports such as 12-step recovery meetings. This study investigated the availability of recovery meetings in South Central Appalachia before and after COVID-19 lockdowns. The number of confirmed recovery meetings was compared before and after COVID-19 lockdowns by geographic location (i.e., rural/nonrural and medium metro/small metro/micropolitan/noncore). Recovery meeting data were systematically collected through interviews with community contacts, reviewing social media and websites, making phone calls, and sending emails and surveys and updated longitudinally. There was no significant change in the number of meetings from pre- (n = 189) to post-COVID-19 (n = 178). There was no significant shift in meeting location when dichotomizing by rural/nonrural classification, χ²(1) = 2.76, p = .097, π = −0.087. Chi-square test of independence did reveal a significant change in number of recovery meetings by location when using four location classifications, χ²(3) = 7.97, p = .047, Cramer’s V = 0.147. There was a noteworthy rise in the meetings in small metro (36.5%–51.1%), with all other locations declining. The establishment and reestablishment of recovery meetings in rural communities should be prioritized to address the longstanding scarcity of recovery resources in rural locations, recent decline in such support, and the rise in overdose deaths.

The current study was based on Hester and Jacquin’s (2011) study of juror bias in a trial in which a woman killed her abusive husband. Specifically, this study examined the influence of the husband’s alcohol use, the wife’s alcohol use, the wife’s diagnosis, and evidence of domestic violence on mock jurors (N = 518). Results indicated that the wife’s alcohol use impacted her negatively at trial. When she was intoxicated, jurors perceived her to be more to blame for her actions and for the abuse she received from her husband. Gender differences were present among mock jurors; females gave lower guilt ratings than males, suggesting that females sympathized with the female defendant.

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Objective: Gratitude, or thankfulness for positive aspects of life, is related to psychosocial well-being and decreased psychopathology, and may reduce suicide risk. We explored four potential hypotheses purported to explain the beneficial outcomes of gratitude (schematic, positive affect, broaden-and-build, and coping), hypothesizing that hopelessness (schematic), depression (positive affect), social support (broaden-and-build), and substance use (coping) would mediate the gratitude-suicide linkage. Participants: 913 undergraduate students from a mid-size, southeastern U.S. university. Methods: Respondents completed online self-report questionnaires including the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised, Gratitude Questionnaire, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Duke Social Support Index, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and Drug Abuse Screening Test. Results: Supporting theory and hypotheses, gratitude was related to less suicide risk via beneficial associations with hopelessness, depression, social support, and substance misuse. Conclusions: The linkage between gratitude and suicide risk appears to be predicated on the beneficial association of gratitude to negative mood and interpersonal functioning.

The estimated number of employees in the United Stated screened annually for illicit drugs is approximately 20 million, with marijuana being the most frequently abused drug. Urine adulterants provide an opportunity for illicit drug users to obtain a false negative result on commonly used primary drug screening methods such as the Fluorescence Polarized Immunoassay (FPIA) technique. Typical chemical adulterants such as nitrites are easily detected or render the urine specimen invalid as defined in the proposed federal guidelines for specimen validity testing based on creatinine, specific gravity and pH. Papain is a cysteine protease with intrinsic ester hydrolysis capability. The primary metabolite of the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, 11-norcarboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC-COOH), was assayed by FPIA in concentrations ranging from 25 to 500 ng/mL, at pH values ranging from 4.5 to 8, over the course of 3 days with papain concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 mg/mL. FPIA analysis of other frequently abused drugs: amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates, and phencyclidine, along with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of THC-COOH and high pressure liquid chromatography/ultraviolet detection (HPLC/UV) of nordiazepam was performed in order to determine if the mechanism of urine adulteration by papain was analyte specific. Control and adulterated urine specimens (n=30) were assayed for creatinine, specific gravity and pH to determine if papain rendered the specimens invalid based on the proposed federal guidelines. There was a direct pH, temperature, and time dependent correlate between the increase in papain concentration and the decrease in THC-COOH concentration from the untreated control groups (p<0.01). The average 72 hour THC-COOH concentration decrease at pH 6.2 with a papain concentration of 10 mg/mL was 50%. Papain did not significantly decrease the concentration of the other drugs analyzed with the exception of nordiazepam. GC/MS of THC-COOH and HPLC/UV of nordiazepam revealed a 66% and 24% decrease in concentration of the respective analyte with 10 mg/mL papain after 24 hours at room temperature (~23 °C). No adulterated specimens were rendered invalid based on the SAMHSA guidelines. Immediate FPIA analysis is suggested to minimize the interfering effects of papain with regards to primary drug screening.

Book Summary: Uniquely focused on the teacher-student dynamic, the Psychology of Classroom Learning: An Encyclopedia examines the fundamental psychological aspects of learning such as cognition, motivation, and emotion, as well as individual and environmental factors at work in the classroom. Teachers, school psychologists, those studying developmental and school psychology and the general reader will find nearly 300 alphabetically arranged essays examining how instruction and learning are affected by factors such as classroom management, multiculturalism, learning styles, home schooling, peer relationships, school culture, discipline, self-esteem, socioeconomic status, and more. In addition to these topical essays, biographical entries on leaders in educational psychology are included. This two-volume encyclopedia also offers statistical information in the form of charts and sidebars, synopses of recent research specific to essay topics, and images. Extensive cross-references, a glossary, and subject index are included.

Book Summary: Places school superintendents within the ongoing dialogue about the future of public education, from which they have been largely absent. Includes practical and theoretical assessments of how superintendents and administrators can move into the future.

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