RSK Assessments (United States)

Abstract Impulsivity is a multifaceted trait that influences life outcomes such as financial stability, purposefulness, and connection. The current study examined the relationship between impulsivity and changes in social network during older adulthood. We employed data gathered over the span of three years from participants who were part of the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network. Impulsivity-related traits, such as self-discipline, deliberation, and excitement-seeking, were also assessed to determine more specific associations with the size and stability of older adults’ inner circle, middle circle, and outer circle social ties across two time points. Social circle information was collected from participants (n = 815, mean age: 62.5 years) across two waves, and the NEO Personality Inventory served as the baseline for the level of impulsivity and impulsivity-related traits. Results indicated that global impulsivity showed no significant associations with inner or middle circle size, or with overall social changes over time. However, the facet of self-discipline was positively related to the number of inner circle members at Wave 1 (r = .08) and Wave 2 (r = .07), and to middle circle members at both waves (r = .09 each). Additionally, deliberation was associated with fewer individuals dropping out of the inner circle over time (r = –.08). Excitement-seeking though showed no significant correlations. These findings suggest that viewing impulsivity as a singular variable would be insufficient, as it could obscure potentially relevant trait-level associations. Moreover, self-discipline and deliberation could prove important for maintaining and growing social networks in older adulthood.

The covariance index method, the idiosyncratic item response method, and the machine learning method are the three primary response-pattern-based (RPB) approaches to detect faking on personality tests. However, less is known about how their performance is affected by different practical factors (e.g., scale length, training sample size, proportion of faking participants) and when they perform optimally. In the present study, we systematically compared the three RPB faking detection methods across different conditions in three empirical-data-based resampling studies. Overall, we found that the machine learning method outperforms the other two RPB faking detection methods in most simulation conditions. It was also found that the faking probabilities produced by all three RPB faking detection methods had moderate to strong positive correlations with true personality scores, suggesting that these RPB faking detection methods are likely to misclassify honest respondents with truly high personality trait scores as fakers. Fortunately, we found that the benefit of removing suspicious fakers still outweighs the consequences of misclassification. Finally, we provided practical guidance to researchers and practitioners to optimally implement the machine learning method and offered step-by-step code. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Abstract Emergency health‐based limits were demanded worldwide following the Bhopal, India disaster in December 1984 when 30 tons of methyl isocyanate were released in an act of sabotage killing some 3500 residents. Prior to 1987, the only short‐term limits readily available were the NIOSH IDLHs which were used to assist workers in selecting respiratory protection. No guidance levels existed for the general public. In 1987, the American Industrial Hygiene Association sponsored the development of Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (EPRGs) as health‐based levels for the general public for a 1‐h exposure following an industrial accident, act of terrorism, or transportation incidents such as a train derailment or tanker truck traffic accident. Such incidents would be rare, perhaps once in a lifetime, and would present an exposure scenario in which the dispersion cloud would present an immediate threat to health for 1 h during which the public escape further exposure or shelter in place. EPA and other government agencies developed Acute Emergency Guidance Levels (AEGLs) from 1996–2011. No AEGLs are being developed, completed, or updated since 2011. For ERPGs and AEGLs, there are three levels of concern: Level‐3—threshold for lethality; Level‐2—threshold for incapacitation or irreversible toxicity; and Level‐1—threshold for mild toxicity or offensive odor. Acute inhalation toxicity data in animals provides important information for Level‐3, while incapacitation data and the onset in irreversible toxicity are important Level‐2 considerations. Irritation and annoyance data are important in setting Level‐1.

The relationship between water (W) content and silicon (Si) content of silicone-hydrogel (SiHy) contact lens materials was inspected using identical methodologies, equipment, and operators for materials composing 16 types of commercially available SiHy contact lenses. Fluorine (F) content was included in the analysis for the three materials also containing a fluoropolymer. One type of lens consisted of a bulk SiHy material coated with thin layers of conventional hydrogel. SiHy materials were obtained in the form of 16 contact lens brands purchased on the open market in a common range of refractive powers from -3 to +6 D in single lots. All test lenses were equilibrated at room temperature in a standard saline recommended in the American National Standards Institute Z80.20-2016 and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 18369-4:2017 standards. W content was obtained gravimetrically, in %, according to those standards for 16 lenses of each SiHy material. Si content was determined in % using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy for four digested lenses of each material. F content was determined in % using an ion-selective electrode for four combusted lenses of each of the three fluorinated SiHy materials. W and Si contents of the bulk SiHy material of the coated lens were estimated by computational exclusion of the hydrogel layers. The linear coefficients of determination (R, n=16) were -0.7576 (relating mean dry Si content [n=4] to mean W content [n=16]) and -0.8819 (relating mean hydrated Si content [n=4] to mean W content [n=16]). When the 4 SiHy materials that were fluorinated or coated were excluded from the analysis, the R values (n=12) were -0.8869 and -0.9263, respectively. When F contents and the coating were added to the assessments, the linear coefficients of determination (R, n=16) became -0.8948 (relating mean dry [Si+F] content to mean W content) and -0.9397 (relating mean hydrated [Si+F] content to mean W content). There is a fundamental negative linear relationship between Si and W contents for SiHy contact lens materials above 35% W content that is followed when F content and hydrogel coatings are empirically added to the analysis below 35% W content. The relationship was tightest for hydrated (Si+F) content and W content, for which the regression equation had an R of -0.9397: (Si+F)=-0.3073 (W)+22.148. The relationship between (Si+F) and W therefore seems to be based on composition rather than structure of available SiHy contact lens materials.

ABSTRACTThis study evaluated the clinical utility of a brief 6-item screen in identifying risk for DSM-5 substance use disorder (SUD) among a sample of male juvenile justice offenders. Data derived from routine clinical evaluations of 503 consecutive admissions (88.1% White) to juvenile detention facilities and diversion courts in a New England state were used for the present analysis. All juveniles were administered the 6-item screen as part of a structured diagnostic interview to assess for SUD indications and common co-occurring mental health conditions, and identify potential treatment needs subsequent to involvement in the state system. Results revealed that a cut-score of 3+ yielded sensitivity estimates of 94.4% and 87.1% for a severe diagnosis only, and moderate or severe diagnosis, respectively. A 3+ cut-score resulted in specificity estimates ranging from 86.9%–94.2% depending on the targeted diagnostic category. Internal consistency, as evidenced by Cronbach’s alpha, was excellent (α = .915).

Background: A significant amount of research has been conducted on the association between demographic background characteristics and substance use treatment outcomes among adults, but this body of work has not yet examined how multiple factors in combination magnify the risk for post-treatment substance use.Methods: The current study utilized a sample of 12,320 adults drawn from the Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Outcome Research (CATOR) system to investigate how multiple demographic risk factors increase the likelihood of substance use after treatment.Results: A series of bivariate analyses and multivariate binary logistic regression results demonstrated a clear pattern of increased risk in the presence of a greater number of positive demographic risk factors. These demographic risk factors also amplified the risk of post-treatment substance use in the presence of additional clinical indicators of treatment prognosis.Conclusion: Select patient demographic background characteristics must be taken into consideration in the early treatment planning stages to improve long-term clinical outcomes.

Are psychologists sufficiently knowledgeable about the combinations and patterns of behavioral health conditions among adolescents in the juvenile justice systems? This study reports the findings of information collected through the use of a structured diagnostic interview used in routine evaluations within a state's juvenile justice system. The interview covers 7 conditions in sufficient detail to construct diagnostic algorithms for statistical analyses. Anonymous data from cases involving 519 males and 78 females contained data on major depression, manic episodes, panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and substance dependence. RESULTS showed that 92% of males met criteria for at least one disorder and 32% met criteria for three or more conditions. For females, the results were 97% and 60%, respectively. The findings suggest that routine assessment of adolescents entering juvenile justice systems should be a universal practice. Failure to identify and treat the conditions present is likely to result in further problems for the adolescents and future costs to society. Language: en

ABSTRACT Well-use histories were obtained and dermatological examinations were conducted for 3,179 of the 3,228 (98.5%) residents of 3 villages in Inner Mongolia with well water arsenic levels as high as 2,000 ppb (ug/L). Eight persons were found to have skin cancer, 172 had hyperkeratoses, 121 had dyspigmentation, 94 had both hyperkeratoses and dyspigmentation, and, strikingly, none had Blackfoot disease. All 8 subjects with skin cancer also had both hyperkeratoses and dyspigmentation. Arsenic levels were measured for 184 wells and individual well-use histories were obtained. Arsenic exposure histories were summarized as both highest arsenic concentration (highest exposure level for at least 1-year duration) and cumulative arsenic exposure (ppb-years). Sixty-nine percent of the participants had highest arsenic concentrations below 100 ppb; 71% had cumulative arsenic exposures below 2,000 ppb-years. Exposure-response analyses included frequency-weighted, simple linear regression, and most-likely estimate (hockey-stick) models. Skin cancer cases were only found for those with a highest arsenic concentration greater than 150 ppb, and those with exposure less than 150 ppb had a statistically significant deficit. A frequency-weighted model showed a threshold at 150 ppb, and a hockey-stick model showed a threshold at 122 ppb. Considerations of duration, age, latency, and misclassification did not appear to markedly affect the analysis. The non-malignant skin findings showed thresholds of 40–50 ppb in the hockey-stick models. Application of these analytic models to the data from other epidemiological studies of arsenic ingestion and malignant and non-malignant skin disorders can be used to examine patterns of arsenic carcinogenicity.