Abstract

Cannabis is now the most widely used illicit substance in the world. Previous research demonstrates that cannabis use is associated with dysfunctional affect regulation and anxiety. Anxiety is characterised by attentional biases in the presence of emotional information. This novel study therefore examined the attentional bias of cannabis users when presented with anxiety-related stimuli. The aim was to establish whether cannabis users respond to anxiety-related stimuli differently to control participants. A dot-probe paradigm was utilised using undergraduate students. Trials contained anxiety-related stimuli and neutral control stimuli. Eye-tracking was used to measure attention for the stimuli. Results indicated that cannabis users demonstrated attentional-avoidance behaviour when presented with anxiety-related stimuli. The findings suggest a difference in processing of emotional information in relation to neutral information between groups. It would appear that cannabis users avoid anxiety provoking stimuli. Such behaviour could potentially have motivational properties that could lead to exacerbating anxiety disorder-type behaviour.

Abstract

This paper studies two Exemplary Novels written by Miguel de Cervantes, The English Spaniard and The Liberal Lover, focusing on the economic anxiety that existed at the time. The «abstraction» of money due to the emerging use of credit is part of a series of irreversible and significant changes that Europe experiences as a result of the gold extracted from the New World. This anxiety reveals itself, at the same time, a clear inestability in the economic and affective discourse of the period, expressed in the semantic moving that the narrative of the body and clothing expresses.

Abstract

The short version of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21, Lovibond y Lovibond, 1995) has been shown to have appropriate psychometric properties among Chilean adolescents and undergraduates. The current study was aimed at determining the cut-off scores of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) for screening Chilean youngsters at risk of mental health problems and requiring mental health treatment. The sample comprised 393 non-patients youngsters aged 15-24 and 77 youngsters at early stage of psychotherapy. The presence of symptoms was used as gold standard for estimating the cut-off betWeen non-symptomatic youngsters and symptomatic patients. Receiving Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses allowed examining accuracy of each scale and sensitivity and specificity analysis was performed for determining the cut-off points. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was higher than 0.9 for each scale of the DASS-21. The optimal cut-off score for the Depression scale was 6 and above, which resulted in sensitivity=88, 46 and specificity=86, 77, and a cut-off of 5 and above was optimal for the anxiety scale, with a sensitivity of 87, 50 and specificity of 83, 38.The Stress Scale had sensitivity of 81, 48 and specificity of 71, 36 at the optimal cut-off score of 6 and above. These findings suggest that the DASS-21 performs adequately as a screening tool to identify Chilean young people at risk of mental health problems.

Abstract

The paper aims to provide the basis for an estimation equation and will focus on the relation between transport emissions and air quality in an urban environment. This is directly related to the fact that most health impacts are related to local air quality levels. The aim of the paper is to create an understanding of the factors that play a role in the causal relation between transport emissions and health effects and provides approximations from existing studies that can be used to assess these health impacts and related costs. The paper focuses on the translation of air pollution levels into health impacts and health costs. The overall structure of the paper follows the two key steps and elaborates on the inherent challenges: (1) identify and measure the health effects of air pollution, and (2) to estimate the costs of the health effects. The paper is divided into four chapters: chapter one is introduction- outlining the goals and background to the project; chapter two gives impacts of air pollution from transport on health; chapter three presents valuation of health impacts- reviews the literature on how to value the impacts on health associated with air pollution; and chapter four gives guidelines for calculating the health effects of air pollution from traffic. Document type: Book

Abstract

This report provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities in addressing road safety in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. It presents information on the size, characteristics, and causes of the problem; presents evidence on the effectiveness of measures that countries world-wide have adopted to improve road safety; briefly describes current international road safety policy; and discusses a range of strategies and actions that could be undertaken by the World Bank in coordination and partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), multilateral development banks, other international agencies and donors, as well as with private and civil society institutions. A primary audience of this report is internal-particularly managers and staff of the World Bank working in the transport, health, education, and governance sectors, to raise awareness about the multisectoral nature of the road safety challenge and of effective options to address it. It proposes ways that the World Bank might engage more to support ECA countries in tackling this issue, working in partnership with other international agencies and donors. The secondary audience is external policymakers, senior analysts, program managers, and their advisers in the governments of ECA countries, private sector officials, and civil society and international organizations working in this field. The goal is to support discussion on appropriate choices and instruments for advancing the road safety agenda as a top development priority over the short and medium term.