Narcotic addiction in the newborn: differences in behavior generated by methadone and heroin.

The nutritive sucking performance of congenitally addicted infants undergoing narcotic withdrawal was used to provide objective measures of adaptive behavior in a series of 50 infants born to mothers addicted either to heroin or methadone. Sucking rates as well as average pressures developed during sucking were significantly reduced for the addicted infants relative to a control group born to normal mothers and a second control group born to toxemic mothers. The subgroup of infants born to methadone-addicted mothers was significantly more depressed with regard to sucking behavior than the infants of heroin-addicted mothers. Furthermore, infants treated with paregoric (an opiate) for symptoms of the narcotic withdrawal syndrome showed significantly less depression of the sucking response than those treated with sedatives such as phenobarbital.     

Culture and the self: implications for the perception of depression by Australian and Vietnamese nursing students

The theoretical influence of self-concept on cognitive and emotional aspects of behaviour was tested in an exploratory survey of 187 Australian and Vietnamese student nurse participants Symptoms of depression were depicted in either a family scenario or a context-free list and were rated for perceived depression utilizing the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) Narrative data were also obtained Australians perceived significantly more depression than the Vietnamese who normalized the behaviours There was a significant interaction between culture and the context of depression, whereby the Vietnamese, in contrast with the Australians, perceived greater depression in the family scenario than in the list Thematic analysis of narrative data assisted interpretation by revealing Vietnamese themes of family and disruption of social harmony, philosophical and temporal approach to life and judgementalism Australians were more focused on individual concerns such as psychological disturbance and the need for independence Implications for transcultural nursing were drawn