The International journal of the addictions最新文献

Clients of a methadone-maintenance clinic in Brooklyn, New York participating in a clinically-guided self-help (CGSH) program plus standard treatment (methadone maintenance plus individual counseling) demonstrated statistically significant changes in locus-of-control beliefs, from external to internal causation, about personal responsibility for drug misuse. Members of two control groups--one participating in a didactic lecture program plus standard treatment and the other receiving only standard treatment--failed to demonstrate similar changes. This increase in internal locus of control in the CGSH group suggests the potential efficacy of CGSH as a relapse-prevention therapeutic technique.

Research on adults has documented that use of medical services decreases after initiation of treatment for alcohol problems, but little is known about this relationship among adolescents. We studied utilization and costs of care following participation in the Adolescent Chemical Health Program (ACHP) of Kaiser Permanente, Northwest Region, in 1986-88. Three groups of adolescents (and their parents) were identified: adolescents who were assessed and initiated treatment in ACHP (n = 561), adolescents who were assessed and recommended for treatment but did not return for treatment (n = 278), and adolescents with no known substance use problems (n = 381). Medical records were reviewed for 1 year pre- and 1.5 years postassessment. After adjusting for preassessment medical visits, severity of alcohol and drug use, gender, and age, analyses suggested that substance user treatment was not associated with reduced use of medical services or costs by either adolescents or parents.

Recent epidemiologic studies of the cognitive performance of injecting drug users have demonstrated the need to establish appropriate test norms for this population. This report provides normative data from a group of 150 injecting drug users on a battery of standardized tests of cognitive performance stratified by age group (range 20 to 49 years) and educational level (mean 11.6, standard deviation 2.0). The analysis also includes estimation of partial correlations between neuropsychologic test scores and age and education. The analysis demonstrates that age and education are important determinants of performance for several of these tests, and provides norms that may be of use as a reference for clinical evaluation and research in drug user populations.

This paper consider anecdotes obtained from researchers which relate to issues in cross-cultural studies. The anecdotes are described and the relevant cross-cultural issues are outlined and discussed. Recommendations are made to help researchers conduct studies which are more culturally sensitive.

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Sensation Seeking Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory were administered to 125 recovering drug users with three or more months abstinent from drugs. Subjects were divided according to drug preference: opiates, stimulants, marijuana, alcohol, and a polydrug preference. Opiate users were significantly higher in Susceptibility to Boredom. Alcohol misusers compared to a combined stimulant, opiate, and polydrug group were significantly lower in Extroversion and Susceptibility to Boredom. Subjects raised in drug/alcohol-using families scored significantly higher on Neuroticism and on the Positive Symptom Total of the BSI, and had a higher rate of suicidality.

Young adult alcohol problems based on DIS/DSM III diagnoses were predicted from a number of adolescent risky/antisocial behaviors in a sample of 693 subjects. The number of times an individual was intoxicated before his/her sixteenth birthday was the best indicator of adult alcohol "abuse" and /or dependence, with adolescent fighting, arrests, and lack of participation in religious activities also serving as important problem behavior predictors. Results of correlational and principal-components analyses of adolescent problem behaviors are similar to previous work on Problem Behavior Theory. The results suggest that prevention efforts should begin before adolescence, prior to the time when individuals are exposed to, or begin practicing, adult health-threatening activities.

The author raises the question of whether or not valid qualitative data on various aspects of drug use can be collected from recovering addicts in institutional settings. To address this issue the author explores the advantages of interviewing institutionalized, recovering addicts, and evaluates the following field practices: 1) using active street addicts as informants, 2) recruiting recovering addicts as "tour guides" (i.e., field escorts), and 3) employing "ex-addicts" as addict locators, data collectors, and data validators. The author concludes that collecting qualitative data about addicts in institutional settings is a legitimate, ethical alternative to finding and collecting data from street addicts and offers five recommendations to guide data collection and reporting.

This paper reviews some personal experiences as a researcher at the New York State University drug agency from 1969-70, and from 1973 to 1976, which offer a perspective into its operation and activities. In particular, the evaluation studies in which my staff and I were involved between 1973 and 1976 provide insight into the "misjudgment, mismanagement, and misrepresentation" (Inciardi, 1988, p. 547) that characterized the agency during this period. The agency's neglect to respond in a constructive manner to service delivery problems identified in these evaluation studies exacted a bitter price; and underscores the importance of agency maintenance of integrity in its various activities.