bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Description of a Drug Studies Course Taught in a College Camp Setting
Authors: Timmel Gustave B.
Published: May 2005

For several years the College at Cortland, State University of New York, has offered a course in drug studies through its Health Science Department. During the 1971 summer session a section of this course was limited to people preparing to teach about drugs as a part of the State-mandated course in Health Education. The New York State Education Department provided stipends for students and paid those consultants who requested fees or expenses. One section of this course was conducted at the college's 250-acre Adirondack camp, the Huntington Memorial Camp.

Education law in New York State specifies that there be included in grades Kindergarten through 12 the study of Health. Drugs, in particular, are given a prominent part in this study.

The refreshing atmosphere of a well-equipped but otherwise unspoiled camp is described. Its probable effect upon learning, especially the development of attitudes toward drug education, is explored in this article. The nature of the course conduct and content are included, as well.
Memory Performance of Young, Middle, and Old Adults
Authors: Davis Donald D. , Friedrich Douglas D.
Published: May 2005

Young, middle-aged, and older adults were assessed on tasks operationally defining short-term memory structural limitations and process abilities. The tasks were typical of previously related memory research with children and adolescents: monaural and dichotic word lists of variant association structure and rate of presentation. Although a number of minor chronological age-related differences were noted between monaural and dichotic word list performances, the findings indicated both structural capacity and organizational strategy deficiencies over successive adult age groups. In addition, older adults indicated significantly more heterogeneity of performance variance, both between and within age group comparisons. Results were summarized within the Cattell-Horn developmental model of fluid and crystallized abilities.
An Assessment of Cooperative Learning used for Basic Computer Skills Instruction in the College Classroom
Authors: Keeler Carolyn M. , Anson Robert
Published: May 2005

This article reports research on the use of cooperative learning strategies in a computer skills lab course at the college level. An experimental design was used to compare the difference in learning performance and student retention in the course between a section taught using cooperative teams and one taught in the traditional individual learning format. Both sections were taught by the regular full-time professor. The results showed that both performance and retention were significantly improved with the use of cooperative learning. The study also included a measure of computer anxiety the analysis of which resulted in a significant interaction between section and anxiety for overall course grade percentage, the high anxiety students doing much better in the cooperative learning section than in the individual learning section. The high anxiety students all experienced a reduction in anxiety regardless of treatment. However, the change in anxiety was most dramatic for the high anxiety students in the cooperative learning treatment, their group mean fell within the low anxiety range at the end of the course.
Custodial Grandparenting: Stresses, Coping Skills, and Relationships with Grandchildren
Authors: Emick Michelle A. , Hayslip Bert
Published: May 2005

This cross-sectional study compared three groups of custodial grandparents, those raising problematic grandchildren, those raising “normal” grandchildren, and noncustodial grandparents to identify the unique challenges and expectations faced by custodial grandparents due to their nontraditional roles while attempting to disentangle grandparental role demands from child-specific problems as sources of distress. Those grandparents raising grandchildren demonstrating neurological, physical, emotional, or behavioral problems exhibited the most distress, the most disruption of roles, and the most deteriorated grandparent-grandchild relationships. Although custodial grandparents raising apparently normal grandchildren demonstrated less distress, less disruption of roles, and less deterioration of the grandparent-grandchild relationship than those grandparents raising grandchildren displaying problems, in these respects, they still demonstrated higher such levels than did traditional grandparents.
Parental Awareness: Knowledge and Attitudes toward Drug Use
Authors: Ritter David R.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of the article was to investigate parents' knowledge and attitudes concerning drug abuse. The results of the study suggest that factual knowledge and “liberal-conservative” attitudes toward drugs is significantly related to age. Sex of parent was also found to be a factor as was level of educational attainment. It was concluded that a comprehensive drug education program should include “education” of parents as well as children.
Organic Products in Advertising and Street Drugs
Authors: Swanson Jon Colby
Published: May 2005

The trend toward creating consumers for “organic” products now being widely advertised on television and in magazines is paralleled by a trend creating consumers for “organic” drugs. Young people have bought the idea that “if it's organic, it's safe.” In reality, most organic drugs are substantially different than alleged. It is important for a drug user to have a reasonably accurate idea of what drug he is actually taking.
Ego-Integrity versus Ego-Despair: The Effect of “Accepting the Past” on Depression in Older Women
Authors: Rylands Kylie J. , Rickwood Debra J.
Published: May 2005

The relative strength of the later-life personality process of ego-integrity, as operationalized by “accepting the past,” was tested as a predictor of depression in a multivariate model containing other well established predictors—age, social support, physical dependency, and positive and negative affectivity. Seventy-three older Australian women living in supported accommodation completed an anonymous, self-report questionnaire. The results showed that “accepting the past” was a significant predictor in the multivariate model, along with social support, physical dependency, and positive affectivity. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of investigating later-life personality processes as potential interventions for alleviating depression in older people.
The Human Element in Survey Research
Authors: Dean Laura Lee , Teresi Jeanne A. , Wilder David E.
Published: May 2005

This paper addresses itself to issues related to data collection in survey research with a community population. Areas discussed relate to practical human problems in conducting a community survey of a stratified random sample of people sixty-five years of age and over in New York City. Some of these problems occur in most large scale community surveys, but some are a result of special features of this particular study. Topics covered include difficulties encountered in obtaining interviews, maintaining the staff, and coordinating the research team in the ongoing U.S.-U.K. Cross-National Project.
Junior High Student Evaluations of Drug Education by Values and Traditional Oriented Teachers
Authors: Swanson Jon Colby
Published: May 2005

Student perceptions of teacher qualities show significant differences between drug education teachers trained by values clarification techniques and those trained by traditional techniques. Courses taught by these teachers were also perceived somewhat differently by the students who took them. A combination of lecture-discussion (traditional) methods and values clarification techniques would seem most appropriate.
The Alcoholic Teacher: A Growing Concern of the Next Decade
Authors: Zimering Stanley , McCreery Marianne
Published: May 2005

“No battle against a public health problem can gain a significant victory if it attends only to the casualties. Appropriate treatment of persons who are abusing alcohol—the primary condition that may lead to alcoholism—can intercept the development of many cases of alcoholism. Yet much of the work in the field of alcoholism has been focused on treating late-stage victims of the disorder. Programs that are exclusively therapeutic or rehabilitative will not result in long-term conquest of the problem unless ways of preventing new cases of alcoholism are developed.” [1]

The concept of prevention and early intervention in alcoholism is suggested in much of today's literature. Individuals beset with drinking problems need to be identified early enough in the disease process so as to prevent the physical and social destruction that is eventually evident. The early signs and symptoms of this disorder are not easily observed. An insidious pattern of lateness, family disorders, excuses, frequent visits to the doctor, poor performance on the job and perhaps job related accidents, befall this individual.
Is Age Becoming Irrelevant? An Exploratory Study of Perceived Age Norms
Authors: Zepelin Harold , Sills Randy A. , Heath Michael W.
Published: May 2005

To check on impressionistic assertions that the United States is becoming an “age-irrelevant society,” a quota sample of white-collar and blue-collar men and women (ages eighteen to seventy; N = 462) was studied with a questionnaire that asked for designation of the most suitable ages for various role transitions and age-related attributes. The findings converged with pertinent recent reports from more representative samples. Comparisons with findings in the 1950s indicated loosening of the norms, but with continuing adherence to a prescriptive timetable and with persistent socio-economic differences. These results challenge the notion of age-irrelevance.
Toward a Stage Theory of Adult Cognitive Development
Authors: Schaie K. Warner
Published: May 2005

Specifications are offered for a stage theory of adult cognitive development. It is argued that cognitive processes are differentially organized and expressed during periods labeled as acquisitive, achieving, responsible, executive and reintegrative. Current psychometric technologies may suffice for the description of cognitive behavior during the acquisitive and achieving periods. Such techniques are inadequate, however, to describe and understand cognitive function beyond young adulthood, and the development of novel technologies is suggested for the study of cognitive development in mid-life and old age.
Revitalizing Communities through Drug Education
Authors: Gregory Robert J.
Published: May 2005

The social structural problems in communities can be attacked through using the surface symptoms, such as drug abuse, to bring together concerned citizens. An educational experience can be designed which, besides giving information, provides experiences and opportunities to share in revitalizing the social patterns of the community. A case study, focusing on drug abuse, serves as a base for the description of the process of community education.
The Effects of High and Low Fear Messages about Drugs
Authors: Smart Reginald G. , Fejer Dianne
Published: May 2005

This paper reports two studies of the effects of high and low fear messages about drugs. In the first study three levels of threat appeal about marijuana were used. The interaction between the value of these messages and anxiety level was examined. The second study concerned attitudes toward a non-existent drug-MOT, on the expectation that attitudes to MOT would have few extraneous influences (outside the message itself). It was found that differences among the persuasive messages were very small and insignificant. However, the effects of fear level for MOT were very large and indicate that high fear appeals are superior. Where a new drug is involved it would be expected that a high threat will discourage use more than a low threat.
Predicting the End of Term Status of Community College General Psychology Students
Authors: Peters Richard D.
Published: May 2005

Nine hundred and thirty-five general psychology students from a Western community college were used to construct and validate a statistical model which would predict success or failure in a general psychology course. The researcher performed an exploratory analysis of twenty-eight predictor variables after which he concluded that age, high school grade point average, and composite ACT score were the best set of predictors, R2 = .34; p < .001, of status (i.e., success or failure). A multivariate predication model was fitted and diagnosed for reliability, χ2(8, N = 339) = 11.29, p < .20. The model was confirmed by comparing prediction error rates from two previous semesters of students with that of the model building rates. Overall predictability was 74 percent for both sets of data; however, a failure to predict failure rate ranged between 13 to 14 percent. After modification of the prediction rule, πh < .70, the rate dropped to 7 percent. Suggestions for interpretation and implementation of this model are discussed.
Charles Dickens' Old People
Authors: Charles Don C. , Charles Linda A.
Published: May 2005

Charles Dickens, rare among authors of any period, presented a host of elderly and old characters in his novels and stories. More than 120 such characters were identified, distributed among four levels of involvement (protagonist to minor role) and six categories of behavior (warm and sympathetic to villainous and threatening). The two-thirds male, one-third female characters tended to be concentrated at the minor, rather than major, levels of involvement in plots, but they represented a great range of behavior. Dickens' old people were fully engaged in life and society and were not age-stereotyped.
Frequency and Sequence of Drug Use: A Longitudinal Study from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood
Authors: Newcomb Michael D. , Bentler P. M.
Published: May 2005

Although drug use has been found to be acquired in a series of stages or steps, the exact nature of this progression has not been firmly established, nor has such a process been corroborated for life periods other than adolescence. In this study, drug use data obtained from 654 adolescents were used to examine changes and sequencing of drug involvement over an eight-year period from early adolescence to young adulthood. Cannabis use peaked during late adolescence; liquor, stimulants, and nonprescription medication increased steadily over the eight-year period; hypnotics and psychedelic use increased through late adolescence and remained stable through young adulthood; and early experimental use of cigarettes decreased to more committed use over the eight-year span. In a latent variable model that did not include nonprescription drugs and cigarettes, alcohol use significantly influenced later cannabis and hard drug use, whereas cannabis use predicted later hard drug use for the earlier life period. Only the cannabis effect remained at the older age period, when drug use patterns appeared to become more stable and firmly established. However, when cigarettes and nonprescription drugs were added to the model, quite different results emerged. Based on this more comprehensive analysis, it was concluded that: There are several interrelated mini-sequences of drug involvement; cigarettes play a prominent role as a gateway to cannabis and hard drugs; and at higher levels of involvement there is a synergistic or reciprocal effect of increasing involvement. Again, the later developmental period was much more stable with somewhat different patterns of influence.
Imitation in the Family: A Study of Older Parents and their Adult Sons
Authors: Fallot Roger D. , Mahl George F.
Published: May 2005

Older parents and their adult sons (fifteen father-mother-son triads) participated in this study which investigated whether imitative behavior is prominent in these families and whether interpersonal perceptions are related to the degree of imitation. Both perceptual and moral imitation tasks were used and personality descriptions were obtained on dimensions of activity, potency, and evaluation. Adult sons were found to imitate their parents on both tasks and particularly their fathers on moral issues. Older parents also were found to imitate their sons in a possible “reversal” of the direction of identification. Differential patterns of interpersonal perceptions were related to imitation for the three groups. Potential theoretical explanations are discussed.
The Responsibility for Retention: Perceptions of Students and University Personnel
Authors: Landrum R. Eric
Published: May 2005

A survey of 88 university personnel and 142 undergraduate students was conducted using a newly constructed Retention Questionnaire (RQ). The RQ was designed to assess the relative levels of student and university responsibilities for retention attributed by both students and university personnel. A comprehensive pool of 81 possible influences on retention were generated, and each participant rated each item with the percent of responsibility attributed to the university, and percent responsibility attributed to the student. For each item, percent of responsibility was rated for both groups, but in this study only university responsibility was analyzed. Results indicated that students and university personnel frequently differ in their perceptions of responsibility—and for some items, students expected more from the university than university officials. These patterns of results are discussed within the framework of how to address substantive retention issues on a college campus.
The Effect of a “Learner as Multimedia Designer” Environment on at-Risk High School Students' Motivation and Learning of Design Knowledge
Authors: Liu Min , Rutledge Keith
Published: May 2005

This study examined the learning benefits of a learner-as-designer environment simulating a real-world multimedia production house and its impact on at-risk high school students. It was found that the students showed a significant growth in their value of intrinsic goals. The experience helped students to acquire several critical design skills. What was most encouraging was that this experience of designing multimedia programs for real audiences provided many students, who were considered at-risk and could not otherwise succeed in schools, a way to pursue their own goals. It also appeared that such an environment offered a promising opportunity for students to exercise and develop their higher order thinking skills.
Older Men's and Women's Relationships with Adult Kin: How Equitable are they?
Authors: Peterson Candida C. , Peterson James L.
Published: May 2005

Recent research has shown that satisfying casual relationships and short-term intimacies among young adults tend to be characterized by mutual perceptions of global equity or a proportional subjective balance between each partner's overall inputs and gains. The present study extended the measurement of global equity perceptions to sixty-two elderly men's and women's relationships with their frequently-contacted spouses, adult children, and aged parents. A comparison group of forty younger adults likewise rated the equity of their marriages and relationships with elderly parents and grandparents. Results showed that the majority of both generations' involvements with all categories of immediate adult kin were seen as globally equitable. In addition, most departures from strict equity involved respondents feeling subjectively overbenefited rather than underbenefited. Theories of kinship exchange in longstanding and elderly relationships were considered. The possibilities either of subjective biases in longstanding intimates' perceptions and/or of a link between social disengagement and underbenefit during old age enabled reconciliation of the present findings with theoretical predictions.
Information on Blood Alcohol Concentration: Evaluation of Two Alcohol Nomograms
Authors: Werch Chudley E.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to compare the utility of two common alcohol nomograms (tables) on impacting decisions regarding drinking, driving after drinking, the development of knowledge of the relations between personal alcohol consumption and the legal level of intoxication, and consumer evaluation measures, compared to an alcohol information warning card. A total of 159 subjects (65 males and 94 females) attending a two-day health fair at a southern university participated in this study. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of five conditions by shaking a large plastic die at an alcohol information booth at the fair. Conditions included three treatments (two alcohol nomogram conditions, and one alcohol information card comparison condition), and two conditions of administration (brief instruction, and no instruction). Subjects completed an Alcohol Card Questionnaire six weeks after the conclusion of the health fair. Two commonly found alcohol nomograms were no more effective than an information card warning of the penalties for DWI offenses under new state laws. Subjects receiving the information cards were more likely to have made decisions about driving after drinking. A greater number of subjects who had not received brief instruction had read the card, compared to those who had received instruction. The implications of these results and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Alcohol Education Research and Practice: A Logical Analysis of the Two Realities
Authors: Goodstadt Michael S.
Published: May 2005

The assumptions underlying alcohol education programs, and the impact of such programs are examined from the perspectives of inferential and deductive logic. The inconclusiveness of empirical evidence concerning program effectiveness leads to the adoption of a position of “relative agnosticism,” according to which we can compensate for our state of empirical ignorance by giving greater attention to the deductive logic implied in the assumptions underlying alcohol education. Common flaws in the deductive logic of alcohol education are identified; a series of increasingly sound underlying syllogisms is proposed, leading to the establishment of (inductively and deductively) logically sound objectives and targets for alcohol education programs. A review of existing empirical evidence concerning effectiveness of alcohol education is combined with the outcome of the deductive-logical analysis, resulting in a series of explicit, realistic, recommendations for effective alcohol programming.
Adult Male Daydreaming across the Life Span: A Replication, Further Analyses, and Tentative Norms Based upon Retrospective Reports
Authors: Giambra Leonard M.
Published: May 2005

Using the Imaginal Processes Inventory, aspects of daydreaming and related mental activity were examined in a replication sample of males aged seventeen to ninety-one years. The characteristics of daydreaming obtained in an original sample were obtained in the replication sample thus supporting the outcomes reported earlier. Combining the original and replication sample allowed for some finer grained analyses and provided some tentative norms for the populations sampled. Some of the more salient outcomes were that with old age daydreaming does not increase or primarily focus on the past. Furthermore, at any age daydreaming does not concentrate on the weird, outlandish, and improbable. Factor analysis revealed a “Neurotic-Anxious Absorption in Daydreaming” factor inversely related to age. “Obsessional-Emotional Daydreaming,” “Personal Acceptance-Utilization of Daydreaming,” and “Imaginal-Emotional Intensity of Daydreaming” factors were also obtained and were unrelated to age.
Aging and Identity-in-the-World: A Phenomenological Analysis
Authors: Ainlay Stephen C. , Redfoot Donald L.
Published: May 2005

This paper uses a criticism of “objectivistic” approaches to aging and identity as a vehicle for a phenomenological rethinking of those topics. This phenomenological approach to “identity-in-the-world” as it is experienced in everyday life leads necessarily to a theory of the temporal limits of that experience in the aging process; that is, a theory of identity, properly understood, is already a theory of aging. It is concluded that this approach overcomes the parallel problems of objectivism versus subjectivism and biologism versus sociologism, demanding a rethinking of conceptions of human nature that have predominated in social science.
“Old Age Doesn't Come Alone”: Discursive Representations of Health-in-Aging in Geriatric Medicine
Authors: Coupland Justine , Coupland Nikolas
Published: May 2005

Traditional approaches to identity across the lifespan have assumed that age itself and generational statuses and roles determine “who we can be.” In contrast, a discursive perspective can show how, during interaction, we actively construct age-salient identities for ourselves and others through talk. Conversational processes of age-identity management are explored in a corpus of (United Kingdom) geriatric medical outpatient consultations. In diverse ways, doctors deny the age-relevance of medical troubles that their patients routinely endorse.
Learning and Reaction Time Performance in Older Veterans: Relationship to Attitudes and Life Satisfaction
Authors: Milligan W. L. , Powell D. A. , Furchtgott Ernest
Published: May 2005

Young (age 20–35) and old (age 55–70) veterans were tested on serial learning and reaction time tasks. Life satisfaction, attitudes toward older people, and physical and mental status were also assessed. Younger veterans showed better performance on both learning and psychomotor tasks than did older veterans. However, positive attitudes toward aging, and greater life satisfaction were associated with better performance on the behavioral tasks in the older group. Certain aspects of physical and mental status were also associated with better learning and reaction time scores in the elderly. These results suggest that age-related behavioral decrements may be related to psychosocial variables but that physio-medical factors may play a mediating role.
Subjective Time Experience in an Intergenerational Sample
Authors: Cooper Pamela E. , Thomas L. Eugene , Stevens Scott J. , Suscovich David
Published: May 2005

The roles chronological age and gender play in subjective time experience were explored in a sample of 294 adult men and women. Subjective time experience (STE: the difference between subjective age and chronological age) was found to vary widely among individuals, with some being “accurate” (SA = CA), and others either “retarded” (SA < CA) or “advanced” (SA > CA). Males were more retarded in STE than females at every point in the lifespan, and patterns of age differences in adulthood differed for the two sexes as well. The results suggest that chronological age may play a key role in transitions in STE, and that chronological age is more significant in the STE of women than in the STE of men.
Neural Networks for Readability Analysis
Authors: McEneaney John E.
Published: May 2005

This article describes and reports on the performance of six related artificial neural networks that have been developed for the purpose of readability analysis. Two networks employ counts of linguistic variables that simulate a traditional regression-based approach to readability. The remaining networks determine readability from “visual snapshots” of text. Input text is transformed into a visual pattern representing activation levels for input level nodes and then “blurred” slightly in an effort to promote generalization. Each network included one hidden layer of nodes in addition to input and an output layers. Of the four snapshot readability systems, two are trained to produce grade equivalent output and two depict readability as a distribution of activation values across several grade levels. Results of preliminary trials indicate that the correlation between visual input systems and judgements by experts is low although, in at least one case, comparable to previous correlations reported between readability formulas and teacher judgement. A system using linguistic variables and numerical output correlated perfectly with a regression-based formula within the error tolerance established prior to training. The networks which produce output in the form of a readability distribution suggest a new way of reporting readability that may do greater justice to the concept of readability than traditional grade equivalent scores while, at the same time, addressing concerns that have been voiced about the illusory precision of readability formulas.
Cooperative Learning: A Review of Factors That Increase the Effectiveness of Cooperative Computer-Based Instruction
Authors: Susman Ellen B.
Published: May 2005

Despite great expectations in the educational community, Cooperative Computer-Based Instruction (C-CBI) has not been shown to increase students's learning over individual CBI (I-CBI). These lack of findings may be due to the varied implementation of C-CBI. This meta-analysis concentrates on the presence of two factors, cooperative learning training and problem-solving CBI, in studies which compare C-CBI and I-CBI. The results of twenty-three studies were coded and effect sizes were calculated. Effect sizes were analyzed to determine if a greater difference exists between the cooperative and individual conditions when students were trained and used a problem-solving CBI. Results show that studies that included these elements have greater mean effect sizes ( es = .413) than the mean of all studies ( es = .251). This study provides more evidence that cooperative learning and problem-solving CBIs are important factors in increasing achievement, group interaction, and elaboration in C-CBI.
Can School-Based Educational Programs Really Be Expected to Solve the Adolescent Drug Abuse Problem?
Authors: Lohrmann David K. , Fors Stuart W.
Published: May 2005

The recommendation of a 1984 Rand Corporation report that the most effective way to prevent adolescent drug abuse is through preventive education is reviewed within the context of theories related to the causes of drug abuse integrated with the PRECEDE model of health education program planning. It is concluded that many of the variables which influence adolescents to begin use of psychoactive substances are not within the purview of schools. Therefore, the Rand recommendation should only be accepted if three conditions are met: 1) there should be a consistent governmental policy toward drug education including funding for curriculum development, teacher training, implementation, evaluation and maintenance; 2) there should be special educational intervention programs for high risk children; and 3) specific strategies should be developed and implemented to elicit active support from social institutions besides schools.
Patterns of Experienced Aging with a Finnish Cohort
Authors: Heikkinen Riitta-Liisa
Published: May 2005

A cohort study of eighty-year old residents in Jyväskylä (pop. 66,000), central Finland, was carried out in 1990 as part of the EVERGREEN-project. A total of 262 persons born in 1910 were interviewed in the cohort study. The survey data produced a fairly accurate picture of the respondents' objective situation. In order to shed further light on how the respondents felt about growing old, tape recorded narrative stories were collected from a subsample of twenty persons (10 women and 10 men). The stories revealed the subjective meanings and evaluations attached by the individuals concerned to their own aging. Being members of the same culture and the same age cohort, they also shared the same way of perceiving themselves and the surrounding world. It became obvious that there existed some kind of boundary conditions for the experience of aging. The model of boundary conditions for the experience of aging was developed on the basis of the narratives.
Conceptual and Methodological Shortcomings in Hypertext/Hypermedia Design and Research
Authors: Tergan Sigmar-Olaf
Published: May 2005

In commenting results of empirical research on learning with hypertext/hypermedia systems Jacobson et al. resume that “overall there has been limited empirical documentation of the educational efficacy of such systems” [1, p. 322]. The authors suggest that factors contributing to the provisional nature of research on learning with hypertext include, e.g., “lack of attention to relevant cognitive learning theory and research and methodological problems” [1, p. 322; 2]. Tergan has critically reviewed the theoretical assumptions underlying empirical hypertext/hypermedia research [3]. The present article discusses in detail conceptual and methodological aspects of research. It is suggested that because of inherent shortcomings in design and research the potential of hypertext/hypermedia for enhancing learning may have been underestimated. The expectation is that if existing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological shortcomings will be overcome one may expect new impulses which will be fruitful both for theory development, research, and the design of effective learning environments.
Alcohol: A Drug among Drugs
Authors: Lipscomb Wendell R.
Published: May 2005

A discussion of the motivational aspects of alcohol use progressing from the magical and spiritual to the scientific discussion of alcohol as a drug among drugs. Emphasis is placed upon the recognition of the two major groups of substances available for human use; the magical and non-magical substances. These are carefully contrasted in the text.

Alcohol is discussed in terms of a non-magical substance, satisfying all the stated criteria. Its use by people is determined by education, not legal control; by understanding it as one drug among many, it becomes one more human resource in the family of human resources. The article stresses the need to examine people and their choices rather than the substances they use.
Single and Multiple Patterns of Adolescent Substance Use: Longitudinal Comparisons of Four Ethnic Groups
Authors: Maddahian Ebrahim , Newcomb Michael D. , Bentler Peter M.
Published: May 2005

Patterns of drug use for 847 adolescents from four different ethnic backgrounds were examined over a five-year period. Eight distinct patterns of use were identified. In addition to a nonuser group, only one large single substance use group emerged; that for alcohol use. Almost 60 percent of the participants were multiple users of two or more types of substances. Black students had consistently the highest frequency of single-cigarette smokers and the highest frequency of multiple use of alcohol-cigarette-cannabis in the last two years of the study. Asian adolescents showed only the highest level of single-alcohol consumption in Year 1, which vanished over time. Hispanics and Whites consistently contained the highest number of multiple users of alcohol-hard drug with either cigarette or cannabis or both. Comparing the patterns of substance use at three points in time, there was a general increase in drug use, as well as three distinct directions of movement: Stability, regression and progression. Results were discussed in regard to an upward or downward mobility theory of drug involvement.
Temporality across the Life-Span
Authors: Cameron Paul , Desai K. G. , Bahador Darius , Dremel G.
Published: May 2005

In seven studies, 7300 U. S., 891 Iranian, 534 Indian, and 216 Ghanaese persons aged four to ninety-nine were interviewed regarding their consciousness. For U. S. nationals: (a) at any given moment, persons were most apt to be thinking about the present and least apt to be thinking about the past, (b) frequency of future-orientation declined while, (c) frequency of present-orientation inclined with age, (d) in “typical thought” persons generally thought further into the future (a few months) than into the past (a few weeks), but (e) regarding those things that persons often think about that have or are yet to occur, they thought further into the past (5 years) than into the future (a year), (f) frequency of future-orientation did not vary as a function of social class, while degree of claimed planfulness was greater among the higher social class, and (g) claimed planfulness was curvilinearily related to age, with those aged eighteen through thirty-nine scoring highest. There were cross-national differences.
Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral, Reminiscence, and Activity Treatments on Life Satisfaction and Anxiety in the Elderly
Authors: Scates Sharon K. Harp , Randolph Daniel Lee , Gutsch Kenneth U. , Knight Harold V.
Published: May 2005

This study involved an examination of effects of a cognitive-behavioral group condition, a reminiscence treatment group condition, and an activity group condition on anxiety and life satisfaction for senior citizens, aged sixty-five and older. No significant differences on life satisfaction and trait anxiety were found for the groups at pretest, posttest, and follow-up. A significant ANOVA for state anxiety at follow-up was followed by directional t-tests which were not significant in the predicted direction. The differences on state anxiety observed at follow-up appear to have resulted from improvement of the reminiscence group. Suggestions were made for further research on group treatment of the elderly.
Prevalence, Sources and Uses of Tranquilizers among College Students
Authors: Kleinknecht Ronald A. , Smith-Scott Janet
Published: May 2005

A survey of 344 college students revealed that 36.71 per cent reported having used minor tranquilizers. Among those who acquired tranquilizers by their own prescription, the vast majority used them for medically indicated purposes, while those who acquired them from others' prescriptions or from black market sources, tended to use them for pleasure or to get high. The most frequently cited non-prescription sources were from mothers for females and from friends for males. One half of male users and one fourth of female users reported driving while taking the drugs and nearly half (48%) of the male users reported combining alcohol with the tranquilizers.
Pretreatment Drug Use by Patients Entering Drug Treatment Programs during 1971–1973
Authors: Simpson D. Dwayne
Published: May 2005

Patterns of pretreatment drug abuse are described for 28,419 drug users who entered community-based treatment centers that participated in the national Drug Abuse Reporting Program during 1971–1973. Daily heroin use was reported by 60 per cent of the patients; one-third used daily heroin but no nonopioids, one-third used daily heroin and either cocaine, marihuana, or both, and the remainder used other nonopioids (particularly barbiturates) with daily heroin. Polydrug use (three or more nonopioids) was common among the patients who used no heroin or used it infrequently. As expected, polydrug use was most frequent among younger individuals, while daily heroin use (especially without other drugs) was increasingly prevalent among older age groups. Although alcohol use in at least moderate amounts was reported by only a third of the sample, it was most frequent among polydrug users, and was least frequent among daily users of heroin only. Within groups categorized by general patterns of illicit drug use, however, prevalence of alcohol use was higher among males than females, and increased with age.
Religiosity May Help Preserve the Cortisol Rhythm in Women with Stress-Related Illness
Authors: Dedert Eric A. , Studts Jamie L. , Weissbecker Inka , Salmon Paul G. , Banis Phyllis L. , Sephton Sandra E.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Fibromyalgia has been characterized as a basic disorder of endocrine stress responses in which psychological stress has been linked both with etiology and symptom severity. This study investigated associations of religiosity and spirituality with psychological and physiological (endocrine) measures of stress in a sample of women with fibromyalgia.

Method:

Ninety-one participants provided self-reports of religiosity and spirituality using the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and the Index of Core Spiritual Experiences (INSPIRIT). Psychological outcomes were measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and diurnal salivary cortisol profiles were measured as an indicator of neuroendocrine regulation.

Results:

Hierarchal regression analyses controlling for age and medications likely to affect cortisol levels revealed significant associations of nonorganizational religiosity and intrinsic religiosity with the diurnal cortisol rhythm. Patients reporting medium or high religiosity had rhythmic cortisol profiles characterized by high morning and low evening levels. In contrast, cortisol rhythms of those reporting low religiosity appeared flattened. The association between intrinsic religiosity and cortisol rhythm persisted after controlling for social support. No significant effects of religiosity or spirituality on perceived stress were observed.

Conclusions:

These data suggest that religiosity may have a protective effect on the physiological effects of stress among women with fibromyalgia.
Factors Associated with Public Health Nurses' Perceptions of Skill in Chemical Dependency Assessment and Referral
Authors: Reynolds Barbara , Ried L. Douglas
Published: May 2005

A public health nursing agency initiated plans to develop a program to improve nurses' skill in obtaining and evaluating drug-taking behavior and to improve nurses' actual referral behavior. The first step in the development of the program was identification of factors associated with nurses' perception of their assessment skill and their actual referral behavior. Level of formal education and “personal” experience with chemically dependent, significant others were not associated with nurses' perceptions of assessment skills. Participation in continuing education classes or workshops, years since graduation, and “working” experience were associated with nurses' perceptions. When joint influences were examined, chemical dependency classes, “personal” and “working” experience and years since graduation were all shown to have independent effects upon nurses' rates of referral. The predictor variables accounted for 41 percent of the variance in the perception of skill model and 22 percent of the referral rate model. It is concluded that in addition to chemical dependency classes, experiential training is needed in the training of public health nurses.
Factors Associated with the Drug Use of Fifth through Eighth Grade Students
Authors: Ried L. Douglas , Martinson O. B. , Weaver L. C.
Published: May 2005

This study examines demographic and psychosocial factors associated with drug use of fifth through eighth grade students ( N = 873). Nearly 28 percent of the students surveyed reported using cigarettes, alcohol or marijuana in the preceding four months. Associations with drug using peers had twice as much influence on drug use as the adolescent's own favorable drug use attitude. Both variables together explained 55 percent of the variance. Involvement in problem behaviors, beliefs about personal consequences of drug-taking, and adult and peer reinforcement and expectations were statistically significant and accounted for an additional 8 percent of the variance.
Storytelling as an Age-Dependent Skill: Oral Recall of Orally Presented Stories
Authors: Mergler Nancy L. , Faust Marion , Goldstein Michael D.
Published: May 2005

During experiment 1, three taped prose passages read by college student, middle-aged, or old tellers were orally recalled by college students in an incidental memory paradigm. More story units were remembered as the age of the teller increased ( r = +.642, p < .05). Comparison of these results, with prior research using written, as opposed to oral, presentation and recall of these stories, showed no differences in specific story units remembered. Teller age predicted recall on the two “storied” passages. These passages elicited more favorable comments from listeners when read by older tellers. The third, descriptive passage was less favorably regarded by listeners hearing older tellers. During experiment 2, taped storied passages read by middle-aged tellers were falsely attributed to young, middle-aged, or old persons before the college students listened. Incidental recall did not show an age of teller effect in this case, but the listener's evaluation of the speaker exhibited age-dependent stereotypes. It was concluded that 1) physical qualities of older voices lead to more effective oral transmission; 2) that one expects to receive certain types of oral information from older persons; and 3) that a mismatch between physical vocal quality and age attribution effects evaluation of the speaker, not recall of the information.
Usage Patterns of Nondrug Alternatives in Adolescence
Authors: Barnes Caroline Purcell , Olson James N.
Published: May 2005

This study examined the usage patterns of nondrug alternatives and obtained knowledge that will be beneficial to those involved in the “alternative” approach to drug abuse prevention and to those counseling in the drug rehabilitation area. The purpose was to identify the specific nondrug alternatives most generally used to achieve a specific mood or state of consciousness alteration. A questionnaire was designed exploring eight possible nondrug alternatives for altering the negative states of anxiety, depression and hostility, and for achieving the positive states of adventure, camaraderie and pleasure. The questionnaire was administered to 300 students, fifty males and fifty females from each of three age levels: 13–14; 15–16; 17–18. Analysis showed that social, physical, and risk-taking activities were used most frequently to achieve positive states and that distracting activity, discussion with friend, and personal contemplation were used most frequently to reduce the negative states. Few sex and age differences were found.
Social and Temporal Bases of Self-Evaluation in the Elderly: Theory and Evidence
Authors: Suls Jerry , Mullen Brian
Published: May 2005

With what standards do the elderly evaluate their abilities, and do these standards differ from those used earlier in the lifecycle? As in other stages of the lifecycle, two forms of information are important in making self-evaluations—social comparison and temporal comparison. Social comparison refers to comparisons with other persons to gauge one's relative standing, while temporal comparison refers to comparisons of one's present performance with past performances on similar tasks to gauge improvement or deterioration. This study proposes that temporal comparison standards are used more by the elderly than social comparison standards and that this represents a reversal of the tendency found earlier in life. Social, cognitive, and physical reasons for this shift in the manner in which important abilities and traits are evaluated are discussed. Relevant empirical research, which supports the hypothesis, is reviewed. Finally, we discuss how the present hypothesis has an important implication for understanding self-esteem and morale in the elderly.
An Empirical Investigation of CBI in Support of Mastery Learning
Authors: Montazemi Ali R. , Wang Feng
Published: May 2005

In spite of a large body of research, deep knowledge regarding the effect of computer-based instruction systems (CBI) is lacking. The objective of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of CBI in support of mastery learning. The analysis is based on 333 students who used a CBI system, called management information systems tutor (MIST), for a nine-week period. Results of the analysis show that the MIST helped students improve their performance. In addition, a significant relationship was observed to exist between a student's performance and time on task. However, some students neither reached mastery performance nor did any significant change in their time spent on task occur. This is contrary to the belief held by some researchers in the field of CBI. These results are analyzed with respect to findings from motivational and self-learning research.