bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Helping Agents' Attitudes Towards Alcohol‐related Problems: situations vacant? A test and elaboration of a model
Authors: LIGHTFOOT PETER J. C. , ORFORD JIM 
Published: January 2006

SummaryAn elaboration of Cartwright's (1980) model explaining agents' negative attitudes to responding to alcohol‐related problems (ARPs) is presented. Rather than Role Support, Experience, Education and Self‐esteem per se being seen as the main variables with effect on therapeutic attitude, it is argued that the effects of these factors are best viewed as contingent upon situational influences operating within agents' occupational contexts. An attempt was made to isolate some of these influences by comparing the work situations of 24 Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPNs) and 24 Social Workers. Correlational data suggested that an index of Situational Constraint, although it was not independent of Role Support and Experience, could reliably predict levels of attitudes towards ARPs. It was found that CPNs expressed significantly more positive therapeutic attitudes towards drinkers than either ‘long‐term’ generic, or medical, Social Workers, but were also working under less Situational Constraint. It is concluded that social workers do not attain such deep levels of involvement in ARPs as CPNs owing to their more constraining work environments. They are, therefore, less open to ARP educational events and are less likely to develop role support contacts. Recommendations for future role support provision and training programmes are briefly outlined.
Methods to Assess Alcohol Consumption in 68‐year‐old Men: results from the population study‘Men born in 1914’Malmö, Sweden
Authors: ISACSSON S‐O. , HANSON B. S. , JANZON L. , LINDELL S‐E. , STEEN B. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryAll men born in even months in 1914 (n=621) and living in the city of Malmö (230,000 inhabitants), Sweden were invited in 1982 to participate in a combined population study and health examination. Five hundred (80%) participated in the study. Two different methods were used to assess daily consumption of alcohol in grams: (1) questionnaire, (2) interview. Information on possible alcohol abuse was obtained by four different methods: (1) MAST‐score, (2) temperance board registration, (3) alcohol clinic registration, (4) gamma‐GT. No single method could identify heavy drinkers or alcohol abusers. For epidemiological purposes questionnaire methods will give good information on alcohol consumption. The value of gamma‐GT determination as a screening instrument of liver damage caused by alcohol in this age group is questionable.
Use and Misuse of the Concept of Craving by Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Researchers
Authors: KOZLOWSKI LYNN T. , WILKINSON D. ADRIAN 
Published: January 2006

Summary‘Craving’ is found in common usage as well as technical jargon. In ordinary use, the term refers to strong desire or intense longing. Recently the meaning of the technical term ‘craving’ has been stretched to include all dispositions of dependent persons to use the addictive substance. Some researchers have further extended the term to include dispositions to avoid the substance. We argue that the mismatch between the current technical use of ‘craving’ and its use in ordinary language is problematic and misleading in many cases. Examination of the literature on ‘craving’ reveals that the entity has been conceptualized in a variety of ways, each with implications for suitable research techniques. Whatever the model of ‘craving’, we urge scientists to be circumspect in their use of such a loaded term and to use it only for ‘strong desires’ to take drugs. To do otherwise can lead authors to make more of their findings than mould be supported by a more cautious use of words.
Drinking Place Selection Factors Among Drunk Drivers
Authors: SNOW RONALD W. , ANDERSON BRADLEY J. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryThe present study examined the stated reasons for selecting drinking places among convicted drunken drivers (N=7,149). Six drinking place selection factors were identified: entertainment, ambience, facilities, friendship, avoidance, and service. Relationships between these factors and the sociodemographic characteristics and drinking locations of the respondents were examined to determine why different subgroups of drunk drivers make trips to specific types of drinking places. Younger drunk drivers were more likely than others to report that they select drinking places for entertainment, facilities, and avoidance. Entertainment and friendship were especially important reasons for selecting drinking places among unmarried respondents. Drinking‐related trip‐making to bars or lounges appeared to be influenced by the desire for entertainment, friendship, and facilities; while service and ambience were related to the frequency of drinking in restaurants, and avoidance was related to the frequency of drinking in automobiles and parking lots.
An Evaluation of a Single Drink‐Driving Treatment Programme
Authors: FOON ANNE E. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryThe criminal records of individuals who were eligible to attend a drink‐driver treatment programme were obtained for the period 1978–1983. The programme was aimed at changing attitudes toward drinking and driving, rather than directly altering the drinking behaviour of participants. Of those eligible to attend (N= 381), 62% completed the course while 38% did not attend any sessions or failed to complete the programme. Significant differences between these groups were not obtained for any pre‐test measures, while differences were obtained between groups on the total number of crimes after treatment and the number of traffic‐related violations at post‐test, but not for any other outcome measure. Attendance at the course was not found to be related to subsequent decreases in drink‐driving offences. A possible explanation of this result is that the focus of educational treatments are too broad to achieve specific behaviour change for multiple drink‐driver offenders. Several factors made interpretation difficult; in particular, the absence of a control or comparison treatment group. Some suggestions for overcoming this and other related methodological problems in drink‐driving research, are given.
Alcohol‐related Problems Amongst Selected Hospital Patients and the Cost Incurred in Their Care
Authors: SCHEFFLER ANDREAS , FAWCETT ANNE , PUSHKIN JON , ZAHIR KAYVAN , MORGAN MARSHA Y. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryA retrospective comparison of the number of specified alcohol‐related discharges deaths from non‐psychiatric hospitals using Hospital Inpatient Enquiry and Hospital Activity Analysis dam for the North East Thames Region for 1982 indicated a discrepancy of 25% in principal diagnoses between these two official data sources. When second, third and fourth diagnostic categories for the same conditions were included, the magnitude of the discrepancy increased substantially. In the North East Thames Region 2,404 discharges/deaths in which alcohol played some role would not have been identified if only principal diagnoses had been examined. In 1983, 447 alcohol‐related discharges/deaths were recorded in Hospital Activity Analysis data from four District Health Authorities in the North East Thames Region which were estimated to have incurred a cost of £401,370. A further 349 discharges/deaths were recorded in which an alcohol‐related problems appeared in a subsidiary diagnostic category and these were estimated to have incurred a cost of £285,018. When facilities for direct surveying are not available. Hospital Activity Analysis data provider more detailed information than Hospital Inpatient Enquiry: data und should be used in preference for collecting information on disease prevalence and costings. Simple standardised computer programmers could be designed to allow for easier access to, and retrieval of information from, this data source.
Patterns of Drinking in a Small Development Town in Israel
Authors: ANTONOVSKY HELEN , HANKIN YAACOV , STONE DAVID 
Published: January 2006

SummaryThe two central questions investigated in this study were the extent of alcohol consumption among the adult population in a small development town in Israel and the relationship between heavy drinking (daily drinking) and feelings of distress in four areas of life–economic, social, personal, and health.The findings indicated that the percentage of daily drinkers (8%) in [his population is higher than that found in a national survey of the adult urban Jewish population in Israel (2%).Two ‘deviant’ groups of drinkers were identified–daily drinkers and weekly drinkers (those who reported drinking 2‐3 times per week). These two groups drink on non‐ritual and non‐ceremonial occasions. Daily drinkers frequently drink alone, drink several drinks at a time, and continue to drink without realizing how much. Daily drinkers tended to have strong feelings of powerlessness and a weak sense of coherence, and tended to be socially isolated.Drinking heavily is an infrequent response in the social context of the Israeli development town. No direct relationship was found between amount or kind of distress and extent of alcohol consumption. Those who do drink heavily, however, tend to be suffering from personal and social distress.
Group Treatment of Benzodiazepine Dependence
Authors: HIGGITT ANNA , GOLOMBOK SUSAN , FONAGY PETER , LADER MALCOLM 
Published: January 2006

SummarySixteen patients referred for withdrawal from their chronic benzodiazepine usage were treated over a 28‐week period using a primarily cognitive approach in a group or on an individual basis using telephone contact. The withdrawal regime was individually tailored for each patient according to the intensity of withdrawal symptoms. Anxiety management and cognitive restructuring techniques were used to help patients relabel their withdrawal symptoms as cues for the implementation of coping strategies. Patients in both groups were successful in reducing their intake over the treatment period but patients treated in the group showed lower attrition rates and better long‐term outcome. Withdrawal symptoms, anxiety and depression improved alongside the reduction in drug intake and improvements were maintained at a 3 month and 1 year follow‐up.
Outcome of Alcoholism: the structure of patient attributions as to what causes change
Authors: EDWARDS GRIFFITH , BROWN DAVID , DUCKITT ANNI , OPPENHEIMER EDNA , SHEEHAN MARGARET , TAYLOR COLIN 
Published: January 2006

SummaryVarious strands of the research literature which have bearing on the concept of attribution for change in drinking behaviour are reviewed. The reasons which subjects give for amelioration in their drinking are likely to reflect a mixture of the way in which change is being subjectively construed together with report on the influences and processes which may objectively contribute to change. We present data on such attributions as given by 66 alcoholics on whom we have detailed 10‐year information on multiple aspects of outcome and who also completed a 70‐item Attributions Inventory. A factor analysis of the Attributions data reveals two factors which have been labelled respectively ‘Active’ and ‘Responsive’, and it is suggested that this may be a more appropriate analytical framework than the single dimension of Internal/External locus of control. The relationship between Attribution factors on the one hand and Outcome components and clusters on the other, is explored.‘Active’ Attribution is significantly and positively related to better ‘High Dependence’ Outcome, whereas ‘Responsive’ Attribution relates significantly and positively to better ‘Low Dependence’ outcome. Potential theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
Public Control of Alcohol: licensing trusts in New Zealand
Authors: STEWART LIZ , CASSWELL SALLY 
Published: January 2006

SummaryPublic control of the availability of alcohol has been introduced in various forms in a number of countries, particularly where there has been a strong temperance movement. In these circumstances, public control has sometimes been promoted as an alternative to the possible introduction of national prohibition. This paper briefly summarizes the chronological events leading up to the introduction of licensing trusts in the 1940s as a form of local community control in various areas of New Zealand. Licensing trusts, the promotion of which was partly a reaction against the poor business practices of the liquor trade, quickly gained such popularity amongst the population that many local communities voted in favour of trust control whenever an opportunity to do so arose. The paper also examines the continued viability of the trusts as part of the alcohol trading scene in New Zealand in the 1980s, under social circumstances vastly different to the 1940s when trusts were first established. The dissolution of the Carlisle scheme in the United Kingdom, is briefly compared with the possible future of the New Zealand licensing trusts. It is concluded that the trust concept may have considerable potential for community participation in the reduction of alcohol problems, but liberalization of non‐trust alcohol outlets in licensing trust areas may limit the effectiveness of this role.
Chasing, Arousal and Sensation Seeking in Off‐course Gamblers
Authors: DICKERSON MARK , HINCHY JOHN , FABRE JOHN 
Published: January 2006

SummaryOff‐course belling agency customers (N = 172) were assessed by a brief structured interview and by a questionnaire that included; the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS Form V), a short form of the State portion of the State‐Trait Anxiety questionnaire designed to assess subjective reports of levels of arousal after betting but prior to the race result, a question assessing the frequency of chasing and questions about other aspects of betting behaviour. Contrary to the hypothesis of Zuckerman (1979) the results showed that male bettors as a group were significantly lower on SSS scores than existing population norms. Despite the restricted range of these scores weak but significant relationships were shown between SSS subscales and level of involvement in betting. Chasing was shown to be a central feature of a group of out‐of‐control betting behaviours. Sensation Seeking scores were positively correlated with level of involvement and the relationship found between the Boredom Susceptibility subscale and arousal was tentatively highlighted as an individual difference that would predispose a person to greater loss of control and possible problematic levels of gambling.
Type 1 and Type 2 Alcoholics (Cloninger & Bohman) have Different Patterns of Successful Long‐term Adjustment
Authors: NORDSTROM GÖRAN , BERGLUND MATS 
Published: January 2006

SummaryFifty‐five socially well adjusted male alcoholics and 29 male alcoholics with a disability pension, all having a life‐time diagnosis of alcohol dependence (DSM‐III), were personally followed up 2 decades after their first admission to hospital. Among the socially well adjusted subjects, type 1 and type 2 alcoholics, as defined by Cloninger et al., 13 differed significantly concerning drinking patterns at the follow‐up with a higher frequency of stable sporadic abuse (‘atypical abuse’) and a lower frequency of abstinence and social drinking in the type 2 alcoholics (p<.01). The stability of improvement and the psycho‐social functioning at the follow‐up did not differ between atypical abusers, social drinkers and abstainers.
Serum Activity of Gamma‐glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) in Relation to Estimated Alcohol Consumption and Questionnaires in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome
Authors: BELL HELGE , STEENSLAND HEIDI 
Published: January 2006

SummaryEstimated total ethanol consumption in the month and in the 12 months before admission was examined in 232 patients (197males and 35females) with a mean age of 43.8years (range 20‐70). AH were admitted to a clinic for alcoholics and had a mean drinking history of 13 years (range 1‐42 years). The mean consumption was 50.1 litres pure ethanol per year and 6.5 litres in the month before admission. The Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (Brief MAST) and CAGE questionnaires detected every patient (100%) with a mean score of 2LS points (range 9‐30) and 3.8 points (range 2–4), respectively. Seventy‐one percent had increased activity of gamma‐glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) above our cut‐off values (males 50 U/l and females 40 U/l). A statistically significant association was found between GGT and the estimated annual alcohol consumption (r=0.28, p<.001). Although serum GGT is a sensitive marker in alcoholism, the GGT does not predict the amount of alcohol consumed. Although the patients were a highly selected group, we conclude that the questionnaires of Brief MAST and CAGE seem to be more sensitive than the serum values of GGT.
Serum Gamma‐glutamyltransferase: an epidemiological indicator of alcohol consumption?
Authors: GJERDE H. , AMUNDSEN A. , SKOG O.‐J. , MØRLAND J. , AASLAND O. G. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryRelations between the alcohol consumption of a population and the prevalence of elevated serum gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT) were studied. Based on empirical data on the prevalance of elevated GGT within different alcohol consumption intervals and the Ledermann theory, relations between mean alcohol consumption of a population and GGT were deduced. Data from other studies were used to verify the relations. The results indicated that the percentage of subjects with elevated GGT in a selected population might be used to gain information about the alcohol consumption of the population.
Bolivia and Cocaine: a developing country's dilemmas
Authors: HEALY KEVIN 
Published: January 2006

SummaryThis article reviews the plight of Bolivia, Latin America's poorest country, and a major production center for the coca leaf and cocaine. Amidst Bolivia's worst economic crisis of the century, the illicit cocaine business during the 1980s has generated much needed foreign exchange along with income and employment for tens of thousands of poor farmers and traders. These economic benefits have been accompanied by a long list of social ills ranging from corruption and drug abuse to decreasing food production and superfluous consumption. Solutions to the drug related problems present Bolivia with a difficult dilemma between economic survival and societal well‐being. Moreover, effective opposition to coca leaf eradication programs comes from well organized peasant unions tied closely to the national labor movement. Genuine developmental solutions must provide attractive prices for alternate crops via preferential export markets in the U.S. and Western Europe.
Attempted Referral as Intervention for Problem Drinking in the General Hospital
Authors: ELVY G. A. , WELLS J. E. , BAIRD K. A. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryBaseline data were collected on 263 general hospital patients screened as problem drinkers, who were randomly allocated to one of two groups. In one group an attempt was made to refer patients for treatment while no action was taken for the other. Both groups were followed up at 12 and 18 months. At 12 months the referred group had improved significantly more than the control group in terms of self‐reported alcohol problems, personal happiness, period since last drinking and work performance. However, these effects had diminished at 18 months, largely because of improvements in the control group after the 12‐months follow‐up, which appeared to function as an intervention. These results suggest that intervention following screening is of benefit, and that such a strategy could usefully be incorporated into normal hospital routine.
Book Reviews
Authors: GOSSOP MICHAEL 
Published: January 2006

Books Reviewed in this Article: A Nice Girl Like Me: a story of the seventies ROSIE BOYCOTT Falling Towards England: unreliable memoirs II CLIVE JAMES Alcohol and the Brain Development JAMES R. WEST, Ph. D.(Ed.) Alcohol and the Brain Chronic Effects RALPH TARTER & DAVID VAN THIEL Treating Addictive Behaviors Processes of Change WILLIAM E. MILLER & NICK HEATHER (Eds) Drugs in Perspective MARTIN PLANT Dealing With Drugs ANNAS DIXON
HIV Infection in Intravenous Drug Users: a follow–up study indicating changes in risk‐taking behaviour
Authors: ROBERTSON J. R. , SKIDMORE C. A. , ROBERTS J. J. K. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryThe present study attempts to quantify behavioural change in a group of intravenous drug misusers over a period of a year from pre–AIDS awareness to post‐Governmental intervention. In 1986 49 known intravenous heroin users were questioned closely about their needle sharing and sexual behaviour. Beginning 6 months later a follow‐up involving 80% of the original group took place and all subjects were re‐interviewed. Significant changes emerged without exception in all aspects of drug use and sexual behaviour, and were most obvious in drug users infected with HIV. Non‐infected drug users displayed a less extreme range of behaviours in both the first part of the study and the follow‐up and may partly explain why they have remained uninfected.
Cannabis and Cognitive Functions: a re‐evaluation study
Authors: MENDHIRATTA SARBJIT S. , VARMA VIJOY K. , DANG RAVINDER , MALHOTRA ANIL K. , DAS KAROBI , NEHRA RITU 
Published: January 2006

SummaryOut of 25 each of long‐term, heavy bhang (marihuana) ingestors, 25 charas (hashish) smokers and 25 matched non‐user controls earlier studied and reported by us, 11 bhang users, 19 charas smokers and 15 controls could be re‐studied after a lapse of 9‐10 years. All the users had continued the use during the intervening years. Tests of intelligence, memory and perceptuomotor tasks earlier administered to the subjects were repeated. This showed a significant additional deterioration in case of the users on a number of psychological measures, i.e. on digit span, speed and accuracy tests, reaction time and Bender visuomotor gestalt test. The deterioration in the cannabis users was significantly greater than in the case of the non‐users controls. The study thus further corroborates our earlier findings of impairment of cognitive functions associated with long‐term, heavy cannabis use.
The CAGE Questionnaire and Psychological Health
Authors: SCHOFIELD A. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryOf 331 admissions to the wards of a general hospital 4.8% were diagnosed alcoholic using the CAGE questionnaire with the usual cut‐off point of 2/3. Using a cut‐off point of 1/2 on the CAGE there were found to be significantly more cases of anxiety and depression among the male CAGE 2, 3 and 4 scores as a group than among the CAGE 0 and 1 scorers taken as a group. Those who admitted to early morning drinking were more likely to present as cases of anxiety and/or depression than those who did not. Lowering the CAGE cut‐off point to 1/2 would increase the diagnosed prevalence of alcoholism or problem drinking in this population to 9%. The order of frequency in which the questions of the CAGE were answered is used to delineate the development of deleterious alcohol consumption.
Bias due to Non‐response in a Dutch Survey on Alcohol Consumption
Authors: LEMMENS P. H. H. M. , TAN E. S. , KNIBBE R. A. 
Published: January 2006

SummaryIncreasing non‐response rates force survey researchers to focus on the danger of biased results. In this study two methods were used to determine whether a non‐response rate of 31% in a survey of drinking habits in the Netherlands seriously affects estimates of alcohol consumption. Firstly, several indices of mean consumption were corrected for differences in response probabilities of the distinguished substrata. Secondly, data from a follow‐up among non‐respondents were used to study differences in consumption between the response and non‐response stratum. Both methods led to the general conclusion that the effect of non‐response on estimates of consumption for the entire population appears to be small. Among female non‐respondents, a higher proportion of abstainers and a lower average consumption was found. Although occasional heavy alcohol use in the previous 6 months was more frequent among male non‐respondents than among male respondents, the reverse was true for frequent, weekly heavy use.