Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occurs with alcohol dependence (AD) and negatively affects treatment outcomes. Trauma-related negative affect enhances substance craving in laboratory cue-reactivity studies of AD individuals, but the role of positive affect has not been established. In this study, 108 AD treatment-seeking adults…

Assessed degree of alcohol aversion in 60 alcoholics who received emetic alcohol-aversion therapy. Results revealed changes in response to alcoholic, but not to nonalcoholic, flavors, including decreased consumption in taste tests, more negative flavor ratings, overt behavioral indicants of aversion and increased tachycardiac response. (Author/NB)

Data indicated that drinking and other outcome measures were only moderately interrelated in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Outcome at the group level was somewhat better six months after treatment than it was 18 months later. (Author)

Clients admitted to an alcohol abuse treatment program volunteered for social skills training related to difficult on-the-job situations. Modeling alone and modeling plus focused instruction were employed to improve several target behaviors. Addition of focused instructions greatly enhanced treatment effects. (Author)

These conference proceedings consider the major lines of evidence on the nature and locus of the alcohol-disinhibition link. The first day's papers, commentaries and discussions are centered on physiological and behavioral links; social-psychological research; historical ideas on alcohol, crime, and accidents; and anthropological perspectives on…

The Final Report of the Task Force on Responsible Decisions About Alcohol is comprised of three booklets. Booklet 1 contains a history of the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and the formation of the ECS Task Force on Responsible Decisions About Alcohol. The goals and objectives of the task force are defined as they relate to approaches…

The final report on a project designed to develop a model learning system for alcohol abuse and alcoholism prevention contains format details of four specific programs. Each program is geared to obtain maximum success in reinforcing responsible behavior, to change learner behavior, and to insure effective implementation in a variety of…

A factor-analytic study of the relationship of vocational client change to nonvocational client change is presented. Previous research findings indicating the independence of these two dimensions are supported. An explanation to account for this result is offered. (Author/BEF)

Used covert sensitization and alcohol education/counseling to eliminate drinking behavior in two motivated offenders in their early twenties who had previously been classified as "alcoholic." In over 24 months for 1 subject, and 9 months for the other, only 1 conviction for 1 of the subjects occurred, which turned out to be minor and…

Several theorists have advocated marital therapy in treatment programs for alcoholics. Given the promise of marital therapy for alcoholics, it is important to develop successful techniques for recruitment. One approach toward improving recruitment is to identify the characteristics of couples who are likely to accept or reject marital therapy.…

An experimental treatment approach to teaching alcoholics controlled drinking utilizing a multi-modal treatment approach is presented. This approach included aversion conditioning contingent upon emission of such undesirable drinking behaviors as gulping, drinking straight drinks, Blood Alcohol Level of 0.065 or greater, and time between drinks.…

Studied neuropsychological recovery following alcohol abuse as a function of age. Alcoholics (N=31) were administered a repeatable neuropsychological test battery for the three months immediately following cessation of drinking. Results suggest that beyond age 40, humans increase in vulnerability to the toxic effects of alcohol. (JAC)

Follow-up data are presented for 6- and 12-months on male alcoholics (N=20) who received either a multifaceted inpatient alcoholism treatment program alone (controls) or emetic or shock aversion therapy in addition to that program. Both emetic and control subjects compiled more days of abstinence than shock subjects. (Author)

This study examined partner violence before and after behavioral couples therapy (BCT) for 303 married or cohabiting male alcoholic patients and used a demographically matched nonalcoholic comparison sample. In the year before BCT, 60% of alcoholic patients had been violent toward their female partner, 5 times the comparison sample rate of 12%. In…

This study attempts to identify the specific demographic and sociological characteristics related to improvement for 48 male alcoholic patients who participated in two contrasting one-month inpatient treatment programs. Of the 48 subjects, 27 participated in a broad spectrum behavior therapy program (experimental group). The remaining 21 subjects…