This study examines the relationship between college student alcohol use and the construct of social responsibility. For purposes of the study, alcohol use was defined by average number of drinks a week and frequency of binge drinking; social responsibility was defined by employment, marriage, living with children, living with parents, and hours…

Adults who are recovering from substance abuse usually possess coping skills that adolescents have not yet developed. This paper examines the special needs of adolescents who are recovering from substance abuse. Young people have not had the opportunity to develop healthy social, emotional, and cognitive skills because they are using chemicals at…

The exact nature of the events which may predispose a person to substance abuse is not known. This paper provides a theoretical discussion and review which emphasizes three contexts which have been shown to predispose on individual to drug abuse: (1) prenatal exposure to a given substance; (2) environmental conditions present upon first exposure…

To ensure a positive prognosis, the recovering female alcoholic requires family therapy as an adjunct to her regular treatment program. Research indicates that the characteristics affecting a person's ability to secure and use treatment include (1) predisposing factors; (2) attitudes toward alcohol and health care; (3) personal enabling factors;…

Although many studies report on the parent/child bond and its negative correlation with substance use, few researchers have examined the interaction between the parent/child relationship and parent substance use to predict adolescent use. In this study, 763 adolescents, 11-15 years old, along with their parents and siblings, participated in a…

Perceived norms are important mediators of social behavior. Social perception, however, is often biased or inaccurate. Recent research has shown that college students overestimate normative drinking rates. This study examined whether this trend continues over time and if students' perceptions of normative drinking are predictive of personal…

Rational Recovery (RR) and the Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) are described. Rational recovery is a young organization which views alcohol and drug dependency differently from the traditional field which sees addiction as a symptom of something, of a disease, of spiritual bankruptcy, of irrational thinking, of unhappiness, of…

Although much of traditional psychology assumes that a spiritual orientation is largely a matter of choice, it is contended here that such choices are embedded in the rich fabric of the cultural framework. This study explores a quantitative and qualitative contrast between Caucasian and Native American alcoholics on dimensions of spiritual…

This study was conducted to determine whether gender differences exist on a number of psychosocial variables that are correlated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Subjects were 1,465 students from 22 schools in three regions of New York State who were in the seventh grade during the 1985-1986 school year. Students completed…

Despite differential gender findings in the epidemiology of substance use, only a limited amount of research focuses on the differences in initiation into drug use and antecedent conditions. As part of the awareness of the need for mutual support among African American women, the National Black Women's Health Project, in conjunction with the…

The inverse relation between academic motivation and substance use has been well established, but the direction of the influence remains to be specified; two possible influences are the mediating and moderating effects of family relationships and self-esteem. In this study, investigators used General Estimating Equation (GEE) models based on data…

This conference paper describes demographics of the Native American population, their disability rate, and their utilization of rehabilitation services. Findings indicate that: (1) in 1980, almost half of the American Indian population was under 20 years of age and that the birthrate among American Indians was twice that of other groups; (2) in…

Early findings are reported from the Michigan State University Vulnerability Study, a study of differences in parents and children of families with an alcoholic father and matched, community control families with a non-alcoholic father. Male preschool children in the alcoholic homes were the target group, because they are 6 to 10 times more at…

Preliminary results from a longitudinal study designed to systematically examine the family life of children reared in a home with an alcoholic father are reported. Analysis is restricted to 15 families from a larger study in which the target child was a 3-year-old male. Parents completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Progress Evaluation…

This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the effectiveness of a demonstration program designed to provide in-home intervention with parents and children in families with substance abuse issues. The goals of the program were to prevent further child abuse or neglect, prevent family breakdown and child placement, and facilitate…