This study examines naturally occurring mentors by the quality and presence of a mentor (no mentor, low quality, high quality), type of mentors (adult mentors vs. peer mentors), and mentor quality within mentor type. A sub-sample of adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent-Health is used. Results indicate the effect of…

Family patterns of dysfunction that often reinforce maladaptive behaviors and cognitions of children growing up in an alcoholic home environment are often difficult to overcome. Adjustment issues associated with being an adult child of an alcoholic (ACOA) are presented along with factors that have been identified as being important in developing…

The Gestalt concept of self-responsibility is the acknowledgement by the individual that he/she is the author of all behavior. The behavior of the alcoholic is contrasted with the self-responsible individual. Clinical application of Gestalt therapy techniques to alcoholism is demonstrated and discussed with case illustrations. (Author)

Compared characteristics of female alcoholics receiving treatment with those of male alcoholics. Found male subjects had more psychosocial problems and had more contact with the child welfare authorities during their childhood than did the females. However, the females' offspring had had more such contact than the males' offspring. Socioeconomic…

Studies have shown that sociopaths and alcoholics tend to come from similar social backgrounds and that they share several characteristics. To investigate the relationship between alcoholism and character disorder syndrome in adult males, 20 males who had a history of alcohol problems and displayed characteristics of character disorder were…

Causes and expressions of alcohol abuse in both men and women were examined in this study. Subjects (N=365 women and N=1,657 men), all of whom were first admissions to the Alcoholism Division of the Denver Fort Logan Mental Health Center, described their drinking symptoms and behavior patterns after excessive drinking. Over 60 symptoms were…

Children of alcoholic parents often defend against family instability by adopting roles (hero, scapegoat, lost child, mascot) which bring a semblance of stability to the family. While one role may seem to dominate the character of an individual child, all four roles may be seen in the same child; at times conditions may cause an exchange of roles.…

Data from a 25-year study of 194 individuals indicated that teacher and peer reports of aggression, compliance, and self-control at age 8 distinguished high-agreeable from low-agreeable 33-year-olds. High-agreeable childhood types had fewer disobedience and concentration problems than low-agreeable childhood types. High-agreeable childhood boys…

The beneficial and harmful effects of acting out are studied in a series of short essays by numerous authors. Included are four articles on the theoretical and dynamic considerations of acting out, along with five clinical manifestations of acting out involving suicide and criminality in adolescents and adults. Special forms of harmful acting out…