Examined college students' (n=254) attitudes after they were presented with either a disease or social learning view of alcoholism. Presentation of a disease view strengthened endorsement of that model, but attitudes toward alcoholics, treatment effectiveness, problem recognition, and help-seeking were not significantly different between the…

Investigated beliefs of male college students (N=55) regarding drinking behavior, alcohol, and alcoholism. Results indicated differential agreement with various belief statements. Subjects' responses appeared to fall into two distinct belief patterns: hedonistic and helpless beliefs. These patterns have significance in the development and…

An expanded approach to alcohol survey use is suggested which is based on the collection of data regarding students' perceptions of peer norms as well as personal attitudes toward alcohol use. The uses of surveys are illustrated with case study examples from an ongoing project connected with counseling and educational outreach activities.…

Describes a test, entitled Understanding Alcoholism, intended to serve as an educational or measurement instrument (or both) for use in the training of physicians. The test directly exposes many controversial aspects of alcoholism to the student at a time when his attitudes toward this disorder are being shaped. (Authors/JT)

Examined college students' (n=276) definitions of social and problem drinking for male and female students in two common drinking situations. Results indicated that definitions of social and problem drinking were strongly influenced by drinking context, and estimates of amount opposite sex problem drinkers drank was greater than that for same sex…

Explores attitudes toward alcoholism and the formative characteristics of an entering class of graduate social work students. Results produced four belief groupings: moralists, treatment optimists, habit model adherents, and disease model adherents. Findings indicate that background characteristics influence different kinds of attitudes. Suggests…

Surveyed college students with (n=84) and without (n=123) alcoholic fathers regarding their perceptions of their families, depressive experiences, and coping styles within developmental model of depression that focuses on object representations. Subjects with alcoholic fathers exhibited greater introjective depression but no increase in anaclitic…

The CAGE instrument is a 4-item questionnaire used for routine and rapid screening of alcohol problems. The term "CAGE" is an acronym with each letter representing one of the four items that comprise the instrument. A positive endorsement of two or more items is considered to be the threshold score, indicating the possibility of a…

A review of literature on attitudes toward alcoholism, measurement of increased knowledge about alcoholism, the status of training in alcoholism, descriptions of alcoholism training programs, and methodological approaches to assessing such programs is presented. The focus of training, it is argued, should be on experiential/clinical approaches.…

Investigated nature of problem drinking among college students (N=526) and evaluated likely effectiveness of potential solutions to the problem. Found of 13 possible sources of help, students indicated they would turn to only an alcohol abuse counselor, printed information, or friends for help. (ABL)

Alcoholism is an almost universal problem which varies in nature and extent from culture to culture. To discriminate between French and American students on the basis of measured attitudes toward alcohol, American college students (N=291) and French college students (N=308) completed attitude measures for alcohol derived from a 14 scale semantic…

The University of Texas Alcohol and Drug Related Survey is an 82-item questionnaire designed to measure student responses in five areas of critical concern: (a) demographic information, (b) current drinking behaviors, (c) attitudes toward drinking, (d) general knowledge concerning excessive use of alcohol, and (e) knowledge of and willingness to…

In a study of alcohol knowledge among college students, 180 students completed a 24-item questionnaire. Fifty-four percent of the respondents were male and 46 percent were female; 56 percent were freshmen or sophomores, 44 percent were juniors or seniors; 51 percent were commuters and 49 percent lived on campus. Seventy-one percent of the…

A survey of residents at five training hospitals concerning the variables affecting physicians' practice behavior in treating alcoholism supported the view that alcohol-related training and experience would influence practice behavior more than attitudes or knowledge. (MSE)

The purpose of this study was to survey the drug use patterns for three academic settings. Generally, the survey revealed that the extent of drug use in the three populations surveyed was high and effective preventative programs were lacking or minimal. Specific recommendations to minimize these deficiencies are presented. (Author)