Used Hill Interaction Matrix to measure content and quality of interactions in 12-hour therapy group of 12 male drug addicts and 3 therapists. Categories of therapeutic work included conventional, assertive, speculative, and confrontive; categories of content included topic, group, personal, and relationship. Group was highly confrontive; most…

Explored drug overdose mortality and its economic consequences through examination of Texas mortality data from 1980-86. Compared crude mortality rates across 10 drug categories. Found drug overdose mortality costs had more than doubled over 6-year period. Found men had greater illicit drug overdose risk than women; women had greater prescribed…

Twice interviewed methadone maintenance patients in three cities using Addiction Severity Index. Of subjects followed, 35.4 percent reported having experienced recent psychological symptoms. Found no relation between length of time in treatment at first interview and psychiatric severity. Over one-year period, treatment that subjects received from…

Reviews the addictive nature of cigarette smoking and the pharmacologic, psychological, and sociocultural parameters of tobacco use. The dynamic combination of related factors makes cigarette smoking extremely resistant to long-term extinction. The article suggests the use of active support systems during nicotine addiction recovery. (SM)

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act prevents employers from discriminating against the disabled in hiring practices, it exempts current illegal users of drugs, as distinct from alcoholics. The specific requirements of the law regarding persons with alcoholism are reviewed and contrasted with those concerning current drug users, and…

Explored physical and emotional health status of 71 African-American grandmothers raising their grandchildren as result of crack cocaine involvement of children's parents. Comparison of self-assessed health ratings with qualitative responses revealed tendency for respondents to downplay their own health problems and symptoms. (Author/NB)

Examines the effect of caffeine consumption on fit, healthful lifestyles, discussing its effects on the heart and respiration and noting its psychological effects on some athletes. Moderate caffeine use will not cause problems for most people, but anyone susceptible to its effects (e.g., with arrhythmias) may want to avoid caffeine. (SM)

Reliability and validity of self-reported behavior within a deviant population are examined using data from 2 interviews with 323 narcotics addicts conducted 10 years apart (1974-75 and 1985-86). Results complement existing reliability and validity studies of alcohol use, and suggest that quality information can be obtained from heroin users. (SLD)

Interviewed 72 heroin-addicted female street prostitutes and assessed fear of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), AIDS risk reduction behavior, and prostitutes' recommendations for AIDS risk reduction programs. Self-reported data showed that, although subjects were afraid of AIDS, irrationality produced by addiction compelled risky…

Reviews clinical issues relating to addiction (particularly cocaine) and family systems, outlining their impact on developmental and behavioral outcomes for children. Preliminary studies of children prenatally exposed to cocaine suggests the majority are of low-average to average intelligence, but suffer from distractibility, impulsivity,…

Describes two community-service programs, one for prisoners and one for women with infant children at a residential addiction treatment center, developed at Georgetown University (District of Columbia). Considers principles of service learning, such as connectivity and values for participants, despite practical and bureaucratic programmatic…

A brief history of Substance Use Disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is presented, and the symptoms of substance dependence are presented. Substance dependence is distinguished from substance abuse. Assessment instruments, including laboratory tests and interviews for diagnosing substance use disorders, are…

Reviews "Grandmothers as Caregivers: Raising Children of the Crack Cocaine Epidemic" (M. Minkler and K. M. Roe), a study of African American kinship caregivers parenting again for reasons associated with the crack cocaine addiction of their own adult child. The book presents first hand accounts of family dynamics involved in kinship…

Investigates whether personality tests can differentiate between alcohol and drug users among juvenile offenders. Subjects were 108 Icelandic juvenile offenders who had been given conditional discharge, who received the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Gough Socialisation Scale (GSS). Drug and alcohol users scored significantly lower…

This study determined whether long-term abstinence reinforcement could maintain cocaine abstinence throughout a yearlong period. Patients who injected drugs and used cocaine during methadone treatment (n = 78) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 abstinence-reinforcement groups or to a usual care control group. Participants in the 2…